Essanay Chicago Films – Surviving
Compiled by David Kiehn – Historian, Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum
The following list represents the output of the Essanay Film Company in Chicago.
Guide to the Essanay Filmography
• Film titles are listed in chronological order by release date, when known.
• Where the release date is uncertain a “?” follows the date.
• Copyright dates are listed beginning in December 1914.
• Any two consecutive films with the same date were released together (known as a split reel).
• All films are one reel (35mm, 1000 ft.) unless otherwise noted.
• Unknown film length is indicated by “? ft.”
• Filming locations follow if known.
• Remake information follows the synopsis in parentheses.
• When the film is known to exist in some form the film title is preceded by an “*” and the viewing source is contained in brackets at the end of the listing.
Abbreviations:
D: director, AD: assistant director, PH: photographer, ST: story, SC: scenario, GM: general manager, C: cast, S: synopsis
Directors:
Anderson is assumed to be the producer, director, editor and writer of his films until late 1909, when he added acting to his duties, and began to use, on occasion, scenarios written by other people. His directing credit followed by a “?” indicates uncertainty as to his involvement with a film. Anderson’s cameraman from 1907 to mid-1908 was Gilbert P. Hamilton, then Jesse J. Robbins took over until he became manager of the Niles studio in 1913. Rollie Totheroh and Ira Morgan worked on later films.
Cast and Crew:
Other crew people (never credited on screen at Essanay) can roughly be determined by their dates of employment; for that information, when not listed, see the employees section. Ben Turpin was the only regularly employed actor at first, but his credit in each film is only listed when confirmed. Cast credits have been compiled from trade magazine listings, and through visual sightings in still photographs and movies that have survived. Character names or descriptions follow in parentheses.
Essanay Filmography
*An Awful Skate; or, the Hobo on Rollers (27 July 1907) 683 ft. Chicago D: G.M. Anderson PH: Gilbert P. Hamilton C: Ben Turpin (hobo), G.M. Anderson (bystander) S: A hobo runs into people on the street while rollerskating. [GEH]
*A Disastrous Flirtation (26 August 1908) 500 ft. Chicago D: G.M. Anderson PH: Gilbert P. Hamilton S: A young man winks at every woman he sees and gets punished by them for it. [ESB-Barcelona]
*The Installment Collector (16 December 1908) 550 ft. Chicago D: G.M. Anderson? S: A man purchases a book on the installment plan and is hounded by the collector wherever he goes. [NFSA 16mm]
*The Neighbors’ Kids (6 January 1909) 550 ft. Chicago D: G.M. Anderson C: Ben Turpin (servant) S: Two little girls create mischief in a household. (remake of Anderson’s Selig Polyscope film The Tomboys, released 11 August 1906) [LOC]
*The Haunted Lounge (6 January 1909) 370 ft. Chicago D: G.M. Anderson? C: Ben Turpin (tramp) S: A tramp being chased by a policeman hides in a folding lounge on the street. The cop takes the sofa home and is confounded by it. (reworking of The Hoodoo Lounge, released 18 November 1908) [LOC]
*The Tell-Tale Blotter (24 February 1909) one reel Chicago C: William Bailey (boyfriend) S: The rejected suitor of a merchant’s daughter finds the combination of a safe imprinted on a blotter and robs the safe. When her boyfriend is accused of the crime, she gets a hypnotist to put the suitor in a trance to reveal the hiding place of the loot. [LOC]
*Mr. Flip (12 May 1909) 450 ft. Chicago D: G.M. Anderson? C: Ben Turpin (Mr. Flip) S: Pain and rejection doesn’t stop Mr. Flip from flirting. [Video]
*Ten Nights in a Barroom (9 June 1909) 992 ft. Chicago D: William Pratt or Thomas Ricketts C: Thomas Ricketts (drunk), Josephine Ditt (his wife), Ben Turpin (cashier) S: The old play is given a modern treatment with a little girl’s near-death snapping the father out of his drunken way of life. [LOC, NESFM]
*A Case of Seltzer (28 Jul 1909) 210 ft. Chicago D: G.M. Anderson? C: Ben Turpin (dealing cards), J. H. Gilmour? (masher) S: A masher follows a lady home and her brothers seltzer him. For once, Turpin isn’t on the receiving end of the seltzer, and he enjoys it! [GEH]
*My Wife’s Gone to the Country (Hooray! Hooray!) (1 September 1909) 952 ft. Chicago S: While the wife is away, her husband goes out on the town with two friends and brings two chorus girls home, but they have to hide when the wife misses her train and returns home. [LOC]
*Taft in Chicago, and at the Ball Game (20 September 1909) one reel Chicago S: Views of Taft in Chicago are taken and released less than a week after his visit. [LOC]
*Two Sides to a Story (1 December 1909) 593 ft. Chicago D: Thomas Ricketts S: A widower with seven children falls in love with a widow with six children and they don’t tell each other about the flocks until after they are married. [LOC]
*Baby Swallows a Nickel (1 December 1909) 388 ft. Chicago D: Thomas Ricketts S: A jealous older sister takes the nickel their father gave the baby and buys candy; meanwhile the mother thinks the baby swallowed the nickel and six doctors descend on the house to consult about it until the truth is discovered. [NFTA as Baby Swallowed a Three Penny]
*Baby’s First Tooth (16 February 1910) 385 ft. Chicago D: Thomas Ricketts C: Martha Russell (mother) S: [GEH 321 ft.]
*He Stubs His Toe (11 May 1910) 597 ft. Chicago D: Thomas Ricketts C: J. Warren Kerrigan S: [LOC]
*A Quiet Boarding House (11 May 1910) 363 ft. Chicago D: Thomas Ricketts C: Frank Hamilton S: [LOC]
*Levi’s Dilemma (1 June 1910) 760 ft. Chicago D: Thomas Ricketts S: [NFTA]
*A Honeymoon for Three (15 June 1910) one reel Chicago D: Thomas Ricketts C: J. Warren Kerrigan S: [LOC]
*Pat and the Four Hundred (29 June 1910) 716 ft. Chicago D: Thomas Ricketts S: [NFTA]
*A Darling Confusion (6 July 1910) 448 ft. Chicago D: Thomas Ricketts C: J. Warren Kerrigan (husband), Martha Spier (the wife) S: [NFTA]
*Mulcahy’s Raid (3 August 1910) 550 ft. Chicago D: Thomas Ricketts C: Harry Todd (Sergeant Mulcahy), J. Warren Kerrigan (policeman), Augustus Carney S: [GEH]
*A College Chicken (3 August 1910) 448 ft. Chicago D: Thomas Ricketts C: William Lee (student), Sam Morris (student), Josephine Ricketts, Dot Farley S: [GEH]
*Whist! (14 September 1910) 545 ft. Chicago D: Thomas Ricketts C: Augustus Carney S: A whist game is disrupted by people in the adjoining apartments practicing musical instruments. [NFTA]
*Hank and Lank Dude Up Some (28 September 1910) 307 ft. Chicago D: G.M. Anderson PH: Jess Robbins C: Augustus Carney (Hank), Victor Potel (Lank) S: Hank accidently falls down a coal-chute and is paid to avoid a lawsuit, but Lank fails at the scam and is kicked out. [LOC]
*Curing a Masher (28 September 1910) 660 ft. Chicago D: G.M. Anderson PH: Jess Robbins C: Augustus Carney (masher), Clara Williams, J. Warren Kerrigan, Frank Hall S: A woman allows a masher to carry her many shopping purchases home, then he gets kicked down four flights of stairs by her husband. [LOC]
*The Greater Call (20 December 1910) 705 ft. Chicago D: Harry McRae Webster C: Alice Donavan (heroine) S: [UCLA]
*The Redeemed Criminal (3 January 1911) one reel Chicago D: Harry McRae Webster C: William Walters, Harry Cashman, Curtis Cooksey S: [NFTA]
*The Sophomore’s Romance (10 January 1911) one reel Chicago D: Harry McRae Webster C: Curtis Cooksey, Lottie Briscoe (Flora), Frank Dayton, Harry Cashman, Cyril Raymond S: [LOC, incomplete]
*A Sin Unpardonable (24 January 1911) 988 ft. Chicago C: Frank Dayton (Joe Taylor), Curtis Cooksey (Jim Scott), Lottie Briscoe (Martha Scott), Bobby Guhl, Harriet Parsons S: [LOC]
*The Burglarized Burglar (15 September 1911) 980 ft. Chicago C: Francis X. Bushman (Howard Graham), Harry Cashman (Mr. Willard), Dorothy Phillips (Dorothy Willard), Eleanor Blanchard (Mrs. Willard), William Walters (policeman), Frank Owens S: Howard, broke, is forced to pawn his watch to buy opera tickets for his wealthy girl’s birthday, then encounters a burglar who has also robbed is girl’s father of money and a pearl necklace, which Howard presents as his own until found out. Howard tries to make it right by showing them the burglar he’s trapped in his closet, but by the time they get there the burglar has escaped. [NFTA]
*The Madman (5 December 1911) one reel Chicago C: Francis X. Bushman (madman), Harry Cashman (warden), William Walters (guard), Charles Hitchcock (official), Frank Dayton (butler), Bryant Washburn (balloonist) S: A madman escapes from an asylum, intent with killing his father. He is discovered and chased away, hops aboard a hot air balloon as it begins its ascent and fights with the balloonist. (The finish to the existing film, where the madman is pushed overboard, falls and dies, is missing.) [NFTA]
*The Foiling of Red Dugan (21 December 1911) 700 ft. Chicago S: Judge Blake sends Red Dugan to the pen for twenty years, but Dugan escapes, bent on revenge, and gains entrance to the judge’s house. The judge’s little son hears the commotion, gets the drop on Dugan with the judge’s revolver and Dugan is taken back to jail. [NFSA, Australia]
*Winning an Heiress (21 December 1911) 390 ft. Chicago C: John Steppling (James), Dolores Cassinelli (imagined heiress), Howard Missimer (Chug), Eleanor Blanchard (Mrs. Van Riche) S: James learns how to be a chauffeur at Chug’s auto school so he can meet an heiress and marry her, but discovers the daughter of Mrs. Van Riche he hopes to marry is actually the woman’s pet monkey. This film was originally on a split reel with The Foiling of Red Dugan, which has been recently rediscovered. [LOC]
*The Valley of Regrets 4 January 1912 one reel Chicago C: Harry Cashman (W. T. Easton), Lily Branscombe (Mrs. Easton), Mildred Weston (Betty Easton), Bryant Washburn (Findley Dalton), William Walters (businessman), Frank Dayton (businessman), Howard Missimer (businessman) S: [LOC]
*The Old Florist (16 January 1912) one reel Chicago C: Francis X. Bushman (Silas Hooper), Harry Cashman (John Freeman), Whitney Raymond (boy), Eva Prout (girl), Cyril Raymond (doctor), Bryant Washburn (bookkeeper), William Walters S: [NFTA]
*The Little Black Box (23 February 1912) one reel Chicago C: Francis X. Bushman (Boardman), William Walters (store owner), Whitney Raymond (stenographer), Harry Cashman (police chief), Bryant Washburn (employee), Eleanor Blanchard (employee’s landlady), Cyril Raymond (policeman), Charles Hitchcock (undercover policeman), Frank Dayton (first police detective) S: The police are summoned to a jewelry store to investigate the theft of a string of pearls. They pick up a likely suspect, but dig deeper to find the truth and get their confession during a “third degree” interrogation. The ending on this print is a bit abrupt (that’s all that survives), but it’s obvious they’ve gotten their man. [NFTA]
*A Soul Reclaimed (16 May 1912) one reel Chicago C: Beverly Bayne (model), Dwight Mead (artist), Harry Cashman (patron), Joseph Allen (priest), Helen Dunbar (woman with baby), Charles Hitchcock, Whitney Raymond, Dolores Cassinelli S: An artist looking for inspiration finds Mary Turner, a poor, drunken woman walking the streets, and convinces her to pose for a portrait of the Madonna that is bought by a rich man and presented to Saint Hillaire church. When Mary sees the painting she becomes a nun and finds salvation. This is Beverly Bayne’s earliest surviving movie, made two months after her first film at the studio [NFTA]
*The New Church Organ (6 August 1912) one reel Chicago D: Archer McMackin C: Beverly Bayne (minister’s daughter), Francis X. Bushman (Austin), Joseph Allen, William Walters (minister), Martha Russell, Dwight Mead, Whitney Raymond, Eleanor Blanchard, Helen Dunbar, Bryant Washburn, Ruth Stonehouse S: Austin, a church organ salesman, takes an interest in the poor minister’s daughter when her friends snub her for not wearing a more fashionable dress even though she can’t afford one. When a kitchen fire burns her, Austin is unable to stay and see her recover due to pressing business, but when he returns there is a happy reunion. This is the earliest existing film starring Bushman and Bayne. [NFTA]
*Back to the Old Farm (3 September 1912) one reel Chicago D: Archer McMackin C: Beverly Bayne (farmer’s daughter), E. H. Calvert (George Randall), Frank Dayton (farmer), Lily Branscombe (farmer’s wife), William Bailey (farmer’s son) S: [VIDEO]
*The Voice of Conscience (27 September 1912) one reel Chicago C: Harry Mainhall (Jack Tenney), Francis X. Bushman (William Sherman), William Walters (Frank Craig), Helen Dunbar (his wife), Martha Russell (his daughter), Bryant Washburn (Dick Morgan), Harry Cashman (sheriff), E. H. Calvert S: Tenny is tortured by a guilty conscience when Sherman is blamed for the accidental death of Craig, and when Craig is convicted of the crime, Tenny gasps a confession before dying in court. [UYS Montevideo]
*The End of the Feud (10 October 1912) one reel Bayfield, Wisconsin D: Theodore Wharton C: Martha Russell (Rose Simpson), Francis X. Bushman (Jim Parker), Bryant Washburn (Dave Simpson, Rose’s brother), Ruth Stonehouse (Jim’s sister), Harry Cashman (Mr. Simpson), William Walters (Mr. Parker), Helen Dunbar (Mrs. Parker) S: [NFTA]
*The Girls of Grassville (16 October 1912) one reel Chicago C: Billy Mason (Tom Carver), Mildred Weston (girl), Eva Prout, Whitney Raymond (city friend), William Bailey (city friend), E. H. Calvert (city friend), Charles Hitchcock (city friend), Dolores Cassinelli (girl), Lily Branscombe (girl), Beverly Bayne (girl), Eleanor Blanchard (maid), John Steppling (minister) S: [LOC]
*When Wealth Torments (8 November 1912) one reel Chicago C: Francis X. Bushman (Jim O’Brien), Mildred Weston (Maggie Mahoney), Helen Dunbar (Mrs. Mahoney) S: [EYE as Geld en Liefde]
*From the Submerged (12 November 1912) one reel Chicago D: Theodore Wharton SC: Edward T. Lowe, Jr. C: E. H. Calvert (Charlie), Ruth Stonehouse (rescuer), William Walters (doctor), Joseph Allen (father), Mildred Weston (nurse), Fred Wulf (butler), Charles Hitchcock (man with cigar). Bryant Washburn, Billy Mason, Dolores Cassinelli S: Charlie is about to end his life by jumping off a bridge when a poor woman stops him. He is reunited with his rich family and is engaged to a well-to-do woman when he realizes she has no compassion for the poor and he rejects her, only to find the poor woman in more dire straits about to leap from the bridge. He saves her. [LOC, Video]
*His Birthday Jacket (18 December 1912) one reel Chicago C: Ruth Stonehouse (daughter), Harry Cashman (father), William Walters (butler), Eva Prout (maid), Lily Branscombe, Whitney Raymond, Helen Dunbar S: [LOC]
*Guiseppe’s Good Fortune (20 December 1912) one reel Chicago C: E. H. Calvert (Guiseppe), Dolores Cassinelli (pretty girl), Eleanor Blanchard (mother), John Steppling (clothing salesman), Ruth Stonehouse (playing tambourine), Whitney Raymond (young salesman), Helen Dunbar (finds money), Augustus Carney, Harry Cashman, Howard Missimer, Billy Mason, William Walters S: [LOC]
*The Cat’s Paw (25 December 1912) one reel Chicago C: Francis X. Bushman (Jack Hurley), Eva Prout (his sister Eva), Howard Missimer (lawyer), Harry Cashman (Wallingford James), Helen Dunbar (aunt), Bryant Washburn, Frank Dayton (poker buddies), William Walters S: [NFTA]
*When Soul Meets Soul (3 January 1913) one reel Chicago D: Norman McDonald C: Dolores Cassinelli (Charazel), Francis X. Bushman (Delaplane & Prince Arames), Eva Prout (serving girl), Helen Dunbar, Ruth Stonehouse, Bryant Washburn S: Professor Delaplane opens an Egyptian sarcophagus and discovers the body of Princess Charazel, who had killed herself in grief when Prince Arames betrayed her love. The scene dissolves to ancient Egypt, where these events are played out, and concludes in the present day. The Egyptian setting is pretty well done considering the limited time and budget to produce it. [LOC]
*“Alkali” Ike in Jayville (9 January 1913) one reel Chicago D: E. Mason Hopper C: Augustus Carney (Alkali Ike), Howard Missimer (Dicks), Eleanor Blanchard [LOC]
*The Laird of McGillicuddy (23 January 1913) one reel Chicago C: Augustus Carney (the Laird), Ruth Stonehouse, Charles Hitchcock, Billy Mason, Dolores Cassinelli, E. H. Calvert S: [NFMA]
*The Melburn Confession (29 January 1913) one reel Chicago C: E. H. Calvert Godfrey Melburn), Dolores Cassinelli (his wife), John Steppling (Melburn’s father), Augustus Carney (Steve Hicks), Joseph Allen (judge), Fred Wulf (court clerk), Harry Cashman (warden), William Walters (priest), Charles Hitchcock (reporter), Ruth Stonehouse, Bryant Washburn, Billy Mason, Frances Mason (Mabel), Dwight Mead, Frank Dayton, Whitney Raymond, Master Calvert S: [NFTA]
*Teaching Hicksville to Sing (20 February 1913) one reel Chicago D: Archer McMackin C: Beverly Bayne (Dolly Featherheels), Augustus Carney (the shrimp), Eleanor Blanchard (old maid), E. H. Calvert (tall singer), Billy Mason (husband), John Steppling, Tom Shirley [LOC, UCLA]
*Billy McGrath on Broadway (4 March 1913) one reel Chicago D: Archer McMackin C: John Steppling (Billy McGrath), Eleanor Blanchard (scrub woman), Augustus Carney (janitor), Charles Hitchcock (butler), William Walters (G. Barnyard Slaw), Frank Dayton, Eva Prout, Helen Dunbar, Bryant Washburn (last four in audience) S: After seeing a bad play, Billy McGrath believes he can do better, but he learns it isn’t so easy when his whole cast quits on him. This film came to the museum from Grand Junction, Colorado, through the courtesy of Pat and Tom Jarvis, who found it in the basement of Pat’s father’s house. [NESFM]
*The Price of Gold (2 April 1913) one reel Chicago C: Dorothy Phillips (Lois), Frank Dayton (Lois’ husband), E. H. Calvert (former sweetheart), Dolores Cassinelli (Lois’ sister), Bryant Washburn (sister’s husband) [MOMA, EYE]
*A Wolf Among Lambs (4 April 1913) one reel Chicago C: Dolores Cassinelli (Giulia), Bryant Washburn (Don), Ruth Stonehouse (Valeska), Allen Holubar [MOMA, EYE]
*The Star (11 June 1913) one reel Chicago C: Ruth Hennessy (Pauline Devereau), John Steppling (Clarence Inbad), Eleanor Blanchard (her mother), Howard Missimer (Pauline’s manager), Harry Dunkinson, William Walters (restaurant manager) [LOC]
*The Mysterious Stranger (13 June 1913) one reel Chicago C: E. H. Calvert (Rolph Jones), Helen Dunbar (his wife), Bryant Washburn (stranger) [Cinema Museum, London]
*The Death Weight (7 November 1913) two reels Chicago C: Beverly Bayne (Alice Fisher), Richard Travers (Tom), Josephine Duval (little girl), Frank Dayton (Siles Pegg), William Bailey (Pegg’s nephew), E. H. Calvert (detective) [NFTA]
*The Hour and the Man (9 January 1914) two reels Chicago D: E. H. Calvert SC: Joseph Roach C: Francis X. Bushman (Frank Maxwell), Ruth Stonehouse (Alice Williams), William Bailey (William Maxwell), Clara Smith (old neighbor), Thomas Commerford (judge), Bryant Washburn (prosecuting attorney), E. H. Calvert (drinking buddy), Charles Hitchcock (court reporter), Wallace Beery (juror), Charles Stine (juror), Frank Dayton (juror), Robert Bolder (juror), Theodore Breslin (juror), Leo White [NFTA]
*Dawn and Twilight (3 February 1914) one reel Chicago 1584 C: Francis X. Bushman (Pietro Delani, a blind musician), Ruth Stonehouse (Mary), Helen Dunbar (his mother), Alice Bliss (Edna), Clara Smith (Mary’s mother), Thomas Commerford (Dr. Burns), Frank Owens (butler), John Cossar, Charles Hitchcock S: Mary loves Pietro, a blind musician, and secretly pays to have his sight restored in an operation, but when he sees her plain face he rejects her and becomes the darling of society until his eyesight fades. [NFTA]
*The Bargain Hunters (8 April 1914) one reel Chicago 1617 C: Wallace Beery (Mr. Hunter), Ruth Hennessy (Mrs. Hunter), Clara Smith (landlady), Louise Willis (suffragette) [NFTA]
*In the Moon’s Ray (10 April 1914) two reels Chicago C: Francis X. Bushman (Richard Neal), E. H. Calvert (Meredith Blake), Bryant Washburn (Spider), Gerda Holmes (Judith Hamilton), Charles Hitchcock (Squint), Rapley Holmes (Robert Hamilton), Matthew Betz (butler) re-released 2 May 1916 [NESFM second reel]
*The Spirit of the Madonna (21 April 1914) one reel Chicago C: E. H. Calvert (Thompson), Richard C. Travers (Martin, injured workman), Gerda Holmes (Mrs. Martin), Charles Hitchcock (worker), Matthew Betz (factory worker), John Cossar (supervisor), Thomas Commerford (office manager) S: Thompson, a factory owner refuses to help an employee that loses an arm in a workplace accident, but later when he views a painting of the Madonna in his library his conscience gets the better of him and he decides to help the man. There’s a nice double exposure effect in this film that’s worth seeing. [LOC]
*Blind Man’s Bluff (26 May 1914) one reel Chicago Richard C. Travers, Ruth Stonehouse, John H. Cossar, Lillian Drew, Bryant Washburn S: [Cinema Museum, London]
*The Fable of Higher Education That Was Too High for the Old Man (22 July 1914) one reel Chicago ST: George Ade C: Leo White (Buchanan), Robert Bolder (his father), Wallace Beery (Scotty) [NFTA]
*Stopping the Limited (11 August 1914) one reel Chicago D: Harry Mainhall SC: Edward T. Lowe, Jr. C: Rapley Holmes (Hugh McKinnon), Bryant Washburn (Dan), Ruth Stonehouse (Nancy), Royal Douglas (office clerk), Helen Dunbar (Mrs. McKinnon), Charles Hitchcock (train conductor) S: McKinnon is angry that the railroad doesn’t stop in his town and even angrier that his daughter Nancy wants to marry Dan Sawyer, but when the couple elope and board the train while its taking on water, he sees a way to get the railroad to stop in town, if he forgives the couple. Bryant Washburn takes a lighter role in this film, a departure from his villainous work in most of his early Essanay films. [NFTA]
*Under Royal Patronage (4 September 1914) two reels Chicago ST: adapted from Munsey Magazine story by George Barr McCutrcheon D: E. H. Calvert C: Francis X. Bushman (Richard Savage), Beverly Bayne (Helen Churchill), Thomas Commerford (Francis of Hofgarten), Bryant Washburn (Philip), E. H. Calvert (Count Karl Von Blumm), Charles Hitchcock (Frederick of Strelitzburg), Jane Paddock (Princess Stella), Lester Cuneo, Arthur Stengard, Harry Dunkinson, Betty Scott S: An American friend of a prince stands in for him in an arranged marriage to join royal houses in neighboring principalities, but complications ensue, of course, along with mistaken identities [UCLA, ACAD, NESFM 16mm] (re-released 4 April 1916)
*The Fable of the Honeymoon That Tried to Come Back (9 September 1914) one reel Chicago D: Richard Foster Baker ST: George Ade C: Harry Dunkinson (husband), Gerda Holmes (wife), Mathew Betz (waiter), Rapley Holmes (policeman), Helen Dunbar [LOC]
*Sweedie’s Skate (21 September 1914) one reel Chicago 1659 C: Wallace Beery (Sweedie), Leo White, Ben Turpin (captain of police), Charles Wright [NFTA]
*Sweedie Learns to Swim (12 October 1914) one reel Chicago C: Wallace Beery (Sweedie), Leo White (Mr. Rich), Betty Brown (Mrs. Rich), Ben Turpin (captain of lifesavers) [NFTA, NESFM 16mm]
*The Laundress (with Sweedie) (2 November 1914) one reel Chicago C: Wallace Beery (Sweedie), Robert Bolder (tailor), Ben Turpin (assistant), Leo White (hairdresser), Charlotte Mineau (Bessie) [LOC]
*Three Boiled Down Fables (11 November 1914) one reel Chicago ST: George Ade C: Harry Dunkinson (husband), Gerda Holmes (wife), John Cossar (detective), Rapley Holmes (judge) in The Household Comedian; Sue Burton (Essie), Leo White (her friend), Robert Bolder (his employer) in Why Essie’s Friend Got the Fresh Air; Charlotte Mineau (Madam Cassell), Wallace Beery (her pupil), Billy Robinson (constable) in The Prevailing Craze S: These three short films on one reel give brief takes on the life of the masses. The Essanay story synopsis for The Household Comedian states: “how a young lady thought her sweetheart’s line of Bunk was clever during their courtship, but after being hooked up for a year it wasn’t quite so funny.” For Why Essie’s Friend Got the Fresh Air: “Essie’s friend is a clerk in a store, but spends most of his time at the phone gabbing with Essie.” For The Prevailing Craze: “Wallace Beery and Charlotte Mineau are arrested while going at a mile a minute clip in Beery’s car.” [National Film Archive of Canada, Ottawa]
*The Volunteer Burglar (22 December 1914) one reel Chicago 4116 ST: adapted from a Munsey Magazine story C: Richard C. Travers (Thomas Rothwell), Beverly Bayne (Margery Trent), Lester Cuneo (her uncle), Bryant Washburn (Hawkins, his butler) [NFTA]
*The Misjudged Mr. Hartley (19 January 1915 © 7 January 1915) one reel Chicago 4068 or 4069 ST: adapted from a Munsey Magazine story C: Bryant Washburn (Mr. Hartley), Ruth Stonehouse (Celia Thayer), Helen Dunbar (Mrs. Worthington), John H. Cossar (Mr. Worthington), Mabel Forrest (Mrs. Holbrook), Gloria Swanson (maid) S: Mr. Hartley is invited to his cousin’s house for dinner, but doesn’t know she’s moved and goes to her old address where Celia Thayer, a guest at that house greets him and they dine together. Her jewelry is stolen at that time and she suspects Mr. Hartley of the deed. Gloria Swanson is seen in one of her few surviving Essanay films. [GEH]
*His New Job (1 February 1915 © 1 February 1915) two reels Chicago 001 & 1687 D: Charles Chaplin PH: Jackson Rose C: Charlie Chaplin, Ben Turpin, Leo White (office manager & actor), Robert Bolder (studio president), Charlotte Mineau (lead actress), Charles Stine (director), Arthur Bates (carpenter), Jess Robbins (cameraman), Frank Dayton (fired actor), Gloria Swanson (office worker) S: Charlie gets a job at a movie studio and creates havoc. [NESFM 16mm, Video]
*The Creed of the Clan (2 February 1915 © 18 January 1915) one reel Chicago 4078 ST: adapted from a Munsey Magazine story C: Bryant Washburn (Sandy O’Connel), Rapley Holmes (Jim Bradley), Ruth Stonehouse (Kitty Bradley), Lillian Drew (Cassie), Harry Dunkinson (police detective) [GEH]
*The Gilded Cage (7 June 1915 © 26 May 1915) one reel Chicago D: Charles E. Ashley SC: Edward T. Lowe, Jr. C: Bryant Washburn (Kent Harding), Ruth Stonehouse (Marie), Louise Crolius (the mother), Betty Scott (Eloise), John Thorn (Weston), Gloria Swanson [LOC]
*Dreamy Dud Sees Charlie Chaplin (18 August 1915 © 9 August 1915) split reel Chicago AN: Wallace A. Carlson S: Dreamy Dud sees Charlie Chaplin. This is the ninth of seventeen animated films made by Wallace Carlson in his Essanay the series with Dreamy Dud and his dog “Wag.” At first this film was identified as part of the Bobby Bumps series, because it is incomplete. [UCLA]
*The Raven (8 November 1915 © 8 October 1915) six reels Chicago D: Charles Brabin ST: a novel and play by George C. Hazelton SC: Charles J. Brabin C: Henry B. Walthall (Edgar Allan Poe), Warda Howard (Virginia Clemm & Helen Whitman), Harry Dunkinson (Tony), Grant Foreman (George Graham), Ernest Maupain (John Allan), Marion Skinner (Mrs. Clemm), Frank Hamilton (David Poe), Charles J. Harris (Mr. Pelham) S: Henry B. Walthall portrays the famous 19th century writer Edgar Allan Poe whose troubled life leads to madness. This film has been restored from a 28mm print and is the most complete version available. [George Eastman House print, funded by Saving America’s Treasures, the National Park Service, NEH] [GEH, UCLA, DS]
*The Trial (The Strange Case of Mary Page series No. 2) (31 January 1916 © 18 January 1916) two reels Chicago D: Charles Hayden SC: H. S. Sheldon from a story in The Ladies’ World magazine by Frederick Lewis P: Will E. Smith Miss Mayo’s gowns designed by Lucile C: Henry B. Walthall (Philip Langdon), Edna Mayo (Mary Page), Sydney Ainsworth (David Pollock), Harry Dunkinson (E. H. Daniels), John Cossar (the prosecuting attorney), Frank Hamilton (hotel detective) [CAO Ottawa]
*The Alienist (The Strange Case of Mary Page Episode 5) (21 February 1916 © 14 February 1916) two reels Chicago SC: H. S. Sheldon from a story in The Ladies’ World magazine by Frederick Lewis P: Will E. Smith C: Edna Mayo (Mary Page), Edward Arnold (Dr. Foster), Sydney Ainsworth (Mr. David Pollack), Henry B. Walthall, Thomas Commerford (judge), John Cossar (attorney), Richardson Cotton (juror) S: Attorney Philip Langdon puts brain disorder specialist Dr. Foster on the stand to testify that Mary Page is insane. This Essanay serial was released in 15 parts. Although this print is very incomplete (all that survives) it gives a flavor of this ambitious series. [LOC]
*Beyond the Law (4 March 1916 © 3 March 1916) three reels Chicago ST: adapted from “The Snowburner Pays” by Henry Oyen C: E. H. Calvert (“Hell Camp” Rivers), Marguerite Clayton (Hattie MacGregor), Hugh E. Thompson (Duncan MacGregor, her uncle), Arthur Bates (MacGregor), Jack Meredith (Shanty Moir), Grant Foreman (Little Bear), Camille D’Arcy (Tillie), Ann Leigh (Meope), Jack Milton (Newa), Frank Hamilton [GEH]
*The Little Shepherd of Bargain Row (24 April 1916 © 26 April 1916) five reels Chicago D: Fred E. Wright ST: from the novel by Howard McKent Barnes C: Sallie Fisher (Nora Blake), Richard C. Travers (Joseoh Hyman), John Junior (Richard Hyman), Patrick J. Calhoun (Mr. Travers), John Cossar (Henry Hyman), Betty Brown (Lucille Hudson), Florence Oberle (Mrs. Hudson), Alice MacChesney (Edna Allen), Rod LaRocque (office clerk), Hugh Thompson (auditor) [LOC]
*The Prince of Graustark (6 November 1916 © 21 October 1916) five reels Chicago 4383 D: Fred E. Wright SC: Fred E. Wright ST: George Barr McCutcheon PH: Jackson Rose C: Bryant Washburn (Prince Robin of Graustark), Marguerite Clayton (Princess of Dawsburgen), Sydney Ainsworth (Count Quinnox), Ernest Maupain (William W. Blithers), Florence Oberle (Mrs. Blithers), John Cossar (Baron Danglos), Ulrich Haupt (aide to prince), Marion Skinner (girl’s companion), Patrick Calhoun (mystery man), Richardson Cotton (bald judge), Rod LaRocque (palace guard), Helen Ferguson (flower girl), Frank Hamilton (soldier herding cows), Colleen Moore (Blithers family maid), Francis X. Bushman (Prince Robin’s father), Beverly Bayne (Prince Robin’s mother) [GEH]
*The Magic Mirror (Is Marriage Sacred? series No. 7) (27 January 1917 © 20 January 1917) two reels Chicago D: E. H. Calvert SC: Charles Mortimer Peck C: Marguerite Clayton (Nellie Fallon), Edward Arnold (James Delmore), Lillian Drew (Edna Fallon), Sydney Ainsworth (Oliver Wood), Thomas Commerford (Joseph Fallon) [UCLA]
*Max Comes Across (26 February 1917 © 30 January 1917) two reels Chicago D: Max Linder SC: Max Linder C: Max Linder, Martha Mansfield, Helen Ferguson [Prague]
*Max Wants a Divorce (26 March 1917 © 7 March 1917) two reels Chicago D: Max Linder SC: Max Linder C: Max Linder, Martha Mansfield, Helen Ferguson, Francine Larrimore, Mathilde Comont S: On the day of his wedding, Max is informed that a rich uncle has died and left him $3 million dollars, provided he stays a bachelor. [Narodni Filmovy Archiv, Czech Republic]
*Spliced and Iced (Musty Suffer series)(13 May 1917 © 9 May 1917) one reel Chicago C: Harry Watson, Jr. [LOC]
*The Night Workers (21 May 1917 © 16 May 1917) five reels Chicago D: J. Charles Haydon SC: J. Bradley Smollen C: Marguerite Clayton (Ethel Carver), Jack Gardner (Clyde Manning), Julien Barton (Mitchell), Mabel Bardine (Mrs. Mitchell), Arthur W. Bates (the artist) [LOC]
*Filling His Own Shoes (11 June 1917 © 28 May 1917) five reels Chicago D&SC: Harry Beaumont ST: Henry C. Rowland P: Will E. Smith C: Bryant Washburn (Richard P. Ruggles), Rodney LaRock (Dick Downing), Hazel Daly (Ruth Downing), Lyda Dalzell (Dorthea Westbrooke), Virginia Valli (Roxana), Helen Ferguson (Rosa), Louise Long (Bulbul) S: Richard P. Ruggles, an unemployed shoe salesman, joins the Turkish army during the Balkan War, saves a wounded Turk and is bequeathed two million dollars. He also receives three Turkish maidens, which complicate his desire to woo and wed his former employer’s daughter. [LOC]
*On Trial (23 June 1917 © 28 May 1917) seven reels Chicago D: James Young AD: Woody Van Dyke SC: James Young ST: adapted from the play by Elmer Reizenstein (Rice) C: Sydney Ainsworth (Robert Strickland), Barbara Castleton (Mrs. Strickland), James Young (Gerald Trask), Corene Uzzell (Mrs. Gerald Trask), Patrick Calhoun (Glover), Mary V. McAlister (Doris Strickland), Richard Foster Baker (the judge), Harry Dunkinson (attorney for defense), Marion Skinner (Strickland family housekeeper), Robert Bolder (Mr. Burke), Thomas Commerford (hotel owner), Frank Hamilton (court clerk), Doris Kenyon S: A man admits to murder, but refuses to defend himself for personal reasons in this courtroom drama based on the Broadway hit by Elmer Rice, and the first film chosen by First National to be released in their theaters [GEH]
*The Man Who Was Afraid (2 July 1917 © 20 June 1917) five reels Chicago D: Fred E. Wright SC: H. Tipton Steck ST: Mary Brecht Pulver C: Bryant Washburn (Benton Clune), Ernest Maupain (Colonel Cory), Margaret Watts (Elsie Revere), Frankie Raymond (Mrs. Clune), Mark Elliston (Reid Hallett), William Brotherton (Pod Fisher), Ernest Maupain (Col. Cory), Margaret Watss (Elsie Revere), Robert Bolder (Mr. Aitken), Helen Ferguson, Frank Hamilton [LOC]
*The Season of Childhood (Do Children Count? Series) (1 August 1917 © 26 July 1917) two reels Chicago D: Lawrence C. Windom SC: Charles Mortimer Peck C: Mary McAlister (Tessie Holden), Ellis Paul (Charlie Holden), Violet Craig (Florence Holden), John Cossar (John Holden), Ernest Maupain (Time) S; John Holden thinks his wife Florence is spoiling his two children, bending to their every whim, and decides she can spoil Tessie, but he will take Charlie and raise him apart from his wife and daughter. He soon learns that his strict parenting may not be the best policy. [LOC]
*The Little White Girl (Do Children Count? series) (8 August 1917 © 3 August 1917) two reels Chicago 4479 D: Richard Foster Baker SC: Charles Mortimer Peck C: Mary McAlister (Gyp), John H. Cossar (Captain Shay), Mabel Bardine (Anna), Royal Douglas [CAO Ottawa]
*The Kingdom of Hope (Do Children Count? series) (22 August 1917 © 18 August 1917) two reels Chicago D: Lawrence C. Windom SC: Charles Mortimer Peck C: Mary McAlister (Daisy Erling), Ellis Paul (Bobbie Erling), John H. Cossar (William Erling), Violet Craig (his wife), Raymond Gessner (David Phillips), Marion Skinner, Thomas Commerford [LOC]
*The Fable of Prince Fortunatus Who Moved Away from Easy Street, and Silas, the Saver, Who Moved In (6 October 1917 © 2 October
1917) two reels Chicago D: Fred E. Wright SC: H. Tipton Steck ST: George Ade C: Ulrich Haupt (Claude), Katherine Amos (his wife), R. Paul Harvey (Silas), John Cossar (the statesman), Frank Dayton (grocer) [NESFM 16mm]
*The New Fable of All that Triangle Stuff as Sized Up by the Meal Ticket (13 October 1917 © 13 October 1917) two reels Chicago D: Richard Foster Baker SC: Charles J. McGuirk ST: George Ade C: Rod LaRocque (Joe Pilkins), Marguerite Clayton (Effie), William F. Clifton (his new boss), Marion Skinner (her mother), R. Paul Harvey (Williston Fosbrook) [LOC]
*Young Mother Hubbard (29 October 1917 © 19 October 1917) five reels Chicago D: Arthur Berthelet ST: Charles Mortimer Peck C: Mary McAlister (Mona), Russell McDermott (Frank), William Clifford (John Banning), Carolyn Irwin (Mrs. Howard), Granville Bates (James), Virginia Holmes (Louise), Frank Dayton (stepfather) Robert Bolder (welfare society chairman), Frank Hamilton, Baby Peck [LOC, UCLA]
Sources:
Sources include: George Eastman House [GEH], The Museum of Modern Art, New York [MOMA], Library of Congress [LOC], University of California at Los Angeles [UCLA], National Film and Television Archive, London [NFTA], EYE Film Institute Netherlands [EYE], Pacific Film Archive, Berkeley [PFA], Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum (NESFM), National Film and Sound Archive, Australia, video dealers [Video].
