Willis Brown (July 31, 1881 – October 20, 1931) was a permanently removed Utah juvenile court judge,[1] falsely-claimed lawyer,[2] self-described humanitarian, and filmmaker.
Willis Brown | |
|---|---|
| Salt Lake City Juvenile Court judge | |
| In office 1905–1907 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 31, 1881 Columbus, Indiana |
| Died | October 20, 1931 (aged 50) Columbus, Ohio |
| Occupation | Film producer |
| Known for | Founder of Boy City Film Company |
Born James Willhenry Brown in Columbus, Indiana to James W. Brown and Lucetta Pierson.
Judge
editIn the decade of the 1900s Brown lectured[3] on the Chautauqua circuit as a judge of the Utah Juvenile Court and a progressive expert on boys' reformation.[4][5][6][7]
He was appointed to the Juvenile Court in Salt Lake City in the spring of 1905, served two years, but had been permanently removed by the Utah Supreme Court.[2] In 1910, the Juvenile Court debunked Judge Brown's credentials.[1] Brown was, in fact, not even a lawyer, and had been misrepresenting himself.
Boy City Film Company
editBuilding a national reputation, in the 1910s he started "Boy Cities" in Charlevoix, Michigan, and Gary, Indiana,[8] then relocated to Southern California. (The better-known Boys Town, Nebraska was founded in December 1917.)
By 1917 Brown founded the Boy City Film Company in Culver City, part film studio, part homeless shelter. He served as a film producer.
In film history, Brown is remarkable for giving director King Vidor his first directing job. Brown funded a series of twenty-two reelers, both moral lessons and promotional films. Brown appeared as himself in all but the first one; Vidor directed at least ten[9] of them. These films have evidence of "fascinating social content" - the plot of the second entry, The Chocolate of the Gang, deals with a black child being denied membership in an all-white club, and employed black actors for the lead roles as opposed to the usual practice of white performers in blackface.[9]
Death
editAccording to Variety, Brown was shot to death in Columbus, Ohio in 1931 by "a jealous widow".[10][11]
Film series
edit- The Boy City (1910) (it) (fr)[12][13][14]
- Bud's Recruit (1918)[15][16]
- The Chocolate of the Gang (1918)[17]
- The Lost Lie (1918)
- Tad's Swimming Hole (1918)
- Marrying Off Dad (1918)[18]
- The Accusing Toe (1918)
- Thief or Angel (1918)[19]
- The Rebellion (1918)
- The Preacher's Son (1918)
- A Boy Built City (1918)
- I'm a Man (1918)
- Love of Bob (1918)
- Dog vs. Dog (1918)
- The Three Fives (1918)
- The Case of Bennie (1918)[20]
- Kid Politics (1918)
- The Demand of Dugan (1919)
- Shift the Gear, Freck (1919)
- Gum Drops and Overalls (1919)
- Danny Asks Why (1919)
References
edit- ^ a b The Juvenile court record, Volumes 9-12 By Timothy David Hurley, February 1910 issue, page 5, "As to Judge Willis Brown")
- ^ a b The Pacific reporter, Volume 88, Utah Supreme Court decision Mill v. Brown, January 17, 1907
- ^ "Judge Willis Brown :: Traveling Culture - Circuit Chautauqua in the Twentieth Century". digital.lib.uiowa.edu.
- ^ Hobey, Jack (12 December 2017). Lost Boys: The Beulah Home Tragedy. Harbor House Publishers Inc. ISBN 9781582413730 – via Google Books.
- ^ Cohen, Ronald D. (1 May 2014). Children of the Mill: Schooling and Society in Gary, Indiana, 1906-1960. Routledge. ISBN 9781136798085 – via Google Books.
- ^ Brown, Willis (28 December 1915). "The Boy Problem: What the Grown-Ups Fail to Remember in Considering This Important Question" (PDF). Ottumwa Tri-Weekly Courier. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
- ^ A. P. Warrington (December 1919). "From the National President: Criminals and Children" (PDF). The Messenger. p. 205. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
- ^ Brownlow, Kevin (12 December 1990). Behind the Mask of Innocence. Knopf. ISBN 9780394577470 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b Durgnat, Raymond; Simmon, Scott (12 December 1988). King Vidor, American. University of California Press. p. 24. ISBN 9780520058156 – via Internet Archive.
Willis.
- ^ Silent film necrology, Eugene Michael Vazzana, page 66
- ^ Vazzana, Eugene Michael (1 May 1995). Silent film necrology: births and deaths of over 9000 performers, directors, producers, and other filmmakers of the silent era, through 1993. McFarland. ISBN 9780786401321 – via Google Books.
- ^ Edwards, Paul M. (31 March 2016). World War I on Film: English Language Releases through 2014. McFarland. ISBN 9781476620633 – via Google Books.
- ^ "The Boy City". 31 December 1910 – via www.imdb.com.
- ^ "Lyceumite & Talent". Lyceum Magazine. 12 December 2017 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Bud's Recruit (1918)". www.filmpreservation.org.
- ^ "Bud's Recruit: A Judge Brown Story (1917) American B&W : Two reels / 1865 feet Directed by King W. Vidor". www.silentera.com.
- ^ "Chocolate of the Gang · (Early Cinema History Online)". echo.commarts.wisc.edu.
- ^ "Dramatic Mirror of Motion Pictures and the Stage". Dramatic Mirror Company. 12 December 2017 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Thief or Angel? · (Early Cinema History Online)". echo.commarts.wisc.edu.
- ^ "The Case Of Bennie - Fiche+technique - La base de connaissances française". savoiro.fr.
External links
edit- Willis Brown at IMDb
- picture and storie on Judge Willis Brown (Motion Picture Magazine, 1911)