Michigan State Police in The Rich Slave, photo courtesy Archives of Michigan

The images of the month for August come from Michigan State Police records. State Police officers once appeared in a movie titled The Rich Slave was reportedly filmed in 1917 and released to audiences in 1921. The photo above shows State Police officers wearing their Western cowboy garb (click through for a larger view of the image):

The State Police records include a typed reminiscence of the event. Harriett Faussett Brogan wrote this undated memoir, titled “Early Michigan State Police Movie Heroes.” She stated that her father, Thomas J. Fausett, had formed a movie company with actor Romaine Fielding. Ms. Brogan noted that the company was based in Howell, Mich., her father’s hometown. She recalled that production of The Rich Slave began “about the middle of June 1917” and that much of the movie was filmed in Howell. According to Ms. Brogan, the State Police portrayed cowboys in some action shots, which were filmed “on land now known as Kensington Park near Brighton.” She further wrote, “There was a log cabin there owned by the Labardy family. And this is where the State Police made their debut as movie stars performing admirably all types of outstanding horsemanship.” (At that time, most State Police officers patrolled on horseback, so they were quite skilled at riding.) She noted that the cabin appeared in the film as the Buck Horn Hotel and that “Mr. Labardy also acted in one of the scenes.”

Further research indicates that “Mr. Labardy” was likely either Oliver Labadie or his brother, Hubert. These were brothers of Jo Labadie, whose papers are housed at the University of Michigan. The Jo Labadie Collection Web site notes that Oliver and Hubert opened a film studio, which they named the Labadie-Detroit Motion Picture Company. The Web site lists some films made there, with The Rich Slave appearing on the list. (To read about the studio, click Labadie-Detroit Motion Picture Company and scroll down to the third paragraph.).

Here’s the listing for The Rich Slave from the Internet Movie Database.