Benjamin Albert Rolfe (October 24, 1879 - April 23, 1956) was an American musician known as "The Boy Trumpet Wonder" who went on to be a bandleader, recording artist, radio personality and film producer.. In 1915, B.A. Rolfe turned his talents to the fledgling motion picture business, establishing his own production company, Rolfe Photoplays Inc. Although he filmed in California, Rolfe's productions were primarily made in and around Fort Lee, New Jersey and distributed through an agreement with Louis B. Mayer's Metro Pictures Corporation. Rolfe's company produced more than fifty silent films, several of which were collaborations with director/screenwriter Oscar A.C. Lund including the 1916 drama Dorian's Divorce starring Lionel Barrymore.. His film company's last production was the 15-part mystery serial, The Master Mystery (1919), starring Harry Houdini. Mounting financial difficulties resulted in Rolfe Photoplays Inc. going out of business and before 1920 he was making a living producing and directing films for Metro Pictures and other small independent production companies. Rolfe's last directorial effort was Miss 139 (1921), notable in that he managed to get a credible performance from star Diana Allen, the less than talented but dazzlingly beautiful former Ziegfeld Follies girl....
read more (wikipedia)