The Million Dollar Mystery: Difference between revisions
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==Plot== |
==Plot== |
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The serial follows a secret society called "The Black Hundred" as they go on a trek in an attempt to obtain a lost one million dollars. |
The serial follows a secret society called "The Black Hundred" as they go on a trek in an attempt to obtain a lost one million dollars. |
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==Filming location== |
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The 23 episode serial movie was filmed in [[New Rochelle, New York]]. |
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==Cast== |
==Cast== |
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Revision as of 04:36, 9 April 2011
| The Million Dollar Mystery | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Howell Hansel |
| Written by | Lloyd Lonergan Harold McGrath |
| Produced by | Edwin Thanhouser |
| Starring | Florence La Badie Marguerite Snow James Cruze Frank Farrington Sidney Bracey Lila Chester |
| Cinematography | George Webber |
| Distributed by | Thanhouser Film Corporation |
Release date |  22 June 1914 |
Running time | 23 chapters |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $125,000 approx.[1] |
| Box office | $1,500,000[1] |
The Million Dollar Mystery is a twenty three chapter film serial released on June 22, 1914. It was directed by Howell Hansel, and starred Florence La Badie. It was produced by Thanhouser Film Corporation, and was their biggest success, largely due to the popularity of La Badie. During the filming, La Badie performed her owns stunts. Publicity gimmicks, including a prize for the member of the public who sent in the best idea for a conclusion to the serial, were used to boost the serial's success. The film is presumed to be lost.[2]
Plot
The serial follows a secret society called "The Black Hundred" as they go on a trek in an attempt to obtain a lost one million dollars.
Filming location
The 23 episode serial movie was filmed in New Rochelle, New York.
Cast
- Florence La Badie as Florence Hargreaves
- Marguerite Snow as Countess Olga Petroff
- James Cruze as Jim Norton
- Frank Farrington as Braine
- Sidney Bracey as John Hargreaves / The Butler
- Lila Chester as Susan Farlow
Production
The Million Dollar Mystery was the new serial project from the Chicago Tribune following the success of The Adventures of Kathlyn.[1]
The serial was released with the gimmick that the last chapter was unwritten. Twenty two chapters were written based only on the title, while the serial was left purposefully unfinished with no final chapter. A prize of $10,000 was offered for the best suggestion (advertised as "$10,000 for 100 words").[2] Thousands of letters were received in response to this and Ida Damon, a secretary from St. Louis, won the prize.[1][3] In a further publicity stunt, the character Florence Hargreaves was actually reported missing. Details of the plot were fed to newspapers and the police as if they were real events. It took seven days before this was exposed as fiction.[1]
Release
Theatrical
The serial was highly successful and the stockholders received a return of 700% on their investment, receiving $1.5M at the box office for a cost of $125,000 "or so." As a result, another serial already in production was changed to become a sequel to The Million Dollar Mystery. Zudora was renamed The Twenty Million Dollar Mystery and changes were made to the plot half way through its release. It was not, however, as successful as its predecessor.[1] In June 1918, The Million Dollar Mystery was re-edited to six reels and released as a feature film through Arrow Film Corporation.
Chapter titles
- The Airship in the Night
- The False Friend
- A Leap in the Dark
- The Top Floor Flat
- At the Bottom of the Sea
- The Coaching Party of the Countess
- The Doom of the Auto Bandits
- The Wiles of a Woman
- The Leap from an Ocean Liner
- (Unknown)
- In the Path of the Fast Express
- (Unknown)
- (Unknown)
- (Unknown)
- The Borrowed Hydroplane
- Drawn Into the Quicksand
- A Battle of Wits
- (Unknown)
- (Unknown)
- (Unknown)
- (Unknown)
- The Million Dollar Mystery
- The Mystery Solved
SOURCE:[2]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f Stedman, Raymond William. "Drama by Installment". Serials: Suspense and Drama By Installment. University of Oklahoma Press. pp. 14 & 22. ISBN 978-0806116952.
- ^ a b c "Progressive Silent Film List: The Million Dollar Mystery". Silent Era. Retrieved 2008-02-18.
- ^ Lahue, Kalten C. "1. A Bolt From The Blue". Continued Next Week. p. 6.