“The Belle of Sandusky”

This advertisement for the silent film “The Belle of Sandusky” ran in the Sandusky Register on May 31, 1925. Walter Steiner directed the film, which was shot in Sandusky on May 17 and 18, 1925. The movie was shown for a week at the Star Theatre, beginning May 31, 1925. According to the Internet Movie Database, Walter Steiner also directed “The Belle of Kenosha” in 1923 and “A Romance of Seattle” in 1919.

Local residents who appeared in the film were: James A. Ryan, Mrs. Leroy Beutel, William A. Hart, Mathilda Botson, Frank Brown, Nora Richey, Walter Thorin, Evelyn Danke, Vivian Close, Paul Auxter, Fred Richey, Walter Brown, Francis LaDuke, Norman Borman, Edith Jeffrey, and Mrs. Clara Brooks. James Esposito played a “hootch hound.” At the last minute, Sergeant Al Tremper and Patrolman Henry Scherer of the Sandusky police force were added to the cast. They played policemen who were trying to catch the villains as they tried to make a getaway on the New York Central train. The Sandusky Register reported that crowds of Sandusky residents followed the crew making the film, and commented on “the seeming excellence of the cast.”

While we are not certain if the photos below are from the filming of “The Belle of Sandusky,” these pictures of three men in a 1925 Ford appear to be staged, as if for a movie.

Movietone’s Presentation of “Mother Knows Best”

In 1929, the Movietone movie, Mother Knows Best, played at Schine’s State Theater in Sandusky on February 7, 8, and 9. The movie was based on Edna Ferber’s novel of the same name. In the film, Madge Bellamy portrayed actress Sally Quail, whose professional and personal was being dominated by her mother. Many critics felt that the film was loosely based on the life of actress Elsie Janis. The movie was part a silent movie, but it did have some scenes in which the characters spoke.

Advertisements for Mother Knows Best appeared in both the Sandusky Register and Sandusky Star Journal. Both papers featured a contest in which pieces of a puzzle could be put together to form a scene from the movie. The first 25 people to solve the puzzle correctly would win two tickets to the movie.

The Star Theatre

Opening in 1907 on West Market Street, the Star Theatre was in business on the 100 block of Columbus Avenue from 1914 to 1930. When the new Star Theatre building opened in May of 1914, an article in the Sandusky Register stated that the theater was “Built by Sanduskians for Sandusky.” A stone house built by Eleutheros Cooke had once stood where the new theater was built. Many local businesses provided supplies and materials for the new building.

The September 3, 1922 issue of the Sandusky Register carried an advertisement which promoted the Fifth Annual Paramount Week at the Star Theatre. It stated that Paramount Pictures were “Celebrating Better Pictures at the all the Better Theatres.” The Paramount movies shown at the theatre from September 3 to September 9, 1922 were popular silent films, including “Call of the North,” “Morals,” “Sleepwalker,” and “Rent Free.” The stars in the Paramount Pictures were all part of the Famous Players-Lasky Corporation. 

On May 16, 1925, Bob Custer starred in “Flashing Spurs,” a western in which a Texas Ranger goes after a young woman thought to be involved with a gang of bank robbers.

The Star Theatre remained popular during the silent movie era, but eventually talking motion pictures made silent movies fall out of favor with the public, and the theatre ceased operations. Several different businesses have been located at what is now known as 140 Columbus Avenue, including cab companies and restaurants. Mr. Smith’s Coffee House is now located at the site. Visit the Sandusky Library to find a variety of books about the history of motion pictures, or to borrow classic films on DVD.

A Popular Silent Film at the Schade Theatre in 1924

The silent movie George Washington, Jr. played at the Schade Theatre in Sandusky in July of 1924. The movie was based on a well-known musical play written by George M. Cohan in 1906.  Wesley Barry played the lead character in this film version. Cohan wrote the popular song You’re a Grand Old Flag for this musical comedy. The Schade Theatre (pictured below in 1918) featured air conditioning by 1924. The theater, on West Market Street, was later known as the Ohio Theatre until it was razed in the 1980s.

Popular Silent Film at the Schade Theatre in 1924

The silent movie “George Washington, Jr.” played at the Schade Theatre in Sandusky in July of 1924. The movie was based on a well-known musical play written by George M. Cohan in 1906.  Wesley Barry played the lead character in the silent film version of “George Washington, Jr.” The popular song You’re a Grand Old Flag was written by Cohan for this musical comedy. The Schade Theatre featured air conditioning in 1924. Pictured below is a picture of the Schade Theatre on West Market Street in 1918. The Schade Theatre was later known as the Ohio Theatre. (It is no longer in existence.)

The Theatorium Movie Theater

Karl Kurtz wrote in the July 23, 1977 issue of the Sandusky Register in his “Elderlies” column that the first silent movie shown in the Sandusky area was The Great Train Robbery. Veteran Sandusky newspaper man and showman Dave Wood brought the celluloid melodrama to Sandusky in 1905 and showed it at Cedar Point. The first motion picture house in Sandusky was called the Theatorium, established in 1906. It was located on West Market Street between the old Post Office and the Firehouse.

Charles Reark was the first manager of the Theatorium. He showed first-run silent movies, with eight changes a week. An article from a 1909 issue of The Moving Picture World stated that “Proprietors of moving picture theatres throughout Ohio who have visited Mr. Reark's cozy theatre state that he has the brightest and clearest pictures in the State. Ushers seat the patrons, a new light system has been installed, and no expense is spared to give the amusement goers of Sandusky the best of entertainment at this theatre for five cents admission.” Five Hallberg arc lamps “turned night into day” at the front of the theater. An article from the Sandusky Register of February 6, 1927, reported that the Theatorium was a long narrow room, with low ceilings and poor ventilation. By January 1907, the Theatorium had 140 seats which were all elevated. Besides the main feature of a silent movie, audiences were often treated to the attraction of an illustrated song. A soloist would sing the song played by the pianist, as colored slides were projected on the big screen. The singer would repeat the same song to several audiences each day.

For many years, Manager Charles Reark had a special program at the Theatorium for members of the Sandusky Newsboys’ Association. On Thanksgiving, the newsboys were treated to a silent movie at the Theatorium between 10 a.m. and noon. The newsboys just had to show a badge or membership card for admission to the free show. On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in 1907, souvenir Christmas cards were given away to everyone in the audience. Songs were performed by A.L. Taylor and George Upp. The movies shown that Christmas were The Wonderful Mirror, The Dog Hero, and Thieves Caught in Their Own Trap.  Later owners of the Theatorium included Gustavus Dildine and Voltaire Schweinfurth. The Theatorium closed in May of 1917, but it brought many an evening of entertainment for residents of the Sandusky area for over ten years.

Remaking of a Nation

On February 27 and February 28, 1918 the film entitled “Remaking of a Nation” was shown at the Schade Theater in downtown Sandusky. The movie was six reels long, and featured army life at Camp Sherman in Chillicothe, Ohio. The film followed the daily lives of enlisted men from the moment they arrived at camp and followed them throughout their military training.

The theater was crowded at its afternoon and evening showings. School children were admitted to a morning showing of the movie for the price of ten cents a ticket. Boxing champion Johnny Kilbane was at the theater during both days that the film was shown. Money raised through the sale of tickets to “Remaking of a Nation” was used for the needs of World War I soldiers serving in the 83rd Division. You can read about the showing of the “Remaking of a Nation” in downtown Sandusky in the February 27, 1918 issue of the Sandusky Register, available of microfilm in the Sandusky Library Archives Center.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin Played in Sandusky in 1928

From November 14 through November 17, 1928, the motion picture Uncle Tom’s Cabin played at the Schine’s State Theater in Sandusky, Ohio. An advertisement which appeared in the November 14, 1928 issue of the Sandusky Register stated that the movie cost two million dollars to produce, and took two years to complete. The motion picture had a score of star principals, a cast of hundreds, and “three great human dramas of passion, in a story that will live forever.”  An extra attraction at the movie was singing and dancing by “Uncle Tom’s Harmony Boys.”  The cost for the matinee show was twenty five cents for adults and fifteen cents for children. Evening performances cost forty cents for adults and twenty cents for children.

A Regular Girl Plays in Sandusky

On May 17 and 18, 1920, the film A Regular Girl, starring Elsie Janis, played at the Schade Theatre, on West Market Street in Sandusky. The American Legion promoted the movie with a large banner. (The building being constructed, seen at the left in the photo below, is the Sandusky Star Journal building, now home to the Sandusky Register.)

Elsie Janis, born Elsie Jane Bierbower in 1889, was an actress of stage and screen. During World War One, she entertained troops in France and England. In 1919, Elsie starred in A Regular Girl, a film for which she wrote the screenplay and co-wrote the title song. The movie was loosely based on her experiences entertaining the troops during the War.

In conjunction with A Regular Girl appearing in Sandusky, a marching band and a woman dressed up as the title character appeared in front of the Schade Theatre. Members of the American Legion also conducted a membership drive.

Elsie Janis appeared on Broadway in 1939, and her final film was “Women in War” in 1940. She moved to California, and led a relatively quiet life. She died in California on February 27, 1956. To read about the life and career of Elise Janis, see the Elsie Janis Exhibition hosted at Ohio State University’s Libraries.