Selig is developing a new type of pictures and is offering those with an Oriental setting, and is measurably successful in the production of this type. Many details are not yet adjusted satisfactorily, but each succeeding picture is better than the one before it, both in staging and acting. By far the best piece of work in this one is the acting of Jack, which is so coldly self-reliant that it startles those Orientals who are used to having every one cringe before them. And when he walks away from before the leveled rifles free he does it so nonchalantly that the audience applauds. The story goes on to include the capture of the Sultan and the release of the girl, but, after Jack's release, the rest of the play is tame. The staging is reasonably good, and the lighting of the various scenes is, perhaps, as good as could reasonably be expected. The picture is well worth seeing and deserves a long run. - The Moving Picture World, June 26, 1909
2 Reviews
The First Movie in Hollywood
OldieMovieFan27 May 2023
"In May. 1909, Francis Boggs, director of the Selig Polyscope company, brought the first motion picture aggregation to Los Angeles. Boggs - who was shot and killed
by an insane Japanese gardener three years ago - was the real father of the moving picture industry on the coast. He opened a small temporary studio on Olive street near Eighth, almost in the heart of the business district. At that time the Turkish trouble was at its height, and Boggs, always up to date, wanted to put on a film having some special bearing on the Turkish affair. He offered me the leading part.
I was heartily indignant and talked about my Augustin Daly traditions, but he assured me that it was a perfectly honest and legitimate way to make a living, and promised that my name would not be used in connection with the production.
It was called "In the Power of the Sultan," one reel in length, and required two days in the making.
It was the pioneer picture in the west. Up to that time no motion picture had ever been produced west of the Rocky Mountains. In that drama, Stella Adams, now with the Universal, played the lead and Betty Harte the juvenile lead. Tom Santschi, still with Selig as director and actor, was in the cast and was also the general utility man of the studio ; James McGee was the business man- ager, and the other members of the little company were Frank Montgomery, who has since won renown as a director of Indian plays, and Ed Vivian, who was drowned at Redondo Beach several years ago. James Crosby, now chief of the Universal laboratory, was the cameraman.
The plant was a vacant lot with an old building on it that served as a dressing room. I will never forget my first visit to it. My heart sank into my boots when I viewed the frightful disorder of the place. The stage was covered with carpets and debris and, viewing my ill-concealed repugnance, Boggs said : "Never mind the floor, we will only cut to your knees ; the rest won't show." That first scene was a shocking experience. I had been accustomed to rapid fire stock production, one play a week, and it was inconceivable that sets could be got up so quickly and used so little. None was used more than two days, ~ the average time consumed in making a reel, and while it was being done, they were preparing the scenario for the next production."
~ Quoted from an article in Photoplay Magazine, December, 1915, pp. 75-77, called "The Picture Forty-Niners" and written by the leading man, Hobart Bosworth. Available at archive dot org.
I was heartily indignant and talked about my Augustin Daly traditions, but he assured me that it was a perfectly honest and legitimate way to make a living, and promised that my name would not be used in connection with the production.
It was called "In the Power of the Sultan," one reel in length, and required two days in the making.
It was the pioneer picture in the west. Up to that time no motion picture had ever been produced west of the Rocky Mountains. In that drama, Stella Adams, now with the Universal, played the lead and Betty Harte the juvenile lead. Tom Santschi, still with Selig as director and actor, was in the cast and was also the general utility man of the studio ; James McGee was the business man- ager, and the other members of the little company were Frank Montgomery, who has since won renown as a director of Indian plays, and Ed Vivian, who was drowned at Redondo Beach several years ago. James Crosby, now chief of the Universal laboratory, was the cameraman.
The plant was a vacant lot with an old building on it that served as a dressing room. I will never forget my first visit to it. My heart sank into my boots when I viewed the frightful disorder of the place. The stage was covered with carpets and debris and, viewing my ill-concealed repugnance, Boggs said : "Never mind the floor, we will only cut to your knees ; the rest won't show." That first scene was a shocking experience. I had been accustomed to rapid fire stock production, one play a week, and it was inconceivable that sets could be got up so quickly and used so little. None was used more than two days, ~ the average time consumed in making a reel, and while it was being done, they were preparing the scenario for the next production."
~ Quoted from an article in Photoplay Magazine, December, 1915, pp. 75-77, called "The Picture Forty-Niners" and written by the leading man, Hobart Bosworth. Available at archive dot org.
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