Betsy J. Green

The Girl and the Game

On January 2, 1916, the first episode of the 15-part serial The Girl and the Game was released. Some scenes were filmed on California's Santa Catalina and Santa Cruz islands. Helen Holmes was the daredevil star who was said to have performed all her own stunts.

"Plunging from a high cliff into the sea, one of the most difficult and dangerous feats of its kind ever undertaken for a motion picture camera, is but one of the several dangerous tasks accomplished by fearless Helen Holmes." – Reel Life, January 1, 1916

There are no copies that are known to have survived.

Cutting-edge Filming in Santa Barbara

Back in December 1916, Santa Barbara residents were witnessing movie technology on the ground floor in scenes such as this one which was probably shot on a local road. Beloved Rogues was the title of this film. It was released in January 1917. Only a fragment of this movie still exists.

On the right side of this photo, is a jalopy driven by the stars of the movie – the vaudeville comedy team named Kolb and Dill. On the left side, is a state-of-the-art (for that time) mobile filming unit. There is a cameraman, another man to his right who was probably the director, and in the back, there appears to be a man pedaling the wheeled platform on which the men and camera sit.

On December 27, 1925, The Ancient Mariner was released. Much of the movie was filmed on and around a remote rock near California's San Miguel Island. A dream sequence in the movie is based on the famous epic poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.

There are no known copies of this film.

Xmas Wish Lists in 1919

Here's a sampling of items that were on people's wish lists based on ads in the local papers. Here's hoping you get some of what you wish for this Christmas.

On December 20, 1925, the film The Scarlet Streak was released. The 10-episode serial about a death ray was filmed in part in California's Santa Catalina Island.

The serial got some buzz as far away as down under. "A wonderful new serial dealing with the wonders of wireless and electricity." – Advocate (Burnie, Australia), August 16, 1927

There are no known copies of this serial.

Christmas Saving Clubs

These have pretty much fallen by the wayside, probably because of credit cards, but ever since 1909 when the first Christmas saving club was started in Pennsylvania, they were popular with millions of Americans.

In December 1914, the Santa Barbara Savings and Loan Bank encouraged people to sign up (and pony up) to pay for holiday gifts in 1915. As many as 500 local citizens participated in 1914. You could pay $1 a week or as little as 5¢ which you then increased by 5¢ a week for 50 weeks.

Rules of the Road, ver. 1916

A new year often brings new rules, and as 1915 was ending, there were dozens of new laws in Santa Barbara concerning cars, horses, and rules of the road that would come into effect in 1916. Here are a few highlights:

        All vehicles, whether motor or horse drawn, on public highways after dark [must] carry lights.

        Must have horn, bell, or whistle, and sound when necessary as a warning, and not at other times.

        Must use every reasonable precaution to prevent frightening of any horse, and shall slack speed and stop at signal of rider or driver of horse.

        Speed shall in no case exceed 30 miles per hour, or 20 miles an hour where the territory is closely built up, or 15 miles an hour in the business district.

On December 7, 1913, the movie Sea Wolf was released. The film starred theater veteran Hobart Bosworth and was filmed on and around California's San Miguel Island.

According to the Bioscope in London, "As a virile and realistic representation of life at sea, this magnificent film has not yet been equaled, and affords a striking instance of the power of the cinematograph to set before us the greatest effects of nature." (August 6, 1914)

There are no known copies of this film.

On December 4, 1922, the movie Ebb Tide was released. Much of the movie had been filmed on California's Santa Catalina Island.

"Transportation . . . required traveling over the water in a hydro-aeroplane. Scenes on land included a reproduction of the waterfront at Papeete, Tahiti . . . On the water there was a dramatic scene in which a 330-foot schooner was burned . . . The octopus fight and scenes of pearl-diving are . . . under water through the use of a diver in a diving suit and a diving bell holding the cameraman." – Motion Picture News, September 30, 1922

The silent movie The Lotus Eater was released on November 27, 1921. Some scenes were filmed on California's Catalina Island.

A portion of the story takes place on an island in the Pacific Ocean where the inhabitants are shipwrecked folk who decide to stay on the island and traipse around in Grecian robes. (Sounds pretty good to me these days.)

This appears to be a lost film, and maybe that's fine with the islanders. ?