Emilie Johnson
Emilie Johnson was a Swedish-American author, scenarist, and movie producer. She was the mother of American actor, director, producer, and writer Emory Johnson. In 1912, Emory Johnson dropped out of college and embarked upon a career in the movie business, starting as an assistant camera operator at Essanay Studios.
In 1913, Emilie Johnson and her husband moved from San Francisco, California to Essanay company bungalows in Niles, California to support their son. In 1915, she began writing stories for the screen.
In the 1920s, Johnson and her son became famous as Hollywood's only mother-son directing/writing team. She wrote all of the stories and screenplays her son used for his successful career directing melodramas. The Johnson team continued producing melodramas until the late 1920s. By the early 1930s, their string of successes had ended. Emilie Johnson died in Los Angeles in 1941. She was living with her son at the time of her death.
Early life
Emilie Johnson was born Emilie Matilda Jönsdotter in Gothenburg, Västra Götaland, Sweden on June 3, 1867. When she was eight years old, her school in Karlskrona was visited by a Church of Sweden Lutheran minister. As part of his tour, he read three stanzas of poetry by young Emilie Jönsdotter. Impressed, he asked her parents if they would consider letting him adopt her. The minister would assume responsibility for her upbringing and education if they consented. The minister was an up-and-coming member of the Lutheran Church and a prominent writer in Sweden. Jönsdotter's parents agreed to the arrangement, realizing the minister could provide educational opportunities they could never afford. The minister became a bishop and eventually an adviser to the King of Sweden.Jönsdotter's education continued until the bishop died. Afterward, she migrated to America. She arrived in San Francisco on September 24, 1891. She was 25 years old and unmarried. While living in San Francisco, she met Alfred Johnson. The two fell in love and married at the Ebenezer Lutheran Church in San Francisco on May 11, 1893. Their only child, Alfred Emory Johnson, was born in San Francisco on March 16, 1894.
In 1900, the Johnson family lived comfortably on Bush Street in San Francisco. Johnson's husband owned a famous Turkish bathhouse. The family lived in a fine house and had live-in servants. In 1906, the catastrophic San Francisco earthquake changed everything. The quake caused numerous fires throughout the city. One fire destroyed Johnson's bathhouse. The family survived the quake and resettled in nearby Alameda, California.
By 1910, Johnson's husband supported the family by helping to establish the famous Piedmont baths. Emilie continued to raise their son, and attended California College of the Arts as an art major.
In 1912, Emory Johnson entered the movie business as an assistant cameraman. Later, he signed a movie contract with Essanay Studios. In 1913, to more closely support their son's blossoming movie career, Emilie and her husband moved to one of the newly built Essanay bungalows in Niles, California.
First chapter
In 1914, the Liberty Motion Picture Company was founded in Germantown, Pennsylvania. Five months later, the company reorganized into the Liberty Film Mfg Company, with offices located in San Mateo and Glendale, California.That year, Emilie Johnson began writing scenarios for the silver screen. Later, she would meet and befriend a leading actress of Liberty Film Mfg. Co—Swedish actress Sadie Lindblom. They believed they were looking at an opportunity in the movie business. In addition to writing stories for the screen, they could exercise even more control by producing their films.
The Liberty Film Company was incorporated in Oakland, California to keep up with their new writing and production strategy. The papers were drawn up, and the following individuals declared a capital stock investment of $25,000 : Emilie Johnson, Alfred Johnson, Emory Johnson, Tillie Hall, and Sadie Lindblom. Lindblom would be the new president.
Liberty Film Company began releasing films early in 1915, using the Kriterion Film Corporation as their releasing agent. By June 1915, Kriterion had cash flow problems, went bankrupt, and left Liberty Film with a $40,000 debt. After choosing a new releasing agent—Associated Service, Liberty Film Mfg Co floundered.
The Liberty Film Company completed several movies.
In late 1914, many actors and actresses left Essanay Studios. Many switched to Liberty Film. Several factors precipitated the talent exit, including Essanay's continued refusal to make more feature-length movies and the fact that Essanay was losing money. Included in the exit was Emilie's son. Emory Johnson's last film for Essanay was released in June 1914. On February 16, 1916, the Niles Essanay studio closed.
Liberty Films struggled with its new distributor. In December 1915, the courts appointed a new receiver. Liberty's Pennsylvania plant burned to the ground in 1916. At the beginning of 1916, Emory left Liberty and signed a contract with Universal Film Manufacturing Company. He would make seventeen movies in 1916, including six shorts and eleven feature-length dramas, the second-highest output of his career in a year.
1917 marked another noteworthy event for the Johnsons. In September, Emory Johnson, still under contract to Universal, married Universal ingenue Ella Hall. After their honeymoon, they both returned to work at Universal. Newlywed Ella then moved into the Franklin Avenue house along with Emory, Emile, and two servants. Grandson Walter Emory was born in January 1919. Alfred Bernard followed in September 1920.
Hollywood decade
1921
This would be a watershed year for 54-year-old Emilie Johnson. Previously, she had written the story "Blind Hearts," which takes place in 1898. The tale unfolds as two men travel with their wives to Alaska, seeking fame and fortune. Hobart Bosworth Productions purchased the story. The film version was released in October 1921 and starred Hobart Bosworth and Wade Boteler.That same year, Hobart Bosworth Productions picked up another Emilie Johnson project, The Sea Lion. This tale of adventure, romance, and intrigue occurred aboard a whaling vessel. The movie version was released in December 1921. The Sea Lion starred Hobart Bosworth, Bessie Love, and Emory Johnson.
1922
Emilie and her son had initially been contracted with Robertson-Cole to write, produce, and direct The Midnight Call. R-C was later acquired by FBO. On July 1, 1922, the Robertson-Cole Distribution Company became FBO. All R-C contracts were honored, especially with independent producers like Emory Johnson. In May, the Riverside Independent Enterprise published an article stating Emilie had written nineteen scenarios.The first Johnson collaboration under the renamed FBO contract was The Midnight Call, which was renamed In the Name of the Law. The film was released in August 1922. Emilie Johnson was credited with both the story and screenplay for this melodrama. The story is about a San Francisco policeman trying to keep his family together while facing continuing adversity.
In December, FBO released The Third Alarm, formerly titled The Discard. This film is the second under the FBO contract. Emory directed this Emilie Johnson story about a firefighter forced into retirement who triumphantly returns to save the day. It had spectacular scenes of burning buildings and courage-fueled firefighters. The film would become the most financially successful movie ever produced in Johnson's career.
Emilie had four of her stories shown simultaneously:
- Blind Hearts, released October 3, 1921
- The Sea Lion, released December 5, 1921
- In the Name of the Law, released August 22, 1922
- The Third Alarm, released December 31, 1922
1923
The fourth film in the FBO contract was The Mailman. Emilie again wrote both the story and the screenplay.
Emilie and Emory signed a new contract with FBO in September for 2.5 years. Emory agreed to make eight attractions for FBO, including the four he had completed already. FBO agreed to invest upwards of 2.5 million dollars in the forthcoming productions. Another part of the signed contract stipulated: "The contract also provides that Emory Johnson's mother, Mrs. Emilie Johnson, shall prepare all of the stories and write all the scripts for the Johnson attractions in addition to assisting her son in filming the productions."
1924
Emilie started the year by writing the story for her fifth FBO film, The Spirit of the USA, about World War I, released in May. She wrote the story and the screenplay, saying Woodrow Wilson inspired it.Emilie finished the year with her sixth film in this series,Life's Greatest Game, released in October. This story is about America's greatest pastime, baseball. The Black Sox Scandal inspired the movie section regarding throwing a World Series. The rest of the film features crooks, illicit affairs, the spectacular sinking of the Titanic, romance, and a middle-aged father uniting with his long-lost son.
1925
The seventh film in the FBO contract was The Last Edition, released in October. It tells the story of a family's fortunes, bound up in the dramas of a newspaper pressroom. Emilie wrote the script, their only production of the year.1926
The year started with tragedy. Emilie's grandson was run over by a truck and killed in Los Angeles. Alfred Bernard Johnson was only five years old when he died in March 1926. He was Emilie's second oldest grandson.In March, Emory and Emilie Johnson released their last picture for FBO, The Non-Stop Flight. It tells the story of a sea captain who returns home from a long voyage and discovers that his wife and child have been kidnapped. He goes mad and becomes a smuggler.
The same year, Emory and Emilie were working on a movie titled Happiness. Work had supposedly started in December 1925. Emory, Emilie, and the cast and crew had sailed for Sweden to film the movie. The fate of the movie remains unknown.
FBO decided to let Emory and Emilie Johnson's contracts expire in April. No reason was published regarding the expirations.
In June, Emory and his mother signed a new eight-picture deal with Universal.