Coming back soon...but first, let's help Flo

Hello Friends!  I've been away far too long, and plan to remedy that very soon.  In the meantime, check out the fundraising efforts to get a proper grave marker for our Thanhouser darling, Florence La Badie.


You might recall the piece I wrote on her.  This has caught fire in silent film circles, and even outside of them -- recently CBS New York aired a story about it as well.

If you can, contribute!  If you can't, spread the word!

Five Facts About: Muriel Ostriche

[photo courtesy Immortal Ephemera]

      1.   The lovely Muriel started her film career at Biograph in 1911, but it wasn’t until Thanhouser in 1913 that she became a star.  In between, she worked at Powers, Pathé, Éclair, and Reliance. Whew!

      2.  Her work was so well-received that Charles J Hite, president of Thanhouser Studios, created a separate film division just for her – Princess – and made her its leading lady.

Muriel in a scene from The Decoy (1914), 

a Princess film you can watch in its entirety on the Thanhouser website

      3.  Muriel enjoyed dancing and had a talent for it.  She and a taxi-dancer friend would often impress the patrons at Rector’s, a popular restaurant.  Her friend eventually went on to his own success in films...maybe you’ve heard of him?

      4.  At the height of her movie stardom, she was also the official face of Moxie, a popular soft drink which once outsold Coca-Cola.  You can still buy it today!

      5.  When Muriel died at age 93, in 1989, she was the last surviving major Thanhouser star.

      Interested?  Good!  For more about Muriel:

      Muriel Ostriche – IMDb

      Muriel Ostriche – Thanhouser page

      Bruce Calvert’s review of Muriel Ostriche: Princess of Silent Films by David Bowers 

      (on my to-read list, of course!)

Million Dollar Mystery: James Cruze

Say the name James Cruze, and directing immediately comes to mind: The Covered Wagon, The Great Gabbo, I Cover the Waterfront.  While he’s best remembered for his work behind the camera, his career started long before, in front of it - and not just as daring newsman Jim Norton in The Million Dollar Mystery.  He was the most famous of all the Thanhouser actors...

…and, more than a bit of a bastard.

image courtesy Thanhouser

Born James Vera Cruz Bosen in 1884, his story was memorable (and questionable!) from the get-go:

According to a note in The Billboard, October 1921, "Cruze is a quarter-breed Ute Indian and was born in the Uintah Indian Reservation near Vernal, Utah. His grandmother on his mother's side was burned at the stake for giving birth to a pair of twins. The Indians of the tribe considered this the performance of a witch and took those extreme measures to rid themselves of what they considered a malignant influence." It was said that James Cruze had 17 siblings. He was fond of telling different stories to different interviewers, and over the years many diverse versions of his childhood and early career appeared in print. [courtesy Thanhouser]

He left home by age 16, and began working with the Lubin company in 1910.  By 1911 he had switched to Pathe, and subsequently joined Thanhouser.  In 1913, he married Marguerite Snow, and if you’re a reader of this blog you know what a heavenly match that was.  (Hint: click the link – it wasn’t.)  Their marriage produced his only child, daughter Julie Jane Cruze.

image courtesy Thanhouser

By 1915 he’d been let go from Thanhouser:

When Edwin Thanhouser returned to New Rochelle in early 1915, he made it clear to James Cruze that his services were no longer needed with the firm, and by that time the actor was seeking a change anyway. On May 15, 1915, he and Sidney Bracy, also formerly of the Thanhouser studio, left New Rochelle with mechanic Abraham A. Meltzer and a cameraman, and headed west on a self-arranged publicity tour. [courtesy Thanhouser]

Late 1915 found him deep in debt and needing work, so he met up with Snow in California, and began a stint at Metro.  He did a lot of studio hopping, endng up at Fox in 1917.  Besides Pathe, Metro, and Thanhouser, he had also done time at Kinemacolor, Kimberley, Palo Alto, and Lasky.

Skip ahead a little to 1923.  Cruze, divorced from Snow for a year,  had just directed The Covered Wagon, which brought him much acclaim and the highest salary in the business ($6k per week).  If only his personality had been as great as his work; cameraman Karl Brown gives us a peek:

Karl Brown [stated] Cruze was a drunken, obscene, lecherous individual worthy of little more than contempt…”[he] was now completely free to indulge his own natural urges…he not only did as he pleased, he over-did every chance he got to thumb his nose at whatever is considered polite behavior among civilized people.”  [courtesy Thanhouser]

[image courtesy jamescruze.org]

Cruze married actress Betty Compson in 1925, and by all accounts this marriage was just as wonderful as his first; the drinking, parties, and general debauchery of which he was so fond didn’t even slow down, much less stop, and the police were frequent visitors at their household.  They often split up, but always got back together.

[photo courtesy Silent Ladies & Gents]

From 1927 through 1929, Cruze started his own production company, was subpoenaed in a proceeding concerning one death and several injuries surrounding one of his films, was jailed for refusing to pay an artist for his wife’s portrait, and legally separated from Betty Compson.  By 1930, they were officially divorced, and Cruze was bankrupt.  The rest of the 1930s brought him more debt, more dead-end projects, a real estate court battle with his daughter, and heart problems. His career was officially over by 1941, which also found him married (for the third and last time) to Alberta Beatrice McCoy.  (Happily, he, Marguerite Snow, and Julie Jane were able to mend fences enough for them to be frequent visitors before his death.)

James Cruze died, almost completely broke, on August 3, 1942.  He was 58.

[Richee photo, courtesy LA Times]

Million Dollar Mystery: Marguerite Snow

What better way to kick off the holiday season than with some Snow?  ;)

photo courtesy Looking For Mabel Normand

Marguerite Snow was another of the big Thanhouser stars, and played the second lead -- the mysterious Countess Olga Petroff -- in The Million Dollar Mystery.  Like Florence LaBadie and so many other early film stars, the information about her is spotty and confusing.  Just trying to pin down her date and place of birth is bewildering:

Marguerite Snow was born on September 9, 1889 (some accounts say 1891 or 1892; she kept moving her birth date forward) in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Some listings give Savannah, Georgia; a 1916 listing in Motion Picture News Studio Directory gives her birth date as September 9, 1892, in Atlanta; an obituary in The Los Angeles Examiner, February 19, 1958, gave Denver as her natal city.) [courtesy  Thanhouser]

Regardless of the year, we know Miss Snow was born into a performing family.  Her father was a comedian, and with her mother formed the vaudeville act Snow & West.  Young Marguerite, "Peggy" for short, grew up in Denver, and made her first stage appearance in 1907.  She quickly rose to prominence, playing leads in shows like The Christian and Peter Pan.  By 1910 she was working for Thanhouser, and a year later her popularity was great enough for her to place second in a "favorite photoplay star" contest.  (Mary Pickford placed third!)

photo courtesy http://encinematheque.net/

Also, by 1911, she had met James Cruze, the aforementioned "intrepid reporter" of Million Dollar Mystery and Thanhouser's best-known leading man.  They were married in January (some sources say February)  1913, and a daughter, Julie Jane, was born in October of that same year.  (I'll pause while you all do the math.)  The marriage was an unhappy one, and Snow later testified to frequent physical abuse by Cruze, including one famous incident in public:

The couple were at a party when the actress requested James take one of her women friends home. The ensuing quarrel ended with Cruze beating his wife about her face and body. She was knocked to the floor and one of her teeth was dislodged.  [courtesy Wikipedia]

images courtesy Thanhouser and moviecard.com

They divorced in 1923, with Snow retaining primary custody of Julie.  Towards the end of Cruze's life, they appeared to have reconciled enough for both Marguerite and Julie to visit him frequently at his home.  (Cruze died in 1942; you'll hear more about him -- what a character -- in my next Million Dollar Mystery piece.)

Marguerite left Thanhouser in 1915, but continued to work in films for studios such as Metro and Artcraft.  While still married to Cruze, she held dual addresses in both New York City and California, but after the divorce she remained primarily on the West Coast.   Her screen career lasted until 1925, when she remarried and retired; her marriage to comedian Neely Edwards lasted until her death.  

Marguerite Snow died of complications following kidney surgery on February 17, 1958.  She was 68.

image courtesy Thanhouser

Million Dollar Mystery: Florence La Badie

Ironic that Florence La Badie starred in "Million Dollar Mystery" - since her own life both began and ended under mysterious circumstances.  In between the cradle and the grave, she was one of Thanhouser's brightest, most beautiful stars.

Look at those eyes:

photo courtesy silentcuriosity.tumblr.com

Florence was born in New York City, on April 27, 1888.  She was adopted by the La Badies as a baby, and lived in Montreal.  As to her biological family, we have but one clue.  From the Thanhouser website:

A deposition by Marie C. Russ, a patient at the Home for Incurables, New York City, October 8, 1917, stated that: "Florence Russ, my daughter, is an owner of lot no. 17187 in the Greenwood Cemetery, being a grandchild and heir of Mrs. Louisa Russ, the purchaser of said lot. That some years ago said Florence Russ was legally adopted by Joseph E. and Amanda J. LaBadie, and her name legally changed to Florence LaBadie.…"

Given that the only person who ever came forward with this info was institutionalized for mental illness, we can only speculate to its truth, but most seem to accept it as fact.

She began acting on stage in 1908, and toured through 1910 in productions like The Ragged Robin and The Blue Bird.  But in 1909, it was a chance studio visit, a tag-along with her best friend, which would start her film career.

Guess who that best friend was?

Hint: it's not Ben Turpin.

Florence got a bit part that day in a Biograph production, but only remained with them a year; in spring 1911 she signed with Thanhouser.  Here's where she flourished, quickly moving up to lead roles (doing her own stunts, too) and becoming their best known (and most publicized) player.  

image courtesy Thanhouser

Florence was also a great supporter of the peace movement; a soldier's letter from the trenches, complete with devastating photographs, moved her so much that she converted them into slides - on her own dime - and toured the country giving lectures and displaying the horrors of war.

Sadly, while at the height of her fame, tragedy struck:

While Florence was driving an automobile near Ossining, New York on August 28, 1917, with her fiancé, Daniel Carson Goodman as a passenger, the brakes failed, after which the car plunged down a hill at a frightening rate, causing it to overturn at the bottom. While Goodman escaped with a broken leg and minor injuries, Florence was thrown from the vehicle and suffered a compound fracture of the pelvis. She was hospitalized in Ossining, under the care of Charles C. Sweet, M.D., of 13 Maple Street, who first attended her the day following the accident. Complications ensued, and her condition worsened.

Florence La Badie died on October 13, 1917.  She was only 29 years old.

photo courtesy Thanhouser

After her death, her adoptive mother, Amanda La Badie, disappeared.  She did not attend her daughter's funeral, and her house was simply abandoned.  To this day, only Florence rests in the double plot meant for her and her mother.  No word of Amanda was heard ever again.

Florence's death was surrounded by controversy.  There were those who believed that she'd had an affair with President Woodrow Wilson, and that something occurred between the two that necessitated her being "removed".  From the wonderful blog Silence is Platinum (I highly recommend you read her entire post on Miss La Badie):

[Florence] accepted [Pres. Wilson's] invitation to visit the White House during Christmas of 1914. She returned from the trip a different person. She was an emotional wreck, forgot her lines on set, stopped answering her telephone or speaking to her friends...

Any details were pure conjecture; those closest to her refused to talk about any of it.  The Legion of Decency notes:

On more than one occasion, Mary Pickford was seen to become very agitated when someone asked about her friendship with Florence LaBadie. Once, she told a reporter, "There are some things better left unresolved!" and fled the room.

We will never know what happened towards the end of Florence's life, or what shadow was cast over her death...but thanks to the preservation efforts of Thanhouser, we can see this lovely woman doing what she should be remembered for: acting.   There are twelve of her films available for viewing on their website for free:  Click here to watch.

image courtesy Thanhouser

Next time, we'll delve into the drifts around Marguerite Snow.

Thanhouser Builds a "Mystery"

In 1914, the Thanhouser Film Corporation undertook quite a project: a 23-chapter serial named The Million Dollar Mystery.  Each two-reel chapter focused on the attempts of a secret organization, "The Black Hundred", to recover one million dollars from the clutches of evildoers.

Now, serials weren't new -- the first one, What Happened To Mary? starring Mary Fuller, had been done by Edison two years before -- but this was to be a whole new animal: it starred three of Thanhouser's biggest names, an action-filled and suspenseful plot, and planned to let the audience decide the ending.

The beautiful Florence La Badie played the lead, "Florence Hargreaves".

"Countess Olga Petroff" was the lead antagonist, played by the lovely Marguerite Snow.

Every good mystery needs an intrepid reporter, and James Cruze provides us with "Jim Norton".

TMDM was a tremendous hit, raking in $1.5 million dollars (remember, folks, this is 1914 money).  Most of that was due to La Badie, who was at the time Thanhouser's most popular star.  (She did all of her own stunts, too!)  22 chapters were filmed, all near the studio in New Rochelle NY, with the last chapter up to the masses: a contest was run awarding $10,000 for the best solution:

(click to enlarge)

Response was HUGE!  Thousands of letters came in, and they were swamped with ideas.

Finally it was announced that a St Louis stenographer named Ida Damon won the prize (though there is speculation that she was a publicity gimmick, and that the final installment had been ready all along).

TMDM was so lucrative for Thanhouser that it began filming a SECOND serial, Zudora, before Mystery was even finished...but lightning didn't strike twice.

Sadly, all 23 chapters of The Million Dollar Mystery are presumed lost.

Next time we'll get to know Florence, Marguerite, and James -- private lives so complex that even Ida couldn't invent them.

And Then There's Maude

Laugh and Get Rich (1931) is a cute little diversion with a familiar plot: good-natured blowhard gets the family into financial trouble, then gets into bigger trouble trying to get them out of it.  Hugh Herbert is the blowhard, Edna May Oliver his long-suffering wife, and cute-as-a-button Dorothy Lee is their daughter whose love life inadvertently saves the day.   Simple, amusing, and the perfect movie for a lazy Sunday afternoon.

The one person I enjoyed most however had little to do with the plot, and she was barely in the movie:

(photo courtesy Can't Stop the Movies)

Maude Fealy plays Miss Teasdale, a throwaway character who adds some comic relief in the beginning and end of the picture.  She has a couple of lines, and is instantly forgettable.  But!  How much fun it was to see her, especially when she's more familiar like this:

Born Maude Hawke in 1881, her elegant and heartfelt stage portrayal of Juliet in (what else?) Romeo and Juliet put her on the map.  Two years later, at only age sixteen, William Gillette himself selected her as his leading lady.  She was supremely talented, well-regarded, and -- as you can see -- colossally beautiful.  Having performed in films for them in 1911 and 1912, Thanhouser signed her to an exclusive contract in 1913; to get such a stage actress as her was a VERY BIG DEAL™.  She quickly became their most publicized photoplayer:

(image also courtesy Thanhouser Company Film Preservation, Inc.)

Fealy acted with Thanhouser until 1914, then went back to the stage, perfoming only sporadically in films (and then mostly around 1915-1917) until her bit parts in the 30s and 40s.  She also ran a drama school in Colorado.  Cecil B DeMille, a long-time friend of hers, always made sure she had a role in whatever picture he was working on -- her last being a laborer's wife, as well as voice dubbing, in 1956's The Ten Commandments.  Maude Fealy died in her sleep in 1971, at age 88.  Her funeral arrangements and interment were courtesy DeMille, who had provided for them in his will (he predeceased her in 1959).  

(Much thanks to the Thanhouser website for biographical info -- I have become quite the Thanhouser junkie!)

The Thanhouser Twins

Madeline traced the raindrops on the window,
watching them branch into
separate little rivers
then run back into each other's arms.

The train lurched
and Marion grabbed her hand.
"We're almost there," she said,
"and it's your turn to quiz me."

Quelle est la couleur est le ciel? said Madeline.
Le ciel est bleu, said Marion,
their smiles spotless mirrors
as they pulled into the New Rochelle station.

The Fairbanks Twins: Marion and Madeline