Volume I: Narrative History

Chapter 7 (1914): Thanhouser Publicity

An advertisement in the December 12th issue of The Moving Picture World emphasized the studio's leading personalities:

Thanhouser photoplays - first in stars! First in settings! First in photography! And now - first in the minds of movie fans! Stars such as Florence LaBadie, Sidney Bracy, James Cruze, Marguerite Snow, Harry Benham, Muriel Ostriche, Morris Foster, Mignon Anderson, Arthur Ashley, Helen Badgley, the Thanhouser Twins, and a score of others - are found in Thanhouser casts. No other motion picture producer can boast of such a group of stars! Thanhouser is FIRST in stars!

Settings composed of the beautiful natural scenery near New Rochelle and property equipment for interiors that knows no rival for artistic and distinctive effects. Thanhouser is FIRST in settings! Photography that is sharp and clear - the kind that makes an audience think of the masterminds that evolve - the kind that exhibitors the world over have pronounced exceptional. Thanhouser is FIRST in photography! And now - because of its all-star company - because of its wonderful settings - because of its remarkable photography - because of such successes like The Million Dollar Mystery and Zudora - Thanhouser is FIRST in the minds of all movie fans!

For many years Thanhouser did not solicit scenarios or plot ideas from outsiders. But now things had changed, Lloyd F. Lonergan had departed to the Universal studio, and something needed to be done. A New York City newspaper, The Globe and Commercial Advertiser, printed the following on December 14, 1914: Note

$10,000 for a movie play! Are you ready? Something new can win the big prize offered by the Thanhouser Film Corporation and The Globe. Have you begun to work for that $10,000 movie prize? Just think! $10,000 is dangling over the heads of those who will write a photo-play serial! Any one can compete for it, man, woman, or child. And all you have to do is well, write the best play.

The Globe in conjunction with the Thanhouser Syndicate Corporation is behind the scheme. You know the Thanhouser people - they produced that fascinating photo-play, The Million Dollar Mystery. You haven't any experience? That's the charm of this contest. Experience in scenario writing counts for nought. What the contest is expected to bring forth is something new in motion picture plays. And whether you live in Chicago, New York, Painted Post, N.Y., or Bird-in-Hand, Pa. (and there is such a town!) you have a chance to win.

The Thanhouser Corporation wants an idea for a movie that is original. You may write of love, adventure, mystery, thrills, child interest, characters of today, human interest, and scenes from everyday life, but it must not be based on any drama or comedy that has appeared either in book form or on the stage. Manuscripts should be not less than 1,000 words, and you can write them with anything - pen, pencil, or typewriter. Write only on one side of the paper, and instead of writing your name and address on the manuscript enclose with it a slip of paper bearing the title of the play and your name and address. Each play will be numbered, and the corresponding number placed on the slip. Those who judge the merits of the manuscripts will therefore be influenced not by a name which has won laurels in scenario writing, but by the idea contained in the play.

You don't know how to go about writing a play? Neither did some of those who have made fortunes in the scenario-writing game, but they had ideas. That is all you need. The Thanhouser firm has a staff of experienced men whose work consists of whipping into shape for production the ideas which are furnished by those who know nothing of the technique of motion play writing. If you really have a good idea, which isn't good enough to capture the $10,000 prize, the Thanhouser Corporation will make you an offer for it. The successful play will be exhibited throughout the world, and accompanying the first installment will be a photograph and a brief sketch of the writer.

The suggestion is made that the manuscripts include a series of climaxes, each of which should be adaptable for two-reel purposes, yet carrying the thread of the plot which is to run throughout the story, and winding up with a big dramatic climax. The accepted photoplay will be produced by two of America's greatest film companies - the Thanhouser Film Corporation and the American Film Manufacturing Company in studios at New Rochelle, N.Y., Chicago, Ill., and Santa Barbara, Cal.

All manuscripts must be sent to the Scenario Department of The Globe, and must be in The Globe office not later than midnight, Jan. 17, 1915. No manuscript shall be returned. All manuscripts to be sent at the sender's risk. The $10,000 is already on deposit in the Fort Dearborn National Bank at Chicago. The novelized version of the prizewinning play will appear in The Globe.

While manuscripts must not be less than 1,000 words there is no limit to maximum words. They should consist of a thorough outline of plot and sub-plots, suggestions as to characters, time play takes place, geographical locations, etc. No one directly or otherwise connected with The Globe or the Thanhouser Corporation is eligible to enter the contest.