Thomas H. Ince

Infobox Actor
name = Thomas H. Ince


imagesize = 162px
caption =
birthdate = birth date|1882|11|6|mf=y
location = Newport, Rhode Island, USA
height =
deathdate = death date and age|1924|11|19|1882|11|6
deathplace = Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
birthname =
othername =
homepage =
notable role =
spouse = Elinor Kershaw (1884 - 1971)

Thomas Harper Ince (November 6, 1882 – November 19, 1924) was an American silent film actor, director, producer and screenwriter. His brothers, John and Ralph Ince, were also actors and film directors.

Life and career

Born in Newport, Rhode Island, Ince invented many mechanisms of professional movie production, like the usage of a detailed "shooting script", which also contained information on who was in the scene, and the "scene plot" which listed all interiors and exteriors, cost control plans and so on. He helped create a standardized and mechanized mode of production. He also was one of the first who had a separate writer, director and cutter (instead of doing everything himself).

In 1910, Ince was director at I.M.P. In 1911, Ince went to work at the New York Motion Picture Company which merged with Universal in 1912. That same year, Ince directed "Studio Inceville" and the Bison 101 movies as projects for Bison Life Motion Pictures.

Working under General Manager Fred J. Balshofer at the California studio/ranch of Bison Motion Pictures division of the New York Motion Picture Company, Ince's movies were mainly early Westerns, which were successful because of their beautiful images and their rhythm. While working with the New York Motion Picture Company, Ince also formed his own company, Kay-Bee Productions [ [http://faculty.oxy.edu/jerry/mpstud01.htm Motion Picture Studios of California ] at faculty.oxy.edu] Ince wrote a number of screenplays including 1915's "The Italian" which has been preserved by the United States National Film Registry. Ince also notably boosted cowboy actor William S. Hart as the top western star of his time. [ [http://www.backlotfilmfestival.com/BioInce.htm The Backlot Film Festival - History - Thomas Ince Biography ] at www.backlotfilmfestival.com]

In 1915, Ince partnered with D.W. Griffith and Mack Sennett to create the Triangle Motion Picture Company in Culver City, California. In 1918, he sold out to Griffith and Sennett and bought property from Harry Culver and formed the Thomas H. Ince Studios, which were in business from 1919 to 1924. In 1925, Cecil B. Demille acquired the land, renaming it the DeMille Studios. A street in Culver City, intersecting the Culver Studios is called Ince Blvd., in his honor and there is an Ince Theater planned to be constructed in a parking lot adjacent to Ince Blvd. in the near future [ [http://www.ericowenmoss.com/index.php?/projects/ Eric Owen Moss Architects : Projects ] at www.ericowenmoss.com]

Murder or natural death debate

On November 19, 1924, the silent film producer and 'father of the Western' died, officially of a heart attack suffered while on a weekend boat trip with William Randolph Hearst aboard Hearst's lavish yacht, the "Oneida", while attending a cruise in honor of Ince's 42nd birthday. Other prominent guests in attendance were actor Charlie Chaplin, newspaper columnist Louella Parsons, author Elinor Glyn and film actresses Marion Davies, Aileen Pringle, Jacqueline Logan, Seena Owen, Margaret Livingston and Julanne Johnston.

In the years since, several conflicting stories have circulated about Ince's death, often revolving around the claim that Hearst shot Ince in a fit of jealousy (or shot Ince accidentally while fighting with Chaplin over Davies) and used his power and influence to cover up the killing.

A 2001 film directed by Peter Bogdanovich, "The Cat's Meow", tells a tale based on these rumors. Bogdanovich claims he heard the story of Ince's death from director Orson Welles who in turn said he heard it from writer Herman J. Mankiewicz. Ince is portrayed in the film by Cary Elwes, William Randolph Hearst is portrayed by Edward Herrmann, Marion Davies is portrayed by Kirsten Dunst, and Charlie Chaplin is portrayed by Eddie Izzard.

Patty Hearst co-authored a novel with Cordelia Frances Biddle titled "Murder at San Simeon" (Scribner, 1996), based upon the death of Ince.

Filmography

Actor

* "The Seven Ages" (1905)
* "Richard III" (1908)
* "The Cardinal's Conspiracy" (1909)
* "King Lear" (1909)
* "His New Lid" (1910)
* "The Englishman and the Girl" (1910)
* "Bar Z's New Cook" (1911)
* "For Her Brother's Sake" (1911)
* "Their First Misunderstanding" (1911)
* "The Gangsters and the Girl" (1914)

Director

*"Artful Kate" (1911)
*"Behind the Stockade" (1911)
*"The Brand" (1911)
*"A Dog's Tale" (1911)
*"The Fisher-Maid" (1911)
*"For Her Brother's Sake" (1911)
*"Her Darkest Hour" (1911)
*"The Hidden Trail" (1911)
*"His Nemesis" (1911)
*"The House That Jack Built" (1911)
*"In Old Madrid" (1911)
*"In the Sultan's Garden" (1911)
*"Little Nell's Tobacco" (1911)
*"Maid or Man" (1911)
*"A Manly Man" (1911)
*"Message in the Bottle" (1911)
*"New Cook" (1911)
*"Over the Hills" (1911)
*"The Penniless Prince" (1911)
*"Sweet Memories" (1911)
*"The Aggressor" (1911)
*"Across the Plains" (1911)
*"The Dream" (1911)
*"Their First Misunderstanding" (1911)
*"The Battle of the Red Men" (1912)
*"Blazing the Trail" (1912)
*"The Clod" (1912)

*"The Colonel's Son" (1912)
*"The Colonel's Ward" (1912)
*"A Double Reward" (1912)
*"The Empty Water Keg" (1912)
*"For Freedom of Cuba" (1912)
*"For the Cause" (1912)
*"The Law of the West" (1912)
*"A Mexican Tragedy" (1912)
*"War on the Plains" (1912)
*"The Invaders" (1912)
*"The Altar of Death" (1912)
*"The Sergeant's Boy" (1912)
*"Custer's Last Raid" (1912)
*"The Desert" (1912)
*"The Colonel's Peril" (1912)
*"His Message" (1912)
*"Soldier's Honor" (1912)
*"The Outcast" (1912)
*"The Lieutenant's Last Fight" (1912)
*"The Post Telegraphers" (1912)
*"The Deserter" (1912)
*"The Crisis" (1912)
*"The Indian Massacre" / "Heart of an Indian" (1912)
*"The Tables Turned" (1912)
*"Through the Flames" (1912)
*"The Kid and the Sleuth" (1912)
*"The Ambassador's Envoy" (1913)
*"The Boomerang" (1913)
*"Bread Cast Upon the Waters" (1913)
*"Days of '49" (1913)
*"Granddad" (1913)ř
*"The Hateful God" (1913)
*"A Shadow of the Past" (1913)
*"In Love and War" / "Call to Arms" (1913)
*"The Battle of Gettysburg" (1913)
*"The Drummer of the 8th" (1913)
*"The Hour of Reckoning" (1914)
*"The Last of the Line" (1914)
*"The Village 'Neath the Sea" (1914)
*"Out of the Night" (1914)
*"The Death Mask" (1914)
*"The Coward" (1915)
*"The Toast of Death" (1915)
*"The Cup of Life" (1915)
*"The Alien" / "The Sign of the Rose" (1915)
*"The Devil" / "Satan's Pawn" (1915)
*"Dividend" (1916)
*"Civilization" (1916)
*"The Stepping Stone" (1916)
*"Peggy" (1916)
*"Anna Christie" (1923)
*"Flicker Flashbacks No. 1" (1947) (archive footage from "Behind the Stockade", 1909)

Writer

* "Little Nell's Tobacco" (1910)
* "For the Queen's Honor" (1911)
* "The Fortunes of War" (1911)
* "The Forged Dispatch" (1911)
* "The Stampede" (1911)
* "Across the Plains" (1911)
* "Sweet Memories" (1911)
* "The Mirror" (1911)
* "Bar Z's New Cook" (1911)
* "The Army Surgeon" (1912)
* "The Altar of Death" (1912)
* "The Outcast" (1912)
* "The Deserter" (1912)
* "The Battle of the Red Men" (1912)
* "The Indian Massacre" (1912)
* "War on the Plains" (1912)
* "The Battle of Gettysburg" (1913)
* "In the Sage Brush Country" (1914)
* "The Last of the Line" (1914)
* "A Political Feud" (1914)
* "The Fortunes of War" (1914)
* "The Bargain" (1914)
* "The Vigil" (1914)
* "The Mills of the Gods" (1914)
* "The Worth of a Life" (1914)
* "The Word of His People" (1914)
* "Stacked Cards" (1914)
* "The Winning of Denise" (1914)
* "An Eleventh Hour Reformation" (1914)
* "The City" (1914)
* "The Curse of Humanity" (1914)
* "The Voice at the Telephone" (1914)
* "The Wrath of the Gods" (1914)
* "The Latent Spark" (1914)
* "In the Cow Country" (1914)
* "Out of the Night" (1914)
* "Shorty Escapes Marriage" (1914)
* "The Rightful Heir" (1914)
* "Wolves of the Underworld" (1914)
* "The Gringo" (1914)
* "Desert Gold" (1914)
* "O Mimi San" (1914)
* "The Hammer" (1915)
* "Tools of Providence" (1915)
* "The Reward" (1915)
* "The Conversion of Frosty Blake" (1915)
* "Bad Buck of Santa Ynez" (1915)
* "The Cup of Life" (1915)
* "The Taking of Luke McVane" (1915)
* "On the Night Stage" (1915)
* "The Spirit of the Bell" (1915)
* "The Roughneck" (1915)
* "The Devil" (1915)
* "Tricked" (1915)
* "In the Switch Tower" (1915)
* "The Girl Who Might Have Been" (1915)
* "Satan McAllister's Heir" (1915)
* "Winning Back" (1915)
* "The Sheriff's Streak of Yellow" (1915)
* "The Grudge" (1915)
* "Mr. 'Silent' Haskins" (1915)
* "The Scourge of the Desert" (1915)
* "A Confidence Game" (1915)
* "The Italian" (1915)
* "The Despoiler" (1915)
* "Aloha Oe" (1915)
* "The Disciple" (1915)
* "The Coward" (1915)
* "Keno Bates, Liar" (1915)
* "The Living Wage" (1915)
* "A Knight of the Trails" (1915)
* "The $100,000 Bill" (1915)
* "Cash Parrish's Pal" (1915)
* "The Ruse" (1915)
* "The Deserter" (1916)
* "The Last Act" (1916)
* "Bullets and Brown Eyes" (1916)
* "Ashes of Hope" (1917)
* "The Family Skeleton" (1918)

Notes

External links

*imdb name|id=0408436|name=Thomas H. Ince
* [http://www.ericowenmoss.com/index.php?/projects/project/ince_theater/ Ince Theater, Culver City,California]

Persondata
NAME= Ince, Thomas H.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Cinema pioneer
DATE OF BIRTH= 1882-11-6
PLACE OF BIRTH= Newport, Rhode Island, USA
DATE OF DEATH= 1924-11-19
PLACE OF DEATH= Beverly Hills, California, U.S.