Almost Hollywood

Blair Miller has had a lifelong interest in silent film comedies. His previous book, American Silent Film Comedies: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Persons, Studios and Terminology (1995), is considered a reference in the field. He currently lives in Rochester, New York.

What caused this abrupt reversal of fortune forcing the film industry out of Jacksonville and into Hollywood? To answer this question, Blair Miller has resurrected the forgotten story of the rise and fall of the motion picture industry in Jacksonville. He provides us with a compelling view into the intriguing political climate, social issues, and global events that contributed to Jacksonville’s meteoric rise and fall that took place in just a few short years. Through painstaking research, compilation of contemporary news articles, and personal research in Jacksonville’s archives, he reveals this story by recounting the history of a dozen or so studios, including Thanhouser, which bet on Jacksonville as the next mecca for filmmaking, while weaving through it the political maneuverings of civic leaders who forfeited Jacksonville’s chance at becoming what we know today as Hollywood.

• List of FiguresForewordAcknowledgementsIntroductionTimelineChapter 1: Mayor Bowden, Politics and the Movie IndustryChapter 2: Kalem Company, Inc.Chapter 3: Lubin Motion Picture CompanyChapter 4: Vim Comedy CompanyChapter 5: Amber Star Company and the Eastern Film CompanyChapter 6: King-Bee Film CorporationChapter 7: Eagle Film CompanyChapter 8: Thanhouser CompanyChapter 9: Klever Pictures, Inc.Chapter 10: Klutho StudiosChapter 11: Other StudiosChapter 12: What Happened to the Dream of Making Jacksonville into what Hollywood, California Ultimately Became? BibliographyIndex