Adolph Zukor's Famous Players' first release (opening in New York City at the Lyceum Theatre) was the four-reel French import Queen Elizabeth (aka Les Amours de la Reine Élisabeth) with famous stage actress Sarah Bernhardt in the title role. It was the first full-length drama shown in the United States, and the third film to be shown in its entirety, in its US premiere in July. New York society elites attended the premiere of the film, helping to extend the film's reach (and the entire medium of film) to the upper classes and bring respectability to the new medium of film.