His screen career began with Great Northern (Berlin branch of the Danish company), after which he went to Thanhouser in 1913 (although his listings in the 1916 and 1918 editions of the Motion Picture News Studio Directory state that he started with Thanhouser in 1912). He was at Thanhouser by the summer of 1913 and appeared in The Top of New York (July 25, 1913) and other productions the same year.
Bauer’s arrival at Thanhouser was announced belatedly in the March 21, 1914 issue of Reel Life, which noted that: “President C.J. Hite recently made contracts with three more leading people for the Thanhouser Company. They are Morris Foster, general lead, Arthur Bower [sic], character lead, and Fan Bourke, the clever comedienne.... Several years ago Arthur Bower [sic] acted before the camera in the studios of the Great Northern Film Company, in Denmark [sic; actually Germany]. But he makes his debut in America at New Rochelle. In the interim, he has been on the legitimate stage. He did excellent work in the original production of The Merry Widow, scoring a record of 1,008 performances in that world-famous piece. He played seven years in succession under the management of Henry W. Savage, a training which, added to his natural ability for character parts, has fitted him to perform many of the most difficult roles Thanhouser will be led to attempt.”
At Thanhouser Arthur Bauer played character roles in many films. He remained with the studio through 1917, the last year of its production.
In 1914, the Photoplay Arts Portfolio of Thanhouser Motion Picture Stars gave a brief biography: “Called ‘Monty’ by his friends...he stands just two yards in the air, has blue eyes, brown hair, fair complexion, and weighs 180 pounds. During the past two years he has played in 150 photoplays.... He is an outdoor man, fond of all sports, with a preference for swimming and riding. Although he is in the atmosphere where scenarios are all about him, he has never attempted to write one. Let the Screen Club establish a Hall of Fame and put a papier maché bust of ‘Monty’ in a conspicuous niche. He likes good pictures; smokes for a diversion. In his opinion, Quo Vadis is the masterpiece of all photodramas. He is a resident of New Rochelle, New York.”
A 1916 directory listing noted that he was 5’11” tall, weighed 181 pounds, and had brown hair and dark blue eyes. He worked for Thanhouser and at the time lived in Beacon Hall, an apartment building contiguous to the Thanhouser studio. For recreation he enjoyed horseback riding, swimming and music. In the summer of 1917 he was one of the few players remaining in the Thanhouser stock company. In 1918 the Motion Picture Studio Directory noted that he had appeared with Famous Players in Arms and the Girl, but that his studio address was still Thanhouser in New Rochelle, and he still lived in Beacon Hall.
Note: Arthur Bauer was plagued by the misspelling of his German surname, and many Thanhouser news items spelled it as Bower, or sometimes Baur. Finally, Thanhouser’s publicity department got it straight, and months after his arrival the correct Bauer spelling appeared in most things in print. His hometown newspaper, The New Rochelle Pioneer, often used the “Bower” misspelling as well. However, there is a possibility that in later years, circa 1916-1917, he sanctioned the “Bower” spelling, in view of anti-German sentiment in America at the time, for at that time it was frequently used in Thanhouser publicity.
