Back when state supported movie industry….

On this day in 1921: “The Lost Colony” premieres before Gov. Cameron Morrison and other state leaders in the old Supreme Court building. The five-reel silent movie, among the nation’s first uses of film for educational purposes, is the brainchild of Mabel Evans, superintendent of Dare County schools.

The state-financed, $3,000 budget included hiring Elizabeth Grimball, director of the New York School of the Theatre, to cast and direct the three-week shooting on Roanoke Island.

Four prints of “The Lost Colony” will be shown throughout the state; in areas without electricity, the projector is run by a generator-equipped Model T Ford.

[Much more here about Ms. Grimball and her ambitious efforts in North Carolina.]

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