Biograph at Its Zenith

In the years immediately following the Spanish-American War, the motion-picture industry gained a modicum of stability as exhibitors found permanent venues for their services, primarily in vaudeville houses. Since dependable outlets in turn required a larger and more regular supply of films, all aspects of the industry were affected. Biograph, in particular, prospered. By October 1898, Biograph's service was employed at twenty different locations. After the war, biographs remained at Keith's four vaudeville theaters on a permanent, year-round basis. Across the country, most other first-class vaudeville managers booked the biograph for at least one extended run per theatrical season, a policy that continued for the next two to three years. At Cook's Opera House in Rochester, New York, it played for twenty-one consecutive weeks during the 1898-1.899 season, fifteen weeks over two runs...