Volume I: Narrative History

Chapter 9: 1916 New Rochelleans Head Sunward

The New Rochelle Pioneer reported on January 22nd:

Word has been received from the last company to leave New Rochelle to take up its work at the Thanhouser Film Corporation's studio in Jacksonville, Florida. The company had a wonderful trip to the Southern city on the Clyde liner Lenape. The weather was perfect and the ocean like a mill pond. Nobody in the party, which was comprised of Miss Doris Grey, George Foster Platt, James J. Dunne, Bert Delaney, Morgan Jones, and Lawrence Williams, suffered the least indisposition, and all were able to start work on scheduled time, soon after arriving. Jacksonville is a mecca for motion picture companies, and in the lobby of the principal hotel may be seen on any evening Frances X. Bushman, Carlyle Blackwell, James Durkin, Jack Sullivan, Boyd Marshall, Charles Horan and many others.

The Sunday Times-Union kept Jacksonville readers abreast of Thanhouser developments, as in this article of January 23rd:

William A. Howell, the Thanhouser-Falstaff director, has finished two pictures during the week. The first, Ambitious Awkward Andy, featuring Fatty Hiers and Riley Chamberlin; and the other, Maud Muller Modernized, featuring the popular Louise Emerald Bates, better known as the Falstaff Girl. Mr. Howell's next subject will be Theodore's Terrible Thirst, with an all-star comedy cast including Riley Chamberlin, Walter Hiers, Louise Emerald Bates and Violet Hite.

W. Eugene Moore, feature director, expects to finish his five-reel Masterpicture, The Oval Diamond, by the coming Wednesday. Harris Gordon is starred in the above-mentioned picture, ably supported by Barbara Gilroy and Boyd Marshall. Mr. Moore's next subject will be The Water Devil, Note a five-reel Masterpicture. The scenario is adapted from the story of the same name which appeared in the Blue Book Magazine some time ago.

Director Ernest Warde is expected in Jacksonville the coming week to work here during the balance of the winter months. With Director Warde will be the noted Danish star, the Baroness DeWitz, who recently starred in Diana at the Spring, Note and more recently in The Valkyrie, a three-reel Thanhouser feature. In Mr. Warde's staff will be Frank Gereghty, co-director, and William Zollinger, photographer. Mr. Thomas Curran plays opposite the baroness, while Boyd Marshall will appear to advantage in the heavy role.

Charles Owens has been engaged as the chief scenic artist at the studios of the Thanhouser Company here and took charge Monday last. Mr. Owens is probably one of the best scenic artists in motion picture work, his former connection having been with some of the biggest producers. Mr. Owens will be a great addition to the capable Thanhouser staff. A.H. Moses, Jr., and William McNulty gave a dinner Wednesday evening at the home of the former on West Eighth Street, for the members of the Thanhouser Company who are in the city. Mr. Moses is chief photographer and Mr. McNulty is stage manager at the local studio."

More Thanhouser doings were chronicled in The Sunday Metropolis, January 23, 1915:

Declaring that he has been constantly on his knees for weeks praying for a little rain so as to be able to take a needed rest, William A. Howell, comedy director for the Thanhouser Jacksonville company, entered the Hotel Mason Sunday with smiling face and proceeded to bore a poor newspaper reporter to death. He was only asked for a few spare moments of his valuable time and here is the exact way he gave it:

"Yes, today I think I can spare you a few minutes, seeing it is all clouded up. You see, you have such confounded fine weather here that despite my prayer for rain I have been obliged to be at it every day since my arrival three weeks ago. We took pictures on the boat coming from New York, set up our camera upon landing and have continued that tempo ever since. Tempo, as you know, is the prime factor in comedy. We move fast. The day of the slow, padded, three or more reels of comedy is doomed. The story told quickly and humorously in one reel is the only entertainment that I contribute to the vast program of the Thanhouser branch. I have here everything to bring these comedies to successful completion - intelligent scenarios, intelligent photography, talented comedians, perfect studios, both artificially lighted and open-air; all these, coupled with your glorious sunshine, cooperation of your civic body, businessmen, and householders, certainly make my work a pleasure.

"Then, I ask you, why shouldn't I enthuse? In fact, since coming to Jacksonville I have taken a new interest in my work. There is no greater restraint to bubbling humor than to have to wait two or three days for fair weather conditions, such as they experience in New York at the present moment. Your enthusiasm dies, so to speak, when you look out upon a bleak world; you may look funny to the other fellow, but believe me, you can't possibly see a joke when soaked to the skin with a promise of a fine touch of pneumonia. Yes, I know, I have prayed for rain while here, but that was only to allow me to catch up with a couple of hours extra sleep and to get my scenarios in order. Scenarios? Yes, indeed, I have quite a collection - some finished but untrimmed - others in the making, and today I have received the first batch of comedy scenarios written around locations of Jacksonville and environs.

"How do I know that my scenarios match up with my locations? Well, that isn't so difficult. Immediately as I read an accepted scenario, I have in my mind's eye the location for such a scene. If I am at a loss, there is my photographer to help me in my dilemma. In speaking of photographers I am somewhat more fortunate than some of my confreres, having at my service one George Hollister, a cameraman who has photographed almost everything photographic in and around your city for the past six years, and if he is as good a weather prophet as he is a photographer, there will be no rest for the weary; according to his forecast, there is continuous fine weather for picture taking in Jacksonville nine months of the year. Help!"

Another article in the same issue of The Sunday Metropolis related that the Thanhouser Film Corporation was spending about $8,000 per week in the Jacksonville area, while the Vim company, with studios on Riverside Avenue, was spending an average of $1,000 during the same span, Gaumont in South Jacksonville accounted for at least $8,000, Kalem was spending at the rate of $6,000, the eight producing companies of the Metro Film Corporation weighed in at $25,000, the same amount spent by Equitable, and Paramount was spending several thousand dollars. Across the United States there were about 300 film producing companies, the article stated, with an average expenditure of $1,000 each week. The future of Jacksonville was bright, and it was expected that not only would the payroll of film companies increase there, but that many other businesses would be set up in the city to service the motion picture firms and their personnel.