Foster Photoplay Company
The company released a number of critically acclaimed films, including The Railroad Porter (1913), The Fall Guy (1913), and The Butler (1913).
He worked as a publicity promoter for Bob Cole and Rosamond Johnson's A Trip to Coontown, a musical stage comedy performed exclusively by African Americans in New York.
He continued working as a publicity promoter for Bert Williams and George Walker's In Dahomey and Abyssinia comedy productions.
Foster worked for the Pekin Theater as both trusted adviser and business manager, making a point to book black vaudeville acts.
After quitting his job with The Chicago Defender after an apparent dispute over his friendship with a discharged employee, Foster found himself in movie business once again.
In the time before the Foster Photoplay Company was established, few films showed African Americans in a non-negative, or even human, fashion.
[3] Releasing this movie was a bold choice for Bill Foster, as before then, there had not been a film that challenged the negative images that black people had obtained in cinema.
For the first time in film, not only were the black people depicted on screen forced to deal with complex and critical issues, but the characters acted like human beings and not animals designed for the white public's entertainment.
His disappointment towards the fellow members of his race for not realizing the power of cinema was not a secret, as he had made it clear in the hundreds of letters, papers, notes, essays, and articles he had written during his years as a filmmaker.
In the year following his success with The Railroad Porter and The Fall Guy, Foster began a plan to build a movie studio in Jacksonville, Florida.
Foster wanted to move to Florida in order to gain ground against larger competitors such as Sigmund Lubin, Pathé, and others.
[citation needed] In 1915, Foster encouraged the manager of the Grand Theater to replace the usual vaudeville performers with motion pictures in order to save money and bring up attendance.
This plan severely backfired, however, when the public showed a preference for the vaudeville performers and revenue to the Grand Theater dropped.
This act drew major criticism from the black press, believing that Foster had turned his back to his race in order to save money.
In the eyes of the black press, it had originally appeared that Foster was interested in catering to African Americans and this act showed that he would compromise his principles for money.
One of the barbers overhears John's conversation and visits the Willis household posing as a Spanish music teacher, donning a fake mustache, a white suit, and a sombrero.
The Barber is considered to be one of The Foster Photoplay Company's most three-dimensional films, with themes of disguise, infidelity, and advice against the vices of the inner city.
The film had several wealthy financial backers, including Universal Pictures, Booker T. Washington's Tuskegee Circle, and Julius Rosenwald of Sears Roebuck, and took more than two years to develop.
