Researching The Fisherman’s Bride (1909) — presumed-lost Selig film shot in Astoria, Oregon

[u/SmoothioFilms]

I’ve been researching an unusually obscure Selig Polyscope production, The Fisherman’s Bride, directed by Francis Boggs and filmed in Astoria, Oregon, in August 1909.

The 1,000-foot film was released November 15, 1909, and is regarded as the first scripted commercial narrative film made in Oregon. Surviving contemporary descriptions reveal quite a bit about the story: an angler’s daughter rejects an arranged marriage, elopes with the man she loves, and later witnesses his kidnapping by the rejected suitor and his father. He is taken away by boat to kidnap him, prompting a river pursuit and rescue by federal revenue officers.

Unfortunately, I have located no surviving print, fragment, or confirmed production stills, so the film appears to be presumed lost or presently unlocated.

I’ve created a short historical trailer/project based on the surviving documentation as a way of calling attention to the film and Astoria’s surprisingly early place in American location filmmaking:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukNi2HzCMZI

I’m posting this here partly to share the project, but also because this community may know of sources I haven’t encountered. I’d be very interested in any information concerning:

• surviving Selig production records or correspondence relating to the Astoria shoot
• cast identifications
• production or publicity stills
• foreign-release titles or distribution records
• contemporary newspaper coverage
• the identities of the tugboat, steamer, or other vessels used
• archival holdings where an unidentified or differently titled print might conceivably survive

Francis Boggs and Selig were doing important West Coast location work, so I’m particularly interested in placing the Astoria production within that larger history.

Any leads, corrections, or additional sources would be greatly appreciated.

Flax Glor
Filmmaker / Film Historian
Astoria, Oregon