337. Pensacola Lawyer Goes Fisticuffs 1918

Updated: Mar 24, 2022

Once upon a time in Pensacola, a controversial film was introduced to our movie theaters for viewing by the public. The 1915 film was called "the Birth of a Nation" and has been dubbed by historians as the "most controversial film ever made in the United States." But regardless of the divisiveness of the content, the movie did in fact break numerous Hollywood records. For one, it was the longest film to date at three hours (12 reels), plus it pioneered the art of close-ups and fade outs, and it was the first to use hundreds of extras that were made to look like thousands. The director also used 3,000 horses in shifts that gave each horse two days rest between scenes. It was also the first movie to be made on location in the White House where the story line followed a pro-Union and a pro-Southern family through the Civil War up to the Reconstruction Era. It was racist in its entirety and its release created a fervor throughout the nation unequaled even for its day and time. The film opened on May 20th and ran for three days at the Isis Theater at the NE corner of Palafox and Garden Street (where the News Journal is today).

However, upon its anticipated release in Pensacola, there was several complications that resulted in one of our esteemed local attorneys becoming engaged in a street brawl with one of our renowned civic organizers. No doubt the content of the film was offensive to many, but the affray was more about the slight to one's reputation in the community that had to be rectified.

Of our two combatants, our representative jurist was none other than attorney Robert Hargis Anderson. He was born in Pensacola on August 12, 1890, the son of Dr. Warren Edward Anderson (1857-1912) and Catherine "Katie" Francis Hargis (1867-1946). His father was a prominent physician of the city and his mother was the daughter of another well-known physician Dr. Robert Bell Smith Hargis (1818-1893). His paternal grandfather, Captain William E. Anderson enlisted in the Confederate Army in 1863 with Company "H" of the Florida 11th Infantry Regiment in his hometown of Marianna, Florida. He was mustered out as a Major at the age of 45-years old eight months later. His maternal grandfather, Dr. R. B. S. Hargis was also an assistant surgeon with the Confederate Army's medical corps under General Braxton Bragg until the end of the war.

As for Robert, he grew up in the family home at 223 West Gregory Street and at the age of 18-years old went to work for the Pensacola Bank & Trust Company as a collector. Two years later he was a teller there and by 1911 was the secretary at City Hall of the City Board of Bond Trustees. In 1914, Robert married Marie E. Willard (1892-1972) and two years later, he was a lawyer living at 311 West Gadsden Street (built 1901 and still there) and a member of the Legislature.

Our second combatant was a popular merchandise broker by the name of Sidney P. Levy, He was born on February 29, 1876 in Milton, Florida and was the son of Mitchell and Anna Levy (1849-1925). Around 1907, he went to work for/with his brother Solomon for the "Frank P. Levy Company" as a merchandise broker, a position he occupied for the rest of his life. Oddly, the 1910 Census lists Sidney as a theater manager contrary to the city directory. There is no mention of his marrying during his lifetime, but he and his mother lived with Solomon at 117 North Spring until around 1921 when they all moved to 908 North Spring Street.

The crux of the disagreement was an allegation against Anderson who represented the tenants of the Keyser Building at 20 1/2 S. Palafox Street. Anderson was accused by the film's promoter Sidney Levy of putting pressure on the city commissioners on the tenant's behalf to block the showing of the movie "Birth of a Nation," which Anderson vehemently denied. An argument ensued between Anderson and Levy over the controversy as to who said what to who. Anderson clarified that what he said was that he did not represent the Keyser tenants, however he did represent the four movie theaters in Pensacola. (see the attached article)

The day after Levy's statement was published, Anderson ran into him at City Hall and Levy apologized for the offense caused by his statement. Anderson told him that a personal apology was not enough since he had made the apology publicly, but had apologized in private. Levy told him that he would make the apology publicly then. The two separated amicably until the night of March 14th when Anderson ran into him on Garden Street. He asked him as to where was the promised apology. Levy replied that he had not submitted it nor was he going to. However, before Levy finished the sentence, Anderson hit him in the face and knocked him down to the sidewalk! Levy reacted to the attack by grabbing Anderson around the knees. As Anderson tried to free himself from his grasp, Levy grabbed his hand and bit his fingertip almost off. When news of the mayhem reached the newspaper, they immediately sought out Levy for a statement, but he refused. Instead, he submitted a letter to the paper stating that the City Commissioners had prevented him from showing the "great screen spectacle of Birth of a Nation." He justified the showing by stating that he was offering this to the poorer citizens of Pensacola for only .50. His letter is shown below in its entirety.

Less than two years later, Robert Anderson took a position as the lawyer for the East Coast Railway and moved to Jacksonville, Florida. In 1956, he was elected as a circuit court judge in Miami and collapsed dead of a heart attack on January 27, 1964 in the Dade County Courthouse. As to Sidney P. Levy, he became a civic organizer in addition to his broker position (accomplishments attached to his photo below). He would pass away on July 14, 1954 and was buried with his family in the Temple Beth-El Cemetery.

Pensacola News Journal 3-10-1918

Pensacola News Journal 3-13-1918

Pensacola News Journal 3-13-1918.....the article that started the confrontation

Pensacola News Journal 3-16-1918

Pensacola News Journal 5-20-1918, Isis Theater Advertisement

The Keyser Auditorium 1918

Pensacola News Journal 3-15-1918

Pensacola News Journal 3-15-1918

Pensacola News Journal 3-15-1918

Sidney P. Levy 1948. He was the President of the Escambia Association and a member of the Florida Crippled Children's Commission. Also on the Board of Directors for the Florida Tuberculosis & Health Association as well as the Board of Managers for the Escambia County Tuberculosis Sanitorium. He was the only citizen of Pensacola to receive the Kiwanis Cup for his outstanding, unselfish civic service in Pensacola