Oskar Messter

He took over the management of his father's company in 1895 and only one year later he developed his first own film projector. Soon afterwards he opened the first cinema where he demonstrated his first own movies to an enthusiastic audience. The movies were documentaries of contemporary events and showed partially everyday entities, partially huge occasions. But everything was interesting and fascinating for the film unacquainted audience.

Oskar opened Berlin's very first cinema at 21 Unter den Linden on 15th June 1896.

At early time he also produced records of stage performances, among them "Rapunzel" (1897), "Hänsel und Gretel" (1897), "Die bösen Buben" (1897), "Walküre" (1898), "Schlussszene des II Aktes aus "Der Fall Corignan" (1898) and "Der verliebte Reservemann" (1898).

Berlin, 30th June 1900: Formed his own production company, Messter Projections.

Presented the Biophon, his method of producing talking films, as the headlining attraction at Berlin's Apollo Theatre in August 1903.

St. Louis, Missouri, and its Olympic Games of 1904, is where Oskar used his Biophon to shoot his first films which contained a synchronised soundtrack.

From 1909 to 1917, his film company produced 350 films.

When he sold his companies they were integrated to the UFA. Oskar Messter himself retired from the active film business in 1918.

Only in 1924 he realised a movie again for the last time called "Der Sprung ins Leben" (1924).

He donated his collection of historical film equipment to the German Museum in 1932.

In 1936 he published his biography called "Mein Weg mit dem Film".