Santa Clarita Valley History In Pictures
> FILM-ARTS
Letter: Exhibition of "Three Jumps Ahead"
Fox Film Corp. 1923

Click image to enlarge | Download archival scan

Typewritten letter dated October 24, 1923, to a theater owner in Wisconsin regarding fulfillment of his contract from Fox Film Corp.'s distribution arm in the Midwest. Fox rep F.W. Martin is telling H.E. Hanson of the Palace Theatre in Antigo that he must order "Three Jumps Ahead" to fulfill his exhibition contract.

"Three Jumps Ahead" is the picture in which actor Tom Mix and his wonderhorse Tony famously jump over Beale's Cut in Newhall. Or do they? We might never know, considering the film no longer exists.

The letter mentions the theater's exhibition of another Mix picture, "Do & Dare" (1922), which filmed in Chatsworth, and the William Farnum vehicle, "Without Compromise" (1922), which filmed in Sonora, Calif.

The lettehead advertises the recent release (August 19) of "The Silent Command," a Navy picture with Edmund Lowe and Alma Tell as the hero and heroine. The antagonist is Bela Lugosi. It was Lugosi's first film after emigrating to the United States from Germany.

Oct. 24th, 1923.

Mr. H.E. Hanson
c/o Palace Theatre
Antigo, Wisc.

Bear Mr. Hanson:

In accordance with your letter of Oct. 15th, we are enclosing herewith a list of features which you have hooked in the future. We are also enclosing a statement of your account which you will note shows that you have used up your deposits.

We are in need of a play date on the TOM MIX SUBJECT — THREE JUMPS AHEAD in order to complete your contracts, and we shall appreciate receiving this date at your earliest possible convenience.

In accordance with your wishes, we have hooked WITHOUT COPROMISE and DO & DARE for your use one day only, and are charging you accordingly.

Yours very truly,

/s/
F.W. Martin,
Booker.

FWM:R


About "3 Jumps Ahead."

Tom Mix "jumps" over Beale's Cut in Newhall in the 1923 John Ford 5-reeler, "3 Jumps Ahead," from Fox Film Corp. Mix, whose star rose as Bill Hart's waned, did a lot of filming in the Newhall area from about 1916 to the early 1920s, and ran one of several "Mixville" movie towns in downtown Newhall between San Fernando Road and Newhall Avenue, prior to his establishment of a permanent Mixville in the Silverlake area of Los Angeles.

Mix claimed to have jumped Tony over Beale's Cut himself — not once but five or six times to get the shot. Mix biographer Robert S. Birchard, author of "King Cowboy: Tom Mix and the Movies" (1993) tells us he's certain Mix didn't do it. The film itself is lost, but Birchard, who owns seven frames of film showing the jump, insists the stunt was performed by Earl Simpson, a horse trainer and stuntman with a ranch in Searchlight, Nev. Others who've been credited with the stunt over the years are Richard Talmadge and Newhall's own Andy Jauregui.

It's possible there is more than one answer. In addition to some crazy-looking cut-and-paste production stills that show the horse and rider drastically out of proportion to the Cut, there were three trailers for the film for different releases, Birchard says. They may have been shot at different times using different people.


LW3371: 9600 dpi jpeg from original letter purchased 2018 by Leon Worden.
NEWHALL MIXVILLE

thumbnail

Arrives in Newhall, 1916: News Reports
(Tom Mix Mayor??)

thumbnail

Newhall Mixville

thumbnail

Newhall Mixville?

thumbnail

Mix in Newhall: Birchard Story 1971

thumbnail

Tom & Tony 1919

thumbnail

Reckless Driving, Newhall 1920

thumbnail

On Location in Newhall 1922

thumbnail

Studio Cottage


TOM MIX

thumbnail

Tom Mix & Tony

thumbnail

The Man Within 1916

thumbnail

Western Blood 1918

thumbnail

Fighting for Gold 1919

thumbnail

Prairie Trails 1920

thumbnail

Clip: Wertz/Placerita House Torched for "Trailin'" 1921

thumbnail

3 Jumps Ahead Lobby Cards x3

thumbnail

3 Jumps Ahead 1923

thumbnail

3 Jumps Ahead 1923

thumbnail

Ads for 3 Jumps Ahead 1923

thumbnail

Mix Says He Jumped Beale's Cut 1923

thumbnail

1923 Letter: 3 Jumps Ahead

thumbnail

Mile-A-Minute Romeo 1923

thumbnail

The Rainbow Trail 1925

thumbnail

Arcade Card

thumbnail

Grauman's Chinese Theatre 12-12-1927

thumbnail

King Cowboy 1928

thumbnail

Pays Back Taxes 1930

thumbnail

Final Ride 1940-1990

thumbnail

No. 1 - Jan 1948

thumbnail

No. 8 - Aug 1948

thumbnail

Modern Portrait

RETURN TO TOP ]   RETURN TO MAIN INDEX ]   PHOTO CREDITS ]   BIBLIOGRAPHY ]   BOOKS FOR SALE ]
SCVHistory.com is another service of SCVTV, a 501c3 Nonprofit • Site contents ©SCVTV
The site owner makes no assertions as to ownership of any original copyrights to digitized images. However, these images are intended for Personal or Research use only. Any other kind of use, including but not limited to commercial or scholarly publication in any medium or format, public exhibition, or use online or in a web site, may be subject to additional restrictions including but not limited to the copyrights held by parties other than the site owner. USERS ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE for determining the existence of such rights and for obtaining any permissions and/or paying associated fees necessary for the proposed use.
comments powered by Disqus