By Besty J. Green
The “Flying A” silent movie “Soul Mates” was released on May 8, 1916. It takes place on the East Coast, but was filmed at the “Casa Buenaventura” – one of the million-dollar estates in Montecito.
This movie should have been called “Married, But Not to Each Other,” or maybe “Sour Mates.” It’s all about infidelity and suicide, and a six-year-old Santa Barbara girl had a part. Hopefully, they kept her in the dark about the film’s theme.
“Little Dodo Newton, the clever girl who is well-known and loved by many in Santa Barbara, will please many of her friends by her work in “Soul Mates” . . . She plays a strong-boy part through the five reels.” – Santa Barbara Daily News & Independent, July 24, 1916