bjgreen
Dateline: April 1911
In 1911, the Méliès Manufacturing Company considered settling here to make
Westerns. “The cow punchers of the company attracted considerable attention on State Street yesterday, and although they refrained from indulging in the stunts that they are called upon to do before the camera during working hours, they managed to have a thoroughly good time without the assistance of shoeing irons and bucking broncos. They were dressed for the part, however, and made an imposing show.” – Santa Barbara Morning Press, April 26, 1911
The group hung around here for a couple of months and did some filming, but they soon moved on and settled in Santa Paula. The film “A Spanish Love Song” was filmed here, however.
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Correction!
I based this post on information from IMDb.com. Unfortunately, the info there is incorrect. The film “A Spanish Love Song” was actually filmed in San Antonio, Texas. IMDb also lists the wrong name for the film’s leading actress.
(I want to thank film historian Frank Thompson for contacting me and graciously supplying me with the correct information. He is the author of “The Star Film Ranch: Texas’ First Picture Show,” 1996.)