Betsy J. Green

Down to Earth*

This Douglas Fairbanks film was released on August 16, 1917. It was one of 18 movies that were filmed on California's Channel Islands this year. Many of the scenes of this movie were filmed on Santa Catalina Island. 

An athletic young man has a girlfriend who has checked herself into a sanitarium full of hypochondriacs. He believes their problems are all in their heads, so he takes them on a boat ride and then pretends that the boat is stranded on a desert island.

*Good news! This romcom is available for viewing on Youtube.

Ashes of Vengeance*

This movie starring Norma Talmadge was released on August 6, 1923. It is a historical drama that takes place in the 16th-century – a time when men wore tights and short pants, and women wore fancy dresses – even when it wasn't Sunday. Much of the movie was filmed at a seaside estate in Montecito, California.

*Good news - this movie can be viewed here: http://www.franklloydfilms.com/FEATURE_FILMS.html

Life's Darn Funny

This six-reel comedy was released on August 1, 1921. Some scenes were filmed on California's Santa Catalina Island. A female violinist decides to ditch the violin and form a partnership with a young man who is a struggling dress designer. Complications follow as their relationship develops and they struggle to make ends meet. Finally, their business is a success, and the movie comes to a happy end.

Reviewers agreed that it was a darn funny movie. "A glorious comedy drama." – Evening Post (Wellington, New Zealand), December 13, 1921

No copies are known to exist.

The Fallen Angel

This movie was released on July 28, 1918. Some scenes were filmed on California's Santa Catalina Island.

As you can probably guess from the title, this movie contains a strong moral lesson, and I'm guessing that plenty of moms took their daughters to see it. A young woman who works in a department store has an affair with her boss, a married man. After he passes away, she falls in love with a young man. However, when he learns about her past, he suggests that they shack up instead of getting married.

Here's one strongly worded review. "It rips away the purple, alluring mist of tawdry romance." – Tribune (Salt Lake City, Utah), August 18, 1918

No copies are known to exist.

Purity*

This controversial movie was released on July 23, 1916. It was filmed in several millionaire-estates in Montecito, a suburb of Santa Barbara, California.

Audrey Munson, the star of this movie, was famous for posing au naturel for sculptors, so you can guess what happens in this film produced by the "Flying A" studio. To give the appearance that this is an "art" film and not porn, the movie begins with a scene from Greek mythology showing Pandora opening a box and letting evil escape into the world. This is also an excuse for actresses to traipse around in flimsy costumes that you know their mothers would disapprove of.

One reviewer warned theaters: "Let it be said at the start, that Miss Munson appears several times in the picture unhampered by garments of any sort whatsoever, and there is scene upon scene in which she walks about thinly and diaphanously clad . . . however beautiful and non-salacious such scenes run, their chief spectators will be curiosity seekers." – Motion Picture News, August 5, 1916

*Copies of this film do exist.

The Blood Ship*

This movie about a captain-from-hell was released on July 18, 1927. It was filmed on or around California's Santa Catalina Island.

An African-American actor, who had a small part in the film, received a special mention from a film magazine that was probably unusual for the time.
"There is a colored gentleman in "The Blood Ship" cast who rejoices in the name of Blue Washington, and who certainly can act . . . I wondered why producers do not provide more prominent parts for negroes . . . Quite often we see white men playing blackface parts, which becomes ridiculous when you consider how many clever fellows we have who could play them without makeup." – Film Spectator, December 24, 1927

This film still exists.

Man's Genesis*

This D.W. Griffith movie was released on July 11, 1912. It's a caveman story filmed on California's Santa Catalina Island that starts off with the theme "might makes right" and then evolves into "but brains are better." Two cavemen love the same woman (actress Mae Marsh), and it seems like the one named "Bruteforce" will win the love contest against his rival named "Weakhands" – until, wait for it – Weakhands invents the stone hammer and overcomes Bruteforce.

*You can find a shortened version on Youtube and see what you think, but it did get some good reviews at the time, such as this one: "A most remarkable picture, and one which should create some stir. It is an effort to supply the 'missing link,' and it is a consummately clever effort." – Bioscope (London, England), July 18, 1912

The Dream Ship

This one-reel "Flying A" period drama was released on June 16, 1914, and was filmed on two of the millionaire estates in Montecito, California. It was inspired by a poem which says that in dreamland, a king and a pauper can change places.

According to the story, a woman prefers a man who she believes to be a pauper, but when it is revealed that he is actually a rich guy in disguise, she manages to adjust. C'est la vie, and all that jazz.

No copies are known to exist.

A Failure to Communicate

"Flying A" actors and film crews often showed up unannounced and startled Santa Barbara residents. When the "Flying A" movie folks arrived in Santa Barbara at the beginning of July 1912, they began filming immediately. Back then, there were almost no regulations about where and when they could film, or who they needed to notify. No permits; no problem. Right?

Oops! There were a number of problems caused when actors and film crews showed up unannounced. They scared the bejeezus out of a couple of Chinese gardeners on a ranch just outside the city limits. The gardeners were minding their own business and working in a beanfield when a couple of the "Flying A" actors rode up on horseback, dressed as tough hombres, flashing their six-shooters.

The gardener ran out to the road, where he encountered a local police officer. In spite of the language barrier, the Chinese man was able to convince the copper that something terrible was going on. When they returned to the scene of the "crime," the film crew was able to explain the situation to everyone's satisfaction one way or another. After that, the gardeners had a fun time watching the "bad hombres" do their thing.

This was not the last time that filming by the "Flying A" startled the inhabitants of Santa Barbara. More about that another time.

Why Santa Barbara?

I've written in an earlier post that the "Flying A" moved to Santa Barbara from La Mesa in San Diego County in 1912. One reason was that we have a greater diversity of filming locations – mountains, beaches, historic adobes, mansions in Montecito, and islands – Santa Cruz Island in particular.

Another reason was the lack of afterhours activities in La Mesa. The Santa Barbara paper stated, "One reason why the company ["Flying A"] decided upon a change of base was that there were no amusements for the members of the company."

And a third reason was that Santa Barbara laid out the welcome mat for the movie company, mostly in the hopes that movies made here would encourage tourism. Quite the opposite occurred in La Mesa. "When the company first came to La Mesa, there was a certain element of the town that raised its hands in horror, anticipating an influx of undesirables. A sermon was even preached against the company." (Santa Barbara Morning Press, July 21, 1912)