Our Mutual Girl
1914Our Mutual Girl was unique. Not quite a serial, not quite a newsreel and not strictly an advertisement, it combined elements of all three. In 52 weekly one-reel episodes, running from January 19, 1914 to January 11, 1915, the Mutual Girl outwitted villains, saw the sights of New York, met with theatrical and political celebrities (who frequently helped her out of trouble) and tried on fashionable outfits in chic stores. The fashions were an early example of product placement, although apparently not paid placement.
Acted in
Norma Phillips
as Our Mutual Girl / Margaret
Mayme Kelso
as Mrs. James Knickerbocker - Margaret's Aunt
Jessie Lewis
as Lewis - Mrs. Knickerbocker's Maid
James Alling
as Mrs. Knickerbocker's Butler
Grace Fisher
as Aunt Abbie
Edward Brennan
as Howard Dunbar - the Man of Mystery
W. Ray Johnston
as Jack Stuyvesant
Evelyn Dumo
as Margaret's Maid
Arthur Conan Doyle
as Self (episode 21)
Douglas Fairbanks
as Self (episode 47)