Volume III: Biographies

BAUER, Authur **

Actor (1913-1917)

Thanhouser Career Synopsis: Arthur Bauer appeared in many Thanhouser films from 1914 onward, usually in leading or second lead (heavy) roles.

Biographical Notes: Arthur Richard Bauer was born in Vienna, Austria on March 30, 1878 (although an official Thanhouser biography placed the date as 1879) and was educated in Berlin, Germany. His stage career included seven years under the management of Henry W. Savage, two seasons under Charles Frohman, and six years at the Irving Place Theatre in New York City. He was in the original Merry Widow company and also played in The Dollar Princess and other stage productions.

His screen career began with Great Northern (Berlin branch of the Danish company), after which he went to Thanhouser in 1913 (although his listings in the 1916 and 1918 editions of the Motion Picture News Studio Directory state that he started with Thanhouser in 1912). He was at Thanhouser by the summer of 1913 and appeared in The Top of New York (July 25, 1913) and other productions the same year.

Bauer's arrival at Thanhouser was announced belatedly in the March 21, 1914 issue of Reel Life, which noted that: "President C.J. Hite recently made contracts with three more leading people for the Thanhouser Company. They are Morris Foster, general lead, Arthur Bower [sic], character lead, and Fan Bourke, the clever comedienne.... Several years ago Arthur Bower [sic] acted before the camera in the studios of the Great Northern Film Company, in Denmark [sic; actually Germany]. But he makes his debut in America at New Rochelle. In the interim, he has been on the legitimate stage. He did excellent work in the original production of The Merry Widow, scoring a record of 1,008 performances in that world-famous piece. He played seven years in succession under the management of Henry W. Savage, a training which, added to his natural ability for character parts, has fitted him to perform many of the most difficult roles Thanhouser will be led to attempt."

At Thanhouser Arthur Bauer played character roles in many films. He remained with the studio through 1917, the last year of its production.

In 1914, the Photoplay Arts Portfolio of Thanhouser Motion Picture Stars gave a brief biography: "Called 'Monty' by his friends...he stands just two yards in the air, has blue eyes, brown hair, fair complexion, and weighs 180 pounds. During the past two years he has played in 150 photoplays.... He is an outdoor man, fond of all sports, with a preference for swimming and riding. Although he is in the atmosphere where scenarios are all about him, he has never attempted to write one. Let the Screen Club establish a Hall of Fame and put a papier maché bust of 'Monty' in a conspicuous niche. He likes good pictures; smokes for a diversion. In his opinion, Quo Vadis is the masterpiece of all photodramas. He is a resident of New Rochelle, New York."

A 1916 directory listing noted that he was 5'11" tall, weighed 181 pounds, and had brown hair and dark blue eyes. He worked for Thanhouser and at the time lived in Beacon Hall, an apartment building contiguous to the Thanhouser studio. For recreation he enjoyed horseback riding, swimming and music. In the summer of 1917 he was one of the few players remaining in the Thanhouser stock company. In 1918 the Motion Picture Studio Directory noted that he had appeared with Famous Players in Arms and the Girl, but that his studio address was still Thanhouser in New Rochelle, and he still lived in Beacon Hall.

Note: Arthur Bauer was plagued by the misspelling of his German surname, and many Thanhouser news items spelled it as Bower, or sometimes Baur. Finally, Thanhouser's publicity department got it straight, and months after his arrival the correct Bauer spelling appeared in most things in print. His hometown newspaper, The New Rochelle Pioneer, often used the "Bower" misspelling as well. However, there is a possibility that in later years, circa 1916-1917, he sanctioned the "Bower" spelling, in view of anti-German sentiment in America at the time, for at that time it was frequently used in Thanhouser publicity.

Thanhouser Filmography:

1913: The Top of New York (7-25-1913), Curfew Shall Not Ring Tonight (11-28-1913), What Might Have Been (12-5-1913), His Imaginary Family (Princess 12-12-1913), The Law of Humanity (Princess 12-19-1913), The Head Waiter (12-28-1913)

1914: The Runaway (Princess 1-9-1914), Adrift in a Great City (1-13-1914), Turkey Trot Town (1-18-1914), The Purse and the Girl (Princess 1-30-1914), Joseph in the Land of Egypt (2-1-1914), Percy's First Holiday (2-8-1914), The Dancer (2-10-1914), A Leak in the Foreign Office (2-17-1914), Cardinal Richelieu's Ward (3-1-1914), The Cat's Paw (3-17-1914), Their Cousin From England (3-22-1914), The Miser's Reversion (3-24-1914), A Debut in the Secret Service (4-7-1914), The Musician's Daughter (4-14-1914), The Infant Heart Snatcher (4-19-1914), His Reward (Princess 4-24-1914), From the Flames (4-28-1914), Getting Rid of Algy (5-3-1914), A Mohammedan Conspiracy (5-12-1914), The Somnambulist (5-17-1914), Was She Right in Forgiving Him? (5-26-1914), The Man Without Fear (6-19-1914), The Harlow Handicap (6-30-1914), The Substitute (7-14-1914), The Guiding Hand (8-4-1914), A Mother's Choice (9-1-1914), In Danger's Hour (9-11-1914), The Varsity Race (9-22-1914), A Dog's Love (10-4-1914), The Cripple (10-6-1914), The Rescue (10-11-1914), The Turning of the Road (11-3-1914), Pawns of Fate (11-17-1914), A Messenger of Gladness (11-22-1914)

1914-1915 Serial: The Million Dollar Mystery

1915: Graft vs. Love (1-19-1915), Finger Prints of Fate (1-26-1915), In the Jury Room (2-2-1915), The Gratitude of Conductor 786 (2-14-1915), The Adventure of Florence (2-23-1915), The Duel in the Dark (3-23-1915), The Moment of Sacrifice (4-13-1915), Fashion and the Simple Life (4-25-1915), The Last Concert (5-3-1915), God's Witness (5-20-1915), The Refugee (5-21-1915), The Country Girl (6-15-1915), The Six-Cent Loaf (6-8-1915), Which Shall It Be? (6-22-1915), The Stolen Anthurium (Falstaff 6-25-1915), A Maker of Guns (7-6-1915), Dot on the Day Line Boat (Falstaff 7-16-1915), The Picture of Dorian Gray (7-20-1915), Outcasts of Society (7-27-1915), Milestones of Life (7-29-1915), Snapshots (8-24-1915), The Vagabonds (8-29-1915), Reincarnation (8-31-1915), The Price of Her Silence (9-30-1915), John T. Rocks and the Flivver (10-17-1915), The Mill on the Floss (12-16-1915), His Majesty, the King (12-18-1915)

1916: The Woman in Politics (1-3-1916), Pete's Persian Princess (Falstaff 1-20-1916), The Oval Diamond (2-24-1916), The Net (4-1-1916), The Nymph (5-30-1915), Brothers Equal (6-13-1916), The Black Terror (9-29-1916), Hidden Valley (11-5-1916)

1917: The Image Maker of Thebes, (1-21-1917), Her Life and His (2-18-1917), The Vicar of Wakefield (2-25-1917), Pots and Pans Peggie (3-18-1917), The Woman and the Beast (Graphic Features 4-17-1917), Hinton's Double (5-6-1917), The Candy Girl (5-20-1917), The Woman in White (7-1-1917), War and the Woman (9-9-1917)

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