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A man ahead of his times in many ways, Moorville used pathos, drama, comedy
and unflichingly-honest social commentary in a way which would inform countless
performers and filmmakers to come, including the great Charles Chaplin and D.W.
Griffith.
In June of 1915, George "Metly" Moorville would make his 22nd and final film.
Doing so, he would not only buck the whirlwind of pro-war propaganda, producing
a decidedly anti-war film, but he also would choose to explore a romantic story
involving two men (a gay, anti-war film in 1915!) forcing his brilliant masterpiece,
WAR STORY, to be never seen.
Born in Elyria, Ohio, on October 11, 1890, George Moorville began his career
as a 9-year-old Vaudevillian, captivating audiences as the meddling ventriloquist's
dummy, "Metly." The name stuck and the role brought him fame. By age 18, he was
such a success that he created his own Vaudeville troupe, "Moorville's Sardine
Follies," which toured with tremendous popularity and success.
3 years later, in 1912, Moorville was approached by textile tycoon Charles
K. Lundowitz who was looking to go into the "flickers." Moorville signed a deal
to create 21 one-reelers for Lundy Studios, creating such hits as BOTTOMS UP BESSIE,
A PENNY FOR YOUR SOTS, and THE AMPUTEE.
However, Lundowitz was a notorious penny-pincher and was trying to develop
a cheaper film process. What he created was the infamous, ill-fated Flicka-Strip
process. Tragically, within 13 months, all 21 of the Moorville Lundy's--all shot
on FlickaStrip--were gone.
Furious over the loss of his oeuvre, and now a big star, Moorville negotiated
an unprecedented "No Interference" deal on his next contract. A contract with
the great Mack Sennett whose Keystone studio was a great success. Moorville now
had complete control, perhaps dangerously so, in a time when the government was
insisting all movies be pro-war, and censoring those that weren't.
Moorville soon experienced great personal tragedy. His lover of 4 years, Englishman
Jeb Armstrong, serving as a file clerk overseas, was killed in a German gas attack
in the Great War. Devastated at the loss, Moorville found his unchecked creative
energies going in a passionately anti-war direction, although the film would retain
Moorville's charming, audience-pleasing style. A "dramatic comedy/romance," as
Moorville described it.
Reports indicate that, although always anti-war, Moorville only delicately
and subtly included gay inuendo and characters in his early Lundy one-reelers.
One can only imagine that this personal tragedy pushed him out of the closet and
his anger onto the screen. Topics which earlier lingered as inuendo became the
main plot, those peripheral characters became the heart of his new work, and finally
Moorville's piercing voice was brought into sharp focus.
Upon first screening of WAR STORY, seeing these new themes, Sennett was furious.
He severed ties with Moorville, firing him, keeping the negative and shelving
the only print. Moorville sued for the rights of the film, citing his "no interference"
clause, but Sennett easily won owernship of the film. Moorville was labeled an
un-American trouble-maker (again ahead of his time) and never worked in film again.
By 1951, Moorville was penniless, forgotten and losing his battle to alcoholism.
He died in 1953, and in those 35 years since he'd been fired, he never screened
a single frame of his work again.
When Sennett's Keystone Studio went bankrupt in the 30's, everything was sold
off, and WAR STORY vanished. For 77 years.
Luckily, during the 1999 renovation of the historic Silent Movie Theater in
Los Angeles, a floorboard was removed which revealed a stash of rare film prints,
including the only ever print of WAR STORY.
Thanks to the tireless efforts of David Shepard and the Film Preservation Associates,
WAR STORY has been fully restored. Watching the film, one can't help feeling the
piece was made for our times. Perhaps it was meant to be seen by an audience which
could fully appreciate it, although one's mind reels at the thought of the difference
this film might have had on its contemporary audience.
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Metly Moorville, 1915
-during the filming of "War Story"-
1915 -scene from "War Story"
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