26-665: The Thanhouser Company (later the Thanhouser Film Corporation ) was one of the first motion picture studios, founded in 1909 by Edwin Thanhouser , his wife Gertrude and his brother-in-law Lloyd Lonergan . It operated in New York City until 1920, producing over a thousand films. Edwin Thanhouser constructed a studio in New Rochelle, New York . The company thrived under his leadership and by
52-435: A cameraman for this production, but at least two possible candidates exist. Blair Smith was the first cameraman of the Thanhouser company, but he was soon joined by Carl Louis Gregory who had years of experience as a still and motion picture photographer. The role of the cameraman was uncredited in 1910 productions. The only cast credit claimed by Bowers is that of Marie Eline as the little girl. Bowers states that most of
78-481: A fire destroyed the main facility in New Rochelle; much equipment and many costumes and negatives of films in production were lost. However, subsidiary studios that had been set up were able to meet distributors' needs while it was being rebuilt. After Hite's death in an automobile accident, the company continued for another five years. After a period of floundering under inexperienced leadership, Edwin Thanhouser
104-646: A founder of the Thanhouser Company , which was one of the first motion picture studios. His wife Gertrude Thanhouser and brother-in-law Lloyd Lonergan were co-founders. Thanhouser was born in Baltimore, Maryland . In 1893, he joined the traveling company of Alessandro Salvini . After Salvini's unexpected death in 1896, Thanhouser managed the Academy Theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin , for
130-489: A young chemist awakes a century later to a world run by women. The last release of the year was Hypnotized , focusing on a traveling show with an ill-intentioned hypnotist . Thanhouser produced over 1,000 silent films . Among these were: Edwin Thanhouser Edwin Thanhouser (November 11, 1865 – March 21, 1956) was an American actor, businessman, and film producer. He was most notable as
156-433: Is a 1910 American silent short drama produced by the Thanhouser Company . The film focuses on Hugh Logan, a single father who leaves his little girl, May, at home when he goes on a business trip. On the way to the city he is attacked by robbers and left in the road. He is found and taken in, but he suffers from amnesia . He falls in love with Maud Neals and proposes to her. Due to the prolonged absence of her father, May
182-419: Is an example of the deus ex machina dramatic technique, which Lonergan used to conclude many scenarios. Though it was the first release, it was not the first film to be produced; the first film produced was The Mad Hermit . Produced in the autumn of 1909, The Mad Hermit would not be released until August 1910. According to Lloyd Lonergan , the first script he wrote was for Aunt Nancy Telegraphs , which
208-458: Is much attracted by the child's charms and finally decides that she must never be parted from her. She tells Logan of her decision and he objects. They quarrel. Feeling himself in the wrong, Logan returns and asks Maud's pardon. He meets May, who recognizes her father. At the sight of her, his memory returns. Speedily he determines to retain May from out of the things of the old life, and Maud from out of
234-516: Is presumed lost . Though the film is presumed lost , a synopsis survives in The Moving Picture World from August 6, 1910. It states: "Hugh Logan is a widower who lives with his only child, a little girl, in a small cottage in the country. Logan is a commercial traveler and, as the play opens, is preparing to leave on a business trip. He takes the train to the city, where he is attacked by footpads , who leave him unconscious in
260-458: Is received from him, and she has no other relatives, Bridget, the servant, takes her to the orphan asylum, where she is compelled to make her home with other little unfortunates. May dislikes the place. In the end she escapes from it. But, gaining the city, she gets lost there and, tired and hungry, goes to sleep on a doorstep - the Neals'. There she is found by Maud, who takes her into the house. Maud
286-407: Is taken to an orphan asylum, but she escapes. May goes to the city and ends up stopping to sleep on the doorstep of the Neals' home. Maud finds her and takes her in, where Logan recognizes his daughter and his memory comes back. Little is known of the production credits, but the film does feature Marie Eline as the little girl. It was released on August 5, 1910 and was met with mixed reviews. The film
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#1732783263854312-759: The Shubert family and then the Bush Temple Theater in Chicago, Illinois . He formed a stock company that put on hundreds of theatrical productions. On February 8, 1900, Thanhouser married actress Gertrude Homan. In 1909, Thanhouser and his family moved to New Rochelle, New York , where he leased space in an old wooden skating rink to start the Thanhouser Company. This pioneering movie studio released its first commercial film on March 15, 1910. Thanhouser brought actress Florence La Badie to
338-461: The child make a few more stops or have something happen to her instead of making the first stop at the woman's house?" The Moving Picture World spared little coverage of the actual film in its review, noting that the emotional story might be a plausible. The New York Dramatic Mirror gave a detailed review that found the acting favorable, but found the plot and its resolution to be fantastical by stating, "The manifest absurdity of this plot lies in
364-530: The company in 1911. From 1911 to 1917, she was the company's most prominent star. In 1912, he sold the film company to group headed by Charles J. Hite . Early in 1915, after Hite's death in an accident, Thanhouser took charge of the company again, but was not as successful as he had been before. The Thanhouser Film Corporation was liquidated in 1920. Edwin Thanhouser engaged in securities investments and collected art in his later years. He died March 21, 1956. The Restoration (1910 film) The Restoration
390-434: The credits are fragmentary for 1910 Thanhouser productions. Known and more prominent members of the cast to appear in productions include the leading ladies, Anna Rosemond and Violet Heming , and the leading man was Frank H. Crane . The single reel drama, approximately 1000 feet long, was released on August 5, 1910. Curiously, The Moving Picture World makes a reference to aphasia instead of amnesia in advertising
416-764: The film, "The Friday release (August 5) is a gripping heart-drama, by name The Restoration. It is a curious, a novel thing; in a sense a study in aphasia - one of those weird plots you expect a Thanhouser picture to unfold." The film likely had a wide national release as evidenced by numerous advertisements, including theaters in Maryland , Indiana , and Kansas . Some advertisements for The Restoration were not specific and may refer to D. W. Griffith 's 1909 The Restoration . These advertisements are noted in Oregon , Washington , and North Carolina . The film received mixed reviews, but also criticism for several aspects of
442-477: The new." The writer of the scenario is unknown, but it was most likely Lloyd Lonergan . He was an experienced newspaperman employed by The New York Evening World while writing scripts for the Thanhouser productions. Lonergan liked to use the deus ex machina dramatic technique in the conclusion of the plots and this production was no exception. The film director is unknown, but it may have been Barry O'Neil . Film historian Q. David Bowers does not attribute
468-409: The production. The Morning Telegraph stated, "The photography at the beginning of the film is poor. It seems queer that the child should be able to escape from the orphan asylum in such an easy manner and that no search be made by the institution. It seemed very theatrical and hardly possible that the child should make the first stop at the house of the father's intended. Why did not the producer have
494-451: The roadway. He is found by Maud Neal and her father, who are passing in an auto, and they take him into their home. There he revives, but the shock has affected his memory, and he is unable to recall anything of his past life. The kindly Neal secures him employment, and as time passes Logan falls deeply in love with Maud. He finally proposes to her and it is accepted. In the meantime, little May has been waiting in vain for her father. As no word
520-687: The same reel. Released on April 15, 1910, A 29-Cent Robbery was included with The Old Shoe Came Back , a short comedy filler subject. The main subject, A 29-Cent Robbery , was the debut of Marie Eline , soon to be famously known as the "Thanhouser Kid". Two more split reels would follow before the release of Jane Eyre . Productions adapted from novels included Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale , Marie Corelli 's Thelma and Mary Jane Holmes 's Tempest and Sunshine . More adaptations of classic works, like Uncle Tom's Cabin , would be interspersed with several original scenarios like The Mermaid and The Restoration . On August 9, The Mad Hermit
546-562: The summer of 1910, it had established itself as the best of the independents in the industry. Frank E. Woods of the American Biograph Company would pen an editorial in The New York Dramatic Mirror as "The Spectator", praising the Thanhouser company to this effect. It was sold to Mutual Film Corporation on April 15, 1912, for $ 250,000. Charles J. Hite took charge. On January 13, 1913,
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#1732783263854572-455: Was hired to take charge, but he could not recreate the success of his earlier years. The film industry had evolved and was more competitive by this time, and although films featuring star Florence La Badie were still successful, other ventures were not. La Badie left Thanhouser Corporation in 1917, only weeks before her own death on October 13, 1917, due to injuries sustained in an automobile accident in late August. In 1920, Thanhouser Corporation
598-417: Was liquidated. The Thanhouser Company's first release was The Actor's Children on March 15, 1910. The plot focused on a family of theater actors who struggle to pay the rent. While the parents are out, their kids are left out on the street where they dance to the music of an organ grinder . They are later rescued by a theater manager and are reunited with their parents at the theater. The film's conclusion
624-621: Was released and Edwin Thanhouser's fears of it being an amateur production were unfounded. Films in the autumn included novel plots like Dots and Dashes , where Morse code facilitates a man's escape from a safe. As Halloween approached, the company released The Fairies' Hallowe'en , a trick film geared towards child audiences. A Thanksgiving Surprise would also be released in time for Thanksgiving . The winter of 1910 saw more adaptations of classics and short stories, including Paul and Virginia , John Halifax, Gentleman , Rip Van Winkle and The Vicar of Wakefield . Love and Law
650-551: Was released on December 17, it was to be the first of four films in the "Violet Gray, Detective" series though it was originally billed as part of the "Thanhouser Detective Series". Previously Thanhouser had released another film about a woman reporter who uncovered a political corruption in The Girl Reporter and a young woman who does the same in A Dainty Politician . Thanhouser would also release Looking Forward , an adaptation of James Oliver Curwood 's story, where
676-475: Was shot in December 1909 but never released. The next release would be an adaptation of Augusta Jane Evans 's novel St. Elmo . The Thanhouser version of St. Elmo would bring the company some recognition and would prove to be a success, but the film is also presumed lost. Thanhouser would release two more original scenarios, She's Done it Again and Daddy's Double , before attempting two productions on
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