Silent Films in St. Augustine
Before Hollywood, when America’s rising motion picture industry was based on the East Coast, early film stars like Rudolph Valentino, Ethel Barrymore, and Oliver Hardy made movies in St. Augustine, Florida. Silent Films in St. Augustine tells stories of the leading film producers and actors who escaped New York winters—and kept the studio doors open—in St. Augustine’s sunshine and warm weather.
More than 120 films were made in St. Augustine from 1906 to 1926 by film companies such as Thanhouser, Lubin, Eclair, Pathe, Edison, and Vitagraph. The first full-length Frankenstein movie, Life Without Soul, was shot in St. Augustine. Theda Bara became a "vamp" sensation for her role in A Fool There Was. Sidney Drew acted in the gender-bending A Florida Enchantment. Noted directors Edwin S. Porter, Maurice Tourneur, Sidney Olcott, and George Fitzmaurice also set up shop in the beach town.
Filmmakers used St. Augustine’s striking architecture to create backdrops for movies set in exotic foreign locales. The famous Castillo de San Marcos fort, the stone houses on the narrow streets, and Henry Flagler’s Spanish Renaissance palace hotels were reimagined as Spain, Italy, France, Egypt, Arabia, South Africa, Brazil, and Hawaii. Residents of St. Augustine loved seeing film teams in action on their streets and would gather around the camera to watch the actors and marvel at the outlandish costumes.
Describing the lavish sets, theatrical action, and New York movie personalities that filled St. Augustine, this book evokes an intensely creative time and place in the history of American moviemaking. Thomas Graham is professor emeritus of history at Flagler College. He is the author of several books including Mr. Flagler’s St. Augustine.
Before there was Hollywood, there was an incipient 'First Hollywood' beginning at the end of the 19th century in Jacksonville FL, amply documented by Shawn Bean in his 2008 monograph, The First Hollywood: Florida and the Golden Age of Silent Filmmaking. But, St. Augustine, too, had an early crack at becoming America’s film center when, in the first decade of the 20th century, films were made in Florida’s oldest city. More than 120 films were produced in St. Augustine between 1906 and 1926 and many of Hollywood’s famous silent film stars including Ethel Barrymore, Theda Bara, Sidney Drew, Evelyn Nesbitt, Norma Talmadge, Edith Story, Oliver Hardy, and scores of others made their early pictures there. Narrating the vicissitudes of the many film production companies and producers who set up shop in St. Augustine, Graham (emeritus, history, Flagler Coll., FL) elucidates a very important part of American moviemaking history. This slim volume includes a filmography of the films made in St. Augustine as well as a list of the actors who appeared in these movies. VERDICT This recommended title will be of interest to both specialists and general readers of American film history as well as those who want to know more about the history of Florida and St. Augustine.'—Library Journal
This totally engaging, compact treatment of early U.S. film history is packed with information and a lot of fun.’—Florida Weekly ‘Richly illustrate[s] film scenes and vivif[ies] bygone directors and actors. . . .[and] successfully contextualizes specific events within the history of the early film industry.’—Journal of Southern History
This absorbing tale, documenting the forgotten history of early movie-making in St. Augustine, is a must-read for film enthusiasts.'—Janelle Blankenship, coeditor of European Visions: Small Cinemas in Transition 'This richly detailed book tells the story of early filmmakers’ adventures in St. Augustine and captures the excitement of their moviemaking escapades.'—Kathryn Fuller-Seeley, coauthor of One Thousand Nights at the Movies: An Illustrated History of Motion Pictures 1895–1915 'Very few people have any idea that St. Augustine played any role in early film history. This book brings St. Augustine into a much larger film conversation.'—Christina Lane, author of Magnolia 'Given that the great majority of these early films are now lost, Graham makes an important contribution to the study of Florida’s image on film.'—Jan-Christopher Horak, author of Saul Bass: Anatomy of Film Design 'The ‘reel' history of Florida and its contribution to the development of American film history has been left out of mainstream textbooks and accounts. Thomas Graham’s book is a link in the chain of that history and an important addition to film scholarship.'—Susan Doll, coauthor of Florida on Film: The Essential Guide to Sunshine State Cinema and Locations 'Through rich and entertaining stories of how St. Augustine lured studios and enriched filmmaking with Henry Flagler’s railroad and architecture, Graham adds new detail to our understanding of the silent film era.'—Rita Reagan, Norman Studios Silent Film Museum
Thomas Graham is professor emeritus of history at Flagler College. He is the author of several books, including Mr. Flagler’s St. Augustine.
