Thomas H. Ince

One of early American cinema’s major figures, Thomas H. Ince transformed the movie industry by developing standardised working methods that enhanced efficiency at every stage of movie production. He elevated the role of producer to creative and industrial overseer while popularising Westerns and Civil War dramas. In a prolific career, he produced hundreds of pictures, including such enduring titles as The Italian (1915), Hell’s Hinges (1916), and Civilization (1916). A premature death that is, to this day, still shrouded in uncertainty and mystery, cut short his career.

Early life and stage career

Thomas Harper Ince was born in Newport, Rhode Island, on 16th November 1880. His English-born parents both had theatrical backgrounds, and Ince began performing at the age of 6; as well as appearing in vaudeville with his parents, he sang for money at funerals and weddings. Ince would always regret not receiving a formal education, once telling a university-educated colleague, “If you knew how I envy you your university training... God, what I could have done if I’d had one.”

Ince appeared with various stock companies from 1897, where he would also work as an assistant stage manager, prop man, and carpenter. His reputation grew, and playwright Ramsay Morris twice wrote roles for him in his plays, one of which starred Orrin Johnson, an actor who would later appear in Ince’s movies. Ince also shared lodgings with William S. Hart, who would later become a major Western star under Ince. When not on the road, Ince would give acting lessons. While appearing in the playlet For Love’s Sweet Sake in 1907, he met actress Elinor ‘Nell’ Kershaw, and the couple wed on 19th October after a three-week courtship.

Entry into movies and Inceville

Joseph Smiley, an actor with whom Ince had briefly worked while part of a troupe in Bermuda, persuaded him to try movies after a chance encounter near New York’s Times Square, and helped him find employment as a stock actor with Carl Laemmle’s Independent Motion Picture Company (IMP). There, he soon graduated to directing, handling stars like Mary Pickford and King Baggott in Cuba, far from the reach of Edison’s pernicious Trust.

In 1911, Ince moved his family to California after joining the New York Motion Picture Company (NYMPC) as a director for $150 per week and stock in Keystone. Relieving Fred Balshofer of some of his overwhelming duties, Ince directed mostly Westerns and, together with Balshofer, persuaded NYMPC executive Charles Baumann to hire the Miller Brothers’ 101 Ranch Wild West Show. Following the success of films like War on the Plains (1912), Baumann and his partner Adam Kessel extended the lease on land in Santa Ynez Canyon, which would eventually become the studio, Inceville.

Inceville expanded rapidly, and during this period Ince began adopting the practices of modern industry. He initiated the shooting script, numbering each scene and describing the action and required camera positions. He also separated staff into specialised units, each led by a production manager, allowing him to supervise many films simultaneously. Soon, audiences realised that a film opening with the words “Thomas H. Ince presents,” was usually a guarantee of quality, and his operating methods were so effective that the entire industry swiftly adopted them.

By mid-1913, Ince had forsaken directing to focus on producing movies. As interest in Westerns declined, he produced more Civil War dramas. Including The Battle of Gettysburg (1913), released to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of the battle. By 1915, he was producing one feature a month and several two-reelers.

Triangle and Paramount

In June 1915, Triangle, an ambitious new venture spearheaded by maverick entrepreneur Harry Aitken and his brother Roy, largely bought out NYMPC. Aitken’s ambition was to establish a nationwide chain of theatres showing pictures produced by production units that were part of the Triangle organisation. As head of these units, Aitken installed D. W. Griffith, Mack Sennett, and Ince—the three greatest talents working in the industry (outside of Cecil B. DeMille). Ince held the lease on land in what would become known as Culver City, and following a fire at Inceville, he built a new studio there.

After a promising start, Triangle suffered from Aitken’s habit of robbing Peter to pay Paul in order to finance his productions and the cost of pandering to three enormous creative egos. Both Sennett and Ince wanted the same financial support Griffith had received when he made The Birth of a Nation, which Aitken part-financed before forming Triangle. Aitken felt obliged to agree to their demands, and Ince made Civilization (1916), which he believed would be an artistic masterpiece equal to Griffith’s. However, the film received only mixed reviews and fell short of Griffith’s standards.

As Triangle’s finances deteriorated, its biggest star, Douglas Fairbanks, defected, and Griffith also left. The company reduced its films’ budgets far below the level Ince felt was acceptable, and his relationship with the co-owners deteriorated. At one point, Triangle’s owners even had Ince thrown into jail, although he was released after an overnight stay. Ince bought himself out of his contract in June 1917, and, as well as stars William S. Hart, Charles Ray, and Enid Bennett, several key staff left with him.

Ince signed with Adolph Zukor’s Paramount on 26th June 1917. Having sold the lease on the Culver City studio to Triangle, Ince commissioned the construction of a $200,000 studio in Culver City. A key element of Ince’s contract with Paramount was that it would end should William S. Hart no longer remain under contract. Over the next two years, Ince’s relationship with his old roommate deteriorated to such a degree that Ince was excluded from the new contract Hart signed in 1919.