March 07, 2010

67. The Narrow Road (1912)

I watched this because the IMDb suggests that Jack Pickford was in it, but I couldn't spot him.

Was he the prisoner on the left ?
I don't know.. damn it. I really, really wanted to see even a glimpse.




Elmer Booth (30) played the husband, freed from prison and struggling to stay on the narrow path.
He had some shades of Richard Barthelmess (or vice versa) in his appearance and expressions, so it's no wonder Mr Griffith liked them both.

While looking for information about Elmer, I found something from TCM.com.
A biography of the director Tod Browning, which features this snippet :

"His (Browning's) career was nearly ended, though, by a June 1915 automobile accident in which he was driving while intoxicated.
One passenger, comic actor Elmer Booth, was killed and another, George A Seigmann, was seriously injured."


It's a shame Booth's life and career was cut so short.
It's quite mind boggling to think that Tod Browning unwillingly took his friend's life.

4 comments:

  1. Booth's a very interesting guy, though I haven't found much on him. He was married to the Aussie actress Irene Outtrim (they were a couple during the 1906 SF earthquake) and their 2 y.o. son died in 1910 of influenza/infection while they were both acting on stage that night. They ended up getting divorced sometime after that.

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    1. Irene Outtrim was my third cousin 3x removed (very distant relative!)but came across her story while doing our family tree. I found the death certificate for their son and it seems, while Irene and her husband at the time (she had 4)Elmer Booth were performing in Salt Lake City, her son was being watched over by her parents who were out from Australia. The inquiry into his death actually showed that he died of a foreign object lodged in his airway. So the poor fellow actually choked on something.

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    2. Irene Outtrim was my third cousin 3x removed (very distant relative!)but came across her story while doing our family tree. I found the death certificate for their son and it seems, while Irene and her husband at the time (she had 4)Elmer Booth were performing in Salt Lake City, her son was being watched over by her parents who were out from Australia. The inquiry into his death actually showed that he died of a foreign object lodged in his airway. So the poor fellow actually choked on something.

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  2. Thank you for the info Karla!

    For some reason Elmer keeps on fascinating me.
    He had a timeless face and piercing eyes. It's terrible that he - as many other silent film stars and starlets - doesn't have anyone to keep his memory alive.

    Damn, and now that you told me about the death of Elmer & Irene's son I feel even sadder for the man. But then again it's the tragic stars that I always fall for the hardest.

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