bjgreen
By Betsy J. Green
In the early years of movies, studios had neither budget nor equipment for special effects, so they leapt into action to film natural disasters such as floods, forest fires, and shipwrecks, to work them into a film. In May of 1915, the “Aggi,” a Norwegian ship loaded with food destined for European countries during World War I, ran aground off Santa Rosa Island. Santa Barbara’s “Flying A” Film Company managed to get some footage of the wreck, which may have been used in their silent movie “After the Storm.” The movie begins with a baby being rescued from a shipwreck. That film was released in July 1915. No copies are known to exist.
The Universal Film Company of Universal City paid $4,000 for the rights to film on the shipwrecked “Aggi.” Unfortunately for all concerned – salvage workers and film actors – the cargo of dried beans and barley started soaking up the salt water and swelled until the hull broke apart. The ship and her cargo were declared a total loss. (The anchor from the “Aggi” sits outside the Santa Barbara Historical Museum.)
