Betsy J. Green

Miss Adventure was released on May 4, 1919

The leading lady had a close call during the filming of this five-reel adventure movie on two of California's Channel Islands – Santa Cruz Island and Santa Catalina Island.

"Fox Star Narrowly Escapes Being Hurt. Carried over a cliff and into the sea by a runaway automobile, Peggy Hyland . . . narrowly escaped drowning last week . . . The accident happened at Catalina Island, Cal., where Miss Hyland and her company were filming scenes for Miss Adventure . . . Miss Hyland, with Director Lynn F. Reynolds . . . was going to a location on the edge of a sharp bluff overlooking the Pacific. The road was narrow, but as it was straight and there were no visible difficulties, Mr. Reynolds, who was at the wheel, was driving at a rather rapid pace. Coming suddenly upon a hairpin turn, he was unable to swerve the car quickly enough . . . the machine [car] shot over the edge of the cliff, raced down the sharp incline and plunged into the surf." – Exhibitors Herald & Motography, April 12, 1919

There are no known copies of this film.

Whose Wife?

On April 30, 1917, the five-reel film Whose Wife? was released. Some scenes were filmed at the Miramar resort in Montecito, California. (The film doesn't seem to have survived. The resort has survived, but it has been totally rebuilt.)

The lead actress created a minor furor by refusing to wear a swimsuit. "Star Refuses to Wear Bathing Suit. Gail Kane . . . broke the hearts of her masculine associates by refusing to wear a bathing suit in the beach scene in the picture." – Los Angeles Herald, May 11, 1917

Neptune's Daughter

On April 25, 1914, the seven-reel mermaid fantasy Neptune's Daughter was released. Some scenes were filmed on California's Santa Catalina Island, although most of it was filmed in Bermuda.

Reviewers from as far away as Scotland were impressed by the film. "Lovers of the sea will be charmed and fascinated with the graceful movements of the mermaids." – Devon Valley Tribune (Clackmannanshire, Scotland), August 1, 1916

Copies of this film do exist.

The Tiger's Trail

On April 20, 1919, the adventure serial The Tiger's Trail was released. Some episodes were filmed on California's Santa Cruz Island. Maybe it should have been called The Trail of the Spider. Read on.

"During the making of this picture, Miss Roland [the star] had to lie outstretched on the studio floor for several hours waiting for a tarantula to crawl up her arm so that the camera could register the scene." – Photo-Play Journal, April 1919

"In one scene . . . she has to let [a tarantula] climb up her bare arm . . . she says it 'stepped on her as carefully as if she had been a warm personal friend.'" – Star (Seattle, Washington), April 10, 1919

There are no known copies of this serial.

The Woman in the Web

On April 8, 1918, the serial film The Woman in the Web was released. It had 15 episodes, some of which were filmed on California's Santa Cruz Island. The company ran into some very unusual weather during the filming.

"The players . . . journey to the Santa Cruz Islands [sic] to film 'sunny summer weather,' demanded in the script. But they bumped into a full-fledged snow flurry and stoutly maintain that the scenes made of snow clinging to the blossoming trees and plants are the most beautiful ever recorded." – Motography, April 20, 1918

There are no known copies of this film.

The Dumb Girl of Portici

On April 3, 1916, the eight-reel film The Dumb Girl of Portici was released. Some scenes for the movie were filmed at an estate in Montecito, California. (A century ago, the term "dumb" meant "unable to speak.") The star was a world-famous ballerina.

The film was extremely popular. "Although Pavlowa in The Dumb Girl of Portici has been shown six times daily to crowded houses . . . there are hundreds of people who have been turned away." – Los Angeles Herald, May 13, 1916

(This film was available on Youtube the last time I checked.)

Cars and stars at the "Flying A"

Of course, if you're a movie star, you can't just drive any old car. The star ingenue at Santa Barbara's "Flying A," Mary Miles Minter had a peacock blue Packard, for example.

William Russell, the leading actor at the studio, also had a spiffy set of wheels. He poses here in front of the "Flying A" studio. That building is still here at Mission and Chapala, and still looks pretty much the same today as it did 100 years ago. Not sure what happened to the car.

Ancestry

This movie was released on March 22, 1915. It could have been titled The Didn't Wanna-Be Duchess. It was filmed on one of the estates in Montecito, California. A young American woman is asked by a real Italian duchess to masquerade as her daughter, for reasons that are too convoluted to explain here. The young woman is, of course, happy to do this. (Who wouldn't?) Both the real duchess and the wanna-be duchess return to Italy and live la dulce vita on the palatial estate until the wanna-be duchess falls in love with an American artist.

So, here's the catch. (You knew there had to be a catch, right?) Her amante is a commoner, and that's completamente impossibile for someone of her position. Oh, mio Dio! What to do?

After much hand-wringing and bosom clutching, the wanna-be duchess decides she doesn't wanna be. So, she fesses up to the young man, and suddenly life is beautiful! The movie ends as the happy couple vow to love each other yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

No copies are known to exist. 

Special Effects on the Cheap

One hundred years ago, movie studios had neither budget nor equipment for special effects, so they leapt into action to film natural disasters such as shipwrecks and use them in a film. In 1915, the Norwegian ship Aggi ran aground on California's Santa Rosa Island. The Universal Film Company of Universal City paid $4,000 for the rights to film on the wreck and produced a film aptly titled The Toll of the Sea.

No copies are known to exist.

The Diamond Queen
Some scenes of this adventure serial, released on March 15, 1921, were filmed on California's Santa Catalina Island. Here's the summary of just one episode of "The Diamond Queen" starring Eileen Sedgwick:

"She is called upon to jump from the rails of an ocean liner, in the dead of night, into a rough and shark-infested sea. Rough water had no terrors for Eileen Sedgwick, but sharks were an experience. Needless to say, she performed the hazardous feat herself, and it was marked by the same spirit of courage and daring which is so characteristic of this girl's screen work." – Moving Picture Weekly, January 21, 1921

No copies are known to exist.