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Old Hollywood! The term has nearly become synonymous with film history. But as I hope you’ve learned here at Silent Cinema School, filmmaking has been an international industry from the beginning. And as important as it is to learn about Old Hollywood and its humble beginnings, it’s equally important to learn about the beginnings of filmmaking in other areas, in and out of the U.S. And today, I’m aiming that spotlight at...wait for it... Jacksonville, Florida.
Yessir, Florida may be known for many a thing (and many of the things should probably be left unsaid on this site) - but back in the early days of filmmaking, Jacksonville in particular was home to a prominent motion picture studio, dedicated to making films featuring Black Americans. So let’s take a dive into this hidden gem of American film history!
In 1916, a Jacksonville film studio by the name of Eagle Film Studios (or Eagle Film City, depending on who you talk to) was merely one of THIRTY film studios listed in the Jacksonville phone book. Why so many?? Well, because Florida had become somewhat of a retreat for the wealthy in recent years, so businessmen (including businessmen from the film industry) enjoyed visiting the warmer, more enjoyable climate in winter. When freezing cold temperatures hit the large filmmaking cities of New York and Chicago, filmmakers took to Florida (and eventually, California) to make their films in a more suitable climate. A new railroad line directly from New York to Florida made it a fairly quick and easy trip (for the time, that is!).
Well, Eagle Film Studios eventually went bankrupt, and it was bought by an experienced, 29-year-old filmmaker named Richard Edward Norman. He renamed it Norman Laboratories (and later, Norman Studios), specializing in motion pictures as well as equipment for “talking pictures” (which, considering the time period, probably wasn’t very effective). But there was more to Richard than simply making the same, stale, run-of-the-mill films that everyone else was already making; Richard wanted to put Black actors in the spotlight! In the words of his son, Richard Norman, Jr.:
“My father was disheartened about the state of race relations at the time, both in real life and in the movies, and he saw an untapped market. So, he set out to help give the Black community a stronger place on film, behind the cameras and in the theatres.”
Which is exactly what Richard did! Between 1920 and 1928, he made a string of successful films starring Black actors and had the most sophisticated production facility out of the 109 (!) American film companies that also made “race” films at the time. His films were groundbreaking, featuring Black actors in non-stereotypical, positive, strong roles that mainstream companies of the time wouldn’t dream of giving to non-white actors. Their only surviving film was the clever and highly entertaining, “The Flying Ace” - see below for this fun, clever and original film!
Well, you know what they say: If anything can go wrong, it will. And soon enough, Jacksonville (and the Florida film industry in general) became turbulent. The new mayor of Jacksonville was very conservative and frequently clashed with the entertainment industry, Thomas Edison and his goons were running around trying to impose “patent violations” (to read: protection money was the only way to escape their “accidents”)...and amidst all of this, some filmmakers weren’t exactly smelling of roses. Between making public nuisances of themselves with dangerous, illegal car chases, pulling fire alarms, inciting riots and overall general chaos, one could almost understand why the mayor had had enough of them! And all the while... good ol’ Southern California was opening their doors to filmmakers, urging them to come West, where a world of opportunity was waiting for them, away from the controlling arm of Thomas Edison.
Who wouldn’t go, under those circumstances?? A majority of filmmakers did just that, and the brief time that Florida enjoyed as the emerging film capitol of the United States officially ended. Richard continued making films throughout the 1930s, and then entered film distribution while making corporate training and promotional films. The studio eventually became the Gloria Norman Dance Studio, which his wife Gloria operated.
Over the years, the property and buildings fell into a state of abandonment and disrepair. But all hope was not lost – a resident named Ann Burt discovered what once was (and still remained!) in those broken-down buildings, and she opened a nonprofit to campaign for the site’s restoration. Today, four out of the original five buildings have been completely restored, and it has become the Norman Studios Silent Film Museum. Have a look at the official website below!
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