Thanhouser Company
Thanhouser Company Film Preservation, Inc.
705 NW Albemarle Terrace
Portland, OR 97210 USA
E-mail: tco@thanhouser.org
Internet: http://www.thanhouser.org
  Trademark     			          Press Contact: Ned Thanhouser (503) 677-7020
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Northwest Film Center to Screen Rare Thanhouser Films 
Grandson of Pioneering Silent Film Founders to Speak
PORTLAND, OR – The Northwest Film Center will present a unique program of silent films produced by the pioneering Thanhouser Company, including a newly discovered film from Montana. Portlander Ned Thanhouser, grandson of company founders Edwin and Gertrude Thanhouser, will present an illustrated lecture followed by the screening of three films at the Whitsell Auditorium in the Portland Art Museum on October 29th at 7:00 pm.
Thanhouser Company was notable for its role as an important leader in the rebellion of the "Independents" against the Motion Picture Patents Trust associated with Thomas Edison. An extraordinarily active and energetic film company, Thanhouser thrived from 1909 to 1918 in New Rochelle, NY where it produced and released to worldwide distribution over 1,000 silent films.
Three rarely seen Thanhouser silent films have been provided exclusively for this program by The Library of Congress in Washington, DC:
•	Only in the Way (1911) – A sentimental one-reel drama that centers on a universal topic, family disharmony. It features one of Thanhouser’s earliest stars, child actress Marie Eline, who was one of the few early movie players to receive screen credit.
•	The Evidence of the Film (1913) – Discovered in 1999 on the floor of a Superior, Montana projection booth, this 14 minute drama was recently preserved by the Library of Congress. It is a clever and unusual example of a fictional dramatic movie with filmmaking as its subject.
•	The Unfortunate Marriage (1917) – One of Thanhouser’s last productions, this five-reel feature film was released in 1917 by Thanhouser in conjunction with Pathé Exchange. It features Florence LaBadie, the company’s most prominent player, in a dual role as an heiress and as a feeble-minded lunatic.
“These three films are a good study in the rapid advances in cinematic style, technique, and story development during the early years of the movie industry from 1911 to 1917,” Thanhouser said from his home in Portland, Oregon.
Of the over 1,000 films produced by Thanhouser, only 187 prints have been found and most have been preserved. New Thanhouser films are discovered each year with over a dozen Thanhouser nitrate films currently awaiting preservation. 
Thanhouser Company Film Preservation, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation established for the research, preservation and publication of educational materials related to early silent era, with a specific focus on Thanhouser. 
Additional information on Thanhouser can be found at www.thanhouser.org; information on the Northwest Film Center can be found at http://www.nwfilm.org/, or by calling the box office at 503-221-1156.
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