Category Archives: Movie Stills

THE GRIM GAME Cinema Trade Promotion (Stills 298-54 and 298-63)

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Last week I posted a snippet of an article by Bayard Grimshaw about THE STUDENT AND THE BLOW from Abracadabra Magazine Saturday 23rd March 1974.   This week, in honor of the Oscars, I thought I would share a Grim Game photo that was used in that same special edition of Abracadabra Magazine:

GG cinema trade photo 001

This came from a sheet issued to the Cinema Trade to promote The Grim Game Movie in 1919.

The bottom image is from still 298-54 .

Mary [Ann Forrest] is visiting Houdini at the jail to let him know that hoax is going according to plan.  The guard then gives them contrary news:  “They found the body [Cameron] in the old well – poor place to hide it.  Guess your trial will be a short one”.  Houdini smiles and voices his doubt.  The guard tells them he is not joking…Gradually the truth of the matter that Cameron is really dead is forced home on Houdini and Mary.  Houdini tells Mary to go see the others and tell them to explain the hoax and have him released. [scenes 212-225 Paraphrased from Paramount Files at Margaret Herrick Library]

And the top image is from still 298-63 and is part of the sequence where Houdini escapes from the jail after Mary leaves.  See the following earlier post for details:

Police Reporter is West Point’s own Edward H Martin

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GG Pressbook CastAs a result of last week’s blog, In search of the Police Reporter, I received an answer as to why one thinks that the actor Ed Martin from the Grim Game is none other than West Point’s own Edward H. Martin, USMA 1898:

I think “Ed Martin” is West Point’s own Edward H. Martin, USMA 1898 for two reasons:

1) Years ago the USMA Library was fortunate enough to have a collection of files about graduates from the nineteenth and early twentieth cents. that had been compiled by the USMA Association of Graduates (we still have them but they are in remote storage right now)- I looked in the file for EHM and found a card that stated that EHM late in life had become a movie actor, but did not offer much more than that (sometimes “information cards” were submitted by graduates who had knowledge of the activities o fother grads)

2) I recently did a search in the Ancestry.com Library Edition database and found an image of a WWI draft registration card filled out by someone named Edward H. Martin that gave his date of birth as July 2, 1874,his occupation as actor, and his employer as the “Lasky Film Co.”

[Paul Nergelovic, Reference Librarian, United States Military Academy Library]

I then asked Paul, if it would be possible to get an image of the WWI draft registration card:

EHMWWIdraftregcard

Not only did Paul send me the WWI draft registration card image above, he also sent me links to some Oregon newspapers (scanned by University of Oregon] that have photos of Edward H. Martin.

A photo of Edward H. Martin from 1908:

EdwardHMartin Photo 1908

http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn83025138/1908-10-08/ed-1/seq-12.pdf

A sketch, same year:

EdwardHMartin Sketch 1908

http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn83025138/1908-05-06/ed-1/seq-1.pdf

If I compare the photos from 1908 with the 1919 stills from the Grim Game, the reporter on the right with the straw hat in the still below could be our man.

298-7 ebay What do you think?

Last but not least, Paul also got the Special Collections and Archives Division to kindly pull the file on Edward H. Martin from remote storage.  It actually contained a carbon copy of a letter dated  January 25th, 1936 from J.S. Murphy, Chief Clerk of the Oregon State Penitentiary to Mr. Quincy Scott, (of the)The Oregonian, Portland, OR. about the activities of Edward H. Martin after his release from the penitentiary; here is an extract of relevant content:

“…in March 1916, he went to work for the Thanhouser Film Corporation.  He remained there until October, 1916, when he moved to Los Angeles, Cal.  His address there being 827 Green Ave.  He was still working for the Thanhouser Film Corporation.  On November 13, 1916, he went to work for the Jesse L.Lasky Feature Play Co. …”

Based on all the evidence above, I think it is safe to say that the police reporter from The Grim Game is West Point’s own Edward H. Martin.

Special Thank You to Paul Nergelovic, Reference Librarian, United States Military Academy Library

In search of the Police Reporter

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GG Pressbook Cast

The other day, I received the following comment:

One cast member of the Grim Game was an actor named Ed Martin, who portrayed a character simply known as the Police Reporter. It is hard to judge if he is present in any of the stills you have posted. Have you made any headway in identifying all of the actors in the still from the Grim Game? I have reason to believe that the actor “Ed Martin” was Edward H. Martin, a graduate of the West Point Class of 1898; my goal is to get a picture of him acting in the movie.

Of course I was intrigued by this comment, so I decided to do a little bit of research.

Let’s start with what I found out about Edward H. Martin, a graduate of the West Point Class of 1898.

Edward Hugh Martin was born in New York,  July 2, 1874 the same year Houdini was born, which would make him around 45 years old during the making of the Grim Game.

Lieut. E. H. Martin of the Fifth Artillery was dismissed (court-martialed) from the army in 1900.  He was tried at Fort Hamilton on three charges of forgery. [NY Times June 24, 1900]

It is said that he married Gussie McKee, the proprietress of a poolroom, while his court-martial trial was going on.

Ex Lieut. E.H. Martin was arrested on a charge of forgery on June 16, 1901.  Martin’s defense at the trial admitted that he was addicted to the use of opium, and said he was “dopy” when he wrote the accounts which were questioned. “Martin is physically very brave. He has saved several persons from drowning and received honorable mention from the army”. [NY Times June 17, 1901]

Instead of being sent to prison for 5 years, he was sentenced to 12 months in a penitentiary. [NY Times July 13, 1901]

Martin was arrested for suspected murder in February, 1905 and held until the following October, when his release was ordered, as the body of his partner could not be found. While confined in jail, Martin endeavored to obtain liberty by burning the jail building.  After his release, he came to Lewis-town Idaho, and afterward was arrested in Moscow and Wallace Idaho, on charges of insanity. [NY Times May 7, 1908]

Portland Ore., May 6, 1908, Edward H. Martin son of a former New York contractor, a graduate of West Point, armor expert at Sandy Hook, graduate of Fordham College and the New York Law School, and temporarily employed in the City Engineer’s office, was arrested for the murder of Nathan Wolffe.  The crime was committed in Wolffe’s jewelry store.  Martin stoutly denies his guilt. [NY Times May 7, 1908]

Is this Edward Martin the actor in the Grim Game?  Who knows; someone believes it is, but we would need them to share why they think this is the case.

Let’s now turn our attention to the question of whether the actor Ed Martin who plays a police reporter appears in any Grim Game stills.  If we look at the script from the Grim Game, the only mention of a police reporter appears in scenes 67 and 69 that takes place in a news room.  See my blog, Forty Winks by the Star Reporter, that paraphrases the scenes.  The only publicity still (L302-08) available is below.

298-8 Sphinx Sept 15, 1919 v18n7

And it only has Houdini depicted.  Now there are other scenes that make reference to reporters, but not police reporters.   If I compare these other scenes with the available stills, there are a couple of stills with reporter(s) in them:

298-7 ebay

Scene 199 (Still 298-07) above takes place in a Police Station.  Houdini is wildly protesting and attempting to tear loose from the hold that the 2 cops have on him.  The desk sergeant has given up the task of trying to question him at this time and orders him to be locked in the strongest cell.  One reporter seizes phone. [Paraphrased from Paramount Files at Margaret Herrick Library]

298-1 snippet Scenes 151-154 (Still 298-1 snippet above) takes place in the same news room that scenes 67 and 69 took place.  Reporters busy in room.  Houdini comes forward to his desk and sinks in his chair.  He has on a dark overcoat and is minus his straw hat that he has been wearing through rest of the picture.  Several of the men have noticed his strange actions. One reporter asks, what is the matter? [Paraphrased from Paramount Files at Margaret Herrick Library]

It is possible that one of the reporters above could be Ed Martin, but we have no way of knowing for sure without a photo to compare.

BTW, apparently Ed Martin appeared in a couple other movies:

If these other movies are still around, we could still possibly get a picture of Ed Martin acting in a movie.

Answer: Who is the other man in Still 298-22

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298-22 Kino HRHRC cap001 (L302-22)

Last year, I did a post, where I gave clues WRT who could be the other man in still 298-22.

The choices were Harry Houdini (Harvey Hanford), Thomas Jefferson (Dudley Cameron), Augustus Philips (Clifton Allison), Tully Marshall (Richard Raver), Arthur Hoyt (Dr. Tyson), or Unidentified actor (Old Servant Banks). We previously ruled out Harry Houdini, Arthur Hoyt and Tully Marshall.  So that left Thomas Jefferson, Augustus Philips and an unidentified actor.  Just solely based on the photos of the actors, it looks like it could be Augustus Philips or Thomas Jefferson; however there was no photo of the actor that played Old Banks to compare.  And if you read my blog, Thomas Jefferson Found, I made a statement: “That as far as I know, there are no movie stills of Thomas Jefferson from the Grim Game and I’ve seen and cataloged most if not all of the stills from the movie.”   So based on the above information if correct, would lead us to Augustus Philips or Old Banks.  I can tell you, it is not Augustus Philips.  So does that make it Old Banks?   Based on the circumstantial evidence previously presented, there was a strong case for Banks.  However, I have some additional evidence to present, that makes me think otherwise now:

During the scene when Cameron is scolding Houdini and telling him to get out, he seizes a large, old-fashioned revolver from top of safe and tries to get a shot at Houdini.  There is also another scene where Houdini mentions that Cameron has threatened to shoot him on sight.  And if we look at still 289-21 and 298-22, you will notice that Houdini and Ann Forrest outfits are the same in both stills; let me explain the events that led up to 289-21 and 298-22 which help make the case for Thomas Jefferson:  In an earlier scene, Cameron (Thomas Jefferson) asks Mary (Ann Forrest) if she can open a box – this is the  box seen in still 289-21; Mary is working at lock of box when Houdini unexpectedly shows up at the Cameron house. Mary and Houdini are in the library – Mary is worried that Cameron who is in the dining room might enter and discover them – Houdini opens the box – Cameron enters and sees the couple – Mary jumps in alarm at the sound of Cameron’s voice – Cameron gets gun – and voila, we have Still 298-22.  BTW, Houdini avoids the old man or disarms him and makes exit through window in comedy fashion.  [Paraphrased from Margaret Herrick Files]

The scene with Banks, Houdini and gun appears later, right after the scene depicted in still 298-80 which shows Mary (white dress) and Houdini in different outfits from still 298-22.

So based on the evidence now, I would say this is Thomas Jefferson (Dudley Cameron) as opposed to an unidentified actor (Old Banks) in still 298-22.

Case closed for the time being!

Stills L302-1 to L302-3 Aeroplane Sequence

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L302-1Above is a photograph that just sold on eBay last week for $123.50.  Congratulations to the winner. This is the first time, I have seen this image with a press released still number on it; It looks like it is L302-1.

Closeup of Still NumberThis is the first image of a sequence of three that appeared together in the newspapers documenting the actual collision in mid-air.  It was also used in ads promoting “The Grim Game”. It shows Kennedy climbing down the knotted rope toward Thompson’s top wing for the plane changing stunt in the movie.

L302-2 001I have yet to see the above second image of the sequence with the still number on it.  It may be L302-2. Notice that, as the aeroplanes are buffeted by the unstable air, Kennedy lifts his feet to avoid contact with Thompson’s propeller.

L302-3 Sphinx Sept 15, 1919 v18n7Above is the third image of the sequence with still number L302-3 on it.  After the collision, you see Kennedy dangling in space at the end of the rope as the aeroplanes start to descend.

1922 Boys Cinema Card – Deep Sea Loot

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houdini-boys-cinema-front

Lately, we have seen a number of these cards for sale.   I have seen them sell anywhere from $67.66 to $400 and I have seen them listed as high as $1,499.99 on eBay.   Check out Kevin Connolly’s blog (Buy Me Now Before I Cost $3000) and the comments section for a discussion we had regarding price, condition, and grading.

Now, let’s focus on the card itself.  The card with Houdini was number 4 of a set of 24 famous heroes that was issued in England by Boys Cinema as an insert in their magazine March 25th, 1922.  It measures 2 1/16″ x 3 1/16″.

The image on the front is from still 298-63 of the Grim Game.

The bottom of the front of the card only lists Artcraft as opposed to Paramount-Artcraft; Paramount and Artcraft Motion pictures were part of the Famous Players-Lasky Corporation; In January 1918 Artcraft became a subsidiary of Paramount and in 1921, Paramount was part of a Federal monopoly investigation that caused Artcraft to be closed.

houdini-boys-cinema-back

Now for the image on the back, it shows his birthplace as Appleton, Wisconsin which is not at all surprising.  But what is surprising is that “Deep Sea Loot” is listed as chief among his films.  So what was Deep Sea Loot?

During the 1910s, Houdini worked with underwater filmmakers J.E. and Ernest Williamson on a never-completed film (prospectively titled Houdini and the Miracle) that promised to show Houdini’s escape from a photosphere (an observation chamber that housed a camera that was attached to the bottom of a barge by a long tube). This film project was included in Houdini’s typewritten list of screen credits as Deep Sea Loot but was never made. [Disappearing Tricks by Matthew Solomon, pages 95, 98-99]

See the Movie Picture World, April 28, 1917, “Houdini For Pictures” article on page 622 and John Cox’s blog (Houdini’s Underwater Epic that wasn’t ) for more details on this Deep Sea Thrill.

Still 298-80 (L302-80): Happy Valentines Day!

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Let's Elope?

Let’s Elope?

This photo (Still 298-80) appeared in a Swedish Program [HHCE Collection] and a Danish Program [Arthur Moses Collection] for the Grim Game.

So what is going on in this photo?

Harvey Hanford (HH) calls at the Cameron home and finds Mary Cameron (Ann Forrest) in the garden. HH and Mary are sitting on a rustic bench. To her he explains the great newspaper scoop he hopes to put over which will make it easier for them to elope. Mary is quite enthusiastic over her lover’s attempt to land a big story and agrees with the plans.  Their plans all arranged, HH kisses Mary good night.  [Paraphrased from files at Margaret Herrick Library]

Still 298-7 Lock Him In The Strongest Cell!

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This photo (Still 298-7) is one of 5 photos that appeared in a 1920 Cinema Chat Ad for The Grim Game. It is also the image that was used to make the following 11×14 lobby card which one sold for $956 at 2010 November Beverly Hills Movie Poster Auction #7029.

So what is going on in this photo?  The description for the lobby card at auction read as follows:

Harry Houdini is manacled and about to be thrown in “the strongest cell.” But everyone who followed the top escapologist career, knew what was coming next! Note that Houdini, ever the alert showman has pulled his coat sleeves up to reveal the cuffs clearly and visibly outlined against his bare skin, so as to preclude any “trickery.” This is exactly as he performed it many times on stages throughout the world.

Still 298-4 Trying to wash hands in the basin

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This photo (Still 298-4) is one of 5 photos that appeared in a 1920 Cinema Chat Ad for The Grim Game.

So what is going on in this photo?

Minus his hat with a mussed appearance, Harvey Hanford [Harry Houdini] confronts his land-lady and then goes up the stairs in a weak-kneed, sneaking manner.

Harvey Hanford enters his room which is the first door at head of stairs and he goes to the wash stand.

Mrs. Gates [landlady] tiptoes up the stairs and peaks thru keyhole and sees Harvey trying to wash his hands in the basin; she notices that his hands and shirt cuffs are stained.

[Scenes 162-168 paraphrased from Paramount Script]

Still 298-25 Discuss final arrangements of scheme

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This photo (Still 298-25) is one of 5 photos that appeared in a 1920 Cinema Chat Ad for The Grim Game.

So who are the characters/actors depicted in this photo?

Harvey Hanford (Harry Houdini), Dr. Harvey Tyson (Arthur Hoyt), Ethel Delmead (Mae Busch).

So what is going on in this photo?

Dr. Tyson, Ethel and Hanford stop a second to discuss final arrangements of Hanford’s scheme then Dr. Tyson and Ethel start toward the gate.
[Scene 123 paraphrased from Paramount Script]

According to the details of Hanford’s scheme, Dr. Tyson is to order Cameron to the mountains for his health.  He is to arrange for the old man to go at night, secretly, accompanied by Ethel Delmead, a cabaret singer – selected for her beauty and winning personality – who will be coached in her part as nurse.  [The Grim Game Cast and Story]