A Nickelodeon Exposed a Wife's Secret
A Seattle man at a five-cent theater recognized his supposedly visiting wife—and another man—in a moving picture of San Francisco, setting off a divorce suit.
Seattle, Aug. 10. — F. W. Shire, while attending a five-cent theater, received a great surprise. One of the moving pictures was of San Francisco at fleet time. Shire saw two familiar faces near the curb. One was his wife, supposed to be visiting her sister in Spokane. The other was a man who had roomed at the Shire home. Suit for divorce is now pending.
“One was his wife, supposed to be visiting her sister in Spokane. The other was a man who had roomed at the Shire home.”
Long before doorbell cameras and social media, a public movie reel could expose a private life. The story shows how new media in 1909—cheap nickelodeons—could turn ordinary street footage into evidence and spectacle.
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