Volume I: Narrative History

Chapter 6 (1913): The June Schedule

The Thanhouser Kid and Kidlet were prominently featured in Thanhouser marketing efforts. Postcard courtesy Thanhouser Company Film Preservation, Inc.

In mid-1913, the primary program releases were those of the Patents Company, Universal, Mutual, and Exclusive Supply, with the last-named, a new entry, rapidly carving a niche for itself. The old-line Patents Company program remained very crowded. The release days were as follows: Note

PATENTS COMPANY FILMS:

Monday: Biograph, Edison, Kalem, Lubin, Pathéplay (Pathé Weekly newsreel), Selig (2 reels), Vitagraph

Tuesday: Cin-es, Edison, Essanay, Lubin, Pathéplay, Selig, Vitagraph

Wednesday: Eclipse, Edison, Essanay, Kalem, Lubin (2 reels), Pathéplay, Selig, Vitagraph

Thursday: Biograph, Essanay, Lubin, Méliès, Pathéplay, Selig, Vitagraph

Friday: Edison, Essanay, Kalem, Lubin, Pathéplay (a 2-reel film plus a 1-reel film), Selig, Vitagraph

Saturday: Biograph, Cin-es, Edison, Essanay, Kalem, Lubin, Pathéplay, Vitagraph (a 2-reel film plus a 1-reel film)

UNIVERSAL FILMS:

Sunday: Crystal, Eclair, Rex

Monday: IMP, Nestor

Tuesday: Gem, 101 Bison (2 reels), Note Crystal

Wednesday: Nestor, Powers, Eclair (2 reels), Universal Animated Weekly

Thursday: IMP, Rex, Frontier

Friday: Nestor, Powers (2 reels), Victor

Saturday: IMP, 101 Bison (2 reels), Frontier

MUTUAL FILMS:

Sunday: Majestic, Thanhouser

Monday: American (2 reels), Keystone, Reliance

Tuesday: Majestic, Thanhouser (Carmen in 3 reels)

Wednesday: Broncho (2 reels), Mutual Weekly (newsreel), Reliance

Thursday: American, Keystone, Mutual

Friday: Kay-Bee (2 reels), Thanhouser Note

Saturday: American, Reliance

EXCLUSIVE SUPPLY FILMS:

Monday: Dragon

Tuesday: Gaumont

Wednesday: Solax, Gaumont Weekly (newsreel)

Thursday: Gaumont

Friday: Solax, Lux

Saturday: Great Northern

Thanhouser's June release schedule began on the first of the month with Harry Benham and Mignon Anderson in A Victim of Circumstances, a film which The New York Dramatic Mirror considered to be "an improbable story well done."

The Caged Bird, issued on June 3rd, had Marguerite Snow as the caged-bird princess, William Garwood as the prince, James Cruze as the king, and William Russell in the role of the farmer. A review in The New York Dramatic Mirror indicated that Thanhouser was still having production problems:

A romantic drama which is unsuccessful in capturing a convincing romantic atmosphere. The king's daughter, believing herself a caged bird, runs away among the peasants, after liberating her little canary. The unkindness and rudeness which she encounters among the rough subjects of the lower class bring a change of thought, and she returns to the castle to marry her father's choice, the prince of the neighboring kingdom. In the first place, the costuming, with a few exceptions in the courtroom scene, is not regal, and the boudoir of the princess looks more like a New York flat than the room of a castle. There is a sudden and puzzling jump in the story when the princess starts to run away, appearing abruptly in peasant garb. Marguerite Snow plays the princess.

The Runaway, released on June 6th, featured Marie Eline and Helen Badgley, the Thanhouser Kid and Kidlet. As was the case with nearly all of the films featuring this duo, reviews were good.