The Million Dollar Mystery
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| The Million Dollar Mystery | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Howell Hansel |
| Produced by | Edwin Thanhouser |
| Written by | Lloyd Lonergan Harold McGrath |
| Starring | Florence La Badie Marguerite Snow James Cruze Frank Farrington Sidney Bracey Lila Chester |
| Cinematography | George Webber |
| Distributed by | Thanhouser Company |
| Release date(s) |  22 June 1914 |
| Running time | 23 chapters |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $125,000 approx.[1] |
| Gross revenue | $1,500,000[1] |
| Followed by | Zudora (1914) |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
The Million Dollar Mystery was a twenty three episode film serial released on June 22nd, 1914. It was directed by Howell Hansel, and starred Florence La Badie. It was produced by Thanhouser Film Corporation, and was their biggest success, much due to the popularity of La Badie. During the filming, La Badie performed her owns stunts. Publicity gimmicks, including a prize the member of the public who sent int the best idea for a conclusion to the serial, were used to boost the serial's success. The film is presumed to be lost.[2]
Contents |
[edit] Plot
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.
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[edit] Cast
- Florence La Badie as Florence Hargreaves
- Marguerite Snow as Countess Olga Petroff
- James Cruze as Jim Norton
- Frank Farrington as Braine
- Sidney Bracey as John Hargreaves / The Butler
- Lila Chester as Susan Farlow
[edit] Chapter titles
- The Airship in the Night
- The False Friend
- A Leap in the Dark
- The Top Floor Flat
- At the Bottom of the Sea
- The Coaching Party of the Countess
- The Doom of the Auto Bandits
- The Wiles of a Woman
- The Leap from an Ocean Liner
- (Unknown)
- In the Path of the Fast Express
- (Unknown)
- (Unknown)
- (Unknown)
- The Borrowed Hydroplane
- Drawn Into the Quicksand
- A Battle of Wits
- (Unknown)
- (Unknown)
- (Unknown)
- (Unknown)
- The Million Dollar Mystery
- The Mystery Solved[2]
[edit] Production
Million Dollar Mystery was released with the gimmick that the last chapter was unwritten. A prize of $10,000 was offered for the best suggestion (advertised as "$10,000 for 100 works").[2] This was won by Ida Damon, a secretary from St. Louis. 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.[1]
[edit] Reception
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 about $125,000. 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.[1]
