Volume I: Narrative History

Chapter 11: Epilogue Events of 1918

The Moving Picture World reported in its issue of March 2, 1918 that sometime between February 20th and March 1st the directors of the Thanhouser Film Corporation would elect a new president, while Edwin Thanhouser would be at Bayville, Long Island, putting the finishing touches on the first structure of Shorewood, the estate he was building there.

The account continued:

At the present day, as a result of Mr. Thanhouser's management, the corporation's financial condition is unique. With the studios and laboratories in New Rochelle and another glass studio in Jacksonville, both in up-to-date condition and free from debt, and a large capital accumulated in the bank, financial worries will not be among the problems that vex the new president of the Thanhouser Film Corporation.... Although several flattering propositions have been made to him by certain film interests, Mr. Thanhouser is not inclined to remain in the motion picture field. There is a rumor that he may consider one or two "big productions," as very flattering propositions along that line, worthwhile from both a financial and an artistic standpoint, have been made to him.

The New York Dramatic Mirror printed the following in its issue of March 23, 1918:

The Thanhouser Film Corporation has announced the election of the following officers: president, Crawford Livingston; vice-president, Wilbert Shallenberger; secretary, A.E. Jones; treasurer, W.E. [William Edgar] Shallenberger; board of directors, Felix Kahn, Crawford Livingston, Wilbert Shallenberger, A.E. Jones, Gerald Livingston, W.E. Shallenberger and Jessie Bishop.

It was also announced, following the annual meeting of the organization, that W.E. Shallenberger, who is also president of the Arrow Film Corporation, would take over the active management of the studios at New Rochelle. At the present time the Clara Kimball Young Company is using the studios. None of the officials of the Thanhouser would state at this time who would use the studios following the departure of the Clara Kimball Young Company for the West next month, but it is understood that W.E. Shallenberger will shortly begin filming some big states rights pictures there.

The Arrow organization recently greatly widened the scope of its activities in the distribution field, and especially so in South America and Europe. According to rumors, Mr. Shallenberger has contracted to produce a number of big states rights features, the interiors of which will be made at the Thanhouser plant. In addition, it is said, Arrow will begin the manufacture of special pictures for export to South America and Europe.

The Thanhouser Film organization has not done any active picture making for some time. Edwin Thanhouser, who took such a prominent part in its affairs, recently resigned. Following the annual meeting the officials said that the corporation was in A-1 financial condition.

The Thanhouser studios are among the best equipped in the country. Since they were first built, some years ago, the management has insisted upon keeping pace with the constantly changing improvements in equipment, and as a result the buildings have today every facility for the manufacture of motion pictures. During the past several years some of the most noteworthy productions were filmed in the Thanhouser studios in New Rochelle.

The May 4, 1918 issue of Motography carried this article:

The Thanhouser Film Corporation, it is reported, will shortly resume active production in its studios in New Rochelle. Plans have been perfected, it is said, for the filming of six big super-features a year, which will be released through the Arrow Film Corporation as well as a number of propaganda and program pictures.

W.E. Shallenberger, president of the Arrow Film Corporation, who is also the treasurer and active manager of the Thanhouser Film Corporation, was noncommittal when asked about Thanhouser's plans. He admitted it was probable that the company would soon resume making pictures, but said he could not announce any definite plans at the present time. Thanhouser has been out of the production field for some time. For several years it was one of the best known producing organizations in the world, and some of the most noteworthy pictures ever seen on the screen were filmed in its studios. In the old days Thanhouser set the pace for most of the other producers. It was perfectly capable of doing this, for on the Thanhouser payroll were some of the keenest and best equipped mentalities in the entire industry, and many of the devices and inventions that have since facilitated and so greatly improved the making and showing of motion pictures were thought out and perfected in the New Rochelle studios.

Unlike many other picture organizations, Thanhouser temporarily discontinued producing with plenty of money in the bank and a high financial rating in Wall Street. The officials of the company determined to quit making pictures of a while; "Let the wheels spin, and then enter the actual production game again with a lot of new, practical ideas." When the company stopped filming in its own name it had, according to banking reports, a bank balance of more than $275,000. This has never been withdrawn and will probably remain intact until the company launches its new activities. The Thanhouser studios in New Rochelle are among the best equipped of their kind in the country. They have been leased at various times to different producers, and only recently the Clara Kimball Young Company completed its Eastern work here and left for California. Many Eastern producers have tried to buy the studios but the Thanhouser Company has always retained them....

The Mutual Film Corporation, with which the Thanhouser Film Corporation had been affiliated from early 1912 through mid 1916, joined the roster of film industry has-beens. The Moving Picture World, November 23, 1918, reported that the officers of the Affiliated Distributors Corporation acquired the managing control of the Mutual Film Corporation on November 6, 1918. Further:

In all probability the passing of the control of the Mutual Film Corporation to the Affiliated Distributors Corporation means the closing of its career as a factor in the motion picture business. Prior to the time the papers and the transfer were signed in Chicago, the Mutual, which is a distributing company, had no product to offer exhibitors except the Screen Telegram, which is a newsreel, and which was sold to Hearst's International Film Service. This situation, and the fact that the corporation was losing money at an alarming rate, induced the men who controlled its destinies to accept the proposition. The Mutual Film Corporation had been organized by Harry Aitken in 1912.