The Brass Bullet (1918)

Jack Mulhall and Juanita Hansen were the stars of the silent American serial The Brass Bullet (Ben F. Wilson, 1918) produced by Universal. The serial deals with a convoluted and complicated plot, but the basis is the hunt by Spring Gilbert (Joseph W. Girard) and Victor King (Ashton Dearholt) for the heritage of Rosalind Joy (Juanita Hansen) after her uncle Homer Joy (Charles Hill Mailes) has been killed. Gilbert and King will use all means to make sure they get the heritage. Yet, Jack James (Jack Mulhall) and a Mystery Man (Hallam Cooley) come to the rescue. In this post, we tell the tragic story of the serial's leading lady Juanita Hansen, who was a popular serial queen in the late 1910s and early 1920s.


British postcard in the "Pictures" Portrait Gallery, London, no. 169. Juanita Hansen.


British postcard in the "Pictures" Portrait Gallery, London, no. 25. Photo: The Trans-Atlantic Film Co. (Universal's European distribution brand). Jack Mulhall.

Serial Queen at Universal

Juanita Hansen was born in 1895 in Des Moines, Iowa, or Wisconsin.

In 1914 at age 16, Hansen made her film debut with Frank Baum's Oz Film Productions, but soon stepped over to Triangle. Under D.W. Griffith's supervision, she acted in The Martyrs of the Alamo (Christy Cabanne, 1915).

In the same year, she also starred in the 15-part serial The Secret of the Submarine (George L. Sargent, 1915), produced by American Film and, like the Triangle films, distributed by Mutual.

Hansen also worked for Famous Players and Morosco Productions, both distributed by Paramount. In 1916, she joined Mack Sennett's Bathing Beauties troupe, and acted in several short comedies at Keystone/ Triangle Studios, including comedies with Douglas Fairbanks.

In 1918, Hansen left for Universal Studios where she became a serial queen in The Brass Bullet (Ben Wilson, 1918). After several Universal films in 1919, she starred again in a serial, The Lost City (1920), now at Selig and distributed by Warner. Eventually, the serial was re-released as a feature as well, entitled The Jungle Princess. The success also led to two Pathé serials, The Phantom Foe (1920) and The Yellow Arm (1921).


Spanish cromo card by Chocolate Pi, Barcelona, no. 7 of 54. Photo: Distr. J. Verdaguer / Universal / The Trans-Atlantico Co. Scene from The Brass Bullet (Ben F. Wilson, 1918). Spanish release title: La Bala de Bronce. Here, left of Jack Mulhall, Joseph W. Girard as Spring Gilbert. The man far left may be Ashton Dearholt as Victor King.


Spanish cromo card by Chocolate Pi, Barcelona, no. 23 of 54. Photo: Distr. J. Verdaguer / Universal / The Trans-Atlantico Co. Scene from The Brass Bullet (Ben F. Wilson, 1918), starring Jack Mulhall and Juanita Hansen. Spanish release title: La Bala de Bronce.


Spanish cromo card by Chocolate Pi, Barcelona, no. 32 of 54. Photo: Distr. J. Verdaguer / Universal / The Trans-Atlantico Co. Scene from The Brass Bullet (Ben F. Wilson, 1918). Spanish release title: La Bala de Bronce. Here, left of Jack Mulhall, possibly Joseph W. Girard as Spring Gilbert. The minister left of him was played by Charles Force. The man on the right may be Ashton Dearholt, who plays Victor King.

A life of mischief

Very well paid, Juanita Hansen began a life of mischief. She had a penchant for fast cars and was being constantly arrested for speeding) and loved all-night partying. She turned to drugs, cocaine in particular. Pathé stopped working with her and her career came to a standstill in 1923.

That year, Hansen went into rehab and did a touring lecture afterwards to warn against the danger of drugs. Yet, her addiction and misery weren't over.

In 1928, following an accident in which she almost died from an outburst of scalding steam in her hotel room, she was treated with morphine and remained addicted. Her descent into hell continued. 

Despite being granted over 100,000 dollars in damage repair after a years-long trial, she became penniless because of her addiction. In 1938 she wrote the book 'The Conspiracy of Silence', arguing that drug addicts should be sent to specialized medical institutions for treatment instead of being sent to prison. 

Her life took another turn for the worse in 1941 when she attempted suicide by an overdose of sleeping pills. Juanita Hansen ended her life as a clerk for a railroad company and she died of a heart attack in 1961 in Los Angeles, California.


Spanish cromo card by Chocolate Pi, Barcelona, no. 37 of 54. Photo: Distr. J. Verdaguer / Universal / The Trans-Atlantico Co. Scene from the American serial The Brass Bullet (Ben F. Wilson, 1918), starring Jack Mulhall and Juanita Hansen. The man on the left may be Ashton Dearholt, who plays Victor King.


Spanish cromo card by Chocolate Pi, Barcelona, no. 48 of 54. Photo: Distr. J. Verdaguer / Universal / The Trans-Atlantico Co. Scene from the American serial The Brass Bullet (Ben F. Wilson, 1918), starring Jack Mulhall and Juanita Hansen. Spanish release title: La Bala de Bronce. Here, left of Hansen, possibly Joseph W. Girard as Spring Gilbert. The man on the right may be Ashton Dearholt, who plays Victor King.


Spanish cromo card by Chocolate Pi, Barcelona, no. 50 of 54. Photo: Distr. J. Verdaguer / Universal / The Trans-Atlantico Co. Scene from the American serial The Brass Bullet (Ben F. Wilson, 1918). Spanish release title: La Bala de Bronce. Ep. 4, reel 2. The man dying in the quicksand.


Spanish cromo card by Chocolate Pi, Barcelona, no. 54 of 54. Photo: Distr. J. Verdaguer / Universal / The Trans-Atlantico Co. Scene from the American serial The Brass Bullet (Ben F. Wilson, 1918), starring Jack Mulhall and Juanita Hansen. Spanish release title: La Bala de Bronce. Here, the man in the middle is Harry Dunkinson, who plays Dr. Canfield.

Sources: Wikipedia (English and French) and IMDb.