Volume I: Narrative History Volume I: Narrative History
In autumn 1916 Edwin Thanhouser purchased a plot of land on Long Island and informed his associates, employees, and the trade that once his contract with the Thanhouser Film Corporation expired, he would retire. The motion picture game was far different now than it was when he first entered the field, and he was no longer considered to be a prime innovator and leader in the industry. By now, innovation fell largely to committees and boards of directors who were backed by millions of dollars provided by investors who, as often as not, never visited the studios in which they purchased shares.
The trade itself was experiencing hard times due to the war in Europe. The Moving Picture World in its January 2nd issue told of economic conditions in a representative state: "Exhibitors throughout California are complaining of a falling-off in attendance of moving picture houses, in some places this being so marked as to compel the cancellation of service. Preparations for military service are under way in nearly every town, and increasing costs of living are tending further to interfere with amusements."
In 1916 the American film industry produced approximately 4,850 reels involving 2,200 titles. By the end of 1917 the figure was to drop to 4,056 reels for 1,525 productions. The following year, 1918, saw only 3,171 reels produced for just 1,010 titles. Note In a declining market even the best of firms was faced with difficulties. During the 1916-1918 period many changes took place. By the end of that period Fort Lee, New Jersey was in sharp decline as studios were closed or abandoned. Los Angeles was the center of the industry, as it had been for several years, but now there was virtually no competition. No serious challenges were mounted by Chicago, Philadelphia, Jacksonville, or northern New Jersey, all of which were important film centers in years gone by.
It is easy to understand that by early 1917 Edwin Thanhouser was tired of the business. As was the case in autumn 1916, each Thanhouser film had to be made on speculation. If it pleased the screening committee of the Pathé Exchange, Inc., then Pathé would release it. If not, the picture was offered elsewhere or discarded. This was a far cry from the comfortable situation of just a year earlier when each and every Thanhouser film automatically reached a wide audience through the Mutual program. New Rochelle was 2,500 miles from the center of trade activity in Los Angeles, and Edwin Thanhouser had no inclination to move there. Rather, he bided his time on the East Coast awaiting the expiration of his contract, and in the meantime he endeavored to create pictures of merit.
The Moving Picture World Note reported that Edwin Thanhouser intended to show his feature films in advance to reviewers, because
Exhibitors do go by the trade press criticism. It is true that a few years ago film reviewers were pretty largely synopsis writers. This was because the program situation at the time left the exhibitor no choice to individual pictures, and a tip one way or the other from his trade paper didn't help much. What is the value of a tip if you can't profit by it? Accordingly there was no call for keen criticism, and the trade press didn't waste space on it. With the breakup of the old programs' conditions, the exhibitor's position changed. He could show what he wanted, and when he wanted it. Trade press criticisms rose to the occasion, the present high level was obtained.
Edwin Thanhouser went on to say that very few people wanted to go back to the type of booking under which exchanges automatically sent program releases to theatres, and that the present system kept Thanhouser's own standard high, for if the studio made a poor picture "exhibitors shall be told of it far enough ahead to seriously affect its bookings."
Despite the fact that Edwin Thanhouser had no serious intention of reopening the Jacksonville studio, advertising for the firm continued to state that facilities were maintained in New Rochelle and Jacksonville, with European offices now located at 167 Wardour Street, London.
Copyright © 1995 Q. David Bowers. All Rights Reserved.