Willis Brown

Willis Brown
Willis Brown
Salt Lake City Juvenile Court judge
	In office; 1905–1907
Personal details
Born	July 31, 1881; Columbus, Indiana
Died	October 20, 1931 (aged 50); Columbus, Ohio
Occupation	Film producer
Known for	Founder of Boy City Film Company

Willis Brown (July 31, 1881 – October 20, 1931) was a permanently removed Utah juvenile court judge,^[1] falsely-claimed lawyer,^[2] self-described humanitarian, and filmmaker.

Born James Willhenry Brown in Columbus, Indiana to James W. Brown and Lucetta Pierson.

Judge

In the decade of the 1900s Brown lectured^[3] on the Chautauqua circuit as a judge of the Utah Juvenile Court and a progressive expert on boys' reformation.^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]

He was appointed to the Juvenile Court in Salt Lake City in the spring of 1905, served two years, but had been permanently removed by the Utah Supreme Court.^[2] In 1910, the Juvenile Court debunked Judge Brown's credentials.^[1] Brown was, in fact, not even a lawyer, and had been misrepresenting himself.

Boy City Film Company

Building a national reputation, in the 1910s he started "Boy Cities" in Charlevoix, Michigan, and Gary, Indiana,^[8] then relocated to Southern California. (The better-known Boys Town, Nebraska was founded in December 1917.)

By 1917 Brown founded the Boy City Film Company in Culver City, part film studio, part homeless shelter. He served as a film producer.

In film history, Brown is remarkable for giving director King Vidor his first directing job. Brown funded a series of twenty-two reelers, both moral lessons and promotional films. Brown appeared as himself in all but the first one; Vidor directed at least ten^[9] of them. These films have evidence of "fascinating social content" - the plot of the second entry, The Chocolate of the Gang, deals with a black child being denied membership in an all-white club, and employed black actors for the lead roles as opposed to the usual practice of white performers in blackface.^[9]

Death

According to Variety, Brown was shot to death in Columbus, Ohio in 1931 by "a jealous widow".^[10]^[11]

Film series

The Boy City (1910) (it) (fr)^[12]^[13]^[14]
Bud's Recruit (1918)^[15]^[16]
The Chocolate of the Gang (1918)^[17]
The Lost Lie (1918)
Tad's Swimming Hole (1918)
Marrying Off Dad (1918)^[18]
The Accusing Toe (1918)
Thief or Angel (1918)^[19]
The Rebellion (1918)
The Preacher's Son (1918)
A Boy Built City (1918)
I'm a Man (1918)
Love of Bob (1918)
Dog vs. Dog (1918)
The Three Fives (1918)
The Case of Bennie (1918)^[20]
Kid Politics (1918)
The Demand of Dugan (1919)
Shift the Gear, Freck (1919)
Gum Drops and Overalls (1919)
Danny Asks Why (1919)

References

^ ^a ^b The Juvenile court record, Volumes 9-12 By Timothy David Hurley, February 1910 issue, page 5, "As to Judge Willis Brown")
^ ^a ^b The Pacific reporter, Volume 88, Utah Supreme Court decision Mill v. Brown, January 17, 1907
^ "Judge Willis Brown :: Traveling Culture - Circuit Chautauqua in the Twentieth Century". digital.lib.uiowa.edu.
^ Hobey, Jack (12 December 2017). Lost Boys: The Beulah Home Tragedy. Harbor House Publishers Inc. ISBN 9781582413730 – via Google Books.
^ Cohen, Ronald D. (1 May 2014). Children of the Mill: Schooling and Society in Gary, Indiana, 1906-1960. Routledge. ISBN 9781136798085 – via Google Books.
^ Brown, Willis (28 December 1915). "The Boy Problem: What the Grown-Ups Fail to Remember in Considering This Important Question" (PDF). Ottumwa Tri-Weekly Courier. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
^ A. P. Warrington (December 1919). "From the National President: Criminals and Children" (PDF). The Messenger. p. 205. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
^ Brownlow, Kevin (12 December 1990). Behind the Mask of Innocence. Knopf. ISBN 9780394577470 – via Google Books.
^ ^a ^b Durgnat, Raymond; Simmon, Scott (12 December 1988). King Vidor, American. University of California Press. p. 24. ISBN 9780520058156 – via Internet Archive. Willis.
^ Silent film necrology, Eugene Michael Vazzana, page 66
^ Vazzana, Eugene Michael (1 May 1995). Silent film necrology: births and deaths of over 9000 performers, directors, producers, and other filmmakers of the silent era, through 1993. McFarland. ISBN 9780786401321 – via Google Books.
^ Edwards, Paul M. (31 March 2016). World War I on Film: English Language Releases through 2014. McFarland. ISBN 9781476620633 – via Google Books.
^ "The Boy City". 31 December 1910 – via www.imdb.com.
^ "Lyceumite & Talent". Lyceum Magazine. 12 December 2017 – via Google Books.
^ "Bud's Recruit (1918)". www.filmpreservation.org.
^ "Bud's Recruit: A Judge Brown Story (1917) American B&W : Two reels / 1865 feet Directed by King W. Vidor". www.silentera.com.
^ "Chocolate of the Gang · (Early Cinema History Online)". echo.commarts.wisc.edu.
^ "Dramatic Mirror of Motion Pictures and the Stage". Dramatic Mirror Company. 12 December 2017 – via Google Books.
^ "Thief or Angel? · (Early Cinema History Online)". echo.commarts.wisc.edu.
^ "The Case Of Bennie - Fiche+technique - La base de connaissances française". savoiro.fr.

External links

Willis Brown at IMDb
picture and storie on Judge Willis Brown (Motion Picture Magazine, 1911)

[Juvenile_court_February_1910-1] The Juvenile court record, Volumes 9-12 By Timothy David Hurley, February 1910 issue, page 5, "As to Judge Willis Brown")

[Mill_v._Brown-2] The Pacific reporter, Volume 88, Utah Supreme Court decision Mill v. Brown, January 17, 1907

[3] "Judge Willis Brown :: Traveling Culture - Circuit Chautauqua in the Twentieth Century". digital.lib.uiowa.edu.

[4] Hobey, Jack (12 December 2017). Lost Boys: The Beulah Home Tragedy. Harbor House Publishers Inc. ISBN 9781582413730 – via Google Books.

[5] Cohen, Ronald D. (1 May 2014). Children of the Mill: Schooling and Society in Gary, Indiana, 1906-1960. Routledge. ISBN 9781136798085 – via Google Books.

[6] Brown, Willis (28 December 1915). "The Boy Problem: What the Grown-Ups Fail to Remember in Considering This Important Question" (PDF). Ottumwa Tri-Weekly Courier. Retrieved 23 August 2021.

[7] A. P. Warrington (December 1919). "From the National President: Criminals and Children" (PDF). The Messenger. p. 205. Retrieved 23 August 2021.

[8] Brownlow, Kevin (12 December 1990). Behind the Mask of Innocence. Knopf. ISBN 9780394577470 – via Google Books.

[VpR7J8Qd6z0C-9] Durgnat, Raymond; Simmon, Scott (12 December 1988). King Vidor, American. University of California Press. p. 24. ISBN 9780520058156 – via Internet Archive. Willis.

[10] Silent film necrology, Eugene Michael Vazzana, page 66

[11] Vazzana, Eugene Michael (1 May 1995). Silent film necrology: births and deaths of over 9000 performers, directors, producers, and other filmmakers of the silent era, through 1993. McFarland. ISBN 9780786401321 – via Google Books.

[12] Edwards, Paul M. (31 March 2016). World War I on Film: English Language Releases through 2014. McFarland. ISBN 9781476620633 – via Google Books.

[13] "The Boy City". 31 December 1910 – via www.imdb.com.

[14] "Lyceumite & Talent". Lyceum Magazine. 12 December 2017 – via Google Books.

[15] "Bud's Recruit (1918)". www.filmpreservation.org.

[16] "Bud's Recruit: A Judge Brown Story (1917) American B&W : Two reels / 1865 feet Directed by King W. Vidor". www.silentera.com.

[17] "Chocolate of the Gang · (Early Cinema History Online)". echo.commarts.wisc.edu.

[18] "Dramatic Mirror of Motion Pictures and the Stage". Dramatic Mirror Company. 12 December 2017 – via Google Books.

[19] "Thief or Angel? · (Early Cinema History Online)". echo.commarts.wisc.edu.

[20] "The Case Of Bennie - Fiche+technique - La base de connaissances française". savoiro.fr.

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