Bala’s Museum re-creates a Photoplay of the 1919 "Anne of Green Gables" silent film

Jack and Linda Hutton have spent close to seven years trying to learn more about the long-lost "Anne of Green Gables" silent movie which starred 17-year-old Mary Miles Minter. After all this time, they finally have created a presentation that brings that old production back to life, using still photos from the movie, accompanied by live silent movie piano of that era.

In June, 2008, delegates to the L.M. Montgomery conference at the University of Prince Edward Island will be the first to see the completed photoplay with Jack, an award-winning international ragtime performer, playing rare silent movie piano music of that era to accompany Linda’s narration.

Jack and Linda have worked hard to re-invent the experience of actually sitting through the movie that starred teen-aged Mary Miles Minter.

The 1920s photo at the top of this page shows what the movie may have looked like. A woman pianist accompanies the on-screen action as Anne and Matthew Cuthbert are heading for Green Gables.

Following the trail of the 1919 movie and its star, Mary Miles Minter, has been a labour of love for Jack and Linda.

Roughly seven years ago, they purchased for their museum a copy of the 1919 sheet music, "Anne of Green Gables", which was written for the movie with the approval of Mary Miles Minter. Jack and Linda were puzzled by the hip-roofed building on the cover. It bore no resemblance to the Green Gables home in P.E.I. which has been visited by many thousands over the years. Linda's research showed that the 1919 movie had been filmed just south of Boston, using the oldest frame home still standing in the United States, Fairbanks House (1636), as the home of Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert.

The Huttons promptly made their first visit to Dedham, Massachusetts, to study the heritage home first-hand, and to interview local people who could tell them about the movie (That was the first of two visits).

The photoplay presentation to the LMM conference in June is called "Take Your Girlie to the Movies". That title is borrowed from a popular song in 1919 which describes the plight of a young swain whose girlfriend’s parents refuse to leave the two of them alone in the living room. A lovelorn columnist offers the advice: "Take your girlie to the movies!"

The lyrics tell the story. "There’s no little brother there who always squeals/ You can say an awful lot in seven reels!"

The re-creation of the old movie will be shown later in the fall to an ambitious LMM conference being planned by the University of Guelph. Click on www.lmmrc.ca/conference) to learn more about the conference, which will be held in October.

In the meantime, the photoplay presentation is available to interested groups or organizations that would like to show it during this important "100 Years of Anne" year. Contact Jack or Linda at Bala’s Museum with Memories of Lucy Maud Montgomery to discuss costs and other details (balamus@muskoka.com or 1-705-762-5876).

The Huttons hope to combine their research and the copyrighted screen presentation into a DVD at some time in the future. Until that happens, the only way to see the re-created film will be to sit down in the dark with Jack and Linda. Popcorn, anyone?

Where it is being shown:

June 26, Thursday, 2008: Take Your Girlie to the Movies will be a featured presentation following a dinner hosted by the L.M. Montgomery Institute at the University of Prince Edward Island in Charlottetown, P.E.I. . Full information is available at the website of the L.M. Montgomery Institute (www.lmmontgomery.ca)

June 29, Sunday, 2008: Avonlea Village, Cavendish, P.E.I. Check website for details (www.avonlea.ca)

October 25, 2008: The University of Guelph will be hosting a conference entitled INSIDE and OUT: The lives of L.M. Montgomery . Jack and Linda's photoplay will be one of the presentations. For details of the conference, see their website at www.lmmrc.ca/conference

POSTSCRIPT: Jack and Linda say they owe thanks to many who have assisted them with their research. That includes Dr. Mary Rubio and staff members at the University of Guelph, plus Carolyn Collins, who will be doing a scholarly presentation on the lost 1919 film at the LMM conference. Thanks also go to the legendary American pianist, composer and musical historian Dick Hyman and his secretary, Gerri Brigandi, who made available a treasure trove of rare silent movie piano music. Ken Scollard and John Gurr, both of Bala, were of great assistance in helping Jack and Linda get started with their computer program.