The Image Maker

“The scenes of this photoplay are divided between ancient Egypt and the life of today. Valkyrien is the star of the picture, which is entertaining all through. A longer review is printed on another page of this issue.”

REVIEW by Edward Weitzel, The Moving Picture World, January 27, 1917:

“There is more than ordinary ingenuity displayed by Emmett Mixx, the author of The Image Maker, in weaving the two periods together which are used in the five-reel Gold Rooster Play, in which Valkyrien is the central figure. The story is one of reincarnation; a prince of the House of Pharaoh and a lowly slave, who were lovers in the distant past, are reunited in the prosaic present, at the side of the tomb in which the Prince of Tsa was buried. The picture follows the usual photoplay construction, alternating the two periods of time at brief intervals. This is deftly done, however, and the incidents are numerous and of a gratifying variety. Such a theme demands all the liberty granted to every well regulated romance, and the broad sweeps of color supplied by the followers of the ruler of the Nile and the Arabs of today, in the ancient and modern Egyptian scenes, are in keeping with the character of the story. The locations have been selected with care: New York, Florida, Cairo, and the sands of Egypt are all made the scenes of the action, and the director has maintained an excellent quality of illusion. Valkyrien, in The Image Maker, does the best acting of her moving picture career, and is ably supported by Harris Gordon, Arthur Hauer [sic; should be Bauer], Inda Balmer [sic; should be Palmer], and Morgan Jones.”

“The Image Maker will satisfy that multitude which likes Romance—spelled with a capital R—in motion pictures. One sees deathless love and through this emotion that some people experience for one another are accomplished deeds bordering on the impossible. The heroine of this film is a young actress sculptress who meets a wealthy young man and with alarming rapidity falls in love with him, and he with her, just as the pottery maker and Prince of Tsa did in the year B.C. 2040, which is shown in an accompanying tale of ancient times that corresponds with the modern one. In the present day story the two have a premonition that they are the ancient couple reincarnated, and by coincidence they meet and plight their troth at the tomb of the Prince in Egypt 5,000 years after, having passed over an exceedingly uneven course of love, full of disappointment and dangers.

“’Love is deathless. To love all things are possible’ says the last title in the picture, and it goes on to prove the assertion during the first reel by showing the young lady remembering back some 5,000 years and recalling where she had met the gentleman before. Notwithstanding this remarkable memory work the author, Emmett Mixx, has written a very pleasing story. There are thrilling adventures frequently enough in both narratives to satisfy even the most blasé, and the happily ended love affair will be liked. The parallel stories are capably interwoven and the action in both is well directed, and rapid. The constant cutting in of the corresponding tales does not arrest the action or interfere with the continuity of either. The Egyptian scenes are impressive and the modern settings are adequate. Valkyrien plays both the young sculptress-actress and the Oriental girl with ability and she is pleasing to look upon. Harris Gordon makes a convincing Prince of Tsa and modern lover. The rest of the cast which includes, Arthur Bauer, Inda Palmer and Morgan Jones, show to good advantage. This is the kind of a picture the crowd likes and an exhibitor will make no mistake in booking it.—F.T.”

“The Thanhouser Company has turned out a picture that is very unusual for that studio in The Image Maker, a five-reel Pathé Gold Rooster play in which the exceedingly pretty and graceful blonde Valkyrien is starred. The picture is unusual in many ways, at least for Thanhouser. In the first place it really has a story, and one that is a novelty. Then there is the production, which is really adequate from every standpoint and very well directed, and thirdly there is the cast, well selected and quite evenly balanced. As a whole the feature is one that could go into any house and compete with the best of the program pictures on the market. The author of The Image Maker is unnamed, but he has taken the theme of reincarnation for his tale and he has woven a love story of the most plausible manner about it. In reality there are two stories in one, with the idea of D.W. Griffith’s as employed in Intolerance used as the method of telling them on the screen.

“First the modern theme is taken and after a brief chapter, the same story as enacted by the same characters in the previous state, which was back in 2083 B.C. in Egypt, is shown. In the modern story Valkyrien is a picture actress with a leaning toward sculpting. Harris Gordon, as John Arden, is her sweetheart. They meet accidentally and there is a mutual recognition which has passed down the centuries from the past. In the ancient tale Valkyrien was an image maker in the tombs of the Egyptians and Gordon was Prince Tsa. They loved, but the stern old King father forbade their wedding, and after the Prince dies from a wound while trying to rescue the girl from the altar of sacrifice, the girl is cast to the crocodiles.

“In the modern story it is the machinations of a scheming moving picture producer, who is in love with the star, that keeps the couple apart. They meet in Florida at first, and then after the hero is injured and the producer wins the actress back to film work by informing her that her affianced one has returned home to his father, because the latter threatened to cut the boy off if he married the actress, the company goes to Egypt to do a picture. The boy follows and it is no more than natural that the lovers should meet in the very tomb as the mummy of Prince Tsa was buried centuries before. This is without doubt one of the best Thanhouser pictures that has been released in some time.”

“This story is a mixture of Egyptian scenes, suggesting the story of The Image Maker of Thebes contrasted against a modern situation, with two modern lovers presented as the reincarnation of the Egyptian lovers. The modern sweetheart was a sculptress and a film star, the lover being the son of wealthy parents idling in Florida. The love-at-first-sight effects which manifested themselves between these two were tied up to the Egyptian romance by having the same characters appear in the Egyptian episodes.

“The action throughout was melodrama, which, while it may prove fairly interesting, will never be considered convincing or gripping. Most of the time it was just plain movie stuff, and the introduction of a film company making scenes added to the theatre atmosphere which pervaded the entire offering. A number of large exterior sets were built for this production, and they looked very good at a distance. Unfortunately, the director moved too close to them very frequently, with the result that what was supposed to be portion of the old tombs of Egypt loomed up very plainly as painted canvas and compo board. In the supporting cast were Inda Palmer, Arthur Bauer and Morgan Jones.

“The Box Office Angle: This thing is different enough that a great many of your patrons may consider it good for that reason, even though it is never anything more than interesting when considered as drama. If Valkyrien has any box office value in your section, you may be able to do a little business with this, but I wouldn’t boost the production too strong except as an interesting study in reincarnation. I would devote most all of my advertising to questions such as these: ‘Do you believe in reincarnation? See The Image Maker;’ ‘Do you think you were ever an Egyptian princess in the by-gone days? See The Image Maker.’”

“The entire company of Thanhouserites, under the direction of Eugene Moore, have been at Atlantic Beach for several days, where they are making scenes in the ancient Egyptian temple erected directly behind the Atlantic Beach Hotel. This temple, which is built to represent 2,000 years ago, is a beautiful structure and cost several thousand dollars to build. Yesterday several hundred local people and visitors visited the beach to look over the temple and see the Thanhouser players film a great picture. Harris Gordon and Valkyrien are featured in this picture, which will be released under the name of The Image Maker of Thebes.”

ARTICLE by Tracey Hollingsworth, The Florida Metropolis, May 15, 1916. This piece of whimsy appeared in the “Flivers From Film Folk” column:

“If it was not for that ‘toup’ of Morg Jones our source of news at the Thanhouser studio would cease to exist. Morg’s toup is a wonder at the studio, and whenever anything happens to keep him at home or away from the studio, the directors know it is on account of this small piece of hair. The other day Morg was late and Eugene Moore was running up and down the studio waiting for him in order to proceed with the production of The Image Maker of Thebes. Finally he showed up, and the members of the company notice a small chain extending from under his hat to the lapel of his coat. An explanation was necessary, of course, both to the company and Mr. Moore. To the former he said while practicing his favorite air, The Lost Chord, in order to give the piece ‘atmosphere,’ he had taken off his toup and laid it aside on the piano keyboard. When he finished the piano was closed and the ‘toup’ forgotten until time to go to the studio, then it could not be found. Every piece of furniture in the house was moved to no avail in the search, but Morg has a little boy whose memory is much better than of his father, and he spoke up and said the ‘hair’ was in the piano. Further search revealed it stuck to the top of the cover when the cover was opened the ‘toup’ disappeared behind with it. To Mr. Moore he said he had attached a small jeweled chain to the miscreant, and would never be found without it.”

“January will see...Valkyrien in The Image Maker, from the Thanhouser studios. The Image Maker is a unique story of reincarnation in which Valkyrien is a persecuted Egyptian maid whose soul is reborn in modern times. Eugene Moore is the director. Harris Gordon is the leading man. It contains thrilling scenes and beautiful settings. The tale is told in an out of the ordinary fashion.”

“Then comes Valkyrien in The Image Maker on January 21 - the drama of reincarnation involving a motion picture company supposing to be working in Thebes, Egypt, with the ruins of temples and tombs for background. W. Eugene Moore is responsible for the direction and Valkyrien was supported by Harris Gordon, Arthur Bauer, Inda Palmer, and Morgan Jones.”

“Valkyrien, the celebrated Danish beauty, stars in the forthcoming Pathé Gold Rooster Play, The Image Maker. This picture has a very unusual plot, as it deals with pre-existence and tells of a love that lasts through the centuries. Valkyrien in it plays two parts—the one that of a beautiful Egyptian girl of low degree who wins the love of a great noble, and, secondly, the incarnation of the girl in modern life in America. Such a story furnishes many opportunities for striking at contrast. Valkyrien’s charming personality never appeared to better advantage than in this picture. The atmosphere of ancient Egypt in the first part of the picture is true to history and furnishes a great contrast to the modern life which is well presented in the latter half. The picture was produced by Thanhouser.”

“A most unusual story of pre-existence and its counterpart in modern life. Full of dramatic incidents.”