San Antonio's forgotten role in Hollywood's rise
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A saloon set at Star Film Ranch in San Antonio. Photo: Courtesy of Kathryn Fuller-Seeley archive
Before Hollywood became a film mecca, the industry briefly ran through San Antonio's South Side.
Why it matters: San Antonio played a pivotal — but often forgotten — role in shifting filmmaking from New York to helping set the stage for Hollywood.
The latest: Kathryn Fuller-Seeley and Frank Thompson's new book, "The First Movie Studio in Texas," explores the stretch from 1910–1911, when French filmmaker Gaston Méliès set up Star Film Ranch near the Missions.
- "No major book that covers the silent period of Westerns ever mentions the San Antonio company," Fuller-Seeley tells Axios.
Flashback: In the early 1900s, filmmaking was dominated by Thomas Edison and centered in New York City.
- Studios shot on rooftops, limited by stage-like scenes and gray winters.
- Meanwhile, audiences moved from short magic-trick reels to wanting longer, story-driven Westerns.
- Méliès searched for the real thing and landed in San Antonio, where the landscape matched the American imagination of the West and transportation made it accessible.
What they did: The troupe produced about 70 silent films, sometimes as many as three per week, starring Edith Storey and Francis Ford.
The big picture: San Antonio became a proving ground where filmmakers learned that shooting outdoors and scaling up Westerns worked.
- "Francis Ford learned everything about movies in San Antonio that he then turned around and taught his younger brother [John Ford], who goes on to become this great Hollywood director," Fuller-Seeley tells Axios.
Yes, but: San Antonio didn't last as a hub. In the mid-1910s, filmmakers moved to California for more varied landscapes and cheaper land.
- Much of the history faded — films were lost or scattered worldwide, the Star Film Ranch home burned down, and early figures like Francis Ford didn't promote their work and slipped into the background.
What's next: Historians believe more San Antonio-made films may still sit in archives or private collections.
- At least one, "Billy and His Pal," has been recovered and digitized.
The intrigue: A familiar script is playing out in Texas as the state is using incentives and lower costs to lure filmmakers back.