Port Henry’s Arctic City — ‘Anne of Little Smoky”

This is the latest in an occasional series of posts about early 20th century film production in Port Henry, N.Y.

Don’t let the movie title confuse you.

“Anne of Little Smoky,” filmed at Port Henry’s Arctic Studios in 1921, was set in the northwest, not the mountains on the border of Tennessee and North Carolina.

The plot, it would seem, could just as realistically been set in the Adirondacks.

“When the government turns the Little Smoky region into a forest and game preserve, the Brocktons challenge their rights to use the area as they please.”

Throw into the plot a forest ranger torn between two lovers, one of which is the daughter of the Brockton clan leader, and you have a movie the Topeka Daily Bonanza, of Nevada, not Kansas, said no one should miss.

“In fact, this photoplay is well supplied with plot and action that runs the gamut of emotions, making it cracker-jack entertainment for everyone.”

The original working title was “Cross Currents.”

The cast and crew arrived in Port Henry July 10 to begin filming, expected to take about five weeks.

“The company brought with them a carload of electrical effects, costumes, and other properties including a trained black bear.”

Actors Joe King and Ed Roseman had acted in previous productions at Arctic Studios.

Other members of the cast were Winifred Westover, Dolores Cassenilli, Marguerite Morris, Hope Sutherland, Florence Ashebrooke, Alice Chapin, Frank Sheridan, Joe King, Ed Roseman, Ralph Faulner and Fran Hagney.

Wisteria Productions produced the movie.

Click here to read the most recent previous post in this series.