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40-498: The Hidden Valley is a 1916 American silent adventure fantasy film produced by Thanhouser and distributed by Pathé and directed by Ernest Warde. The film stars Valda Valkyrien , an actress from Denmark who beat 60,000 other contestants for the role. The film takes place in exotic Africa but was filmed at Coquina Beach, Florida . While this is an original story, it apparently is influenced by H. Rider Haggard 's classic 1887 novel She . This 1910s drama film-related article

80-528: A fire destroyed the main facility in New Rochelle; much equipment and many costumes and negatives of films in production were lost. However, subsidiary studios that had been set up were able to meet distributors' needs while it was being rebuilt. After Hite's death in an automobile accident, the company continued for another five years. After a period of floundering under inexperienced leadership, Edwin Thanhouser

120-537: A series of film titled "Our Own Country". Q. David Bowers sought for information on the release, but could not find that such a release ever materialized. The film work was claimed to be the first film shot on location and it was intended for educational rather than entertainment uses. Though Universal's Joker Comedies brand would also apparently include a scenic film titled "Views of Yellowstone Park", approximately 500 feet in length, released in December 1914. As part of

160-501: A split reel with The Benevolence of Conductor 786 at the beginning. A reviewer of The Moving Picture World said the film showed, "Excellent views of the collared lizard , the horned toad , which is really a lizard also, and the Gila monster , the only poisonous lizard known." Nature's Celebrities is a short subject of unknown length and origin that focuses on the African chameleon and

200-681: A studio in New Rochelle, New York . The company thrived under his leadership and by the summer of 1910, it had established itself as the best of the independents in the industry. Frank E. Woods of the American Biograph Company would pen an editorial in The New York Dramatic Mirror as "The Spectator", praising the Thanhouser company to this effect. It was sold to Mutual Film Corporation on April 15, 1912, for $ 250,000. Charles J. Hite took charge. On January 13, 1913,

240-459: A suffering hubby tried to get rid of the cigars his better half bought him, and the mess his efforts got him into, is the story the picture tells." A review of the subject states that the scenario begins with a wife who purchases some bargain-priced cigars for her husband. The husband and those who he gives them to are also nearly sick from the poor cigars. The well-intentioned wife believes he must like them and orders several boxes for him. Little else

280-512: A very jealous wife. If he pays the slightest attention to any other woman it arouses her anger. Boden, while not at all gay, is gallant, and finds that his life is rapidly becoming a burden. He is particularly upset when his wife discharges his British stenographer and hires a woman who is principally remarkable for her homeliness. On several occasions, Boden proves that he is of the stuff of which heroes are made, but each time his jealous wife spoils things for him. Much to his surprise he discovers that

320-405: A young chemist awakes a century later to a world run by women. The last release of the year was Hypnotized , focusing on a traveling show with an ill-intentioned hypnotist . Thanhouser produced over 1,000 silent films . Among these were: The Old Shoe Came Back The first quarter-reel comedy, of about 250 feet, was The Old Shoe Came Back . It was released on April 15, 1910. The film

360-528: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Thanhouser Company The Thanhouser Company (later the Thanhouser Film Corporation ) was one of the first motion picture studios, founded in 1909 by Edwin Thanhouser , his wife Gertrude and his brother-in-law Lloyd Lonergan . It operated in New York City until 1920, producing over a thousand films. Edwin Thanhouser constructed

400-421: Is an example of the deus ex machina dramatic technique, which Lonergan used to conclude many scenarios. Though it was the first release, it was not the first film to be produced; the first film produced was The Mad Hermit . Produced in the autumn of 1909, The Mad Hermit would not be released until August 1910. According to Lloyd Lonergan , the first script he wrote was for Aunt Nancy Telegraphs , which

440-456: Is known about the production, but its photography was praised and Gloria Gallop is credited in the role of the wife. A Thanhouser Filmography Analysis, provided by Thanhouser Company Film Preservation, lists it as comprising one quarter of a reel - approximately 250 feet. Advertisements show the film paired with She Wanted to Marry a Hero in Texas and Kansas . Nearly a year after its release,

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480-494: The Indian cobra . It was released on November 22, 1914, as part of a split reel with A Messenger of Gladness at the beginning. Q. David Bowers writes, "This film may have been related to the efforts of Dr. Raymond Ditmars, of the nearby New York Zoological Gardens (Bronx Zoo), who was the subject of many trade paper articles for his pioneering films of snakes, lizards, turtles, and other herpetological subjects." In November 1914, it

520-767: The Library of Congress and is scheduled for release on DVD and online streaming in October 2020. To capitalize on the event, Thanhouser Company advertised this release in the October 7 issue of The Moving Picture News and the October 14 issue of The Moving Picture World as First on the Spot coverage of the Calamity The Motion Picture News headlined a review of the footage as a Scoop for Thanhouser – Special Austin Flood Pictures. Shot on June 18, 1910, Roosevelt's Return

560-530: The New York harbor. A brief listing of a film bearing this name, listed at 350 feet in length, was featured in The Moving Picture World on October 22, 1910. Both Pathé and Vitagraph released films under this same title. Vitagraph's film was reportedly 415 feet long, and Pathé's film was about 200 feet in length. Alaska's Adieu to Winter is a documentary that was labeled, perhaps erroneously, with

600-529: The Thanhouser brand. Six of the fifteen films depict Yellowstone Park . An American in the Making and The Spirit of Audubon are two drama productions that contained a significant educational element and both are listed as educational films in the Thanhouser database despite their dramatic elements. Lizards of the Desert is a short, 384-foot-long subject of unknown origin. It was released on October 9, 1914, as part of

640-575: The Thanhouser label. A record of this film exists in The Bioscope which states: "A realistic film, depicting the breaking up of the ice [on] the Tanana River . The heat of the sun breaks up the ice, the huge boulders collapse, and a wooden bridge is carried along, the massive beams being hurled down the stream and carried down to the sea." The 300-foot-long film was released in Britain on October 20, 1910. It

680-495: The United States. The Bioscope reviewer summed up the film briefly, "Ex-President Roosevelt amongst the birds of Louisiana sea islands. Night hawks, purple martins, wild waterfowl, fledgling gulls, etc. A film of good interest and variable quality." Herons and Egrets is a short, 450-foot-long subject featuring the titular birds. The cameraman for this production was Herbert K. Job , not a regular Thanhouser cameraman. The film

720-482: The Universal brand, the scenic productions were likely obtained by a crew under the Universal banner. Q. David Bowers did not find any information on a conclusive release, but evidence suggests the films did in fact see some release. A January 8, 1915, advertisement called for children to see Yellowstone Park, a work deemed to be thirty minutes long, roughly three reels in length. In February 1915, another article suggesting

760-694: The Volunteer Firemen of Westchester County and Vicinity . The film is likely a documentary and likely shows the New Rochelle fire department, but little is known about the actual film's content. It is not stated explicitly if the film was produced by the Thanhouser Company, but another film with the same title was produced around 1905. Between 1913 and 1916, Thanhouser produced fifteen uniquely titled films with an educational focus, all of them except Jungle Life in South America were released as part of

800-440: The content of the film included: "Interesting studies of the pelican, white ibis, gallinule, etc. and sea birds at Bird Key." Ex-president Roosevelt's Feathered Pets is a short, 350-foot-long subject featuring former President Theodore Roosevelt amongst birds. The cameraman for this production was Herbert K. Job , not a regular Thanhouser cameraman. The film was released on June 12, 1916, in Britain and possibly never released in

840-414: The deadly reptiles and smaller animals of South America." Wild Birds at Home is a short, 330-foot-long subject featuring former United States President Theodore Roosevelt amongst birds. The cameraman for this production was Herbert K. Job , not a regular Thanhouser cameraman. The film was released on May 29, 1916, in Britain and possibly never released in the United States. The Bioscope reviewer stated

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880-416: The film was advertised without its other half in one Kearney, Nebraska , theater. The next quarter-reel comedy was A Husband's Jealous Wife and it was split with The Convict . Released on September 23, 1910, the film is also known by the alternative title, The Hero's Jealous Wife . The synopsis of the film was published in The Moving Picture World and it states, "John Boden, a young businessman, has

920-498: The firemen from the surrounding area. According to The New Rochelle Pioneer the Relief Engine Company arranged to have the film shown on October 27 and October 28, 1910, at Germania Hall in New Rochelle. According to the newspaper, in a later edition, the cost of the parade was $ 6,438.16 or equivalent to $ 211,000 in 2023. The Life of a Fireman was shown at Germania Hall on October 27 and 28, 1910, along with Parade of

960-465: The homeliest girl she could find. The film likely had a wide national release, known advertising theatres include Indiana , and Kansas . The film was also shown in Vancouver, British Columbia , Canada. There was 250 million gallons of water. Water from a dam that, according to its builder, could not fail. But it did. So much water was released when the dam failed on Sept. 30, 1911 that it destroyed

1000-432: The homely Susie is his friend, and believes that he is ill-treated. Finally Boden decides that life at home is impossible, and he elopes with Susie, much to the horror and surprise of Mrs. Boden, who had regarded Susie as her natural ally." The film received some praise by the reviewers of The Moving Picture News and The Moving Picture World based on the overbearing wife's jealousy which drives her husband into eloping with

1040-466: The previous release and the next to follow were split reels of similar lengths. The film is not known to have appeared in any reviews or theater advertisements. The last of the three consecutive split-reel releases from Thanhouser was The Cigars His Wife Bought . Released on April 29, 1910, the official synopsis of the film was given in advertisements as: "The cigars his wife bought were bad - awful bad. What would you expect? A woman cannot buy cigars. How

1080-476: The release occurred. Big Gun Making is a 430-foot-long educational documentary made from footage taken by Lawrence Williams under the direction of George Foster Platt at the United States Arsenal at Watervliet, New York . The film was released in Britain on January 6, 1916, and featured footage taken during the production of A Maker of Guns . Jungle Life in South America is a short subject that

1120-693: The same reel. Released on April 15, 1910, A 29-Cent Robbery was included with The Old Shoe Came Back , a short comedy filler subject. The main subject, A 29-Cent Robbery , was the debut of Marie Eline , soon to be famously known as the "Thanhouser Kid". Two more split reels would follow before the release of Jane Eyre . Productions adapted from novels included Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale , Marie Corelli 's Thelma and Mary Jane Holmes 's Tempest and Sunshine . More adaptations of classic works, like Uncle Tom's Cabin , would be interspersed with several original scenarios like The Mermaid and The Restoration . On August 9, The Mad Hermit

1160-542: The town of Austin, Pennsylvania, population 2,000, and took the lives of at least 78 people. Release date October 6, 1911. Following news of the dam’s failure on September 30, 1911, a Thanhouser film crew rushed to Austin where 2,000 feet of film was exposed. An edited 750 feet was shown at Thanhouser's New Rochelle headquarters on Monday, October 2, 1911, and released to the Motion Picture Distributing and Sales Company on October 6. The extant footage survives at

1200-469: Was a production that may not have ever been released by the Thanhouser Company. There are two known announcements for this film, both on June 18. The first is in The Moving Picture World that the film would soon be released as a special release. The New York Clipper announced that the staff had prepared to capture former president Theodore Roosevelt 's return to America. The film was shot in

1240-413: Was added to the end of Falstaff's Maud Muller Modernized . The Falstaff brand was part of Thanhouser and focused exclusively on producing comedies, but this scenic addition is of unknown origin or length. It was released in the United States on March 2, 1916. The title claims to be of the jungles of South America and a reviewer of The Moving Picture World ' described its content as, "Excellent glimpses of

The Hidden Valley - Misplaced Pages Continue

1280-581: Was announced that Thanhouser would be releasing a series of six one-reel scenic films of Yellowstone Park . Footage for these six reels was shot by Thanhouser cameraman, Carl Louis Gregory , and it was shot in the national park in August and September 1914. An announcement in January 1915 said that the films would be introduced by Franklin K. Lane, Secretary of the Interior Department, and that it would be part of

1320-415: Was another short filler comedy, Sand Man's Cure is equally obscure. It was released on April 22, 1910, with Her Battle for Existence . Bowers did not find any information about the film in contemporary trade journals. A Thanhouser Filmography Analysis, provided by Thanhouser Company Film Preservation, lists it as comprising one quarter of a reel - approximately 250 feet. The reasoning is not provided, but

1360-510: Was appended to A 29-Cent Robbery and was first split reel released by the company. There is almost no information surrounding the short filler comedy. Film historian Q. David Bowers credits Thanhouser cameraman, Blair Smith, for the photography, but could not find any information about the film in contemporary trade journals. The film was advertised in numerous states, including theaters in Indiana , Kansas , and New York , The second release

1400-455: Was hired to take charge, but he could not recreate the success of his earlier years. The film industry had evolved and was more competitive by this time, and although films featuring star Florence La Badie were still successful, other ventures were not. La Badie left Thanhouser Corporation in 1917, only weeks before her own death on October 13, 1917, due to injuries sustained in an automobile accident in late August. In 1920, Thanhouser Corporation

1440-419: Was liquidated. The Thanhouser Company's first release was The Actor's Children on March 15, 1910. The plot focused on a family of theater actors who struggle to pay the rent. While the parents are out, their kids are left out on the street where they dance to the music of an organ grinder . They are later rescued by a theater manager and are reunited with their parents at the theater. The film's conclusion

1480-627: Was released and Edwin Thanhouser's fears of it being an amateur production were unfounded. Films in the autumn included novel plots like Dots and Dashes , where Morse code facilitates a man's escape from a safe. As Halloween approached, the company released The Fairies' Hallowe'en , a trick film geared towards child audiences. A Thanksgiving Surprise would also be released in time for Thanksgiving . The winter of 1910 saw more adaptations of classics and short stories, including Paul and Virginia , John Halifax, Gentleman , Rip Van Winkle and The Vicar of Wakefield . Love and Law

1520-546: Was released on December 17, it was to be the first of four films in the "Violet Gray, Detective" series though it was originally billed as part of the "Thanhouser Detective Series". Previously Thanhouser had released another film about a woman reporter who uncovered a political corruption in The Girl Reporter and a young woman who does the same in A Dainty Politician . Thanhouser would also release Looking Forward , an adaptation of James Oliver Curwood 's story, where

1560-423: Was shot in December 1909 but never released. The next release would be an adaptation of Augusta Jane Evans 's novel St. Elmo . The Thanhouser version of St. Elmo would bring the company some recognition and would prove to be a success, but the film is also presumed lost. Thanhouser would release two more original scenarios, She's Done it Again and Daddy's Double , before attempting two productions on

1600-503: Was very unlikely to have been filmed by the Thanhouser company and no record of the film has been found in the United States. The identity of the bridge or the time period in which the film was captured is also unknown at this time. Parade of the Volunteer Firemen of Westchester County and Vicinity is a documentary film produced by the Thanhouser Company. Filmed on October 6, 1910, during a parade of volunteer firemen in New Rochelle, New York . The parade included horses, fire equipment and

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