Balboa Films: A History and Filmography of the Silent Film Studio Review

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(More customer reviews)This book delves into the little-known history of the Balboa Film studio in Long Beach California. The Balboa studio gave Hollywood, California a run for its money in the 'teens. Hundreds of short dramas, westerns, serials, and features were shot there. Unfortunately, the studio was still expanding when a movie industry slowdown hit in 1918 due to World War I and the influenza epidemic. It was soon out of business, and was torn down in the mid-1920s when the oil business took over Long Beach.
This book is very well researched, and it has a very detailed filmography of the studio at the end. Several of the major stars of the era are profiled.
The book does have a couple of flaws though. Sometimes the authors reprint press agent puffery that makes the studio and the stars seem more important than they really were. Also, the authors relied on the book THE DEED OF DEATH for information on director William Desmond Taylor's murder. Subsequent research has revealed that DEED OF DEATH has several important facts about Taylor and the murder wrong.
Still, I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in silent film history or Long Beach, California history.

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From 1913 through 1918, Long Beach, California, was home to the largest independent film company in the world, the largely forgotten Balboa Studio. Founder Herbert M. Horkheimer bought the studio from Edison Company in 1913, and by 1915 Balboa's expenses exceeded $2,500 a day and its output hit 15,500 feet of film per week. Bert Bracken, Fatty Arbuckle, Henry King, Baby Marie Osborne, Thomas Ince, and William Desmond Taylor began their careers with the studio.In 1918, Horkheimer stunned the industry by declaring bankruptcy, shutting down Balboa, and walking away from moviemaking. The closing of the studio effectively ended Long Beach's runs as a major film location and left many wondering about the true reasons behind Horkheimer's decision. Most of Balboa's films have been lost, and little has until now been written about the studio. This book first explores the history of filmmaking in Long Beach and then fully details the story of Balboa. The extensive filmography includes length, copyright date when available, cast and credits, and a plot summary.