A slight problem in Lord Meher

   * See also How Lord Meher Came About: the History of Meher Baba's Biography Lord Meher

On page 182 of the 1986 print edition of Lord Meher, it says,

While at St. Vincent's [High School], Merwan also wrote a complete film scenario of nearly two hundred typed pages in English and mailed it to the Universal Film Studios in Hollywood, California. Unfortunately, what became of this manuscript nobody knows since he did not receive a reply from the American film company.

This really could not have happened as described and I'll explain why.

Baba graduated from St. Vincent's in 1911. Universal Film Studios, on the other hand, was not established until December 1912. In addition, it did not fully move its operation to Hollywood (where Baba is said to have sent his scenario) until 1915. The company that would eventually turn into Universal Studios, The Independent Moving Pictures Company, was operating in New Jersey when Baba was in High School.

The next problem with the account is that it says the manuscript was typed. There is no evidence that I know of that Baba himself typed.

The final problem with the account is that silent films of the period were one-reelers, playing only 12 to 15 minutes. They also contained no dialogue. There would have thus been nothing to write for such a silent one-reeler that could take 200 typed pages. To give an idea how long 200 pages is, the full motion picture script for the three hour motion picture The Fellowship of the Rings is only 172 pages. And what Baba is said to have sent was only a "scenario."

Here is a site where one can see what scenarios actually looked like during this period. There wasn't much to them.

My guess is that something did happen, but details of the event, whatever they were, got lost in translation. In other words, it is based on something that by word of mouth among his community in Pune, became a fable.

(It turns out that my guess was wrong. The account is actually based on the recollection of Baba's best boyhood friend Baily. See second note below.)

See also How Lord Meher Came About


Update and correction:

Not all films were single reelers in 1911. The following two quotes help explain the transition to longer films that was beginning about this time.

The years 1908 to 1914 are often referred to as the "one-reel era." One reel, or 1,000 feet of film, had become the standard film length at most studios, and the distribution and exhibition sectors were structured accordingly. (The duration of a one-reel film could vary between 11 and 17 minutes, depending on projection speed.) Studios occasionally produced films that unfolded over multiple reels, but each constituent reel had to be able to be screened and enjoyed by patrons independently. Following the example of feature-length films from Europe, American studio heads began experimenting with movies of five reels or more around 1912. (Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research)

Dante's Inferno (1911) was 71 minutes and was the first feature film to be shown in its entirety, in one screening, in the USA. Prior to this it was thought audiences wouldn't be prepared to sit for over an hour to watch a feature - films such as Les Misérables and The Life of Moses were shown in episodic parts over the course of a month or two. [IMDB] 

Second update, 2.11.13:

Recently received a communication from India that the revised edition of Lord Meher that will go online in the next six months will include the following footnote:

[1] Baily’s description of this scenario may not be entirely accurate. It is more likely that Merwan mailed ideas for a film to Universal Film Company rather than a typed scenario. Baily wrote that no reply was received from the American company; but Chanji later recorded a conversation with Baba’s brother Jal, who stated that the film company had replied positively and wished Merwan to expand his idea. But by that time, Baba had met Babajan and was not interested in pursuing it [Chanji, v21,#22, dt. 17 March 1927].