Volume II: Filmography

THE IMAGE MAKER

a.k.a. THE IMAGE MAKER OF THEBES

(Pathé Exchange)

January 21, 1917 (Sunday)

Length: 5 reels

Character: Drama; Pathé Gold Rooster Play

Director: W. Eugene Moore

Scenario: Emmet Mixx

Cameraman: George Webber

Cast: Valkyrien (two roles; as an ancient Egyptian girl, and as a modern American, Marian Bell), Harris Gordon (two roles: Prince of Tsa, and John Arden), Inda Palmer (Mrs. Bell), Morgan Jones (the Pharoah), Arthur Bauer (Maxon), Boyd Marshall, 3,340 extras

Locations: Jacksonville, Florida; Atlantic Beach, Florida

Notes: 1. Filming of this subject was underway in Jacksonville, Florida in mid-April 1916, but release was delayed until nearly a year later. 2. The Florida Metropolis, May 18, 1916, stated: "In Eugene Moore's production of The Image Maker of Thebes at the local Thanhouser studio he used 3,340 extras."

ADVERTISEMENT, The Moving Picture World, January 20, 1917:

"A most unusual story of pre-existence and its counterpart in modern life. Full of dramatic incidents."

ARTICLE, The Florida Metropolis, April 20, 1916:

"The entire company of Thanhouserites, under the direction of Eugene Moore, have been at Atlantic Beach for several days, where they are making scenes in the ancient Egyptian temple erected directly behind the Atlantic Beach Hotel. This temple, which is built to represent 2,000 years ago, is a beautiful structure and cost several thousand dollars to build. Yesterday several hundred local people and visitors visited the beach to look over the temple and see the Thanhouser players film a great picture. Harris Gordon and Valkyrien are featured in this picture, which will be released under the name of The Image Maker of Thebes."

ARTICLE by Tracey Hollingsworth, The Florida Metropolis, May 15, 1916. This piece of whimsy appeared in the "Flivers From Film Folk" column:

"If it was not for that 'toup' of Morg Jones our source of news at the Thanhouser studio would cease to exist. Morg's toup is a wonder at the studio, and whenever anything happens to keep him at home or away from the studio, the directors know it is on account of this small piece of hair. The other day Morg was late and Eugene Moore was running up and down the studio waiting for him in order to proceed with the production of The Image Maker of Thebes. Finally he showed up, and the members of the company notice a small chain extending from under his hat to the lapel of his coat. An explanation was necessary, of course, both to the company and Mr. Moore. To the former he said while practicing his favorite air, The Lost Chord, in order to give the piece 'atmosphere,' he had taken off his toup and laid it aside on the piano keyboard. When he finished the piano was closed and the 'toup' forgotten until time to go to the studio, then it could not be found. Every piece of furniture in the house was moved to no avail in the search, but Morg has a little boy whose memory is much better than of his father, and he spoke up and said the 'hair' was in the piano. Further search revealed it stuck to the top of the cover when the cover was opened the 'toup' disappeared behind with it. To Mr. Moore he said he had attached a small jeweled chain to the miscreant, and would never be found without it."

ARTICLE, The Moving Picture World, December 9, 1916:

"January will see...Valkyrien in The Image Maker, from the Thanhouser studios. The Image Maker is a unique story of reincarnation in which Valkyrien is a persecuted Egyptian maid whose soul is reborn in modern times. Eugene Moore is the director. Harris Gordon is the leading man. It contains thrilling scenes and beautiful settings. The tale is told in an out of the ordinary fashion."

ARTICLE, The Moving Picture World, December 30, 1916:

"Then comes Valkyrien in The Image Maker on January 21 - the drama of reincarnation involving a motion picture company supposing to be working in Thebes, Egypt, with the ruins of temples and tombs for background. W. Eugene Moore is responsible for the direction and Valkyrien was supported by Harris Gordon, Arthur Bauer, Inda Palmer, and Morgan Jones."

ARTICLE, The Moving Picture World, January 27, 1917:

"Valkyrien, the celebrated Danish beauty, stars in the forthcoming Pathé Gold Rooster Play, The Image Maker. This picture has a very unusual plot, as it deals with pre-existence and tells of a love that lasts through the centuries. Valkyrien in it plays two parts - the one that of a beautiful Egyptian girl of low degree who wins the love of a great noble, and, secondly, the incarnation of the girl in modern life in America. Such a story furnishes many opportunities for striking at contrast. Valkyrien's charming personality never appeared to better advantage than in this picture. The atmosphere of ancient Egypt in the first part of the picture is true to history and furnishes a great contrast to the modern life which is well presented in the latter half. The picture was produced by Thanhouser."

SYNOPSIS, The Moving Picture World, January 27, 1917:

"In ancient Egypt the young Prince of Tsa, bored by endless feasts, yearned for adventures and, clothed in a Nile boatman's garb, started out. He meets and is captivated by the charms of Ashu Betis, a beautiful image maker, but his father, a Pharaoh, planning a royal marriage, is enraged and orders death for the maiden and imprisonment for his son. Braving parental wrath, the Prince escapes, and tries to save his loved one. He falls and is taken home mortally wounded. Ashu Betis succeeds in seeing the Prince in his dying moments and swears eternal faithfulness. On leaving she is discovered and thrown to the crocodiles.

"In Florida in 1916 a young couple meet, love each other - and part. Light is thrown on their strange love when they find a book telling of the Royal Romance of Egypt, and they see in themselves the re-embodied spirits of ancient prayer. On the anniversary of the Prince's death 5,000 years before, the Florida couple meet again at the Prince's tomb. The strange reunion was witnessed by a passing party of tourists who, hearing the tale for the first time, ask their lecturer if the young couple are the reincarnated lovers, and he replied: 'It might be - who knows! Love is deathless. To love, all things are possible.'"

REVIEW, Exhibitors Herald, January 27, 1917: This review is reprinted in the narrative section of the present work.

REVIEW, The Exhibitor's Trade Review, January 20, 1917:

"A rather light story of romance well clothed in detailed settings and atmosphere are the points most noticeable in this latest Pathé release. As the plot unfolds, at the beginning, there is a slight confusion of ideas due to the switching from modern day locale to the ancient and vice versa, and, owing to this confused state of affairs the grip upon the attention of the audience is lessened. But after the passing of the second reel the suspense and interest becomes more pronounced making the final three reels very entertaining. A number of strong dramatic situations and a couple of thrills add materially to the worth of the story. The theme deals with the reincarnation of spirits - that love never dies but lives on and on from one generation to the other - with the resulting improbabilities that usually bloom from stories of this description. The scenery of Florida is responsible for some beautiful locations that appear in the film. The cast is exceptionally pleasing in their respective parts and do much to increase the value of the story. While this picture might not be as good as previous Thanhouser releases, still there is no doubt but that it contains enough entertaining qualities to satisfy the average audience. Its freedom from melo tendencies makes it desirable for community theatres."

REVIEW by Agnes Smith, The Morning Telegraph, January 14, 1917:

"The Image Maker is a fanciful drama of reincarnation. Its heroine is a moving picture actress who is in love with a rich young man. The villain is a moving picture magnate who behaves exactly as a Pennsylvania censor believes a film producer should act. Aided by the hero's father he parts the couple. The girl goes to Egypt with her company to act for the camera. Interwoven with this plot is the romance of a prince of ancient Egypt and a beautiful Circassian girl, image maker for the tombs. When the pharaoh, father of the prince, learns of the affair, he orders the girl thrown to the crocodiles. The two stories are brought together when the moving picture actress and the man she loves, the reincarnation of the Egyptian lovers, are reconciled at the tomb of the prince. The stories are enacted in beautiful and appropriate surroundings. There are some very convincing bits of Egypt shown; they are so good, in fact, that one wishes the producer had not given away the secret by laying the early scenes of the story in Florida. The sacrifice of the Circassian girl, who is thrown in a river teeming with crocodiles, is ultra-realistic. The reptiles tear her limb from limb and then crawl out on the muddy banks of the stream, licking their chops and looking considerably plumper. Valkyrien is well cast in a fantastic and semi-poetical role and the supporting cast is good."

REVIEW by Laurence Reid, Motion Picture Mail, January 27, 1917:

"Valkyrien seems to have a penchant to appear in fantastic pictures, and this entertainment recalls to us Hidden Valley, in which she was seen earlier in the year. There is a similarity of plot construction and of character development about the two stories. In this tale, The Image Maker, Valkyrien presents a striking picture of a reincarnated Egyptian maid, and if she is the re-embodied spirit of the image maker, no wonder the Prince of Tsa went quite mad about her and forfeited his life in the bargain. It is a story of ancient and modern love. In the ancient tale Valkyrien is shown as a beautiful image maker in love with an Egyptian prince. Unfortunately, the Pharaoh doesn't approve of the romance, for she is thrown to the crocodiles, and the prince meets with a fatal injury. In the modern story, Valkyrien appears as a moving picture actress. It happens that the right man comes along and an attachment springs up between them.

"Apparently they are Egyptologists, and when reading a book, Romances of Ancient Egypt, consider themselves the reincarnated lovers of their favorite chapter. Occurrences happen that separate the sweethearts for a time, but they are later reunited in Egypt at the prince's tomb. The stories are woven together in an admirable manner, and the handling of the appropriate settings reflects studied carefulness on the part of the director. The Egyptian atmosphere was delightfully conveyed by means of Florida settings. There were the fat, sleek crocodiles that devoured the image maker. Incidentally, they furnished a comedy stroke in their antics. There was the Nile and the palm trees and the tombs and the ruins of the Pharaohs. The acting was up to requirements, and the photography was admirable. The Image Maker is a pleasing offering."

REVIEW, The Moving Picture World, January 27, 1917:

"The scenes of this photoplay are divided between ancient Egypt and the life of today. Valkyrien is the star of the picture, which is entertaining all through. A longer review is printed on another page of this issue."

REVIEW by Edward Weitzel, The Moving Picture World, January 27, 1917:

"There is more than ordinary ingenuity displayed by Emmett Mixx, the author of The Image Maker, in weaving the two periods together which are used in the five-reel Gold Rooster Play, in which Valkyrien is the central figure. The story is one of reincarnation; a prince of the House of Pharaoh and a lowly slave, who were lovers in the distant past, are reunited in the prosaic present, at the side of the tomb in which the Prince of Tsa was buried. The picture follows the usual photoplay construction, alternating the two periods of time at brief intervals. This is deftly done, however, and the incidents are numerous and of a gratifying variety. Such a theme demands all the liberty granted to every well regulated romance, and the broad sweeps of color supplied by the followers of the ruler of the Nile and the Arabs of today, in the ancient and modern Egyptian scenes, are in keeping with the character of the story. The locations have been selected with care: New York, Florida, Cairo, and the sands of Egypt are all made the scenes of the action, and the director has maintained an excellent quality of illusion. Valkyrien, in The Image Maker, does the best acting of her moving picture career, and is ably supported by Harris Gordon, Arthur Hauer [sic; should be Bauer], Inda Balmer [sic; should be Palmer], and Morgan Jones."

REVIEW, The New York Dramatic Mirror, January 20, 1917:

"The Image Maker will satisfy that multitude which likes Romance - spelled with a capital R - in motion pictures. One sees deathless love and through this emotion that some people experience for one another are accomplished deeds bordering on the impossible. The heroine of this film is a young actress sculptress who meets a wealthy young man and with alarming rapidity falls in love with him, and he with her, just as the pottery maker and Prince of Tsa did in the year B.C. 2040, which is shown in an accompanying tale of ancient times that corresponds with the modern one. In the present day story the two have a premonition that they are the ancient couple reincarnated, and by coincidence they meet and plight their troth at the tomb of the Prince in Egypt 5,000 years after, having passed over an exceedingly uneven course of love, full of disappointment and dangers.

"'Love is deathless. To love all things are possible' says the last title in the picture, and it goes on to prove the assertion during the first reel by showing the young lady remembering back some 5,000 years and recalling where she had met the gentleman before. Notwithstanding this remarkable memory work the author, Emmett Mixx, has written a very pleasing story. There are thrilling adventures frequently enough in both narratives to satisfy even the most blasé, and the happily ended love affair will be liked. The parallel stories are capably interwoven and the action in both is well directed, and rapid. The constant cutting in of the corresponding tales does not arrest the action or interfere with the continuity of either. The Egyptian scenes are impressive and the modern settings are adequate. Valkyrien plays both the young sculptress-actress and the Oriental girl with ability and she is pleasing to look upon. Harris Gordon makes a convincing Prince of Tsa and modern lover. The rest of the cast which includes, Arthur Bauer, Inda Palmer and Morgan Jones, show to good advantage. This is the kind of a picture the crowd likes and an exhibitor will make no mistake in booking it. - F.T."

REVIEW, Variety, February 9, 1917:

"The Thanhouser Company has turned out a picture that is very unusual for that studio in The Image Maker, a five-reel Pathé Gold Rooster play in which the exceedingly pretty and graceful blonde Valkyrien is starred. The picture is unusual in many ways, at least for Thanhouser. In the first place it really has a story, and one that is a novelty. Then there is the production, which is really adequate from every standpoint and very well directed, and thirdly there is the cast, well selected and quite evenly balanced. As a whole the feature is one that could go into any house and compete with the best of the program pictures on the market. The author of The Image Maker is unnamed, but he has taken the theme of reincarnation for his tale and he has woven a love story of the most plausible manner about it. In reality there are two stories in one, with the idea of D.W. Griffith's as employed in Intolerance used as the method of telling them on the screen.

"First the modern theme is taken and after a brief chapter, the same story as enacted by the same characters in the previous state, which was back in 2083 B.C. in Egypt, is shown. In the modern story Valkyrien is a picture actress with a leaning toward sculpting. Harris Gordon, as John Arden, is her sweetheart. They meet accidentally and there is a mutual recognition which has passed down the centuries from the past. In the ancient tale Valkyrien was an image maker in the tombs of the Egyptians and Gordon was Prince Tsa. They loved, but the stern old King father forbade their wedding, and after the Prince dies from a wound while trying to rescue the girl from the altar of sacrifice, the girl is cast to the crocodiles.

"In the modern story it is the machinations of a scheming moving picture producer, who is in love with the star, that keeps the couple apart. They meet in Florida at first, and then after the hero is injured and the producer wins the actress back to film work by informing her that her affianced one has returned home to his father, because the latter threatened to cut the boy off if he married the actress, the company goes to Egypt to do a picture. The boy follows and it is no more than natural that the lovers should meet in the very tomb as the mummy of Prince Tsa was buried centuries before. This is without doubt one of the best Thanhouser pictures that has been released in some time."

REVIEW, Wid's Film and Film Folk, January 11, 1917:

"This story is a mixture of Egyptian scenes, suggesting the story of The Image Maker of Thebes contrasted against a modern situation, with two modern lovers presented as the reincarnation of the Egyptian lovers. The modern sweetheart was a sculptress and a film star, the lover being the son of wealthy parents idling in Florida. The love-at-first-sight effects which manifested themselves between these two were tied up to the Egyptian romance by having the same characters appear in the Egyptian episodes.

"The action throughout was melodrama, which, while it may prove fairly interesting, will never be considered convincing or gripping. Most of the time it was just plain movie stuff, and the introduction of a film company making scenes added to the theatre atmosphere which pervaded the entire offering. A number of large exterior sets were built for this production, and they looked very good at a distance. Unfortunately, the director moved too close to them very frequently, with the result that what was supposed to be portion of the old tombs of Egypt loomed up very plainly as painted canvas and compo board. In the supporting cast were Inda Palmer, Arthur Bauer and Morgan Jones.

"The Box Office Angle: This thing is different enough that a great many of your patrons may consider it good for that reason, even though it is never anything more than interesting when considered as drama. If Valkyrien has any box office value in your section, you may be able to do a little business with this, but I wouldn't boost the production too strong except as an interesting study in reincarnation. I would devote most all of my advertising to questions such as these: 'Do you believe in reincarnation? See The Image Maker;' 'Do you think you were ever an Egyptian princess in the by-gone days? See The Image Maker.'"

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