The Man Who Made the Movies

by Vanda Krefft

  164 “I pray to God,” . . . “There is nothing but”: “Mr. Griffith Killed in Gary.”

  164 “sympathetic to the colored man”: Mary Childs Nerney to Mrs. Mattie J. Burress, Sept. 8, 1915, (Papers of the NAACP, Microfilm, Part 11, Series A, Reel 35).

  164 “Motive for all crimes laid to drink”: Mary Childs Nerney to Mrs. Val Do Turner, Apr. 13, 1915. (Papers of the NAACP, Microfilm, Part 11, Series A, Reel 35).

  164 “really outrageous”: Mary Childs Nerney to Mrs. Mattie J. Burress, Sept. 8, 1915. (Papers of the NAACP, Microfilm, Part 11, Series A, Reel 35).

  164 scrapped film footage . . . new story: Transcript, 95.

  164 The aunts became grandmothers: Ibid., 95–96.

  164 “It was previewed”: USPWF, 56.

  164 probably A Woman’s Honor: “Fox Has Collins Film,” Variety, May 5, 1916, 21.

  164 “Well, Mr. Fox . . . the hell is it?”: George Stevens Jr., Conversations with the Great Moviemakers of Hollywood’s Golden Age (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006), 26–27.

  165 “I knew the actor’s habits”: Transcript, 70.

  165 On the set of Princess . . . praised O’Neil’s acting: Ibid., 98.

  165 “Mantell did not know”: Ibid., 181.

  165 “She was supposed to be happy . . . will not sneer”: Ibid., 84.

  165 Suratt walked off: Ibid.

  166 90 percent complete . . . ready for release: Ibid.

  166 “What is this rubbish” . . . “obedient performers we had”: Ibid., 84–85.

  166 he’d enjoyed nothing more: Transcript, 58.

  CHAPTER 13: A DAUGHTER OF THE GODS (1916)

  167 “buried under an imposing pile”: “Great Production of Fox to Show,” Times-Picayune, Nov. 26, 1916, 45.

  167 “respect and attention”: William Fox, “William Fox Makes Demand for Recognition of Brains in Production of Best Photodramatic Features,” Times-Picayune, May 14, 1916, 45.

  167 Galsworthy, Maeterlinck: Ibid.; “Wants to Be a Judge,” AS, July 17, 1916, 4.

  168 fifth-largest industry: “Five Million Dollar Motion Picture Industry in United States Ranks Next to Steel,” Trenton Sunday Times-Advertiser, Mar. 26, 1916, 22.

  168 $500 million . . . ten million Americans: “At Least $500,000,000 Invested in ‘Movies’,” NYT, Jan. 2, 1916, 108. Another estimate in 1915 stated that fifteen million people attended the movies daily; that may have been a worldwide figure (“Vastness of Film Industry Discussed by a Noted Bank,” MPH, Oct. 30, 1915, 11).

  168 Nineteen fifteen was the pivotal year: “Comment and Suggestion,” New York Dramatic Mirror, Jan. 1, 1916, 22.

  168 “How soon will we have”: Wid Gunning, “Films and Film Folk,” Wid’s Daily, Nov. 25, 1915.

  168 “only to make it possible”: “Sheehan Helps Boost Prices,” MPW, May 22, 1915, 1238.

  168 jotted down a list: “Why William Fox Dared Spend $1,000,000 on Film Without a Single Rival,” Montgomery Advertiser (Montgomery, AL), July 24, 1916, 5.

  168 “so gigantic” . . . rival it: Ibid.

  169 Brenon . . . hired in early 1915: Herbert Brenon deposition, at 1, FFC-HBFC.

  169 Morning Telegraph music critic: “Why Herbert Brenon Did Not Become a Soldier,” New York Morning Telegraph, June 25, 1916.

  169 power to pay cast and crew members: Herbert Brenon deposition, at 2, FFC-HBFC.

  169 entertained Brenon frequently on his houseboat: Herbert Brenon to William Laidlaw, Oct. 15, 1951, 2, HBP.

  169 “a friendship almost emotional . . . Fox gave him”: Randolph Bartlett, “Brenon—the Man,” Photoplay, Mar. 1918, 75.

  169 Pittsburgh real estate firm: “Brenon Proves Himself a Screen Generalissimo,” MPN, May 20, 1916, 3073; “Why Herbert Brenon Did Not Become a Soldier.”

  169 literary salons . . . Parnell: “Mrs. Frances Brenon Dies on Coast at 82,” NYT, July 14, 1931, 22.

  170 dying of kidney disease . . . 1915: “Algernon St. John-Brenon,” NYT, Dec. 20, 1915, 11.

  170 blue-eyed, with wavy brown hair: Emily Gibson, The Original Million Dollar Mermaid: The Annette Kellerman Story with Barbara Firth (Sydney, Australia: Allen and Unwin, 2005), 138. In her own time, the actress spelled her name “Kellermann.”

  170 “Fox’s little baby . . . would do anything”: Ibid., 131.

  170 In early 1915, Brenon pitched: “Brenon Proves Himself a Screen Generalissimo,” MPN, May 20, 1916, 3073.

  170 in Bermuda . . . more than two hundred: “Annette Kellermann,” Atlanta Constitution, May 4, 1916, 12.

  170 seven-reel . . . more than six months: “Brenon Leaves Fox,” New York Dramatic Mirror, July 22, 1916, 22.

  170 known as “The Diving Venus”: “Annette Kellerman Is Signed by William Fox,” MPN, July 17, 1915, 90.

  170 Instantly he agreed . . . as much money as necessary: “Brenon Proves Himself a Screen Generalissimo,” 3073.

  170 “If any other director . . . entirely aside”: William Fox to Herbert Brenon, Nov. 16, 1915, at 6, FFC-HBFC.

  171 “like imbeciles”: Gibson, The Original Million Dollar Mermaid, 131.

  171 $1,500 a week, twice Brenon’s: “Mr. Brenon Asks $50,000 of Mr. Fox,” New York Herald, Aug. 15, 1916.

  171 “entirely too dangerous”: Gibson, The Original Million Dollar Mermaid, 136.

  171 “a very prosaic”: Photo caption, New York Morning Telegraph, Oct. 8, 1916, 7.

  171 “Cast your eyes about . . . business end of this industry”: “Brenon Proves Himself a Screen Generalissimo,” 3073.

  171 lush landscape: “One Million-Dollar Photoplay to Be Masterpiece Made by William A. (sic) Fox,” Times-Picayune, Dec. 5, 1915, 56.

  171 under martial law: “Fox Company Gingers Up Languid Jamaica Natives,” MPN, Nov. 20, 1915, 47.

  171 decline in tourism: “Natives Made Rich,” Boston Daily Globe, Jan. 7, 1917, 151.

  171 authorities offered to help Fox Film: “Brenon Marshals Fox Forces for 3d Week in Jamaica,” MPN, Oct. 9, 1915, 76.

  171 pay only $1.50 . . . telephone equipment: “Jamaica Officials Receive Fox Companies Royally,” MPN, Oct. 2, 1915, 49.

  171 engineers, electricians, and sanitarians: “Brenon Proves Himself a Screen Generalissimo,” 3073.

  172 acres of raw jungle: “Fox Company Gingers Up Languid Jamaica Natives,” 47.

  172 diverting the Roaring River: “One Thousand Jamaica Children as Gnomes in a Fox,” MPN, Feb. 5, 1916, 676.

  172 to create a waterfall: “Torrent Turned and Hills Razed to Produce Kellermann Picture,” SFC, Jan. 7, 1917, 26; “Thrills in Every 1,000 Feet of Kellermann Film,” MPN, June 24, 1916, 3925.

  172 razing a range of hills: “Torrent Turned and Hills Razed to Produce Kellermann Picture,” 26.

  172 arrived in Jamaica in late August 1915: “Jamaica Officials Receive Fox Companies Royally,” MPN, Oct. 2, 1915, 49.

  172 Fort Augusta, near Kingston: “Big Spectacle to Open the Forsyth,” Atlanta Constitution, Sept. 23, 1917, C8.

  172 Taj Mahal–style: “Kellerman (sic) In New Photoplay,” Boston Daily Globe, Jan. 16, 1917, 9.

  172 slave market, mosques, minarets: “Fox Kinetic Expert Unhampered by Jamaica Climate,” MPN, Dec. 11, 1915, 58.

  172 battlements and fortifications: “Fox Company Gingers Up Languid Jamaica Natives,” 47.

  172 sixty-five miles across the island: Ibid.

  172 at St. Ann’s Bay: “Natives Made Rich,” 151.

  172 giant toadstools and miniature thatched huts: “One Thousand Jamaica Children as Gnomes in a Fox,” 676.

  172 one thousand local children: Ibid.

  172 “Dwarf City” . . . bantam chickens: “New Coney Dazzles Its Record Multitude,” NYT, May 15, 1904, 3.

  172 an abandoned King Street movie theater: “First 3 Companies for Kellermann Film in Jamaica,” MPN, Sept. 25, 1915, 64.

  172 $5,000 ice plant . . . film processing: “Fox Kinetic Expert Unhampered by Jamaica Climate,” 58.

  172 Rose Gardens resort hotel: “Brenon Marsha
ls Fox Forces for 3d Week in Jamaica,” 76.

  172 officials signed the lease: “Jamaica Officials Receive Fox Companies Royally,” 49.

  172 entire Osborne Hotel: “Fox Company Gingers Up Languid Jamaica Natives,” 47.

  172 seven-piece orchestra and a conductor: “Brenon’s Kellermann Film,” Variety, Aug. 13, 1915, 15.

  172 emotional power of music: “Notes Written on the Screen,” NYT, June 4, 1916, 84.

  172 more than ten thousand garments: “Brenon Proves Himself a Screen Generalissimo,” 3073. The wardrobe supervisor was Irene Lee, mother of Fox child stars Jane and Katherine Lee.

  172 silk and brocade robes: “Brenon Marshals Fox Forces for 3d Week in Jamaica,” 76.

  172 pearl-trimmed Indian gowns: “Natives Made Rich,” 151.

  172 more than two hundred: “Daughter of the Gods,” Chicago Defender, Apr. 13, 1918, 6.

  172 metallic mermaid tails: “The King of Jamaica,” Photoplay, July 1916, 137.

  172 run through his entire supply of gold: “Jamaica Officials Receive Fox Companies Royally,” 49.

  172 gold coins—$200,000 worth: “Undersea City, Ten Acres, for Fox Subject,” MPN, Sept. 4, 1915, 46.

  172 shipped down more gold: Ibid.

  173 “And understand me”: “Fox General Manager, Visiting Detroit, Talks of Million-Dollar Kellermann Picture,” MPN, Sept. 18, 1915, 61.

  173 cost an estimated $110,000: Roy E. Aitken, The Birth of a Nation Story as Told to Al P. Nelson (Middleburg, VA: William W. Denlinger, 1965), 46.

  173 Birth of a Nation . . . $300,000: Mark, review of Birth of a Nation, Variety, Mar. 12, 1915, 23.

  173 312 brand-new homes: The average price of a new U.S. home in 1915 was $3,200. See http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/007276.html.

  173 at least $800,000: Variety estimated that Fox spent $850,000 to make A Daughter of the Gods and an additional $350,000 to market it (“Big Picture Costs and Road Show Profits,” Variety, Mar. 18, 1925, 27). In a court deposition, Fox stated that the movie had cost almost $1 million to produce (William Fox deposition, at 2, FFC-HBFC), and in a press release, he said he’d spent $908,000 for wages, rentals, and materials (“Just What William Fox’s Million Dollar,” press release, FFC-HBFC).

  173 “I cannot say enough”: “‘Punch’ Given Picture By Good Titles Known to Fox,” MPN, Sept. 18, 1915, 75.

  173 $750 a week: “Mr. Brenon Asks $50,000 of Mr. Fox.”

  173 supervise other directors: William Fox to Herbert Brenon, Nov. 9, 1915, at 3, 5, FFC-HBFC.

  173 “Come down and help . . . your duty”: Ibid., 2.

  173 Thousands of employees . . . “every minute”: Ibid.

  173 three subpar movies . . . on the shelf: Ibid.

  173 complete confidence in Brenon: Ibid., 3.

  173 “I want you to believe . . . I intend”: Ibid., 1.

  174 “get under the surface”: Herbert Brenon to William Laidlaw, Oct. 15, 1951, 2, HBP.

  174 Calling himself “Director General”: “Brenon Marshals Fox Forces for 3d Week in Jamaica,” 76.

  174 dictated a new synopsis to his secretary: Minola De Pass deposition, FFC-HBFC.

  174 set that synopsis aside as well: Ibid.

  174 “begin with the great moment”: “Brenon Does Not Work from Scenario, Only Synopsis,” MPN, Mar. 11, 1916, 1456.

  174 recovered his characteristic enthusiasm: William Fox to Herbert Brenon, Nov. 9, 1915, at 1, FFC-HBFC.

  174 Griffith . . . neglected his own work: William Fox to Herbert Brenon, Nov. 16, 1915, at 3–4, FFC-HBFC.

  174 “leaves the field entirely open”: Ibid., 4.

  174 eight lions . . . $200 a day: William Fox to Herbert Brenon, Nov. 9, 1915, at 4, FFC-HBFC.

  174 “When ordering your animals . . . your own judgment”: Ibid.

  174 “Shipped today eight swans . . . other four”: Ibid., 6

  174 in Philadelphia . . . next available boat: Ibid.

  174 fastest and best-trained horses: “Brenon Proves Himself a Screen Generalissimo,” 3073.

  175 ten alligators . . . flock of sparrows: “The King of Jamaica,” Photoplay, July 1916, 137.

  175 entire department and hired Fred Warren: William Fox to Herbert Brenon, telegram, Sept. 1, 1915, FFC-HBFC.

  175 “Have instructed him . . . stop worrying”: William Fox to Herbert Brenon, telegram, Sept. 12, 1915, FFC-HBFC.

  175 submit all A Daughter of the Gods publicity material: Frederick B. Warren deposition, FFC-HBFC.

  175 “the greatest living genius”: “This Is the Story of a Man who Dreamed a $1,000,000 dream—and made it come True,” press release, undated, “Exhibits” folder, FFC-HBFC.

  175 “ain’t I like a fairy Godmother”: William Fox to Herbert Brenon, Nov. 9, 1915, at 5, FFC-HBFC.

  175 “Nothing would please me better”: Ibid.

  175 “I think I would have hesitated”: William Fox to Herbert Brenon, Nov. 16, 1915, at 4, FFC-HBFC.

  175 “to sit down with someone”: William Fox to Herbert Brenon, Nov. 9, 1915, at 1, FFC-HBFC.

  176 “how great the suspense is”: William Fox to Herbert Brenon, Nov. 16, 1915, at 2, FFC-HBFC.

  176 “But, really, my dear Herbert”: Ibid.

  176 “You know best . . . any suggestions”: Ibid.

  176 five-foot megaphone: F. C. Schang, “Chats with Stage Folk,” NYTR, Apr. 30, 1916, C4.

  176 six cameramen filming: “Brenon Uses 6 Cameras in Taking Kellermann Scenes,” MPN, May 13, 1916, 2876.

  176 containing six crocodiles: Kellermann referred to them as crocodiles; elsewhere, the animals were reported to be alligators.

  176 with open mouths: Gibson, The Original Million Dollar Mermaid, 138–41.

  176 fourteen feet long: “Brenon-Kellermann Company Has Returned From Kingston,” Variety, Apr. 21, 1916, 24.

  176 “Gee, those dummies are wonderful!”: Gibson, The Original Million Dollar Mermaid, 142.

  176 arms bound . . . coral headland: “Thrills in Every 1,000 Feet of Kellermann Film,” 3925.

  176 twenty-five-foot waves: “Brenon-Kellermann Company Has Returned From Kingston,” 24.

  176 cuts from her shoulders: “Thrills in Every 1,000 Feet of Kellermann Film,” 3925.

  176 dragged unconscious from the water: Ibid.

  176 dived 103 feet off a lighthouse: Ibid.

  176 wearing a suit of armor . . . fatal proximity: Ibid.

  176 no older than nine: “One Thousand Jamaica Children as Gnomes in a Fox,” 676.

  176 throwing stones . . . with sticks: “Thrills in Every 1,000 Feet of Kellermann Film,” 3925.

  176 “I had no sense of danger”: Gibson, The Original Million Dollar Mermaid, 137.

  177 it was a miracle: “Brenon-Kellermann Company Has Returned From Kingston,” 24.

  177 Christmas 1915 release: “Fox General Manager Visiting Detroit, Talks of Million-Dollar Kellermann Picture,” 61.

  177 Gordon Edwards . . . also in Jamaica: “A Wife’s Sacrifice at the Academy,” New York Morning Telegraph, Mar. 27, 1916.

  177 forty-eight-year-old: Edwards was born on June 24, 1867.

  177 “just as a red rag”: Bartlett, “Brenon—the Man,” 78.

  177 argued violently . . . off the set: Herbert Brenon to William Laidlaw, Nov. 17, 1951, 3, HBP.

  177 wouldn’t be finishing anytime soon: Gibson, The Original Million Dollar Mermaid, 142.

  177 “fighting like cat and dog”: Ibid., 143.

  177 his wife, Helen: “Brenon Proves Himself a Screen Generalissimo,” 3073.

  177 leaving his wife . . . at home: Gibson, The Original Million Dollar Mermaid, 138.

  177 “Brenon’s worst enemy” Ibid., 143.

  177 Heavy rains plagued: “Jamaica Officials Receive Fox Companies Royally,” 49.

  177 infested with blue-nose . . . 350 pounds: “Daring Swimmers Chased; Annette Kellermann in Danger from Attack,” Aberdeen American (Aberdeen, SD), Aug. 13, 1916, 13. />
  178 explode dynamite . . . harpoon: “Some Shark Story!” PI, Nov. 5, 1916, 7.

  178 Stores were open . . . 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.: “Jamaica Officials Receive Fox Companies Royally,” 49.

  178 average of 7,600 . . . distrust of whites: “Sometimes Forty a Day Wounded in Brenon Fights,” 2324; “Twenty a Day Hurt in Jamaica Battle Scenes,” New York Morning Telegraph, Apr. 16, 1916, 15.

  178 battle-axes . . . other weapons: “Sometimes Forty a Day Wounded in Brenon Fights,” 2324.

  178 forty people . . . twenty-seven: Ibid.

  178 twenty per day: “Twenty a Day Hurt in Jamaica Battle Scenes,” 15; “Sometimes Forty a Day Wounded in Brenon Fights,” 2324.

  178 military costumes: “Director Brenon Is Jamaican Judge,” New York Morning Telegraph, Apr. 2, 1916.

  178 pilfering items . . . from the sets: “A Daughter of the Gods Divine,” New York Dramatic Mirror, Apr. 8, 1916, 27.

  178 chief magistrate . . . prosecutor: “Director Brenon Is Jamaican Judge.”

  178 tossed into jail: “A Daughter of the Gods Divine,” 27.

  178 as mild as swearing: “Director Brenon Is Jamaican Judge.”

  178 “where there is dissension”: William Fox to Herbert Brenon, Nov. 16, 1915, at 4, FFC-HBFC.

  178 as much as $34,000 a week: “Natives Made Rich,” 151.

  178 every week, a United Fruit Company steamer: “Fox Kinetic Expert Unhampered by Jamaica Climate,” 58.

  178 more than a thousand tons: Untitled item, Toledo Blade, Dec. 28, year unclear (New York Sun morgue, NYPL).

  178 $7,000 to have ten camels shipped: “Millions and More Millions of Movies,” press release, undated, “Exhibits” folder, FFC-HBFC.

  178 camels did five minutes’ worth of work: Ibid.

  179 100 boats . . . eight seconds: Ibid.

  179 $250,000 Moorish “white city”: “Just What William Fox’s Million Dollar Kellermann Picture Is,” Press release, FFC-HBFC.

  179 “I have never seen much value”: William Fox to Herbert Brenon, Nov. 16, 1915, at 6, FFC-HBFC.

  179 “this city should not be destroyed”: Ibid.

  179 “I draw the attention . . . Management William Fox”: Herbert Brenon ad, Variety, Mar. 24, 1916. The same ad, with minor modifications, appeared in: Wid’s Daily, Mar. 30, 1916; New York Dramatic Mirror, Apr. 1, 1916; Motion Picture News, Apr. 8, 1916; MPW, Apr. 8, 1916; and Motography, Apr. 15, 1916.