Volume I: Narrative History

Chapter 8: 1915 A Flood in Pennsylvania

Starting the month of August 1915 was The Game, a one-reeler issued on the 1st, followed by When the Fleet Sailed, released on the 3rd, which included scenes filmed aboard the U.S.S. Wyoming at anchor with the naval fleet in the North River, not far from New Rochelle.

On Wednesday, August 4th, news of a flood in Erie, Pennsylvania was received at the studio in New Rochelle. W. Eugene Moore, his assistant, Leo Wirth, cameraman A.H. Moses, Jr., and players Mignon Anderson, Harris Gordon, and Leo Post rushed by train to the scene, taking with them a scenario crafted by Lloyd F. Lonergan a half hour before departure. Intending to stay five or six days, they hoped to photograph the aftermath of a cloudburst which on the evening of the 3rd killed nearly 100 people and caused nearly $10 million in property damage. Note What happened to the Thanhouserites after that apparently was not recorded, and no film based on the event was ever issued.

On Friday, August 6, 1915, the Falstaff comedy, A Plugged Nickel, was released, followed on the 8th by The Revenge of the Steeple-Jack and on the 10th by A Message Through Flames. August 10th saw the issuance of Cupid in the Olden Time, followed on the 13th by Weighed in the Balance Note and the Falstaff comedy, Gussie, the Graceful Life Guard. From this point nearly all Falstaff films would have alliterative titles.