History:
The Clemmer Theatre, as the Bing Crosby Theater was originally called, opened in 1915. That is also the year many film historians consider the beginning of the modern era of the motion picture. These important events all occurred in 1915:
An attempt by Thomas Edison and other inventers of movie-making equipment to control the production and distribution of movies was finally defeated in the courts. Filmmakers were released to experiment and competition spurred them on.
D.W. Griffith's 'The Birth of a Nation' premiered and set the standard for all future films. Griffith's movie created the language of modern film, with thematic narrative, naturalistic acting, and 'shots' inter-spliced to tell a smooth story.
Charlie Chaplin left his old film company and started making his own, more nuanced kind of film comedy. His 'The Tramp' and 'The Bank', both released in 1915, set a new standard for comedies, just as Griffith had set the pattern for drama.
