Animation Source Forums

Found this story about the real Balto movie. Notice the combined movie trailer type photos at the beginning and the account by the main photographer in the article.

https://siberiandoghistory.com/Balto_Movie.html

From an unpublished memoir which cannot be verified either through the Library of Congress or even a general internet search. Which calls into question the veracity of unpublished material, since there are no other verifiable resources for that entry listed, and no immediate way to verify what is published on that...website...without verification from other sources...either film industry archives or historical archives either in California or Alaska.

I will begin reaching out to my contacts in Alaska, Cleveland, Washington D.C. and California to see what they have to say about this. However, unsupported quotes from unpublished materials, which cannot be examined by anyone but the web author, don't make for reliable source material. The photographs are interesting, but could have been uncovered by other researchers through various archives, including the National Archives in Washington.

In an attempt to find out more details about the Balto movie story I sent an email to the author. Received the following reply with permission to quote him.

"The majority of the source material for that article came from original and reliable documentation, etc. found at places that are repositories for the local interest and coverage of the filming of the movie at the time. They included the Mt. Rainier Archives, the Mt. Rainier Museum, the Tacoma Public Library and the Tacoma Historical Society. I went to all of these places (and more) about eight years ago and spent almost a week there between all of them, going through boxes and volumes of old material. Some of the items found included info. about the production schedule of the movie, interviews of several of the participants, and photos. In addition, I made inquiries to several local private parties who had knowledge of the events at Mt. Rainier in 1925."

"That the journal of Harry Perry was not published really has no bearing on the accuracy of the material he wrote about on the movies he filmed. He wrote about his experiences over a 40 year period, and for whatever reason kept those in journal form rather than writing a book or otherwise publishing them. That doesn't make them any less reliable. The Perry accounts should be viewed as a rare piece of history, providing insight into the early motion picture industry (and in this case the Balto movie), and are not likely to be found anywhere else. Some of the material I found lends support to the account provided by Harry Perry. I have no doubt about the authenticity and accuracy of his journal entry regarding his role in the Balto's Race To Nome movie. As a comparison, Leonhard Seppala's autobiography manuscript was/is also unpublished, yet a fair number of the accounts he provided have been accepted as being true without any type of supporting material. He was taken at his word. Accordingly, and this being a one of a kind item, there is no reason to doubt Harry Perry's work."

And yet, no bibliography or record of his research that can be scrutinized by others. He may very well have done all these things. And if he did, then kudos to him. It's an impressive bit of work. However, without a means of independent verification, except what he now told you (which would presume a need for someone to visit those places and verify that information), it is only his word for what he discovered and poured through.

I would like to share a couple of things about a recent trip I made to Mount Rainier National Park. As you may already know, this is the place where the movie Balto's Race To Nome was filmed in 1925. In some ways it was kind of eerie, going back a little over 90 years into history. And in other ways it was fun. The road is open up to Paradise this time of year so we went to the Paradise Inn where Gunnar Kaasen and the film crew stayed. Unfortunately the inn is not open this time of year but you can go up to the buildings and the main deck. Then from the parking lot we looked south into Paradise Valley where the actual scenes were filmed. And beyond Paradise Valley is the Tatoosh Mt. Range. You may have already seen the photo of Gunnar Kaasen and his dog team that was taken at Paradise with the Tatoosh Range in the background. We had to be standing very near to where this photo was taken. What a nostalgic time. The scenery is absolutely fantastic and most of the Paradise area has remained the same over the past 90 years. Now I understand why the decision was made to film the movie there.

Was it? I've been to the Inn, just went there for breakfast though.