The Waxahachie daily light. [volume] (Waxahachie, Tex.) 1894-current, 1911-01-04
MAKING CANNED DRAMA IN TEXAS
Moving Picture Concern Turning
Out Blood Curdling Tragedies
and Romantic Love Affairs.

Canned drama" by the whole
sale is being made in San Antonio.
In the pecan forests along the San
Antonio river, near the three an
cient missions, blood curdling fights
between Indians and cowboys are
taking place one day, while the next
sees comedy or romantic love affair.
Advantage is being taken OF the sum-
mer weather prevailing there
throughout the winter and hun
dreds of thousands of feet OF finn
are being made for moving pic
lures by large troupe of actors,
who, correctly costumed, take tht
greenwood, or the gray and crumb-
ing missions as the stage.
CASTOR Melies, at the head OF one
of the largest picture manufactur~
ing plants of it's kind in the world,
factory that supplies mang hum
dreds of moving picture shows DAY
by day, has sent one OF his best
companies there to produce the ma
terial. Constant rehearsals are in
progress All the .'Star Film Ranch,
the name given the ground where
these actor folk rehearse. When a
picture drama is ready to be given
1t is like a scene from real life IN
front of the cameras of the photog-
raphers. Sometimes as many as TWO
hundred persons are engaged at one
time the extra number being made
nm of the "supes" hired in town.
Most of the dramas depicted hinge
on Western life of the pioneer days.
villages have been made to burn
after che stealthv assault of hideous-
" painted savages; United states
troops. their horses covered with
the white alkali dust of the plains,
have pursued the fighting Indians
at break-neck speed, and again, the
story of the Spanish occupation OF
Sar Antonio has been told with the
trctureaquefy garbed young hfdafs"
in flower covered canoe serenad-
ing from the river the coquettish
senorita. The setting represents
very closely the old Spanish adobe
houses with their iron-barred win
dows and rose-trellsed walls. Then.
there have been long professions
the Franciscan friars
on some ancient fiesta day, with
the inevitable romance. usually on
the Carmen order, thrown In.
Permission was sought from the
city to use Alamo Plaza for a pic
ture of the fall of the Alamo, but
this was denied, since the Plaza,
one of the busiest sections OF the
city. would have to be roped In, ano
all traffic excluded while the battle
was in progress. II was proposed
to use about five hundred men, rep
resenting Santa Annals Mexican cav
alry and infantry. giving the three
assaults upon the historic chapel ana
convent building. The defenders
with small cannon, were to be sta
toned on the wall and everythins
was planned to be as historically
accurate as possible. The city au-
thorities held that 500 muskets with
the volleving of cannon would start
too many runaways and dfsorganlZe
business to such an extent that the
fall OF the Alamo, although intense
w spectacular, would be unprofita-
bic The moving picture people had
gone so far as to ask permission to
Use the United States troops sta
toned at Fort Sam Houston. The
men uttered an indignant protest
against wearing the Mexican uni
form of Santa Anna's day, and it Is
not probable that even had the city
that the Department OF
Texas commander would have per-
mitted the troops to participate