American Film Manufacturing Company

The American Film Manufacturing Company was founded in Chicago in the fall of 1910 by Samuel S. Hutchinson, John R. Freuler, Charles J. Hite and Harry Aitken, four Midwestern businessmen who joined forces and capital to create the company.

Three shooting companies were created. Two would work at the studio or surrounding locales of Chicago, while a third unit was sent out to concentrate on westerns. This western unit would move through the southwest with stops in New Mexico, Arizona and finally California. California was chosen as the unit's final destination for its sunny weather, and to avoid the constraints of the "Edison Trust" (i.e., The Motion Picture Patents Company or MPPC) operating in Chicago and New York.

The third unit eventually settled in the town of La Mesa, twelve miles inland from San Diego, from August 12, 1911, to July 6, 1912, using filming locations there, Lakeside, and sites around San Diego itself.

Under the leadership of Allan Dwan, Flying "A" made over 150 films in San Diego County. The films were usually western adventures, comedies or an occasional local documentary. The Flying A westerns were popular with the public and kept Dwan and his crew extremely busy. The Dwan westerns gave the Flying A the ability to mount large advertising campaigns, create additional films, and become a player in the motion picture industry. While mostly filming in the back country near La Mesa, some sets were built behind the Flying A production buildings. Dwan would occasionally film a cowboy chase scene and then build a plot around that chase.

American formally closed the La Mesa studio in July 1912 and moved north to Santa Barbara, beginning production there in August. The main reason for choosing Santa Barbara over La Mesa was that the American Film Company wanted to have easier access to urban locations; at the same time, the Chicago studio was closed (though the company's administrative offices remained there) and the Santa Barbara facility became American's main plant. During its principal operation between 1912 and 1917, Flying "A" Studios was one of the largest motion picture studios in the United States, which made Santa Barbara a California filmmaking center rivaled only by Hollywood.