Amsterdam Film Cie

history

The NV 'Amsterdam' Film Company (Amsterdam Film Cie) was founded in October 1914 by general manager and film director Theo Frenkel Sr. together with several businessmen. They invested a hundred thousand guilders in a company for the production of 'Dutch film dramas and comedies that specifically emphasise the national character and landscape, in both character as well as image'.

Between 1915 and 1923, the Amsterdam Film Cie produced sixteen generally long feature films that were reasonably successful in the Netherlands. But the company did not manage to sell the films abroad, which meant the financial situation became increasingly precarious.

The Amsterdam Film Cie's last film, which premièred in 1923, was the tragedy Alexandra, produced in cooperation with the Berlin-based Turma Film. After the Dutch première, Frenkel (who had resigned as manager several years before) and the board of directors had a disagreement, and shortly thereafter the company was declared bankrupt.

Because the Amsterdam Film Cie lacked its own film studio, its productions were often made outdoors or on location. In 1919, a solution to this problem seemed to be on the way: an article in the Dutch newspaper ‘Het Vaderland’ reported on plans for a studio complex to be built for the Amsterdam Film Cie near Voorburg. The complex would also house a film school and a factory for the manufacture of film stock. Yet due to a lack of money, nothing ever came of those plans.