Motion Picture News, February 12, 1916
Mermaids Uncovered and Unashamed
Dateline – March 1916
California's Channel Islands – Santa Catalina Island and Santa Cruz Island were popular locations for silent movie filming.
"The shores of Catalina Island furnished the settings of sandy beaches, rugged and jagged rocks." – News Pilot (San Pedro, California), March 13, 1916
Mermaid movies were popular in the early silent movie years when ladies rarely showed their ankles on the streets, so movies about mermaids wearing just a few wisps of seaweed were considered hot stuff. Scenes for the mermaid movie Undine were filmed on Santa Cruz Island (seen here) and Santa Catalina Island.