D.W. Griffith at The Biograph Company

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D.W. Griffith directing a Biograph Western 1908

The moving picture market in 1908 demanded a wide variety of films.

Griffith preferred to direct serious dramas and melodramas, but it was part of his responsibility to direct comedies as well.

One such comedy he directed was A SMOKED HUSBAND starring Florence Lawrence and short, plump JOHN COMPSON, another part time Griffith actor.

The show was so well received by the nickelodeonites that a series was created out of it called the JONES COMEDIES, depicting the humorous situations stumbled into by the team of Lawrence and Compson.

Another of the series, MR. JONES AT THE BALL, was a typical vehicle whereby John Compson, in the title role, goes to a large party with his wife and proceeds to split his pants. Mrs. Jones then tries to effect the necessary repairs, with predictably humorous results.

Griffith allowed the comedy and the film techniques used togrow out of the needs of the story itself.

As the Biograph Co. became more successful and their production staff grew, Griffith turned the Jones series over to the emerging directors at the Company while he turned his attentions solely to serious dramas.

Those who would continue work on the Jones series would be FRANK POWELL, MACK SENNETT, DELL HENDERSON and CHRISTY CABANNE.

The Jones pictures were growing in popularity and among the regular extras in the series was twenty-four year old JEANIE MACPHERSON, who got her first acting job on the strength of her blue evening gown that Griffith wanted to use in a film.

JEANIE MACPHERSON has just recently returned form Europe with clothes the likes of which the Biograph Company had not ever seen. For Griffith, he had no choice but to use her.

Anyone who had a good wardrobe had an "open season" in moving pictures.

One young Biograph actor, dubbed "The Shoe Clerk" and who never played anything except atmosphere roles in the background, got many a pay check on the strength of his neat, tan cloth spring overcoat, the only such one owned by anyone at the studio.

Clothes were becoming a progressively more difficult matter to handle and both Harry Salter and Linda soon became wardrobe assistants after Griffith talked Biograph into buying extra outfits for scenes.

The previous way of chasing actors around for clothes had nearly drove Griffith to the point of madness.

As for JEANNIE MACPHERSON, she was a good trouper in the eyes of the company but her roles were to be limited to that of bit parts and extra roles.

In Griffith's opinion, she was a bit too frail for anything else and besides, she didn't photograph well.