Established in 1906 by the film pioneer Henri Joly, La Société des Phonographes et Cinématographes Lux grew rapidly to compete with the other big French production houses. Around the time that Joly had to resign from his position in 1907 due to ill health, Lux had opened a fully equipped film factory at Gentilly. By the end of 1909, Lux was widely established and had representatives in 12 capitals, including Barcelona, Budapest, London, Moscow, New York and Warsaw. Although Lux initially took over the distribution of small foreign independent producers such as Nestor, Aquila, Savoia, its own productions started to suffer in 1913, and by the end of that year, Société Lux was declared bankrupt. 
Information about the company and its films remain very limited. In its heyday, directors including Jean Durand and Gérard Bourgeois worked for the company. A number of comedians, such as Paul Bertho (Patouillard), Little Chrysia (Cunégonde) and Zinel (Zizi) also made successful comedy series. Although never credited, the comediennes Sarah Duhamel and Madeleine Aubry also appear in Lux comedies. 
Over the course of the seven years that the company existed, Lux produced around 850 films, mostly short comedies, but also some dramas and a few documentaries. Towards the end, films featuring animals seem to have become their selling point. 
The comedies were clearly the driving force behind the company. Although revolving around similar plots to those produced by rivals Pathé, Eclipse or Eclair, the Lux comedies have an added quirkiness. The actors act without inhibition, and the comedy doesn’t shy away from exaggeration, absurdism and a certain level of clumsiness. This results in an explosion of creativity that borders on surrealism. Various camera tricks and rich decors are used for greater effect. It is tempting to speculate that at Lux the well-established comedians, who had already worked for other film producers, found the opportunity to remake a film they had shot before, but this time with more creative freedom. 

Elif Rongen-Kaynakçi