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Thomas H. Ince was a film industry revolutionary. With a career that began in vaudeville and ended with the entire movie studio system credited to his name, the influential producer changed the industry forever. Known for his intense work ethic and vast array of talents that ranged from actor to producer to cinematographer, Ince became known as one of the hardest working businessmen in Tinseltown, churning out more than 100 films during his career. However, today he is perhaps best remembered for the rumors surrounding his sudden death in November 1924 after falling ill on media mogul William Randolph Hurst's private yacht Oneida following a weekend party at sea. Thomas H. Ince: Pioneer Independent delves into the life and career of a man who not only introduced the genre of the western to the American public, but who adapted quickly and effectively to the new industrialized mode of film production, inventing staples such as the "shooting script" and the assembly-line approach to filmmaking. He constructed the first major Hollywood studio, which he affectionately dubbed "Inceville," a behemoth of a compound perched in the Santa Monica hills that was home to multiple production sets. He later joined forces with D. W. Griffith and Mack Sennet to form Triangle Production Company, and establishment that came to be known as the most sophisticated film company in existence as it integrated production, distribution, and theater operations, allowing the company to singlehandedly control every aspect of their films. Shortly after, Ince established his own studio in 1919 by the name of Thomas H. Ince Studios, a company that was soon known as a mecca of creative projects. The studio was home to dozens of unique films, inluding his own work Her Reputation (1923), a scathing look at yellow journalism that ironically presaged his own fate at the hands of Hollywood's rumor mill. Author Brian Taves moves beyond the scandal that is so readily associated with the producer's name to explore the immense impact his work had on the development of Hollywood's modern film industry. Thoroughly researched and seamlessly constructed, this volume will be a welcome addition to UPK's silent film list.
