1916: Star Power!

20,000 Leagues in 1916? Mind=blown

We are leaving behind 1915 and the historic but personally frustrating Birth of a Nation for 1916 and the birth of star power.  Charlie Chaplin signs an unprecedented $10,000 per week contract with Mutual Film Company.  Mary Pickford signs her own $10,000 per week contract plus half of her film's profits, making her the first million dollar movie actor.  That's the equivalent of $20 million today, putting her in the same league as the biggest stars in modern film.

This year also featured the first true vampire film (the German Night of Horrors), the first full female nude scene (Daughter of the Gods, also the most expensive film at $1 million), and the first original orchestral score (Thomas Ince's Civilization).

As far as my movie watching goes, I feel like I've hit a rut. The last few (except for Chaplin) have been meh, with the exception of Birth, which got my Irish up for all the wrong reasons. It's like I am running a marathon and the initial excitement of leaving the starting gate has worn off.  Hopefully, 1916 get me more excited.

Speaking of which, this year, I'll be catching D.W. Griffith's Birth of a Nation followup, Intolerance and black comedian Bert Williams' A Natural Born Gambler, but...

20,000 Leagues under the Sea!  There's a 1916 version of 20,000 Leagues under the Sea!  I love all movies, but I'm a genre guy at heart so seeing Jules Verne on here just made me smile.  I'm excited about Intolerance, but I cannot wait for 20,000 Leagues.  I'm dying to see how they pull this one off!