Friday, September 30, 2022

Edna Morton, Famous Colored Film Actress -- September 30, 2022

Dallas Express, 02-September-1922

I have mentioned before that I greatly admire John Harris, owner and manager of the Grand Central Theater in Dallas, who had a policy of showing race films. Spitfire was a Reol production. It starred Edna Morton and Lawrence Chenault.

Dallas Express, 30-September-1922

This article about "Famous Film Beauty" Edna Morton's visit to Columbus, Ohio mentions some Reol Productions that I have never heard of. 

Moving Picture World, 16-September-1922

One enterprising Texas distributor "arranged for a tie-up with the local Klan" to promote One Clear Call

Moving Picture World, 23-September-1922

This item reports the burning of "The negro picture theater at Arkadelphia," but does not say which Arkadelphia, Arkansas or Alabama. I dug around newspapers and could not find a mention of such a fire.

Moving Picture World, 30-September-1922

Meanwhile in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Olla James, a woman of color, sued the Hippodrome Theater. "She says in the suit that she was admitted to the theater but was denied full and equal enjoyment of accommodations, advantages and facilities because she is of African descent."


Thursday, September 29, 2022

Prizma Color -- September 29, 2022

Moving Picture World, 16-September-1922

Prizma was an early subtractive color process. The Glorious Adventure was not the first all-color feature. 

Wednesday, September 28, 2022

Baby Peggy -- The Child Wonder of the Screen -- September 28, 2022

Film Daily, 03-September-1922

Baby Peggy Montgomery grew to become Century's biggest comedy star, even surpassing her old comrade Brownie the Century Wonder Dog. Universal released Century Comedies. "Little Red Riding Hood" was a short film, but it was treated as "A Century Special Production." 

Motion Picture News, 02-September-1922

The Big Bad Wolf was played by a dog named Peter the Great.

Motion Picture News, 02-September-1922

Carter and Flora Parker DeHaven were vaudeville performers. They were usually billed as Mr and Mrs Carter De Haven.

Moving Picture World, 16-September-1922

The Christie Film Company was a major producer of short comedies from 1911 to 1933. Al Christie was the director and Charles Christie ran the business. "That Son of a Sheik" starred Neal Burns. 

Moving Picture World, 09-September-1922

Educational distributed many different series of short comedies. "The Spice of the Program."

Moving Picture World, 16-September-1922

The Christie Film Company was a major producer of short comedies from 1911 to 1933. Educational distributed their films. Al Christie was the director and Charles Christie ran the business. "That Son of a Sheik" starred Neal Burns. 

Moving Picture World, 23-September-1922

Earl Hurd was a pioneering animator, who had worked with JR Bray to develop cell animation. Hurd produced a series of short films that combined animation and live action. Educational released his movies.

Moving Picture World, 09-September-1922

Educational also released Mermaid Comedies, which starred Lloyd Hamilton.

Moving Picture World, 02-September-1922

"Book at Educational Exchanges." Johnny Hines starred in a series of short comedies as Torchy. I like the images in these ads.

Moving Picture World, 16-September-1922

Moving Picture World, 30-September-1922

Moving Picture World, 09-September-1922

Hal Roach's new series, Our Gang, was released by Pathé. "Big Laughs From Little Kids." 

Moving Picture World, 16-September-1922

"Kids! Animals! Laughs!"

Moving Picture World, 02-September-1922

Himself.

Moving Picture World, 30-September-1922

Roach veteran Snub Pollard had moved up from one-reeelers to two-reelers. 

Moving Picture World, 16-September-1922
 
Moving Picture World, 09-September-1922

Moving Picture World, 16-September-1922

"More Laughs, Longer Laughs, Longer Comedies."

Moving Picture World, 30-September-1922

Metro was going to release short comedies starring Stan Laurel.

Fox produced and released several series of short comedies. 

Moving Picture World, 23-September-1922

Clyde Cook's "The Eskimo" was directed by fellow comedian Slim Summerville. 

Moving Picture World, 09-September-1922

Bud Fisher's Mutt and Jeff was the most popular comic strip in America for many years. Augustus Mutt and Jeff had many timely adventures. Fox released a series of animated cartoons. 

Moving Picture World, 23-September-1922

Uncle Dan Mason, who had played the Skipper in a series of short comedies based on Fontaine Fox's comic panel The Toonerville Trolley That Meets All the Trains, moved to FBO to star in a series of Plum Center Comedies.

Moving Picture World, 16-September-1922

Harry Cohn, his brother Jack and Joe Brandt provided the initials for C.B.C. Film Sales Corp. The Hallroom Boys Comedies were a long running series of short comedies, based on a comic strip by Harold MacGill.

Moving Picture World, 09-September-1922

I don't know anything about Frankie Lee. 

Moving Picture World, 09-September-1922

I also know nothing about Federated Radio Comedies, although the item below may refer to them. 

Indianapolis Journal, 17-September-1922

"...two-reel radio comedies based on the science of radio."

Tuesday, September 27, 2022

London's "Fish Patrol" to Be Pictured -- September 27, 2022

Motion Picture News, 02-September-1922

In 1906, Jack London published a short story collection called Tales of the Fish Patrol. After his time as an oyster pirate, a maritime poacher, he joined the California Fish Patrol to fight the oyster pirates. In 1922, Universal began producing a series of two-reelers based on the stories. Jack Mulhall played the main character. 

Motion Picture News, 02-September-1922

Edward A Kull directed. The eight movies were to be released one every two weeks. 

The little item for Laugh-O-Grams is an ad for Walt Disney's animation studio in Kansas City, Missouri.

Moving Picture World, 16-September-1922

The Mohican's Daughter, a feature, was based on Jack London's short story "The Story of Jees Uck." If I read it, I don't remember it.

Monday, September 26, 2022

Sherlock Holmes is October Release -- September 26, 1922

Moving Picture World, 02-September-1922

John Barrymore, "America's greatest dramatic artist," played Sherlock Holmes in Sam Goldwyn's production of Sherlock Holmes

Moving Picture World, 02-September-1922

Sherlock Holmes was among "The Big Birds On The Horizon!"

Moving Picture World, 16-September-1922

This was the only movie Carol Dempster appeared in that was not directed by her patron, DW Griffith.

Moving Picture World, 30-September-1922

Moving Picture World, 16-September-1922

This item is a little confusing because it reports that FBO was going to produce an adaption of The Hound of the Baskervilles starring Eille Norwood as Holmes. The movie had been made the year before in Great Britain. It was directed by Maurice Elvey, who had directed the two successful series of short stories starring Norwood as Holmes. 

Moving Picture World, 30-September-1922

I like the picture of the hound. 



Sunday, September 25, 2022

Cheryl Tiegs 75 -- September 25, 2022

listal.com

Model and actress (mostly model) Cheryl Tiegs was born 75 years ago today, on 25-September-1947. I used to get her mixed up with actress Cheryl Ladd.

Saturday, September 24, 2022

Producing in San Francisco -- September 24, 2022

 

Moving Picture World, 02-September-1922

Edward Belasco, brother of playwright and impresario David Belasco, and Victor B. Fisher planned to produce a movie in San Francisco. Anna Blake Mezquida was a San Francisco author. I can't find any trace of a 1922 movie named Dancing Feet.  

San Francisco Examiner, 18-July-1922

I missed this one in July.

Friday, September 23, 2022

Blackhawk Bulletin 229 -- Batman -- September 23, 2022

Blackhawk Bulletin 229, October 1972

I was an avid reader of the Blackhawk Bulletin, even though I rarely had enough money to buy any movies from Blackhawk Films. I would have loved to get this edited version of the original Batman movie serial. Nowadays we can get the whole thing on dvd. 

Learn more about the serial here:
Big V Riot Squad: Batman vs Doctor Daka -- June 1, 2014

I was excited to learn that scans of many issues were available at the HMH Foundation Moving Image Archives at USC:
USC HMH Foundation Moving Image Archive » Blackhawk Films’ Catalogs (uschefnerarchive.com)

Thursday, September 22, 2022

Tales of the Jazz Age 100 -- September 22, 2022

New York Herald, 24-September-1922

F Scott Fitzgerald's second collection of short stories, Tales of the Jazz Age, made its debut 100 years ago today, on 22-September-1922. The image in the ad is from John Held, Jr's design for the dust jacket. While several stories from his first collection, Flappers and Philosophers, had been made into movies, not as many stories from this collection were adapted for film or television.

In 1963, a now-lost BBC series called Teletale presented "The Camel's Back."  

"The Diamond as Big as the Ritz," which I always thought was a little clunky, was adapted by Kraft Theater a cheesy (sorry) anthology series on NBC in 1955. I also remember a radio adaption. 

listal.com

In 2008 "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" was made into a feature film which I have not yet seen. It was directed by David Fincher. 

I find that I can't remember some of the stories in the collection at all. 

Moving Picture World, 23-September-1922

Warner Brothers promoted their planned adaption of Fitzgerald's second novel, The Beautiful and Damned. I need to read that again.

Wednesday, September 21, 2022

Harry Carey 75 Years -- September 21, 2022

Moving Picture Weekly, 11-September-1921

75 years ago today, on 21-September-1947, veteran cowboy actor Harry Carey, died. He always seemed to be a good guy. In 1921, Universal published a series of ads with folksy quotes from "Human Harry Carey." 

Moving Picture Weekly, 18-September-1921

Moving Picture Weekly, 18-September-1921

Moving Picture Weekly, 18-September-1921

Moving Picture Weekly, 25-September-1921