Films Made in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
United States Motion Picture Corporation Film Studio in Forty Fort, Pennsylvania
Although the United States Motion Picture Corporation (USMPC) was incorporated in New Jersey on March 2, 1915, the company’s main office was in downtown Wilkes-Barre and its studios were located across the Susquehanna River in Forty Fort, on Slocum Street near Wyoming Avenue.
The USMPC produced films in the Wilkes-Barre area between 1916 and 1920. In 1916 and 1917, before America entered the Great War, they made Black Diamond Comedies.
Black Diamond Comedies were one-reel shorts that were filmed in the Wyoming Valley and distributed by Paramount Pictures, which was then based in New York City. These films often star actress Leatrice Joy as “Susie.” Twenty-seven of these films are listed in advertisements, articles, and the film releases pages of Moving Picture World. Two of these films, “Susie Slips One Over” and “Her Fractured Voice,” are known to have survived.
At least one film made by the USMPC, called “His Neglected Wife,” was released as a “Unique Comedy” and was distributed by the Arrow Film Company of New York. A complete print of “His Neglected Wife” was recovered in New Zealand in 2010. The film was likely made in 1917, as it features many of the same actors as the Black Diamond Comedies including Leatrice Joy and Carl Dally.
The USMPC resumed film production of their comedies after the Great War; in 1918 they released “Rainbow Comedies,” one-reel films starring Lillian Vera and Eddie Boulden that were distributed by the General Film Company in 1918 and 1919. No copies of Rainbow Comedies are known to have survived
Black Diamond Comedies (with Paramount Pictures release dates)
- Nearly a Deserter (October 2, 1916)
- Bridget’s Blunder (October 16, 1916)
- A Troublesome Trip (October 20, 1916)
- Villainous Pursuit (November 13, 1916)
- Their Counterfeit Vacation (November 27, 1916)
- His Ivory Dome (December 11, 1916)
- Their Week End (December 25, 1916)
- Braving Blazes (January 8, 1917)
- He Did It Himself (January 22, 1917)
- Her Scrambled Ambition (February 1, 1917)
- All at Sea (February 6, 1917)
- Speed (March 5, 1917)
- The Magic Vest (March 19, 1917)
- The Wishbone (April 16, 1917)
- Getting the Evidence (April 21, 1917)
- Her Iron Will (April 30, 1917)
- The Window Dresser’s Dream (May 14, 1917)
- Susie of the Follies (May 28, 1917)
- Her Fractured Voice (June 11, 1917)
- Auto Intoxication (June 25, 1917)
- Wits and Fits (July 9, 1917)
- The Rejuvenator (July 23, 1917)
- Susie the Sleepwalker (August 6, 1917)
- Susie’s Scheme (September 17, 1917)
- Susie Slips One Over (October 7, 1917)
- Nearly a Baker (October 15, 1917)
- A Society Scrimmage (November 12, 1917)
- Those Pants (Inter-Ocean lists this one for foreign release in a June 1918 advertisement)
Unique Comedies (Arrow Films may have rereleased the Black Diamond Comedies with new titles)
- His Neglected Wife (probably made in 1917, release date not known)
Rainbow Comedies (Released by General Films)
- Nearly a Slacker (September 15, 1918)
- My Lady’s Slipper (September 29, 1918)
- Some Judge (October 13, 1918)
- How She Hated Men (October 27, 1918)
- The Camouflaged Baby (November 10, 1918)
- The Pipe of Peace (November 24, 1918)
- Hooverizing (December 8, 1918)
Serico
After USMPC ended operations, Serico took over the Forty Fort film studio to make the 15-part serial “A Woman in Grey,” which was released in 1920 starring Arline Pretty.
1. The House of Mystery
2. The Dagger of Death
3. The Trap of Steel
4. The Strangle Knot
5. The Chasm of Fear
6. The Grip of Fate
7. At the Mercy of Flames
8. The Drop to Death
9. Burning Strands
10. House of Horrors
11. Fight for Life
12. Circumstantial Evidence
13. The Secret Chamber
14. Pages of the Past
15. Exonerated