Betsy J. Green

Movies – a bad influence?

The movies were having a bad in­fluence on written communication, ac­cording to an opinion piece in the local paper penned by Santa Barbara, California writer Sarah Redington in January 1917.

"I wish to go on re­cord with the statement that the mov­ies have ruined the gentle art of letter writing. How in the world will the ris­ing generation (boys and girls who get all their ideas of life from the doings of film favorites) have any opportunity of learning how to keep up a friendly correspondence? . . . When it comes to the writing on the screen, the shorter the better, is the rule . . . Why write real letters when our film favorites get on perfectly well by writing telegraphese? . . . Let us not allow the movies to kill correspondence."

Mignon - an unusual movie

On January 18, 1915, the movie Mignon was released. Some scenes were filmed at one of the palatial estates in Montecito, California. It was an unusual movie – a silent movie based on a French opera that was based on a novel by Goethe.

However, reviews were favorable. "Exquisitely beautiful settings." – Bioscope [London, England], June 24, 1915.

"Beatriz Michelena's portrayal of the title part is said to be as nearly perfect as the art of acting in pictures can be effected." – Motion Picture News [New York, New York], December 12, 1914

Foolish Wives is released

On January 11, 1922, Erich von Stroheim's epic film Foolish Wives was finally released. Although much of the filming took place near California's Monterey, a couple of sources stated that some scenes were filmed on Santa Catalina Island.

"A new production to be called Foolish Wives, which he [Stroheim] will stage at Catalina, where a reproduction of Monte Carlo will be built with the island scenery and mountains as a background." – Moving Picture World, June 19, 1920

"A dozen elaborate sets are now being built for Foolish Wives. On Catalina . . . is being erected [a] duplicate of the Casino at Monte Carlo." – Motion Picture News, August 14, 1920

Perhaps because folks in Santa Barbara, California were growing weary of unannounced film stunts, such as cars driving in front of trains and "bank robberies" staged without prior notice, the "Flying A" studio held their first goodwill dance in January 1916.

For 50 cents, couples could dance on the studio's new maple floor under a glass ceiling three stories high. Nearly 1,000 attended "one of the most delightful affairs imaginable." (The glass studio is on the left in the photo.)

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.