Arthur Melbourne Cooper 亚瑟·墨尔本·库伯

Arthur Melbourne Cooper was born in St. Albans, England, in 1874. He was one of the founders of the British film industry and the creator of the world's first animation films (or "trick" films, as he called them). Matches: An Appeal (1899) was made for a government advertising campaign to invite public donations of matches for soldiers fighting in the Boer War. Prior to 1900, Melbourne Cooper worked with pioneer cinematographer Birt Acres. Although specializing in animation (Dolly's Toys (1902), he also produced fiction and live action movies.

He established Alpha Trading Company in St. Albans in 1904, and wrote and directed films under contract for other organizations. From 1904-1909 he co-directed with Robert W. Paul, experimenting with movies that combined live-action footage with model animation and fantasy story lines. These included The Enchanted Toymaker (1904), The Fairy Godmother (1906), Dreams of Toyland (1908) and Tale of the Ark (1909). After Paul's retirement in 1910, Melbourne Cooper continued to produce and direct, such as Cinderella (1912), Wooden Athletes (1912) The Toymaker's Dream (1910). Alpha was a surprisingly early example of a vertically integrated production, distribution and exhibition company. The company's office were adjacent to the studio site which, which covered nearly two acres and included a restaurant, hairdressing salon, shops, public baths and a single-screen theater, a forerunner of the concept popularized by recent multiplex operators. Renamed the Poly, and still under the management of Cooper, it was re-opened as the Regent with a Palais de Dance in the basement in 1926. Unfortunately, the site was destroyed by fire in 1927.

Arthur Melbourne Cooper died in Barnet, Hertfordshire, in 1961.