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Private company

Corvin Film Studio

Hungarian film production company

The Corvin Film Studio (in its original official name: Corvin Filmgyár és Filmkereskedelmi Rt.) established in 1916, was the largest film production company in Hungary, as well as the third-largest film company in Europe in the era of silent film. Their films were characterized by a high standard of literature and excellent artistic preparation.2 It was founded by Jenő Janovics.1 It ceased to exist in 1928.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

Oct 16, 1916Founded1
  • HeadquartersBudapest1

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Corvin Film
Photo: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons4

The Corvin Film Studio (in its original official name: Corvin Filmgyár és Filmkereskedelmi Rt.) established in 1916, was the largest film production company in Hungary, as well as the third-largest film company in Europe in the era of silent film. Their films were characterized by a high standard of literature and excellent artistic preparation.2

The story

Founded by Jenő Janovics on Oct 16, 1916.1

In 1916 the Corvin Film Studio was founded by Dr. Jenő Janovics, an influential Hungarian media entrepreneur; director of the Hungarian National Theater of Kolozsvár. The place of incorporation was in the city of Kolozsvár (Cluj in Romanian; Klausenburg in German) the so-called capital of Transylvania.

By this time Janovics – who was rightly called the creator of Hollywood in Transylvania – already had serious film experiences. In 1913, he made the first Transylvanian film, The Yellow Foal (Sárga csikó) in co-production with the Parisian Pathé Film Studio. The film became a blockbuster with noisy success on all five continents.

In 1914 he formed a joint venture with Projectograph, Hungary 's leading filmmaker, under the name Proja (Projectograph & Janovics). He had been working there among others with Michael Curtiz (Kertész Mihály) the future Academy Awards director, the famous The Exile (A tolonc) silent film was made by them.

From Wikipedia’s article on Corvin Film Studio, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Leadership

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Products and brands

Production in Kolozsvár

In 1916 Janovics became independent of Projectograph setting up his new Corvin Film Studio in Kolozsvár. The company's name was a reference to the great 15th Century Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus. Janovics's production program concentrated largely on adaptations of popular and classic Hungarian literature.

The young Alexander Korda (Korda Sándor) was discovered for Corvin by Janovics who brought him to his new film studio from Budapest in 1916.

Production in Budapest

An increasingly dominant presence at the company was the young film director Korda who joined Corvin as a leading director. Korda directed there White Nights, one of the first Hungarian films to be shown outside the country.

Next year Janovics sold the company to Korda and Miklós Pásztory. They exclusively contracted several stars of the age, including Arthur Somlay, Oszkár Beregi and Mihály Várkonyi. Korda's wife, actress María Corda starred in several Corvin productions too.

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Korda and Pásztory expanded into the Hungarian capital in the same year. On 16 October 1917, with a registered capital of one million korona, the Corvin Film Factory and Film Trade Co. was established even in Budapest. For more than 100 years, this film studio became the emblematic site of Hungarian film productions. It still works at the same place.

The boom caused by World War I had a positive impact on Corvin Film. The film import ban boosted domestic demand for Hungarian films. Corvin's registered capital was increased to two and a half million korona in 1918 and then to eight million korona in 1919. In addition to the success in Hungary, Corvin's films were also successful on the international market. In parallel to his role as manager, Korda also directed at the studio. He directed one of the first Hungarian films to be shown abroad, White Nights.

From Wikipedia’s article on Corvin Film Studio, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Acquisitions

  1. Succeeded by Hunnia Film Studio1

In 1919 Korda became a member of the Communist Directorate of Soviet Republic as the director of film productions, so after defeating the Red Terror, he had to flee Hungary. Subsequently, due to the influx of American films, Hungarian films were increasingly overshadowed, with fewer and fewer films being filmed in the Corvin studio, and then, in 1922, the Corvin Film temporarily ceased production of films.

In 1923 the factory was modernized and reorganized to become the third-largest studio in Central Europe, with a height of 18 metres and a floor area of 4×20 metres. But as the economic conditions worsened, the factory went bankrupt in 1926.

It was acquired by the Filmipari Alap in 1927, and later became one of the trustees of Hunnia Film Studio, a major sound film studio in Hungary.

From Wikipedia’s article on Corvin Film Studio, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Timeline

  1. Dec 18, 1928Dissolved Dissolved1
  2. Oct 16, 1916Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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