Betsy J. Green

Nasty Language on the Set

"The studio vernacular of stage electricians proved disconcerting to a nervous visitor from the Midwest during the filming of . . . The Unfoldment. [This 1922 silent movie was also filmed on California's Santa Catalina Island.] When the cameraman yells 'Feed 'em' it means the electrical current is turned on; 'Hit 'em' is the signal to strike a blow against a tube in case a light flickers; when the command 'Kill 'em' is given, the lights are turned completely off.

"Kern was directing Florence Lawrence and William Conklin in a dramatic scene. 'Feed 'em' commanded the electrician. 'Oh, they are serving lunch to the players, aren't they?' smiled the visitor. A few minutes later the chief electrician yelled, 'Hit 'em hard.' The nervous visitor became visibly more nervous. 'Now kill 'em dead,' howled the chief electrician. The lights went out and Director Kern said, 'Good work.'

"'Mercy, but this studio is a brutal place,' said the visitor in a horror-struck voice, as she swept off the stage. 'I'm going to notify the police of these goings on,' she concluded as she banged the stage door.'" – Los Angeles Herald, February 21, 1921

Happy Birthdate, Eugene O'Brien!

Silent film actor Eugene O'Brien was born on November 14, 1880, in Colorado. He appeared in more than 50 silent movies. In 1923, he costarred with Norma Talmadge in The Voice From the Minaret, directed by Frank Lloyd. Some scenes were filmed at a polo club in Montecito, California, which was rigged up to resemble a polo club in Bombay, India.

"Two stands, containing 18 boxes each, have been erected for the spectators. These are resplendent with vari-colored rugs and hangings, and with the Union Jack to lend the scene a Far Eastern glamour . . . The opening scene will be the arrival of the Governor-General of Bombay, accompanied by his wife (Norma Talmadge). The official party will be escorted by a troupe of Indian cavalry men to their box, which will be elaborate with Persian rugs and draperies." – Santa Barbara Morning Press, July 15, 1922

An Unplanned Stunt Behind the Scenes

In 1912, Santa Barbara's "Flying A" was at its temporary location in an old ostrich farm at State and Islay streets. Enter some local electricians who were just trying to do their job. Unfortunately, no one explained that to the "Flying A" guard dog. And, apparently, no one told the electricians about the dog, or that the dog took her job very seriously. What happened next seems like it was a scene from a silent movie. Too bad no one had the camera running.

The local paper wrote, "The debonair electricians approached and started to go through the corral. With a yelp and a bound, the collie appeared on the scene. Her eyes were glaring, and she meant business."

The electricians all took a flying leap to the top of the high wooden fence. The noise attracted the "Flying A" folks who managed to explain the situation to the dog, and to the electricians, and everyone calmed down. Fortunately, this story had a happy ending.

Happy Birthdate, Elsie Jane Wilson!

Silent film actress Elsie was born on November 7, 1885, in Australia. She appeared in more than 30 silent movies. In 1915, she starred in the "Flying A" production of The Lure of the Mask that was filmed in Montecito, California.

During the filming, a misplaced prop from the film caused a scene all by itself. A gardener found a sword in the woods that had been used in the movie, and thought that a murder had been committed. While the worker was showing the sword's location to the police, two of the actors from the movie came up all out of breath and asked if a sword had been found. They explained that they had fought – for film purposes only – a duel near where the sword was found, and that, on departing, they had forgotten all about it. The police accepted their explanation, and the case was closed. Whew!

A Fight All Too Real

Sometimes the fight scenes in the silent movies looked very real – because they were. Scenes for the 1915 film The Yankee Girl were filmed on California's Santa Catalina Island. The two actors who took part in a fight in the movie (Howard Davies and Forrest Stanley), apparently used it as an opportunity to settle an old score.

"The clash in The Yankee Girl contained 'business' the director never intended and over which he could exercise no control. The two panting athletes were finally disengaged, Davies growling something about Stanley 'butting,' and Stanley appealing to the referee against 'strangle holds.' But Dal Clawson, the cameraman, merely grinned for he knew the treasure that now safely reposed in his magazine." – Movie Magazine, September 1915

Happy Birthdate, Percy Standing!

Standing was born in England in 1882. He appeared in some 40 movies in the silent era. In 1919, he starred in Bonds of Love along with Pauline Frederick filmed at one of the million-dollar mansions of Montecito, California.

The local paper reported, "The Pauline Frederick company spent six days in Santa Barbara obtaining exterior action . . . Montecito, Santa Barbara's fashionable residential suburb, world-famous for its mansions and picturesque countryside, was taken full advantage of." – Santa Barbara Morning Press, June 22, 1919

Dash, Love and Splash

The silent film comedy, Dash, Love and Splash, was released on October 19, 1914. This ½ reel (5 min.) film starred Charley Chase. Chase appeared in more than 250 short comedies such as this one. Although I wasn't able to find any photos, for sure, young ladies in bathing suits were the featured attraction.

This movie was filmed on California's Santa Catalina Island, one of the prime locations for silent movies set on a beach.

Happy Birthdate, Thomas Santschi!

Santschi was born on October 14, 1878. He appeared in more than 200 movies during the silent era. In 1916, he starred in The Garden of Allah along with Helen Ware. Although, it was planned to film some scenes at the Santa Barbara Mission, this did not happen. Instead, scenes were made at the million-dollar Gillespie mansion in Montecito, California. The substitution is not surprising because the story involves a monk who leaves the monastery and gets married.

Two other versions of this movie were made: another silent film in 1927, then later a talkie in 1936 starring Marlene Dietrich and Charles Boyer.

In Old California When the Gringoes Came

The American Film Company, the "Flying A," settled in Santa Barbara, California in 1912, but there were other silent movie studios that filmed here before that. In fact, movies made by other film companies might have inspired the "Flying A" to move here.

In 1911, the Selig Polyscope studio filmed here, probably to use one or more of our adobe homes. I asked local adobe expert, John Woodward, about the adobe in the photo. He told me that it might be the Daniel Hill adobe on La Patera Lane in Goleta.

In Old California When the Gringoes Came takes place during the late 1840s when California became part of the United States, and concerns the story of an unscrupulous American guy who is trying to cheat a Spanish family of their estate.

Happy Birthdate, Antonio Moreno!

September 26 is the birthdate of Antonio Moreno in 1887. Born in Madrid, Spain, he was a prominent leading man in the silent era and continued in films up to the 1950s. He  appeared in more than 150 films, including several serials.

In 1925, he starred in Her Husband's Secret filmed at a million-dollar mansion in Montecito, CA. One scene in this film called for Moreno to fling himself over a cliff.

"Seconds seemed like minutes before the star leaped off the top of the precipice and virtually flew through space toward the rocks and the camera on the shoreline. Moreno had figured his leap accurately and cleared some jagged rocks and tree trunks close to the top of the cliff and fell on his back in loose sand, finishing his downward journey by rolling over some rocks and brush and stopping within inches of the outside measurements of the camera lines . . . Studio veterans said it was the most accurately planned and executed leap they had ever seen." – Evening News (Santa Cruz, California), September 30, 1925