Volume I: Narrative History

Chapter 5 (1912): Under the Mutual Banner

On April 16, 1912, Thanhouser business commenced under the Mutual Film Corporation banner. Charles J. Hite would not arrive in New Rochelle until the second week in May, but in the meantime Edwin Thanhouser was laying plans for his arrival, including remodeling an office to his order. The skating rink building which housed the Thanhouser enterprise had a new sign painted in large white letters across the front, stating that here was the home of the Thanhouser Film Corporation. Otherwise, business was more or less as usual. All of the Florida players were back in New Rochelle, and the joining room in the film laboratory was busy pasting together strips of film taken in St. Augustine under the direction of George O. Nichols, and those taken in New Rochelle with Lucius J. Henderson supervising.

The Baby Bride was released on April 16th. The Morning Telegraph reviewed Helen Badgley's title role: "The work of each child [Marie Eline and Badgley] is a delight, the innocent, unabashed, and unconcerned facial expression of the tiniest tot being truly remarkable."

Into the Desert, distributed on the 19th, was a Florida film featuring Marguerite Snow, James Cruze, and William Russell. George O. Nichols directed the film and also played a role in it. Gordon Trent, writing in the New York Morning Telegraph, admired two falls by actors in the film, stating that, unlike the usual case, they were not faked or done by doubles. Rejuvenation, another Florida film, was distributed on the 23rd and featured James Cruze, William Russell, and Florence LaBadie. The new investors in the Thanhouser Film Corporation must have enjoyed reading this comment in The Moving Picture News: "Like almost every Thanhouser photoplay of the past many weeks, this is a production of merit presented in an entirely praiseworthy manner, which shows the care and thought, as well as the expense to which the director and the company go to make the subject a success." Indeed, with the purchase of the Thanhouser studio, Aitken and his associates had bought a jewel. Numerous other films from the Edwin Thanhouser days were still in inventory, and it would be two months or more before Charles J. Hite's influence would be felt. In the meantime, it was comforting that the current releases were earning excellent reviews.

When Mandy Comes to Town, produced in New Rochelle, was released on April 26, 1912 and earned enthusiastic reviews. The Moving Picture World stated: "The photography is perfect and in two of the scenes the lighting is poetic; one is a fireside picture of the mother darning stockings; one is the child at the moonlit window." Perhaps more than any other producer of the time, Thanhouser garnered favorable comments for its photography in indoor settings and for its night scenes.