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Show THE HISTORY BLAZER h'EltTS OF UTAH'S PAST FROM THE Utah State Historical Society 300 Rio Grande Salt Lake City. LTT 88101 ( 801) 533- 3500 FAX ( 801) 333- 3503 Silent Films Intrigued and Occasionally Offended Utahns - NOTL ONG r nT~ HE T URN- OFT HE CENTURY motion picturesmade- their debut in Salt - Lake City and rapidly became popular throughout the state. Utahns were not only enthusiastic patrons of the new art but were often the subject of movies during the silent film era. In addition, during the film industry's infancy Utah businessmen even developed several motion picture companies for the production of films in local studios. The first movie goers in Utah crowded into converted storefront showhouses that rapidly appeared along Main Street in the state capital. The situation was similar in rural Utah where in some small villages movie houses sometimes even preceded electricity. In Hurricane, Charles Petty, the manager of the local mercantile store, brought the latest entertainment craze to town in 1914, three years before the community was wired for electricity. He ran the projector from a gasoline motor that created a loud & putt, puttm sound heard all over Humcane; residents flocked to the theater in rrsponse. Before long the crude show halls began to be replaced by opulent theaters, especially in urban areas. In 1912 the American Theater, boasting a seating capacity of 3,000, opened on Main Street in Salt lake City amid considerable fanfare. Regardless of the surroundings, however, audiences across the state delighted in the blunders of Charlie Chaplin and the Keystone Cops or thrilled at the sight of Indians attacking wagon trains and shootouts in the Old West. A surprising number of silent- film- era movies even featured stories about Utah. A Tn'p ro Sdt LaRe Cfty was the first effort to depict the state. A comedy built around the theme of polygamy, it portrayed the problems of a polygamist father and his many children. Most films about Utah had similar polygamous themes but were blatantly anti- Mormon in nature. Such titles as A Hctim of the Mormons ( 19 1 l), Marnoage or Death ( 19 12), Mameed to a Mown ( 1922), and Trapped by the Mormons ( 1922) are illustrative. Some Utahns tried to fight back. Governor William Spry, for one, felt responsible for the film industry's ridicule of his state and began a campaign to censor films entering Utah. His first attempt at censorship came after the release of A Wornof the Monnons. On February 4, 1912, Spry insisted that the title and content of the film be altered for the Utah audience. His demand was ignored, and the film was shown without alter-ations in Utah theaters that year. There were also some sympathetic depictions of the Mormons; perhaps the most important was a documentary titled One Hundred Years of Momonism ( 1913) that even received active cooperation from Mormon authorities. While out- of- state producers continued to shoot pictures with Utah themes, several loml entrepreneurs also decided to enter the popular industry. The Utah Theater Company began ( more) operadons within the state in 1912, and the following year the Satchwa General Amusement Enterprises Company also opened. Satchwa completed its first major film, Big Hearr, in 1914. A tale of Indian love and sacrifice, it premiered in Salt Lake City to rave reviews. Other Utah companies such as the- Arrowhead Motion Picture Company and the Ogden Pictures Corporation came and went. In the end, limited financing and remoteness from Hollywood and New York proved too great a challenge for Utah filmmakers; most failed within a few years. Even without an in- state production studio, however, Utahns continued to enjoy the entertainment of the silver screen. See Richard Nelson, " Utah Filmmake26 of the Silent Screen," Utah Historical Quarter& 43 ( 1975). THE BLAZEIi~ s produced by the Ufah Stcite Historical ' Society'abd funded ' in'* by a mt from the Utah Statehood Centennial Commission. For more information about the Historical Society telephoneS33- 3500. 95081 1 ( PR) |
