History of Film Trailers

The first machine in the United States used to show animated pictures was a machine called the "zoopraxiscope", which was patented by William Lincoln in 1867. The moving drawings or photographs were watched through a slit. However, these images were nothing like modern motion pictures. The creation of modern motion picture as we know it today began with the invention of the motion picture camera.

In 1895, Louis Lumiere created the first motion picture camera. The invention consisted of a portable motion-picture camera, film processing unit and a projector called the “Cinematographe”. The “Cinematographe” marked the birth of the motion picture era. In 1895, Lumiere and his brother were the first to present projected, moving, photographic, pictures to a paying group audience.

However the Lumiere brothers were not the first people to project film. In 1891, the “Edison Company” successfully demonstrated the “Kinetoscope”, a device which enabled one person at a time to view moving pictures. Later in 1896, Thomas Edison released his improved “Vitascope” projector and it was the first commercially used projector in the U.S.

As people grew used to the novelty of moving pictures, they became more selective about kinds of films they wanted to see. Film exhibitors responded to the increased popularity of movie going by constructing buildings designed to accommodate large audiences to view films at the same time. In 1952 came the birth of the modern cinema, where films were shown using three projectors and a wide curved screen. However they experienced some problems with the system. Film exhibitors needed to find a way to keep their audiences coming back.

Less than a decade into the first century of cinema, film exhibitors and distributors were keen to promote upcoming films. Their solution was to separate scheduled films by displaying information about future releases.

The first trailer shown in a U.S. movie theatre was a short promotional film for the musical “The Pleasure Seekers”, shown in November 1913. The trailer was produced by Nils Granlund, who was the advertising manager for the “Marcus Loew” theatre chain.

Granlund was also first to use a slide technique to compose a trailer for an upcoming film featuring Charlie Chaplin in 1914. Up until the late 1950s, most trailers were created by “National Screen Service” and consisted of the key scenes from the film that was being advertised, often accompanied by large text describing the storyline, and a piece of sound normally pulled from studio music libraries. Most trailers had some form of narration presented by loud, powerful voices, suitable for giving speeches to large crowds.

In the early 1960s, the face of motion picture trailers changed. Fast paced montage editing became very popular. Amongst the trend setters was Stanley Kubrick with his montage trailers for “Lolita”, “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb”, and “2001: A Space Odyssey”.

In 1964, Andrew J. Kuehn distributed his independently-produced trailer for “Night of the Iguana”, using high-contrast photography and fast-paced editing. His format was so successful he began producing this new form of trailer with partner Dan Davis.

Kuehn opened the office of “Kaleidoscope Films” in 1968 and the company played a huge part in the trailer industry for the next three decades. As Hollywood began to produce a greater number of big, blockbuster films and invested more money in marketing them, directors like Steven Spielberg, Oliver Stone and Barbra Streisand depended on “Kaleidoscope Films” to create the best trailers possible.

Many of the best-known trailer companies have been managed by former “Kaleidoscope Films” employees, for example “The Cimarron Group”, “Ant Farm”, “Aspect Ratio”, “Trailer Park” and “Motor Entertainment”.

Nowadays, lengthier, more elaborate film trailers and commercial advertisements have replaced other forms of pre-feature entertainment in major multiplex chains. In modern cinema, around the first twenty minutes after the posted show time is devoted to screening trailers.

Here are some examples of classic film trailers, along with their date of release:

All Quiet On The Western Front
Year of release: 1930
Director: Lewis Milestone



Phantom Of The Opera
Year of release: 1943
Director: Arthur Lubin



Father Of The Bride
Year of release: 1950
Director: Vincente Minnelli