Thomas H. Ince
Thomas H. Ince was a pioneering film producer and director in early Hollywood, born in 1882. He began his career in the film industry in 1905, eventually becoming one of the most influential independent filmmakers by the 1920s. Ince is particularly noted for his contributions to the Western genre and for revolutionizing film production techniques, including the introduction of the "shooting script," which is still widely used today. Despite his success, Ince faced challenges in competing with larger studios as the industry evolved.
Tragically, Ince's life came to an abrupt end in November 1924 under mysterious circumstances while attending a birthday party on the yacht of media mogul William Randolph Hearst. After becoming ill, Ince died three days later, leading to a flurry of rumors surrounding the cause of his death, with some speculating about foul play involving Hearst. The confusion was compounded by conflicting reports from the press. Ince's legacy in the film industry remains significant, recognized for both his innovative practices and the intrigue surrounding his untimely death.
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Thomas H. Ince
- Born: November 6, 1882
- Birthplace: Newport, Rhode Island
- Died: November 19, 1924
- Place of death: Los Angeles, California
Identification: American film producer
By the early 1920s, Thomas H. Ince was known as one of Hollywood’s most innovative film producers, having written and directed dozens of films over the preceding decade. However, he is remembered almost as well for his death in 1924 under tragic and mysterious circumstances.
Born in 1882, Thomas Harper Ince began making films when the Hollywood motion picture industry was in its infancy. He first acted on screen in 1905 and began directing full-length features in 1910. By 1920, Ince was one of the most influential independent filmmakers in the United States, and his work contributed greatly to the rise of Westerns, films set in the Old West.
As the 1920s continued, Ince found it harder to compete economically with the larger Hollywood studios. Although his movies remained popular, he lacked revenue to distribute them competitively. His luck seemed to have changed in late 1924, however, when he brokered a lucrative deal with William Randolph Hearst, a media entrepreneur and one of the richest men in the country.
On November 16, 1924, Ince joined Hearst and other celebrities in San Diego for a birthday party aboard Hearst’s yacht. Under conditions that are still mysterious, Ince became ill while on board and had to be taken ashore by a physician. Although his condition grew steadily worse, Ince never went to a hospital and died within three days.
Almost immediately, rumors spread about Ince’s death. Hearst’s newspapers, including the Los Angeles Examiner, neglected to mention the yacht party, reporting instead that Ince died at home of heart failure. Rival newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times, reported that Hearst had shot Ince. According to those accounts, Hearst allegedly feared that his mistress, the actress Marion Davies, was having an affair with actor Charlie Chaplin, both of whom were also guests on Hearst’s yacht that weekend. Hearst reportedly had tried to shoot Chaplin, but ended up wounding Ince. Another version of the story was disseminated by San Diego authorities, who offered their opinion that Ince had died of alcohol poisoning.
Impact
Although he made dozens of films, Ince’s impact mainly came from his innovative ways of planning and scheduling film production. Like most subsequent filmmakers, Ince realized that films would be less expensive and less time consuming the more rationally the production was planned and scheduled. His innovations include the “shooting script,” which remains the standard screenplay format for use during film production. In 2001, the circumstances of his death were dramatized in the film The Cat’s Meow, directed by Peter Bogdanovich.
Bibliography
Cerra, Julie Lugo, and Marc Wanamaker. Movie Studios of Culver City. Charleston, S.C.: Arcadia Publishing, 2011.
Taves, Brian. Thomas Ince: Hollywood’s Independent Pioneer. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2011.