Volume II: Filmography

P. HENRY JENKINS AND MARS

British release title: THE HELMET OF MARS

(Falstaff)

July 23, 1915 (Friday)

Length: 1 reel (995 feet)

Character: Comedy

Director: Arthur Ellery

Cast: Riley Chamberlin (P. Henry Jenkins), Wayne Arey (Mars), Claude Cooper (Olympus), Joseph Phillips (Jenkins' employer), Nellie Parker Spaulding (Mrs. Jenkins), Phil Brady

Notes: 1. Thanhouser originally scheduled this film for release on July 9, 1915, then changed the date to July 23, 1915. However, certain earlier printed notices were never corrected, and some trade notices state that this subject was released on July 9th. 2. In various synopses, reviews, etc., the capitalization of the word "helmet" was inconsistent.

ADVERTISEMENT, The Moving Picture World, July 24, 1915:

"The Helmet of Mars makes a lion of a lamb. Mars sends his messenger, Mercury, to bestow his helmet on the weakest of cowards. Poor old hen-pecked Jenkins is that man, and with the strength of the War-God in his heart, he proceeds to turn the tables on all those who had been making life miserable for him. Riley Chamberlin makes it a howling success."

SYNOPSIS, Reel Life, July 17, 1915:

"There is an old legend that whoever puts on the helmet of Mars, the war god of the Greeks and Romans, no matter how cowardly the mortal may be, he becomes instantly as brave as a lion. Not long ago Mars himself sent his headgear to a certain P. Henry Jenkins, a middle-aged clerk, and the biggest coward in New York City. Jenkins knew nothing of what was to happen to him. The attendant of the deity changed the helmet into an ordinary hat so that it might not attract attention - and Jenkins, in a single day, became another man. He got a raise in salary, persuaded his wife to let him smoke in the house, and made all his former tormentors step around lively. Even after the god had recalled his own, Jenkins went on, a self-assertive and successful man to the end of his days."

REVIEW, The Moving Picture World, July 31, 1915:

"A new variation of a familiar theme, in which Riley Chamberlin does some good comedy work. He appears as a modest clerk who for one day wears the helmet of Mars. This so fills him with courage that he talks back at his wife, gets a raise in salary and surprises everybody, himself included. This is a good comedy."

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