Florence La Badie was an American-Canadian actress in the early days of the silent film era. She was a major star between 1911 and 1917. Her career was at its height when she died at age 29 from injuries sustained in an automobile accident.
The Thanhouser Company 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.
Marie Eline was an American silent film child actress and sister of Grace Eline. Their mother was an actress.
Ethyle Cooke was an American silent film actress of the 1910s. In 1915, she married another prominent silent film actor of the time, Harry Benham. Cooke starred in many popular films, such as A Small Town Girl, Stronger than Death, and The Fugitive.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a 1912 horror film based on both Robert Louis Stevenson's novella Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886) and on the 1887 play version written by Thomas Russell Sullivan. Directed by Lucius Henderson, the film stars actor James Cruze in the dual role of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and co-starred his real life wife Marguerite Snow as well.
Charles Jackson Hite was an American businessman and film producer of the early 20th century, most importantly the president and chief executive officer of the Thanhouser Film Corporation from 1912 to 1914.
The Woman in White is a 1929 British silent mystery film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Blanche Sweet, Haddon Mason and Cecil Humphreys. It was written by Robert Cullen and Herbert Wilcox, based on the 1859 mystery novel The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins.
David Copperfield is a 1911 American silent short drama film based on the 1850 novel of the same name by Charles Dickens. It is the oldest known film adaptation of the novel.
The Star of Bethlehem is a 1912 American silent film produced by Edwin Thanhouser and Charles J. Hite, and featuring Florence La Badie, James Cruze, and William Russell. The film is a retelling of Biblical events preceding the Nativity of Jesus. Directed by Lawrence Marston, the entire film is staged as brief tableaux. With much of the original lost, the existing footage can be difficult to interpret as a coherent whole.
Uncle Tom's Cabin is a 1914 American silent historical drama film directed by William Robert Daly using Vitagraph and starring Sam Lucas, Walter Hitchcock, and Hattie Delaro. It was based upon playwright George L. Aiken's theatrical adaptation of Harriet Beecher Stowe's 1852 novel Uncle Tom's Cabin. It was produced at Fort Lee, New Jersey by the newly founded World Film studio. The film is historically notable for being the first movie with a black actor playing a leading role.
A Dog's Love is a 1914 American short silent fantasy drama film with subtitles, directed by Jack Harvey on his directorial debut. It stars Shep the Dog, Helen Badgley, and Arthur Bauer. The film is about a dog who loses his best friend, when a young girl is killed in an automobile accident, and focuses on his emotions in dealing with his loss. Well-received because of its "universally appealing" theme, the dog's emotions were reported as surpassing the child's histrionics.
The Cry of the Children is a 1912 American silent short drama film directed by George Nichols for the Thanhouser Company. The production, based on the poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning about child labor, stars Marie Eline, Ethel Wright, and James Cruze. At the time of its release, the film proved to be controversial for its use of real-life footage of children working inside a large textile factory. The film in 2011 was selected into preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Adrift in a Great City is a 1914 American silent short drama produced by the Thanhouser Film Corporation that stars Florence LaBadie. The film begins with Pat Moran who pays for the passage of his wife and daughter to join him in America, but he is seriously injured on the way to greeting them. Left by themselves, the daughter works in a sweatshop and goes blind, forcing her and her mother to become beggars. By pure happenstance, the blind girl wanders to the hospital where her father is recovering and tells her story to a doctor. The father recognizes the girl as his daughter and the family is reunited, and the doctor confirms her blindness can be cured. The film was reviewed negatively by critics for its poor scenario, settings and technical execution. The film is presumed lost.
Jane Eyre is a 1910 American silent short classic drama produced by the Thanhouser Film Corporation. Adapted from Charlotte Brontë's 1847 novel, Jane Eyre, the film mirrors the events and plot of the original book. The writer of the scenario is unknown, but Lloyd Lonergan probably adapted the work. The film's director is often and erroneously claimed to be Theodore Marston, but Barry O'Neil or Lloyd B. Carleton are possible candidates. The cast of the film was credited, an act rare and unusual in the era.
The Two Roses is a 1910 American silent short drama produced by the Thanhouser Company. The film focuses on the young Tony Prolo who goes to deliver lunch to his father of the same name. After arriving and giving him his lunch, the young Tony is hit by a passing vehicle and the father rushes his son home. Mr. Sears, whose car hit the child, receives a demand for $10,000 by the "Black Hand". The Sears go to the police and set a trap for the Black Hand, but end up wrongly arresting the child's father. Tony convinces the police to investigate further and the confusion is cleared up when the real culprit is caught. Mr. Sears compensates the family by purchasing them a house in the countryside. The film features Marie Eline, cast in the role of an Italian boy, along with the leading players Frank H. Crane and Anna Rosemond as the parents. The film was released on June 7, 1910. The film survives with new inter-titles that were created to replace the lost materials.
The Little Fire Chief is a 1910 American silent short comedy produced by the Thanhouser Company. The film focuses on a young boy, Willie Stone, who follows a parade of firemen and attempts to join them as their leader. The firemen find it humorous and allow him to play with them. The fire alarm sounds and Willie attempts to join them, but is too slow. On their way back, Willie holds them up and his sister appears. A fireman named Jack, who has affections for the woman, convinces Willie to be relieved of his "command" by promising to call him later. Marie Eline played the role of Willie Stone, but the other two credits are claimed to have been William Garwood and Mignon Anderson. The rest of the cast and credits are unknown. The film was released on November 8, 1910 and does not appear to have had any reviews in the usual trade publications. The film was advertised nationally and was claimed to have been popular in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The film is presumed lost.
Value—Beyond Price is a 1910 American silent short drama produced by the Thanhouser Company. The film focuses on a family beset by tragedy when the father is presumed dead after his ship is lost at sea. The mother struggles to support her child and sells her possessions to a pawnbroker. When she has nothing left, save her wedding ring, the pawnbroker asks to take care of the child and the mother consents. The pawn broker gives her a pawn ticket for the girl stating "a precious jewel, a value beyond price" and tells her she can redeem it at any time. Before her death, she entrusts the ticket to a friend. Ten years pass, the shipwrecked father has discovered a great fortune on the island and is rescued by a passing steamship. The father soon realizes his wife is dead and his child is missing, but he receives the pawn ticket and decides to claim this jewel his wife had left for him. He redeems it at the pawn shop and finds it is his lost daughter. The film was released on November 29, 1910 and it was met with positive reviews. The film survives in the Library of Congress archives.
Everybody Saves Father and The Only Girl in Camp are two 1910 American silent short films produced by the Thanhouser Company. Both films were released together on a single reel on January 10, 1911. Everybody Saves Father is a comedy focusing on a father whose life is planned to be saved by a succession of his daughter's suitors. The plan of each of the three men work, foiling the attempts of the other, but a four suitor has wed the daughter whilst the scheming was done by the others. The Only Girl in Camp is a drama film focusing on the only girl in a mining town who foils an armed robbery with the use of bear traps. In 2009, The Only Girl in Camp was identified and deposited into the Library of Congress for preservation. The only known credits for the production come from film stills from the film. The reviews for Everybody Saves Father were positive, but The Only Girl in Camp was met with more or less neutral reception.
Only in the Way is a 1911 American silent short drama film produced by the Thanhouser Company. The film focuses on a grandmother who seeks the support of her only son and makes herself comfortable in his house. The grandmother is welcomed and befriended by Marie, her crippled granddaughter. The son's wife cannot bear to live with her mother-in-law and delivers an ultimatum to her husband: "Either your mother or I must leave this house!" The husband decides to put his mother in an old folks' home and the wife informs her she is to leave immediately. Little Marie is upset that her grandmother has to leave because she was "only in the way" and decides that as a cripple, so was she. Marie pens a letter to this effect and runs away to the old people's home. The parents frantically search for Marie and discover the note. They rush to the home and are relieved to find Marie safe and the family departs together with her grandmother.
Carl Louis Gregory (1882–1951) was an American cinematographer and director.
