| The Mailman (1923 film) | |
| Director: | Emory Johnson Asst Dir John G. Blystone |
| Cinematography: | Ross Fischer |
| Distributor: | FBO |
| Runtime: | 7 reels 7,160 feet |
| Country: | USA |
The Mailman is a 1923 American silent melodrama directed by Emory Johnson. FBO released the film in December 1923. The film's "All-Star" cast included Ralph Lewis, Johnnie Walker, and Virginia True Boardman. Emilie Johnson, Johnson's mother, wrote both the story and screenplay. was the fourth film in Johnson's eight-picture contract with FBO.
The U. S. Mail Service honors Bob Morley (Ralph Lewis) and his son Johnnie (Johnnie Walker) for their many years of service. Afterward, Johnnie is promoted to an officer on the U. S. Mail Service ship — Enterprise. The craft transports registered mail and other valuable cargo. While Johnnie is on duty, thieves rob the boat and gun down the supervisor. Through a series of unfortunate events, they charge Johnnie with theft and murder. Since he has no alibi, the court finds him guilty of both crimes. When the court is about to pass a sentence, the actual wrongdoer confesses and saves Johnnie from his date with the hangman's noose.
Bob Morley and his son Johnnie are an exciting tale of bravery, justice, and the power of a father's love. The film's opening scene starts with a ceremony. A celebration acknowledges Bob and Johnnie's years of devoted service as mail carriers. Bob is a proud father who has raised his son to value hard work and dedication to their job. It is also clear that they have earned the respect and admiration of their colleagues and the community.
The story takes a dramatic turn when Johnnie accepts a promotion to serve on a postal ship, the Enterprise. The vessel transports the Post Office's registered mail. Johnnie accepts the job and starts work immediately. A robbery occurs one night while he is working on the postal ship. A postal officer is shot during the heist, and Johnnie is the only witness. The criminals decide they must do away with Johnnie and throw him overboard. In a twist of fate, a yacht in the same area saves Johnnie from drowning. It is of little comfort when Johnnie discovers the boat is a rumrunner and is involved in the Enterprise's robbery.
The yacht's owners discover Johnnie had witnessed the robbery and murder. Before they can toss him back into the sea, Johnnie escapes to the ship's radio room and transmits an alert to the Pacific fleet. Johnnie shows his courage and dedication to justice, despite his impending danger. After identifying the yacht's location, the fleet commander mobilizes his forces to intercept the 90-foot boat. There is a subsequent pursuit and destruction of the bootlegging vessel by ten Pacific Fleet Dreadnoughts.
During the melee, Johnnie saves himself from the destruction. Once aboard the rescue ship, they arrest him for committing robbery and murder. His new ordeal starts, and he faces trial for killing a government postal officer during the robbery. Bob Morley frantically calls everyone he knows, begging for help to save his son. Despite Bob's pleas, the court found Johnnie guilty of murder and sentenced him to hang.
While awaiting his execution, the actual criminal confesses. Johnnie is exonerated, and father and son are reunited. The movie ends on a happy note.[1]
| Actor | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| Ralph Lewis | Bob Morley | |
| Johnnie Walker | Johnnie | |
| Martha Sleeper | Betty | |
| Virginia True Boardman | Mrs. Morley | |
| Taylor Graves | Harry | |
| Hardee Kirkland | Captain Franz | |
| David Kirby | Jack Morgan | |
| Josephine Adair | Virginia | |
| Rosemary Cooper | Mrs. Thompson | |
| Richard Morris | Admiral Fleming | |
Film Booking Offices of America (FBO) was an energetic, independent American silent era film studio. The company released around 110 features and shorts a year. The company focused on producing low-budget films emphasizing first-class westerns, action films, romantic melodramas, and comedy shorts. The company mainly distributed its pictures to small-town venues and independent theater chains, which changed their pictures three times a week. FBO would make their pictures appeal to every member of the American family.[2]
The average cost per production was $50,000 to $75,000 equivalent to $ to $ in 2021 compared to the Major film studios which could spend five times as much to produce a movie.
also produced and distributed a limited number of big-budget features labeled "Gold Bond" or "Special" productions. Emory Johnson's eight films for FBO were all specials.
In 1923, Emilie and Emory Johnson signed a contract extension with FBO. The contract was for 2 years. The agreement stipulated Emory was to make eight attractions for FBO. The agreement specified that his previous four films would count toward the total. FBO also agreed to invest two and a half million dollars (In today's money –) on the remaining four films.[3] Another part of the new contract stipulated – "The contract also provides that Emory Johnson's mother, Mrs. Emilie Johnson, shall prepare all of the stories and write all the scripts for the Johnson attractions in addition to assisting her son in filming the productions."
"Between the 1922 reorganization of Film Booking Office of America and October 1923, Pat Powers, as one of the company's new American investors, was effectively in command.Powers changed the name of Robertson-Cole/FBO to the Powers Studio for a brief period, though there is no record of the company ever having produced or released a film under that banner." Powers resigned from F.B.O. on October 30, 1923.[4]
Previously, Johnson's capitalized on the large working base of Police Officers, Firefighters, and railroad workers. On this occasion, he set his sights on postal workers. In 1922, the United States Post Office had 339,000 employees in America.[5] The Bureau of Information of the Post Office Department is said to have 52,000 postmasters throughout the country.[6] Those sorts of numbers would provide much free advertising.
Johnson and his mother were meticulous in their research or preproduction of these films. They consistently portrayed their lead characters in roles that showed their loyalty and dedication to the organization they served. A significant part of Emory Johnson's success in these films was that he coordinated his movies with huge entities, like police departments, firefighting units, railroads, and railroad yards. This time, he recruited the cooperation of the United States Postal Service and the US Navy. Ralph Lewis was the perfect lead for all these films about working wage earners.
Emory Johnson was a former actor turned director when he directed this film. He had acted in 73 movies between 1913 and 1922 for the likes of Essanay, Universal, Pathé, and Goldwyn before allowed him to direct his first film.
Johnson was years old when he directed this film. was the fourth film in Emory Johnson's eight-picture contract with . His three previous FBO films had all been financially successful – In the Name of the Law, The Third Alarm, and The West~Bound Limited.
Johnson began his acting career in 1912. He secured work as an extra in early Broncho Billy Westerns. He acted in 73 movies between 1912 and 1922 for the likes of Essanay, Universal, Pathé, and Goldwyn. In 1921, he thought the time was right to start directing movies. Before FBO even considered allowing a neophyte to direct his first film, Johnson had to convince them to finance a non-comedic movie about police officers. was afraid the public would not like the serious side of cops, especially as a full-length movie. He finally convinced them and completed his film.[17] The movie was a financial success.
During his career at FBO, he would earn titles like the and They would include this drama in all the categories. Johnson would continue to thrive as an independent director because he did not just make epic films; he made bankable movies focusing on subjects he and his mother held dear.
Emory Johnson's glorification of public servants had become the perfect theme for all his FBO Special productions. Johnson felt these working-class heroes did not get the recognition they so richly deserved for their work. This movie would persist in the same vein as former films and praised government personnel like police, firefighters, and railway engineers. While the movies revolved around the average Joe, Johnson and his mother also needed to balance an action film and a sentimental story for female viewers.
"Love, the greatest of human emotions," is the central theme of Emory Johnson's drama, The Mailman. According to Johnson, all of his working-class melodramas revolved around one main theme: love.
Bravery, dedication, honor, kinship, loyalty, love, morality, obligation, sacrifice, and tenacity are concepts entwined in this entire Johnson film and become the essence of the movie. The Johnsons carefully blended all these elements to complement the tale of our working-class hero.
Like his previous productions, Johnson primarily focused on the bond between father and son. These films featured a mature father, a mother figure, a devoted son, a beautiful young female lead, and a sprinkling of child actors. The son would eventually marry the feminine lead and live happily ever after. These films were also fitting of the new era. The new fandom attending movies sought family-oriented cinema, action films, and films with intelligent plots.
Emilie Johnson (1867–1941) was born on June 3, 1867, in Gothenburg, Västra Götaland, Sweden. After emigrating to America, she married Alfred Jönsson. Their only son was born in 1894 – actor, director and writer Alfred Emory Johnson.[18] Johnson was years old when she wrote the story and the screen adaptation for this film. was the fourth film in the 8-picture FBO contract.[19] Emilie Johnson penned most of the stories and screenplays her son, Emory Johnson, used for his successful career directing epic melodramas. Mrs. Johnson supplied her son with stories that seemed custom-tailored for actor Ralph Lewis.[19]
In the 1920s, Emilie and Emory Johnson developed one of the unique collaborations in the annals of Hollywood. Emilie Johnson and her son became famous as Hollywood's only mother-son writing/directing team. They usually worked side by side before production started and then on the movie sets after filming began. Emilie Johnson wrote stories about lunch pail characters living paycheck-to-paycheck like law enforcement officers, firefighters, mail carriers, railroad engineers, patriots, baseball players, and newspaper press operators.[19] The Johnson team felt their human-interest stories would be relatable on the silver screen, and her son brought them to the screen in epic melodramas.
Their unique collaboration would persist through the decade, only fading in the early 30s.
According to the American Film Institute catalog, this movie was filmed in Hollywood, California, and San Francisco, California.
The film schedule according to Camera! "Pulse of the Studios". This schedule traces a film's evolution from Cradle-to-grave. This film start shooting in July 1922 and was October 1922. The timetable gives the studio and location as — R. C. Picture Corp located at Melrose and Gower.
The table also displayed the following column headers and entries for this film:
| style=max-width:6em | Director | style=max-width:6em | Star | style=max-width:6em | Cameraman | style=max-width:12em | Ass't Director | style=max-width:6em | Scenarist | style=max-width:6em | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emory Johnson | Ralph Lewis | R. Fisher | Blystone | Emilie Johnson | The Mail Man |
| 1923 | May | 19 | "Ralph Lewis will shortly begin work on Emory Johnson's latest F. B. O. Production, the title of which is as yet undecided. The story is from the pen of Mrs. Emilie Johnson, the producer's mother, and narrates a mail man's romance and home life." | [20] | |
| 1923 | Jun | 16 | "A picture-making outfit, headed by Emory Johnson, arrived in San Francisco last Friday with the battleships of the Pacific Fleet, . . the camera persons had the cooperation of all the naval officers and the use of the searchlights of the battleships, they obtained some of the most remarkable pictures, both day and night, ever taken of a naval fleet in motion. The picture-making party consisted of Emory Johnson (Director), B. F. Miller, Richard Morris (role of Admiral Fleming), and Ross Fisher (Cinematography)." | [21] | |
| 1923 | Jun | 10–15 | "Ralph Lewis has returned from Chicago, where he went to spend a few days with his father who was critically ill. His father, Capt. E. R. Lewis died within a few hours of the arrival of his son. Lewis remained in Chicago and arranged the funeral ceremony. Work on Lewis' next FBO. production "The Mailman," under the direction of Emory Johnson, was delayed during his absence." | [22] | |
| 1923 | Jun | 25 | 1st thru 2nd week of shooting exteriors for The Mail Man. | [23] [24] | |
| 1923 | Jun | 30 | "Emory Johnson's next for F. B. 0. is now in production, and has been given the title. The Mailman. Ralph Lewis, star of the previous Johnson productions, will also have the leading role in this one. The picture revolves around the mail carrier. Initial scenes are now being made aboard the battleships of the Pacific Fleet, off San Pedro, through the courtesy of Admiral E. W. Eberle of the U. S. Navy." The working title of The Mail Man" was changed to a production title of The Mailman." | [25] | |
| 1923 | Jul | 2–30 | 3rd — 7th week of shooting exteriors for The Mail Man. | [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] | |
| 1923 | Aug | 6 | 1st week of editing The Mail Man | [31] | |
| 1923 | Aug | 13 | The Mail Man is no longer listed in "Pulse of the Studios" | ||
| 1923 | Sep | 15 | "Having finished filming The Mail Man, at the Pat Powers studio, EmoryJohnson has begun to personally supervise the cutting of the picture which is slated for late autumn release by Film Booking Offices." | [32] | |
| 1923 | Oct | 14–20 | First preview of The Mail Man in Los Angeles | [33] | |
| 1923 | Nov | 1 | " premiered in Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia on November 1, 1923. The premiere in Washington was at the Ambassador Theatre. Later in the day, a private showing was presented for the new Postmaster General Harry New and his staff. In Philadelphia, the premiere was held at Ed Fay's Knickerbocker Theatre. 2,900 fans were in attendance." This is another instance of the movie referred to as The Mailman | [34] | |
| 1923 | Nov | 17 | "The Emory Johnson's production, The Mailman, dramatizing the lives of United States, postal workers had its world premiere Saturday, November 17 at Lowes State Theater, Los Angeles. The opening was a gala occasion, the mail workers band of 60 pieces serenaded the Postmaster of the city P.P. O'Brien and other notables." | [35] | |
| 1923 | Nov | 25 | "The Mailman," Emory Johnson's latest F.B.O. special will open an indefinite run at the New York Cameo Theatre on November 25, 1923." | [36] | |
When films enter production, they need the means to reference the project. A Working title is assigned to the project. A Working Title can also be named an In many cases, a working title will become the release title.
Working titles are used primarily for two reasons:
The working title for this film was -
Post-production is a crucial step in filmmaking, transforming the raw footage into the finished product. It requires skilled professionals working together to create a film that meets the director's vision and engages audiences.
The movie theater release of this film comprised 7 reels or roughly 7,160 feet of film. The average time per reel is between 10 and 15 minutes. As a result, they estimated the total time for this movie to be between 70 minutes and 1 3/4 hours.
In 1922, Robertson-Cole Distributing Corporation restructured and changed its name FBO. The new company bought land in Los Angeles on the corner of Melrose Avenue and Gower Street. FBO then erected studios and administration offices on the new parcel of land. These new individual film stages would provide resources for filming a motion picture's interior scenes.[37]
FBO company bought 460 acres for outdoor filming in Santa Monica. The area was soon dubbed the "R-C Ranch." The ranch could provide the backdrop needed for most exterior photography.
Loyal Lives (the other Mailman movie) debuted in Marion, Ohio, on July 15, 1923. The film premiered in New York City in August and appeared in Los Angeles the following month. FBO would premiere its product four months later. As opposed to other companies' practice of debuting a film in New York or Los Angeles, FBO staged a premiere double-header. FBO designated Washington and Philadelphia for their exclusive previews, with Washington being a clear choice because of the location of the offices of the Post Master General. Shortly after that, FBO scheduled the film for its coast-to-coast appearances. A world premiere took place in Los Angeles, and then the movie began an indefinite run in New York City a week later.[38]
Thursday morning, November 1, 1923
The newly rebuilt Ambassador Theatre accommodated the Washington Preview. The theater provided a full orchestra, house staff, uniformed ushers, and a doorman. An article in the Exhibitors Trade Review dated November 17, 1923, reported a pre-showing of The Mailman, in "an auditorium crowded with foreign diplomats, American society leaders, political highlights, and over seventy-five prominent exhibitors in the southeastern portion of the United States."[39] FBO also arranged an additional private showing for the new Postmaster General Harry New and his staff of assistant postmasters at his downtown office headquarters.[38]
Thursday morning, November 1, 1923
What is the significance of Philadelphia? In 1775, the Second Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia. Items on their agenda included designating Benjamin Franklin as the first postmaster general.
In a unique selection for a private showing, the "trade premiere" of "The Mailman" was hosted at "Ed Fay's Knickerbocker."[38] Marcus Loew opened The Knickerbocker Theatre in 1914. In 1919, Loew sold the theatre to Edward Fay. Fay renamed the Knickerbocker to "Fay's Theatre." An Exhibitors Herald piece claimed the showing "was attended by 2,900 people."[38] An article in the Motion Picture News further clarified - "attended by twenty-nine hundred people with eight hundred of them standing through the performance".[40] The "trade premiere" used a "Navy Day" tie-up with the film. Marine and Navy honor guards were present, and the Navy sent a reel of Navy pictures.
An additional point, Edward Fay, the theater's proprietor, was based in Providence, Rhode Island. Providence hosted the 1923 National Association of Letter Carriers convention in September. Ralph Lewis attended the NALC convention in Providence because of his involvement in this movieHe had also been present at Police and Fire Chiefs' conventions because of his leading roles in In the Name of the Law and The Third Alarm.[41]
Saturday, November 17, 1923
The Exhibitors Trade Review claimed The Mailman had its world's premiere on Saturday, November 17, at Loew's State Theatre in the Broadway Theatre District of Downtown Los Angeles. At the conclusion of the showing, the movie received a standing ovation.[42] The gala surrounding the movie included the mail workers' band of sixty pieces serenading the Postmaster of the city and "monster radio jollification" broadcast to two million listeners featuring speeches, songs, and brief talks by Ralph Lewis, Johnnie Walker, Dave Kirby and others of the "Mailman" cast. There were also banners announcing the showing of "The Mailman" and tying up with the "Do your Xmas shopping early" movement were hung on all mail delivery and collection wagons.[43]
Sunday, November 25, 1923
New York City had a tradition of premiering Emory Johnson's films. In July 1922, Johnson premiered his first motion picture, In The Name of the Law at the George M. Cohan Theater.[44] FBO premiered Johnson's second production, "The Third Alarm," in January 1923 at the prestigious Astor Theatre.[45] In April 1923, FBO premiered John's third film, The West~Bound Limited. by booking a ballroom at the Astor Hotel.[46] FBO had already taken a different approach to introduce this film. The movie had already had exclusive previews in Washington, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles. Yet, no other event could bring as much publicity as packing in the sophisticated New York audience on Broadway.
Emory and Ella Johnson made an early trip to New York to promote the film. "100 letter carriers and their band of 40 pieces," greeted the couple when they arrived. Then a parade down Broadway attracted crowds along New York's "[47] Film producers staged a "Movie Day" parade on Saturday, November 17. Although the parade's purpose was to honor the movie-making companies, FBO dominated the procession with "over 200 uniform carriers, carrying 10-foot banners and led by the postal clerk's band, swung down Broadway, advertising to the people lining the curve that the picture was coming to the cameo theater."[48]
Finally, The Mailman opened at the Cameo Theatre on November 25, 1923, for an indefinite run with "an exploitation campaign, rivaling anything ever attempted by the film booking offices".[48] [49]
On November 26, there was another parade. This time, the New York Letter Carriers band marched from City Hall along Broadway to the theatre to receive a cash award for the best postal band in the country.[50]
On November 3, 1923, The Mailman was copyrighted to R-C (Robertson-Cole) Pictures Corp with a registration number of LP19561.[51] The copyrights for FBO Films were registered with their original British owners. FBO was the official name of the film-distributing operation for Robertson-Cole Pictures Corp. Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. would rectify this confusion at a later date.
According to the American Film Institute, this film was officially released for bookings on Sunday, December 9, 1923, by Film Booking Offices of America.[52]
As mentioned earlier, in 1922, the United States Post Office had 339,000 personnel and 52,000 postmasters in America.[5] Those numbers could generate a great deal of free advertising. When The Mailman opened at the Cameo Theatre, FBO planned "an exploitation campaign, rivaling anything ever attempted by the film booking offices".[48]
Thus, F.B.O. adopted the same advertising strategy they deployed in promoting Johnson's prior three films. They would create a local tie-ins with the public servants portrayed in the film, i.e., reach out to the local postmasters before the film arrived in the city. Many local post office departments provided the movie with free advertising by organizing parades featuring the local postal employee bands. These parades would end at the local theater showing the film. Post offices also benefited from the film by publicizing their "Do Your Christmas Shopping Early" campaign. They further used the film as a vehicle to request higher pay.
FBO gave 4,000 discounted tickets to letter carriers and postal employees in New York to watch the film.[53] They also sponsored a national contest for the best Postal band, awarding a $300 prize for finishing in first-place.
FBO would provide a newspaper-size campaign book if the theater owners had questions about employing revue-producing strategies for this film. This film had a well-organized and straightforward time-tested process for exploitation.
Movie reviews were essential perspectives for theater owners and fans. Reviews of movies printed in various trade magazines were indispensable in deciding whether to book or watch the film. When critics had contrasting reviews, choosing whether to see or book the movie can be challenging, especially since discordant reviews do not mean it is necessarily a bad movie. Ultimately, it boiled down to personal choices and how much value you place on the movie review and the reviewer.
Melodrama films captivate the audience by weaving narratives that evoke intense emotions. These films primarily focus on family dynamics, centering around characters who face adversity and exploring themes of duty and love. The melodramatic format portrays characters navigating their challenges with unwavering determination, selfless acts, and bravery. [54] [55] [56]
Movie critics and theater owners often use the following expressions to describe the movies they are reviewing or showing.
Terms used in reviewing silent movie melodrama
The film premiered at the Cameo Theatre in New York City on November 25, 1923. The November 30, 1923, issue of The Film Daily included newspaper reviews by critics underwhelmed by the epic. We see phrases like, "The film is a quiet affair," "the entire cast means well", and "commercial heroes that drag in every conceivable kind of melodramatic thrill" mixed with "Young producer's biggest production effort."[57]
The newspaper movie reviews published in the December 15, 1923, issue of Motion Picture News are more optimistic, considering they were published three weeks after the film premiered.[58]
FBO focused on producing and distributing films for small-town venues. They served this market melodramas, non-Western action pictures, and comedic shorts. Unlike major Hollywood studios, FBO owned no movie theaters and depended on movie house proprietors renting their films. Like most independents, FBO depended on the movie house owners to renting their films to show a profit.
Before leasing a film, picture house owners were concerned that the film is a potential moneymaker in their locale. Proprietors would subscribe to trade journals to assist them in making these financial judgments. Movie magazines would show the film's branding, critical reviews and publish other managers' viewpoints, including attendance numbers and revenue.
The audience's response to this film was positive. Most small towns liked the film (FBO's base) and the larger venues were not as optimistic yet not displeased with the attendance. These are brief published observations from movie house owners.
Many silent-era films did not survive for reasons as explained on this Wikipedia page. According to the Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Database, two reels of this film survive.[62]
Loyal Lives is a 1923 silent melodrama directed by Charles Giblyn and distributed by Vitagraph Studios. Postman Pictures released the film in July 1923. The film featured Brandon Tynan in the role of Dan O'Brien and Mary Carr playing the mother figure of Mary O'Brien. William Collier Jr. played Dan's son Terrence and Faire Binney played his younger sister Peggy. The cast also included actors portraying the O'Hara family. Mickey Bennett plays Terrence as a child. The movie was six reels or 5,950 feet. The film premiered in Marion, Ohio, on July 15, 1923. It opened in New York City on August 5, 1923, and in Los Angeles on September 2, 1923.
A synopsis of the plot - Dan O'Brien is a postal employee struggling to support his family on his meager salary. While the family is cash-strapped, Dan has saved money for his son's (Terrence) education and the adoption of a little girl left on their doorstep. Seventeen years later, Terrence becomes a postal employee like his father. There is a great robbery of a fully equipped mail train. Terrance saves the mailbag, and Dan stops the crooks from robbing the safe.
The film contains In the Name of the Law elements and plot points from The Third Alarm. Using an advertising ploy borrowed from the FBO campaign books, Vitagraph made the Whitman Bennett production with the full cooperation and assistance of the United States Postal Service. The following news item appeared in the June 1923 issue of the Exhibitors Herald:
Emory Johnson and FBO were probably shocked at this shameless attempt to capitalize on their series of working-man films. Working-class heroes featured In the Name of the Law, The Third Alarm, and The West~Bound Limited had all proved to be profitable projects. Bennett not only copied the concept of glorifying everyday working men but brazenly released his film while Johnson was still working on his. Where did Bennett receive his inspiration?
In early 1923, an announcement was made concerning the next working-class hero Johnson intended to honor. It is unclear who leaked the postal worker storyline first, but one of the earliest examples is listed here.A Film Daily news item dated January 12, 1923, read:
Postman Pictures saw an opportunity and jumped on this working-class cash cow. They quickly produced a less-than-epic low-cost film about postal workers. The company recruited a well-known director, used identical Irish character names, then employed the same exploitation techniques in advertising pioneered by FBO.
The opinion of one theater owner is presented below;
H. S. Stansel, Rulevllle Theatre (250 seats) Ruleville, Mississippi population 1,021[63]