The Million Dollar Mystery
Encyclopedia
The Million Dollar Mystery is a twenty three chapter film serial
Serial (film)
Serials, more specifically known as Movie serials, Film serials or Chapter plays, were short subjects originally shown in theaters in conjunction with a feature film. They were related to pulp magazine serialized fiction...

. It was directed
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...

 by Howell Hansel
Howell Hansel
Howell Hansel , was an American film director. He directed 26 films between 1913 and 1917.He was born in Indiana, USA and died in New York, New York.-External links:...

, and starred Florence La Badie
Florence La Badie
Florence La Badie was an American actress in the early days of the silent film era. Though little known today, she was a major star between 1911 and 1917, her career was at its height and climbing when she died unexpectedly due to injuries sustained during an automobile accident.-Early life:While...

. 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
Lost film
A lost film is a feature film or short film that is no longer known to exist in studio archives, private collections or public archives such as the Library of Congress, where at least one copy of all American films are deposited and catalogued for copyright reasons...

.

Synopsis

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.

Cast

  • Florence La Badie
    Florence La Badie
    Florence La Badie was an American actress in the early days of the silent film era. Though little known today, she was a major star between 1911 and 1917, her career was at its height and climbing when she died unexpectedly due to injuries sustained during an automobile accident.-Early life:While...

     as Florence Hargreaves
  • Marguerite Snow
    Marguerite Snow
    Marguerite Snow was an American silent film actress. Her father was a comedian. She was educated in Denver, Colorado at the Loretta Heights Academy.-Silent Film Leading Lady:...

     as Countess Olga Petroff
  • James Cruze
    James Cruze
    James Cruze was a silent film actor and film director.-Life:Cruze was born as Jens Vera Cruz Bosen. The Vera Cruz middle name came from the battle of Vera Cruz. He was raised in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but did not practice the religion after his teenage years...

     as Jim Norton
  • Frank Farrington
    Frank Farrington
    Frank Farrington was an American silent film actor.Frank Farrington choked to death at the height of his acting career in 1924.-Filmography:...

     as Braine
  • Sidney Bracey
    Sidney Bracey
    Sidney Bracey was an Australian-born American film actor. After a stage career in Australia, on Broadway and in Britain, he appeared in 321 films between 1909 and 1942.-Life and career:...

     as John Hargreaves / The Butler
  • Lila Chester
    Lila Chester
    Lila Chester was an American actress. She appeared in 38 films between 1912 and 1918.She was born in Richmond, Virginia, USA.-External links:...

     as Susan Farlow

Production

The Million Dollar Mystery was the new serial project from the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...

 following the success of The Adventures of Kathlyn
The Adventures of Kathlyn
The Adventures of Kathlyn is an American motion picture serial released on December 29, 1913 by the Selig Polyscope Company. An adventure serial filmed in Chicago, Illinois, its thirteen episodes were directed by Francis J. Grandon from a story by Harold MacGrath and Gilson Willets and starred...

.

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"). Thousands of letters were received in response to this and Ida Damon, a secretary from St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

, won the prize. 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.

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. 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

  1. The Airship in the Night
  2. The False Friend
  3. A Leap in the Dark
  4. The Top Floor Flat
  5. At the Bottom of the Sea
  6. The Coaching Party of the Countess
  7. The Doom of the Auto Bandits
  8. The Wiles of a Woman
  9. The Leap from an Ocean Liner
  10. (Unknown)
  11. In the Path of the Fast Express
  12. (Unknown)
  13. (Unknown)
  14. (Unknown)
  15. The Borrowed Hydroplane
  16. Drawn Into the Quicksand
  17. A Battle of Wits
  18. (Unknown)
  19. (Unknown)
  20. (Unknown)
  21. (Unknown)
  22. The Million Dollar Mystery
  23. The Mystery Solved

SOURCE:
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