Eads Museum Travels Back To The Silent Movie Era
July 25, 2003
On Thursday, July 17, the summer reading group from the Kiowa County Public Library took a trip back in time to the silent movie era when they visited the Eads Museum. The young readers traveled back to the 1920s where actual movie posters were on display and a 1908 Edison projector will seemingly present three silent films for their entertainment. Each film had a movie poster on display and included such silent classics as Buster Keaton starring in "The Saphead" and Zane Grey’s western "The Mysterious Rider."
Over the past year the museum has been able to put together an impressive new display depicting the silent movie era of the 1920s due to a generous donation and an amazing find by museum personnel. The generous donation came in the form of the very rare 1908 Edison projector that is in working condition and includes a large tin case filled with the actual 1920s film, "The Grey Vulture." The fortunate find, made by museum personnel, was in a quite unassuming box located in a dark corner of the museum vault that held some thirty-five original silent movie posters from the 1920s. The posters are eighty years old and are believed to have been displayed in the old El Cinema Theatre that was located on Maine Street in Eads. Many are sequential posters that tell the plot of a particular film and might have been hung on the theatre walls to give the movie-goer a taste of what the movie was all about. To further enhance the museum display, the museum will be presenting silent movies (via present-day video technology) so that patrons can actually view a silent film at their own leisure. The films are quite entertaining and may bring back memories for some while others will muse on what it was like to "catch a movie" before we had DVD, surround-sound, and IMAX.
The 1908 Edison 35mm projector was kindly donated by Elden R. Wilson of Georgetown, Tennessee. As a young child of nine or ten Mr. Wilson followed his father, Ronald Wilson, around this part of the state as they would set up the movie projector in various towns and show a feature length movie along with a beginning commercial and often a newsreel. His father, Ronald Wilson, was a teacher in Kiowa County for 11 years from 1921 to 1932. During the summer vacations he would be a farm hand around the area. However, by 1929, while Wilson was a teacher and principal in Haswell, he got an opportunity to purchase the 1908 Edison projector and began to show movies at the Haswell Booster Hall each Saturday night during the school year. Initially, the projector had been manufactured to be lighted with Freso-Lite gas, a form of acetylene gas; however, Wilson converted it to be lighted by electricity. The projector had to be turned with a hand crank. The movie pictures would move on the screen, usually upon a large sheet hung on the wall or in the trees, with words that would describe the plot, and no sound. Sometimes, a piano player would sit to the side of the screen and play appropriate music based on the action of the scene. The Wilson’s, with Bob Ferris helping at times, also took the projector out on circuit and showed their films in Wray, Joes, and Cope.
It would cost each movie buff a dime to go to the movies.
Three silent movies are available for viewing at the museum. The first, "The Saphead," stars Buster Keaton. This movie was the catalyst that began Keaton’s brilliant career as a stunt comedian actor. Keaton plays the rich, spoiled son of a powerful Wall Street financier. Unable to escape the wealth and comfort that are foisted upon him, he pursues individuality in a series of comic misadventures in the speakeasies of New York, the altar of matrimony, and the floor of the stock exchange.
Zane Grey’s "The Mysterious Rider" is also available for viewing. It is set amidst the splendor of the Arizona desert and is an exciting Western mystery. Douglass Drumbrille stars as a former stagecoach robber who years ago was mistakenly charged for a murder he did not commit, then chased out of town. Some 20 years later, he returns hoping to reclaim his cattle ranch, clear his name, and reunite with his daughter.
The last movie available for viewing is the movie donated by Wilson along with the Edison projector. "The Grey Vulture" is a feature-length piece full of extreme action including gun fights, stage coach hold ups, and chases via horses. Bart Miller lives his life vicariously through his favorite book, The Grey Vulture, about a heroic knight who spends his days saving damsels in distress. His daydreaming and odd way of helping damsels gets him fired, the sheriff on his trail, and the rich rancher’s daughter’s heart. This one has some good humor, girls in bathing suits, and a truly evil lawyer stirring up the plot.
The projector and movies can be viewed at the museum for the rest of the summer, while the 1920’s movie posters can either be viewed at the museum or on the Kiowa County Historical Society web page at www.kiowacounty.org. Click on PROJECTS and go to Silent Movie Project. The museum staff and volunteers are very excited about their new display and cordially welcome anyone interested in the silent movie era to slip back in time, if but for a few moments.