The "Film King."

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 22 May 1914, Page 8

The "Film King."

M. Siegmund Lubin, who is known in America as "the Moving Picture King," controls one of the largest moving picture businesses in the world, employing over 700 people, at a yearly salary list of over £100,000. Mr. Lubin has been "in" moving pictures while the industry has grown from an infant into a giant. •' Many years ago, when he was a hum- : ble German optician, he helped to perfect the cinematograph by in- | venting a practical lens ; in recent ! years he has invented many improvements, j "I paid £200,000 for my present | studio in Philadelphia," Mr. Lubin | told an inter-viewer, "and it is one ' of the largest and best equipped of ■ its kind. With the exception of one; wall, it ie built entirely of steel ; and glass. The lower floor will j stage four different companies at the i same time, and the tap floor, which j is probably the largest in the world has a capacity for scenes employing 500 people.. On this floor we are able to use four motor-cam at once.

"Then we * have an engine-room, fitted with machinery for making every kind of projector and lenses, and a dark room in which over a hundred employees work. Our wardrobe room contains several thousand costumes, and we are increasing our stock daily.

"In addition to my Philadelphia studio, I own Betzwood, and estate in Pennsylvania. The estate cost me over £400,000, and comprises more than 500 acres of picturesque land. We have four complete farms, a large mansion, two miles of the Schuylkill River, a. deer-park, and all manner of live stock." For Western pieces, a hundred Texasbred horses are made use of, and the properties also include an aeroplane and a dozen automobiles.