Founding The company produced many silent shorts in France starting in 1908, and soon thereafter in America. The American division produced films from 1911-1914 such as
Robin Hood, one of the first filmed versions of the classic story in 1912. Deutsche Eclair, later
Decla-Film, was established as its German studio branch. In 1909, Eclair took part in the
Paris Film Congress, an attempt by major European producers to form a
cartel similar to the
MPPC in America. Originally a film production company, Eclair started building cameras in 1912.
Studios in the United States An Eclair studio, the Eclair Moving Picture Company, was established in
Fort Lee, New Jersey. It suffered a devastating fire in 1914 in which many early film prints were
lost. A western studio set was also established in
Tucson, Arizona.
Jules Brulatour was involved with the company and
Dorothy Gibson one of its stars.
Eclair films made in Tucson •
Over the Cliffs, 1913 •
The Reformation of Calliope, 1913 •
The Aztec Treasure, 1914 • ''Mesquite Pete's Fortune'', 1914 •
At the Crucial Moment, 1914 •
The Renunciation, 1914 •
The Jackpot Club, 1914 •
The Return, 1914 •
The Cross in the Cacti, 1914 •
The Dupe, 1914 • ''The Caballero's Way'', 1914 •
When Death Rode the Engine, 1914 •
The Heart of Carita, 1914 •
The Squatter, 1914 • ''Dead Men's Tales'', 1914 •
Within an Inch of His Life, 1914 •
The Stirrup Brother; or, The Higher Abdication, 1914 • ''The Blunderer's Mark'', 1914 •
A Tale of the Desert, 1914 •
The Bar Cross Liar, 1914 •
The Ghost of the Mine, 1914 •
Into the Foothills, 1914 • ''Fate's Finger'', 1914 •
Smallpox on the Circle U, 1914 •
The Line Rider, 1914 •
Till the Sands of the Desert Grow Cold, 1914 •
Whom God Hath Joined, 1914 •
The Girl Stage Driver, 1914 •
The Jewel of Allah, 1914 •
The Wondrous Melody, 1914 •
The Price Paid, 1914 •
The Yellow Streak, 1914 •
The Devil Fox of the Orth, 1914 •
The First Nugget, 1914 •
The Bar Crossed Lier, 1914 • ''The Blunderer's Mark'', 1914 •
Terror, 1915 •
The Thief and the Chief, 1915 •
Saved by Telephone, 1915 •
Romance in Bear Creek, 1915 •
The Oath of Smoky Joe, 1915 •
The Answer, 1915 •
Lure of the West, 1915 •
The Lone Game, 1915
The Zigomar Lawsuit Between 1911 and 1913, Eclair released a series of films revolving around the fictional character Zigomar that had been created in 1909 by the French author
Léon Sazie in the Paris-based newspaper Le Matin. The movies would go on to be very successful commercially, but Sazie came to feel that they were too different from his idea for the series, and so sued the director,
Victorin-Hippolyte Jasset, and the Eclair company for excessive alteration of the source material. The courts ruled that 6,000 francs were to be paid to Sazie in damages, but Eclair appealed the case resulting in the amount to be paid increasing to 10,000 francs, with an additional 250 francs for any future violations.
Later company history The company was acquired in late 1968 by UK-based Canadian film producer
Harry Saltzman who then founded the
Éclair-Debrie (UK) Ltd. company and moved production to the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, Soremec-Cehess took over the French side of the company and resumed production in France, so English Eclair cameras (similar to the French product with minor differences), were manufactured simultaneously for a few years until Éclair-Debrie (UK) Ltd ceased activities in 1973. Production then continued in France with a good degree of success, but the company eventually declined in the late-1970s and early-1980s until it was eventually sold to
Aaton S.A. in 1986 who ceased all camera production, offering only a license for maintenance of the many existing cameras. The film processing and post-production side of Éclair continues to operate. ==Cameras==