Volume I: Narrative History

 

Chapter 8: 1915 Corporate Changes

The New Rochelle Evening Standard printed this item on March 29th:

Thanhouser Film Corporation. Notice of Special Meeting of Stockholders: Notice is hereby given that pursuant to a resolution by the Board of Directors of Thanhouser Film Corporation, a New York corporation, duly adopted at a special meeting of said Board, held March 3, 1915, a special meeting of the stockholders of said Thanhouser Film Corporation will be held at the principal office of said Corporation in New Rochelle, New York, on April 9, 1915, at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, for the purpose of voting upon the proposition that said Corporation be forthwith dissolved and for the transaction of such other business as may come before said meeting. Dated New Rochelle, N.Y., March 6, 1915. EDWIN THANHOUSER, President. J.B. BISHOP, Secretary.

The March 30th issue told more:

Thanhouser Co. to Enlarge. To Increase Capital Stock to $1,000,000, and Add Features. Carrying out the idea of the late Charles J. Hite, which he would have put into execution but for his tragic death, some time ago, Edwin Thanhouser, who is again president of the Thanhouser Film Corporation, is to dissolve the Thanhouser Film Corporation on April 9, and immediately reorganize it. Note

The dissolution is to be for the purpose of increasing the capital stock from $400,000 to $1,000,000 and to enlarge the scope and output of the concern. Mr. Thanhouser said today that he intends building a line of feature films of four and five reels each, reproducing many of the best old plays and many new ones written especially for Thanhouser. They will produce picture plays from the best literature, all of which will be in addition to the present output, which amounts to a play a day.

This will necessitate a considerable increase in the acting, directing, clerical, factory and laboratory forces and is likely to necessitate an enlargement of the plant. Gene Moore's company, headed by Florence LaBadie, Harris Gordon and Morris Foster, has returned from Savannah, Ga., where scenes for the first big feature were made. Note

Trade journals Note carried notices that the New Rochelle studio was to be enlarged and that Edwin Thanhouser considered renaming it the Mutual Metropolis, an idea which never saw realization.

Edwin Thanhouser continued to sign advertisements stating his thoughts and philosophies. This notice in The Moving Picture World, April 3, 1915, is typical:

THE SPIRIT OF THE SPHINX, by Edwin Thanhouser: No two human beings on earth experience the same sensation when they look down from the top of the Woolworth Tower. It's the same way when you look at the Sphinx, only that it plays on your imagination instead of your physical fiber. As you stand before that old stone monarch in the desert, monument to the genius of a day long forgotten, it sends a sensation into your brain that you could never forget. Just think of it! The man in whose brain that mastodonic engineering feat was born returned to his dust centuries ago, but his work still stands! You can just feel all about you the spirit of the men who toiled to build it!

The Sphinx tells you plainly that you are welcome to pass your judgment on it - that the old Egyptians who put it there were satisfied to stake their reputations as engineers on that work. And so it stands there, silent sentinel throughout the ages, reminding every man who views it that whatever is worth doing at all is worth every ounce of brain and heart and muscle that the Almighty gave you!

Thrilling? Inspiring? Manalive - it just overwhelms you! I want to help you understand what I have gained in my three years of travel. New inspiration, new energy, new ideas! And you will see it all in the new Thanhouser releases. It will not be advertised value alone that will give you reason to use my pictures, but a high quality of art on which I am heartily willing to stake my past reputation as well as my future one as a picture producer. My work and your ledger will make you my friend!

Reel Life, April 3, 1915, told of new doings in New Rochelle:

With the return of Edwin Thanhouser to the New Rochelle plant the famous photoplays bearing his name have leaped forward to a yet higher plane of excellence. Mr. Thanhouser's personality permeates the studio, and the rich experience in motion picture production which he has gleaned during his three years tour of Europe and the Orient is taking form in dramas of artistic power. 'I want 100% improvement,' declares this eminent manager-producer. 'My energy is fresher. My material is newer. And my staff is the most tip-top aggregation of loyalty that ever made a man's heart glad.' It might be added that the impress of Mr. Thanhouser's personality upon the work at the New Rochelle studio is speedily making his wish come true. Note

 

Copyright © 1995 Q. David Bowers. All Rights Reserved.