Volume I: Narrative History

Chapter 9: 1916 The End of an Era

In early June the Thanhouser Film Corporation released its final pictures on the Mutual program. Other People's Money, a five-reel Mutual Masterpicture, DeLuxe Edition, was issued on the 1st and starred Gladys Hulette. Reviews were mixed. Peterson's Pitiful Plight, a Falstaff film, was released on the 3rd, followed by another Falstaff comedy, Advertisementers, on the 5th. Then came John Brewster's Wife in two reels on the 6th, followed by two Falstaff comedies, Where Wives Win on the 10th and Real Estaters on the 12th. Brothers Equal, a two-reel drama issued on the 13th, was followed by The Window of Dreams in three reels on the 15th. The scenario, by Agnes Christine Johnson, a prolific writer on the Thanhouser staff, featured those old traditional cast names, Jack and May, the latter played by Grace DeCarlton. Doughnuts, a Falstaff comedy issued on the 17th, completed the releases for the month.

Ready for release but never issued were two Falstaff comedies, Romeoers and Making the Major a Mayor. A number of leftover Thanhouser films were kept in the Mutual Film Corporation's inventory and released later in the year, long after the New Rochelle studio was no longer affiliated with the combine. Guiders, a Falstaff film, came out on the Mutual program on August 15th, and was followed by Fare, Lady, another Falstaff picture, on the 22nd, and the two-reel drama, Getting the Grafters, on the 24th. Then followed three more Falstaff films: The Swiss Sea Dog on August 27th, In Mexico on August 29th, and Musickers on September 5th.

Thanhouser's The Heart of a Doll, a two-reel drama with the Fairbanks twins, was released on the Mutual program on September 15th, followed on the 22nd of the month by A Flaw in the Evidence, also in two reels, and The Black Terror on the 29th, a film of similar length. Arabella's Prince, another two-reeler, came out on October 6th, followed on the 13th by At the Edge of the Aqueduct, still another two-reel offering, the last Thanhouser film, so far as is known, to be released by Mutual. Certain other films remained under the control of Edwin Thanhouser and were to appear on the market under a different distribution arrangement.