Volume III: Biographies Volume III: Biographies
Thanhouser Career Synopsis: The Duke of Manchester appeared in an episode of The Million Dollar Mystery.
Biographical Notes: The Duke of Manchester visited New Rochelle, New York in 1914 and had conferences with Charles J. Hite, Lloyd F. Lonergan, and others, on the subject of producing educational films. While in New Rochelle, he was given a tour of the Thanhouser studio by President Charles J. Hite, who invited him to appear in an episode of The Million Dollar Mystery serial which was being filmed at the time. Shortly thereafter, deciding that he liked New Rochelle, he rented an apartment in Beacon Hall, adjacent to the Thanhouser studio.
The New Rochelle Pioneer, August 8, 1914, told details of his film debut: "The Duke of Manchester has gone into pictures. England's titled son appeared in a scene of The Million Dollar Mystery at the Thanhouser studio last week. It was the distinguished foreigner's first view of motion picture making. He likes it. Charles J. Hite, president of the Thanhouser Company, escorted him through the studio. When the party arrived in the east building, where some of the Mystery scenes are being taken, Mr. Hite called Director Howell Hansel to one side and told him to put the Duke into a scene. It was no sooner said than done.
"Almost before the Englishman realized what was happening, Director Hansel was posing him. The Duke enjoyed it and laughingly told Mr. Hite to 'crank the camera.' The visitor proved so adept that an actual scene was taken, showing him aiding Miss Florence LaBadie, the heroine of the forthcoming serial, to escape from the machinations of the Countess Olga, Miss Marguerite Snow, and her band of conspirators."
The New Rochelle Evening Standard, August 8, 1914, carried this article: "The Duke of Manchester, who has taken the Edmund E. Sinclair residence at Premium Point for the remainder of the summer, is a director in each of the nine Manhattan companies organized to carry on motion picture enterprises with capital stocks aggregating $11,821,000, which were incorporated yesterday. The largest companies are the International Educational League, $10,000,000.00, Daylight Screen Company, $100,000.00, and Topical News Company, $100,000.00. The Educational League will supply not only theatres, but homes, churches, universities, missionary societies, hospitals, and other institutions and bodies with motion picture films of an historic, educational, scientific, and other character...." The balance of the article stated that the other companies were of small capitalization.
The New Rochelle Pioneer, Aug. 15, 1914, related: "The Duke of Manchester is to live permanently in New York and has leased for a term of years an apartment at 4 West 57th Street, in a house now being remodeled. His apartments are being laid out according to his own plans, and many rare tapestries and paintings are being shipped from his ancestral home in England to be used in his New York abode. He expects to entertain largely this coming season. The Duke, who is spending the summer in the residence of Mrs. Edmund E. Sinclair, on Premium Point, is one of the celebrities in Thanhouser's Million Dollar Mystery motion picture."
The New Rochelle Pioneer, September 5, 1914, described an incipient business venture: "Westchester County, with its beautiful scenery has long enjoyed the reputation of being the home of many of New York City's most prominent businessmen and millionaires, but now it can boast of attractiveness so great that even an English duke willingly admits that it is a most delightful place in which to live. The Duke of Manchester, an important member of the English nobility, who spends his weekends with friends at Premium Point, has time and time again expressed much pleasure at the attractiveness of the picturesque residential settlements that he has seen during many automobile trips about the county. At present the Duke is in this country as the head of an extensive enterprise, known as The International Educational League, Inc., which is to deal exclusively in moving pictures of an educational nature.
"One of the Duke's first duties when he arrived in this country, a short time ago, was to go through an American moving picture plant in order to acquaint himself with the technical side of the business. Accordingly he visited the plant of the Thanhouser Film Corporation. An interview with the Duke was accorded the newspaper men at his offices in 41st Street, New York City, in which he was much interested in the educational moving picture project and seemed most willing to explain to his guests just what he intended to do.
"'The International Educational League,' he said, 'represents a big idea. It represents one of the biggest movements to bring the good things in education, travel and sociology to the great masses of the people ever conceived and put to practical use. Its medium of expression will be the motion picture prepared in no stilted pedagogical style, but in the most interesting way known to the art of motion photography. This will be true not only of the educational side of the movement, but will hold good for the other phases, including the religious.
"'I had been considering the possibilities of the motion picture for some time,' the Duke said in answer to questions, 'and I believed that I could go into it with profit to myself as well as to others. At the same time, I determined to do my best at making the motion picture a greater force for good to those who daily find their amusement in the world. And, if I can help raise the standard of the business; if I can help to bring great truths to the motion picture public, some of the hopes in the venture will have been realized.'
"The Duke then continued with the interesting story of how he and Dr. William Carter happened to join stories which flash over the screens in thousands of theatres all over the forces in the movement. 'I had my idea for the International Education formed and had been working on it for four or five weeks,' he said, 'when I heard about the movement which Dr. Carter was trying to organize in the United States. His Church and School Service Bureau, I believed, would be one of the most important adjuncts to the International League which I could find. And as the plans for the league contemplated such a bureau, I sought Dr. Carter and learned what his plans were.
"'There was no need for two such bureaus in the field, especially when the league's program would be of such magnitude as wholly to cover the field, so we formed a sort of working agreement to supply the American field through his bureau, and things are working out most satisfactorily. It thus happens that outside of my broader interest in The Church and School Service Bureau, because of my association with the International League, I will also have a very intimate interest in the smaller organization in that they have done me the honor of making me international vice-president of it.'
"The Duke explained that he will devote his time largely to upbuilding the International Educational League, which, as its name implies, will be of an international character and have a very broad field of activity. Dr. Carter's interest in the league will be that of director of the Protestant religious side of such productions as the league undertakes. When it was suggested to the Duke that it was, perhaps, a new thing for one of the nobility of England to go into business, he laughed.
"'Oh, no,' he said, 'not at all. People in the United States do not always realize that every one of the nobility of England must be a businessman in one sense or another. If he has no other business to look after he has large estates which must be administered. Of course, he has stewards, agents and other 'factors,' but to him necessarily comes the final supervision of the affairs of the estate. So you see it is not strange as it might at first seem that I should wish for something to do and it is not at all strange that I should take up this line of work because it is going to be very enjoyable to me. And, as you may know, I am half American anyway. My mother was an American and I have lived a great deal in the country of her birth. Also, my wife is an American, and some might know that I am really more than half American when you take my marriage into consideration. And my interests are fully as much American as they are English.'"
The New Rochelle Evening Standard carried this account in its September 24, 1914 edition: "The New Rochelle friends of the Duke of Manchester...are sympathizing with him in the failure of his great business venture. The Duke has gone to Philadelphia for a time. It is said the death of Charles J. Hite, this city, affected the outcome. Creditors ended yesterday the Duke's short and unsuccessful venture into the motion picture business when they stripped the elaborately appointed offices of the International Society Service League on the 20th floor of 18 East 41st Street, New York City. The concern was organized by the Duke in June with a capital stock of $10 million. By absorbing the Church and School Social Service Bureau, of which Reverend William Carter, one-time pastor of the Madison Avenue Reformed Church is head, he intended to furnish motion pictures on religious subjects to churches, schools, and sociological organizations.
"Unfortunately, as Dr. Carter explained, the war economic conditions and the failure of the Duke's friends to purchase stock doomed the scheme to failure. The Duke of Manchester himself, realizing a week ago that his project was doomed to failure, left New York for Philadelphia, where his valet said he was ill from nervous prostration occasioned by the failure of his scheme and by overwork. The Church and School Social Service League, Dr. Carter stated, was not involved in the dissolution of the International Social Service League and will be continued and extended. Papers incorporating the bureau with a capital stock of $500,000 are being drawn and will be completed within a few days. The object of the International Social Service League, he explained, was to act as a holding company, and after capital stock had been sold to buy in with the proceeds the Church and School Social Bureau.
"The Duke proposed to head expeditions to the Holy Land and to the far away romantic spots of the Far East where, under his supervision, film pictures of biblical scenes were to be made. On June 27, immediately after the formation of the company, he explained that he would be in a position to obtain rare motion pictures which no one else could, because of his friendship with rulers in Indian countries. The English nobleman, whose wife was Miss Helena Zimmerman, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Zimmerman, Cincinnati, Ohio, first became interested in the motion picture scheme by reading of the work proposed by the Church and School Social Service Bureau. According to Dr. Carter, he called on him on June 15 and suggested that he become connected with the organization. The clergyman immediately made him international vice president. A few days later the international project was formed with the duke as president, the late Charles J. Hite, president of the Thanhouser Film Corporation, as vice president, Rollin W. White, secretary and treasurer, and Blair Frazer, a friend of the duke's, as general manager. The death of Mr. Hite, the practical man of the combination, who was killed while motoring, is said to have been a heavy blow to the corporation. About 15 persons were employed in the offices at 18 East 41st Street, and a salary of $12,000 a year was voted to the duke. His office was furnished in mahogany, the desk costing $168, and an order for mural decorations to cost $3,000 was given but the decorations had not been begun. Unfortunately the war closed the European market and tightened the purse strings of the duke's acquaintances, and it was said yesterday that not a single share of stock was disposed of. The Duke of Manchester is well known in America where he has spent much of his time since his marriage to Miss Zimmerman in 1900. He is 38 years old and has been in this country since last December. The Duchess of Manchester is now in England, where she returned on June 9 last. The Duke spent much time last summer at Newport."
Thanhouser Filmography:
1914-1915 Serial: The Million Dollar Mystery
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Copyright © 1995 Q. David Bowers. All Rights Reserved.