The company that would become FBO began as the U.S.-based film subsidiary of the British importer, exporter, and film distributor Robertson-Cole. This organization was similar in structure to the French Pathé Exchange company, a subsidiary of the French Pathé Frères company. From its U.S. headquarters in New York City, R-C Pictures, as it was sometimes known, first entered the American film distribution market. In 1919, the company forged an alliance with Exhibitors Mutual Distributing, a corporate descendant of the Mutual Film studio. The first of R-C's own feature productions to be released was "The Wonder Man", directed by John G. Adolfi and starring Georges Carpentier, which debuted May 29, 1920. With its move into production, Robertson-Cole established a 13.5-acre (5.5-hectare) studio in Los Angeles's fortuitously named Colegrove district, then adjacent to but soon to be subsumed by Hollywood. In January 1921, Robertson-Cole absorbed Hallmark Pictures, which had acquired the Exhibitors Mutual interests the previous year. The first official Robertson-Cole production shot at the new studio was a February 1921 release, "The Mistress of Shenstone", directed by Henry King and starring beautiful Pauline Frederick, a former Paramount and Goldwyn star. That year, the British owners of the studio entered into a working relationship with Joseph P. Kennedy, father of future U.S. president John F. Kennedy. Joseph Kennedy was then a broker at the New York banking firm of Hayden, Stone, as well as the owner of Maine–New Hampshire Theatres, a small chain of movie houses. Though he failed to arrange the sale R-C's general partners were looking for, Kennedy's involvement with the studio was far from over.