Harold "Josh" Binney (1889 - 1956) was an actor, film producer, film company executive, and film director in the United States. He worked as an actor before establishing the
Florida Film Company in
Jacksonville
Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...
, Florida in 1918 and produced and producing their films through his Harold J. Binney Productions division.
He moved on to Canada and then Sonoma, California.
Early life
Harold Joshua Binney was born in Kansas City. He studied at the
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington.
Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...
and was an actor in vaudeville productions and with stock companies before becoming a film actor. He acted in films for Biograph, IMP, and Vogue.
Career in film production
He established Florida Film Corporation in Jacksonville and in 1918 producing and directed five comedies for the studio featuring Hillard “Fat” Karr who began his career in comedy films at Josh Binney Comedies in Florida. The films are ''Fabulous Fortune Fumblers'', ''Fred's Fictitious Foundling'', ''Freda's Fighting Father'', ''Fatty's Fast Flivver'', and ''Fatty's Frivolous Fiance''. Hilliard,
Frank Alexander, and
Bill "Kewpie" Ross went on to form a team of heavyweight comedians in "
Ton of Fun" comedies.
Florence McLaughlin
Florence McLaughlin (1898 - 1972), sometimes credited as Florence McLoughlin, was an actress in the U.S. She appeared in numerous silent films including comedies with Oliver Hardy.
She was from Jacksonville, Florida.
She worked with the Vim ...
was another one of the actors in his Florida film crew. He also worked with
Vangie Valentine in 1918 on her film debut in ''Velvet and Rags''.
Binney then moved to Canada and established Canadian Photoplay Productions but it fell through.
In 1922 he was involved in a film project in Oregon. He solicited photographs from community members interested in participating and Oregon governor
Ben Olcott and Salem mayor
George E. Halvorsen were said to be taking part.
In late 1923 Binney set up operations just outside of Sonoma, California. Leasing a former resort, he started production on a proposed series of twelve short comedies. Later that year he was caught passing a bad check with local merchants. His backers paid his debts, but he was soon under investigation in Montana for bilking investors there. In Butte, in 1924, he was tried and convicted of fraud and sentenced to three to six years in prison. He was paroled in November 1925.
Films of African American performers
In the 1940s Binney directed several musical "
race film
The race film or race movie was a genre of film produced in the United
States between about 1915 and the early 1950s, consisting of films produced for black audiences, and featuring black casts. Approximately five hundred race films were produce ...
s" with African American casts for All-American News film company. The films included ''
Hi-De-Ho'' (1947) starring
Cab Calloway
Cabell Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, conductor and dancer. He was associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he was a regular performer and became a popular vocalist ...
, ''
Boarding House Blues
''Boarding House Blues'' is a 1948 American race film directed by Josh Binney which featured the first starring film role by Moms Mabley. It was the penultimate feature film of All-American News, a company that made newsreels for black Americans.
...
'' with
Moms Mabley
Loretta Mary Aiken (March 19, 1894 – May 23, 1975), known by her stage name Jackie "Moms" Mabley, was an American stand-up comedian and actress. Mabley began her career on the theater stage in the 1920s and became a veteran entertainer of the ...
and
Dusty Fletcher
Clinton "Dusty" Fletcher (July 8, 1900 – March 15, 1954) was an African-American vaudeville performer, who was best known for the comedy routine which became a hit record in 1947, "Open the Door, Richard".
Routine "Open the Door, Richard!"
...
as well as ''
Killer Diller'' (1948) starring Fletcher and
Butterfly McQueen
Butterfly McQueen (born Thelma McQueen; January 8, 1911December 22, 1995) was an American actress. Originally a dancer, McQueen first appeared in films as "Prissy" in ''Gone with the Wind'' (1939). She was unable to attend the film's premiere be ...
. He directed a British comedy feature film called ''Merry-Go-Round'' starring
Bonar Colleano
Bonar Sullivan (14 March 192417 August 1958), also known by the stage name Bonar Colleano, was an American stage and film actor based in the United Kingdom.
Biography Early life
Colleano was born Bonar Sullivan in New York City. He had childhood ...
in 1948.
Filmography
Actor
*''
A Hash House Fraud
A Hash House Fraud is a 1915 film short (16 minute) directed by Charley Chase featuring the Keystone Cops.
A "hash house" is an early 20th century American term for a cheap eating house. The film possibly gave birth to the term riot squad.
Plot
T ...
'' (1915), extant
*''