Mishap or Murder?

Thomas Harper Ince (November 16, 1880 – November 19, 1924) was an American silent film producer, director, screenwriter, and actor. Ince was known as the "Father of the Western" and was responsible for making over 800 films.

Thomas Ince - silent film producer, director, screenwriter, and actor.

His death in 1924, on William Randolph Heart's yacht, at the age of 44, has been the subject of much speculation and scandal, with rumors of murder, mystery, and jealousy. It's a fascinating story but how the hell does it relate to Custer and the Seventh Cavalry? Well stick with me folks...I think you'll find this interesting.

Ince and William Randolph Heart had been in negotiations for Hearst to use Ince's studio for filming his motion pictures. Hearst invited him to his yacht that weekend to work out the details. Among Hearst's other guests that weekend were his mistress, Marion Davies, silent film star Charlie Chaplin, and Dr. Daniel Carson Goodman, Hearst's film production manager. Ince was working on the production deal and was late. The yacht left without him.

Actress Marion Davies

Ince took a train to San Diego where he was able to get on the yacht the next morning. At dinner Ince suffered a bout of indigestion. Ince left the yacht and traveled by train, accompanied by Dr. Goodman, who was a licensed but non-practicing physician. They arrived in Del Mar where Ince was taken to a hotel and given medical treatment by a second doctor and a nurse. Ince's personal physician was contacted and arrived in Del Mar along with Ince's wife, Nell. The group traveled by train to his Los Angeles home where Ince died.

Stories started to circulate containing a rumor that Hearst had shot Ince in the head. Hearst apparently believed Davies was having an affair with the tremendously popular Chaplin, who was famous for his character portrayal of "The Tramp." Rumors were that Hearst, in a jealous rage, shot Ince in the back of the head, mistaking him for Chaplin. Chaplin's valet claimed to have seen Ince when he came ashore via a stretcher in San Diego. He told his wife that Ince's head was "bleeding from a bullet wound." At Ince's funeral, however, his casket was open and no one ever mentioned a bullet wound.

Charlie Chaplin as "The Tramp"

Years later, Hearst spoke to a journalist about the rumor that he had murdered Tom Ince. "Not only am I innocent of this Ince murder", he said. "So is everybody else". Nell Ince herself was increasingly frustrated over the Hearst rumors surrounding her husband's death and remarked: "Do you think I would have done nothing if I even suspected that my husband had been victim of foul play on anyone's part?"

Unfortunately, the myth of Ince's death overshadowed his reputation as a pioneering filmmaker and his role in the growth of the film industry. His studio was sold soon after he died. His final film, Enticement, a romance set in the French Alps, was released posthumously in 1925.

The 2001 Peter Bogdanovich film, The Cat's Meow, was inspired by the events of Thomas Ince's death. The cast includes:

Kirsten Dunst as Marion Davies

Edward Herrmann as William Randolph Hearst

Eddie Izzard as Charlie Chaplin

Cary Elwes as Thomas Ince

BUT WHAT ABOUT CUSTER?!?!?! YOU SAID THIS CONCERNED CUSTER!!!

Ok. Ok. Ok. Thanks for hanging around. Here's the Custer/Seventh Cavalry tie-in...

In 1912, Thomas Ince produced a silent film entitled, Custer's Last Fight. The film was directed by Francis Ford, older brother of director John Ford. Francis Ford also starred as George Armstrong Custer in the film. It was released in the United States on October 4, 1912. The film supposedly includes some Indian warriors who were actually at the Battle of the Little Big Horn.

Poster for Custer's Last Fight, produced by Thomas Ince.

Rapid City Journal - June 25, 1926 - announcing a screening of the movie on the
50th anniversary of the Battle of the Little Big Horn.

Watch the movie yourself and let me know what you think:

I told you it was an interesting story...