Part 460: William F. Hamilton and “As the Sun Went Down”
As I was exploring the painting projects of Moses & Hamilton, I discovered an interesting project that Will Hamilton worked on in 1909. It appeared in my search as Hamilton’s name was followed by “formerly of the firm Moses & Hamilton.” I found it interesting that a newspaper would mention a previous business affiliation five years after the fact. It suggests that Moses’ name carried a lot of weight, garnering respect, even years later.
During 1909 Hamilton was working on George D. Baker’s play “As the Sun Went Down.” The action of the play concerns the stirring events in the lives of “rough but real folks in some faraway western mining gulch” (Buffalo Evening News, 7 Sept. 1909. Page 50). The plot involved a young minister, an eastern “tenderfoot,” and “lunger.” New word for me; “lunger” was a derogatory term for an individual suffering from tuberculosis. The three charaters are thrust into the “rude social organization of this primitive and uncouth community” (Fort Scott Daily Tribune and Fort Scott Daily Monitor, 28 Dec. 1909, page 8). Enter,“Col. Billy,” a woman “with a record and a beautiful, daring and good heart.” Newspapers compared this new western melodrama to ‘The Great Divide” and “Girl of the Golden West” with scenic settings full of realism (Buffalo Courier, 7 Sept. 1909, page 7).
Ten years later, it was adapted by Baker for a film version. Directed by W. Mason Hopper, advertisements reported, “Not since Bret Harte wrote ‘Outcasts of Poker Flat’ has there been given to fiction or the drama a story so picturesque, so unreservedly different and unconventional as this, the newest Metro All Star Series Production. It’s the story of a bad girl who is bigger and better and finer than most of the girls you ever saw” (The Moving Picture World, 15 Feb. 1919). Metro’s “As the Sun Went Down” was released on February 10, 1919.
The earlier five-act play toured with the Arthur C. Aiston Company, during 1909 to 1910. Other Aiston touring productions included “Tennessee’s Pardner,” “At the Old Cross Roads” and “Shadows on the Hearth.” Aiston’s company was headed by Estha Williams as “Col. Billy.” W. A. Whitecar played the role of the gambler Tarantula, “the ba’ad man of the play,” whose villainous career ended with a venomous snakebite. William Sexton played “Pizen Ike, the worst man in Rattlesnake Gulch” who is shot to death in a duel. Phil Connor played the role of “Piety Pete, the funmaking storekeeper,” while Flora Byam played “Sal Sue,” also nicknamed “Cyclone” by “Fare Bill” (Buffalo Courier, 7 Sept. 1909, page 7). The names just made me giggle.
The show’s painted settings were well received; the “Star-Gazette” reported “The production is an unusually elaborate one for a popular-priced theater, a large number of special scenic effects being provided” (Elmira, NY, 1 Sept. 1909, page 2). The scenery design was credited to Lee-Lash Scenic Co. with the painting lead by Hamilton. “The Iola Daily Register And Evening News” reported, “The scenery is by the Lee-Lash Scenic company of New York and has been especially produced under the personal direction of W. F. Hamilton, formerly of Moses & Hamilton” (Iola, Kansas, 4 Jan. 1910, page 4). Similarly, “The Capital Journal” reported, “As the production is carried complete, it is necessary to have a special baggage car for the transportation of the companies’ scenery and properties” (Salem, Oregon, 8 Jan. 1910, page 9). “The production which is a very elaborate one, comes from the best artists of the Lee-Lash Scenic Company of New York city, each scene gotten out under the personal direction of W. F. Hamilton, formerly of the firm of Moses & Hamilton” (The Evening Statesman, Walla Walla, WA, 31 Jan. 1910, page 7).
The mention of William F. Hamilton’s work at the Lee Lash Studios really peaked my interest, and caused me to recall a clipping in Thomas Moses’ scrapbook. The newspaper article depicted Moses painting on a Lee Lash studio frame. It was possible that Moses was brought in to supervise the painting on the production, just like Hamilton. Lash was known for hiring a variety of artists to work with his paint staff and supervise various projects. This was a unique quality of the scenic art network at the turn of the twentieth century. Artists worked in one studio and then another, quickly forming partnerships that would last for only a few years. We don’t know if it was artistic temperaments or simple opportunities at the time that drove two artistic join forces. It was the artistic culture during a time when work was plentiful.
To be continued…
