From the Archives: Fort Lee Film Gowns Found Hidden in House

For those readers and film history fans who have read my From the Archives pieces in 2013 you will recall that one of the great successes of 2013 in Fort Lee as regards film history was the last minute reprieve the Fort Lee Film Commission won for the historic Rambo’s Saloon building on First Street in the Coytesville section of the borough.  Thanks to our online petition and over a decade of work on making our film history relevant and alive for our community via film history maps, historic jitney tours and film restoration projects, we were able to petition the Fort Lee Mayor & Council on behalf of this historic structure which dates back to the 1860’s.  The significance of this history per this house is the connection it had during Fort Lee’s days at the first American film town and birthplace of the American film industry from approximately 1907 through World War I. 

Rambo’s became the center for all film crews shooting in Fort Lee.  The building was used to feed the crews and actors at lunch and it served as a film location as you can see in this recently found previously lost film “A Grocery Clerk’s Romance” shot in 1912 on First Street and outside Rambo’s by Mack Sennett for his Keystone Studio - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nq624ynLmO8.

The late owner of this structure, Gloria Limone, was kind enough to donate a costume from the movie days, which was found behind a wall several years ago during a renovation of a portion of the house.  Little did we know the house held over a half dozen more costumes from the silent film days.  The upstairs of the saloon was used as dressing rooms by film crews doing location work in the area.  Gloria passed away in October of 2012 and the house was put up for sale and in fact sold in early 2013.  The borough via the Fort Lee Housing Authority purchased the house by late last year and it is only this past week that the Fort Lee Film Commission gained access to the interior to search to see what artifacts the structure may hold.  Thankfully the developer who previously owned the house left many artifacts for us in the building including an old trunk.  Inside the trunk were found items used by actresses during the  silent film era including two hats.  One hat was black and gothic with a long veil. 

I brought the costumes to our Fort Lee Museum where I inspected them and placed them gingerly on our museum mannequin.  The costumes will need repair after almost one hundred years hidden away in a trunk.  The Fort Lee Film Commission hopes to reach out to a film production company to see if a film / TV costume house might assist us in the restoration of this priceless items from our film past.  Enjoy the photos I have attached to this piece as they provide a glimpse into an open door to our past to a time when our small community atop the bluffs of the Palisades was the motion picture capital of the world.