Volume II: Filmography

THE SPIRIT OF AUDUBON

October 19, 1915 (Tuesday)

Length: 2 reels

Character: Educational drama

Cameraman: Herbert K. Job

Locations: New Rochelle, Florida (wildlife scenes), Louisiana (wildlife scenes)

Cast: Lawrence Swinburne (Audubon, the great bird lover), Helen Badgley (Daisy), Leland Benham (Dicky); also Theodore Roosevelt, ex-president of the United States, shown in footage of his travels in Florida.

Notes: 1. Herbert K. Job was a nature photographer for various Audubon societies and was not a regular Thanhouser cameraman. Job accompanied Roosevelt on trips to Louisiana and Florida. 2. The film footage showing Theodore Roosevelt is "stock footage" and not scenes expressly filmed for Thanhouser. 3. See also Wild Birds at Home (indexed under May 29, 1916, the British release date; this film may not have been released in the United States), Ex-President Roosevelt's Feathered Pets (indexed under June 12, 1916, the British release date; this film may not have been released in the United States), and Egrets and Herons (indexed under June 19, 1916; this film may not have been released in the United States).

ARTICLE, The Morning Telegraph, October 10, 1915:

"The Thanhouser two-reel release for Tuesday, October 13, is entitled The Spirit of Audubon. The picture was made in conjunction with Herbert K. Job, expert on applied ornithology for the National Association of Audubon Societies, devoted to the preservation and protection of birds. Two million adults throughout the country comprise its membership and in 6,000 towns there are 500,000 active junior members. They will all be notified by letter and through the society's periodical, Bird Lore, of the release of the picture and will be urged to utilize its exhibition at theatres for spreading bird knowledge. Schools and clubs will arrange for attendance in great bodies. Helen Badgley (the Thanhouser Kidlet) and Leland Benham are in the cast. Col. Theodore Roosevelt, who accompanied Mr. Job, is also shown in the film. Colonel Roosevelt made the great Florida bird colonies possible by the reservation acts which he forced during his administration."

ARTICLE, Reel Life, October 16, 1915:

"A drama for Audubon Day and for every day in the year is the charming Thanhouser production, The Spirit of Audubon, featuring little Helen Badgley, foremost of child actresses on the screen, and Leland Benham, whose specialty is playing opposite Miss Helen. The play is at once educational and a delightful story. Birds of every climate are shown, building their nests, wooing their mates, rearing their young, and migrating from land to land. The spirit of Audubon, the great bird lover works upon the heart of a ruthless small boy until he is won over to the cause of the birds. Then his little sweetheart, with whom he has bitterly quarreled, forgives him, and they both become members of the Bird Protective Society."

ARTICLE, Reel Life, October 23, 1915:

"The Spirit of Audubon, a two-reel Thanhouser release, is a photoplay of most unusual merit and interest. Its theme - and it is a theme rather than a plot - is simple, and the action, though significant, is largely a vehicle for a remarkable series of bird-life pictures. The bird pictures were taken on the great 'bird sanctuary' preserves of the South, where the wild things have found breeding grounds and refuge safe from the molestations of feather hunters. This part of the photography of the release was by Henry K. Job, expert on applied ornithology for the national association of the Audubon societies. Colonel Roosevelt appears in the picture. Advance screenings of the picture in the Mutual's projection rooms have been held for a number of persons of authority on the life of the open places. Albert Britt, editor of Outing, was among those to express approval of the film. While the lesson of the film play is aimed more directly at bad little boys who pillage nests, it is also well calculated to inspire the impression that aigrette feathers look better on egrets than on hats."

SYNOPSIS, Reel Life, October 16, 1915:

"Daisy's mother has told her stories about the great Audubon, and taught her to love the birds. Dicky, Daisy's playmate next door, has never heard of Audubon. Like almost any boy, he thinks that throwing sticks at the birds and robbing their nests is 'fun.' But one day Daisy and Dicky have their first quarrel. It is all over his stealing eggs from a robin, and, while he is up in the tree, Daisy runs to call her mother to help her champion the birds against Dicky. The little vandal goes off in a temper. 'After all,' he philosophizes, 'girls are nothing but tattletales.' That night Dicky has a dream. Audubon appears to him. The big, kind man is greatly pleased with Daisy, but with Dicky he is very stern indeed. He takes the two children with him all over the world, and shows them birds everywhere. Dicky sees how they build their nests, how they make love, how they feed their young, and how they migrate from land to land. He suddenly realizes that birds, like people, wish to live and be happy. Next day Dicky goes over to Daisy's to tell her how sorry he is that he tried to steal the eggs. But the little girl has gone with her mother to the Audubon celebration. He follows. The two children meet in front of the new monument to the famous bid lover. Dicky asks to become a member of the bird protection league to which Daisy belongs. The little girl is too happy for speech. As they stand, hand in hand, before the monument, the spirit of Audubon rises before them, smiling benignly."

REVIEW, The Moving Picture World, October 23, 1915:

"A fine two-reel number, with an educational or nature study value. It features some splendid pictures of wild birds in their native haunts, taken by Herbert K. Job in the interest of the Audubon Societies. There is a slight plot worked into this, in which the spirit of Audubon conducts two children into the homes of the pelican, tern, laughing gulls, ibises, and other birds. Views of ex-president Roosevelt on a trip in Florida are also included. A good offering."

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