March 1, 1910: The film In Old California premieres. It is silent, black & white, and a Western. It is also the 1st film ever shot in a part of Los Angeles known as Hollywood.
Director David Wark (D.W.) Griffith discovered the little village of Hollywood on his trips to California, and decided to shoot there because of the beautiful scenery and friendly people.
Set in the Mexican period of California, after independence from Spain in 1821 but before cessation to America in 1848, the 17-minute film tells of the troubled life of Perdita Lergnello, a Spanish woman who dumps her boyfriend for a rich man, and finds herself, 20 years later, married to an alcoholic with a son who takes after his father, while her ex-boyfriend has become the Governor, who hires the son, and finds he cannot reform him.
Griffith, who went on to become America's 1st great director, died in 1948. Marion Leonard, who played Perdita, lived until 1956.
In Old California was long believed to be lost, but was screened at the Beverly Hills Film Festival on May 6, 2004, a few hours after a monument to Griffith was erected at 1713 Vine Street, just north of the famous intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine. This was the first time the film had been seen by the public in 94 years.
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March 1, 1910 was a Tuesday. Actor David Niven was born. This was also the day of the Wellington Avalanche and train wreck. I have a separate entry for that event.
There were no scores on this historic day. Baseball was in Spring Training. Football was in midweek. Professional basketball barely existed. The National Hockey Association was wrapping up its 1st season, but no games were played on this day. The Montreal Wanderers won the Stanley Cup. In mid-March, the Wanderers went to New York, and played 3 games at the St. Nicholas Arena, beating the previous (and next) year's Cup winners, the Ottawa Senators, twice, before losing a 3rd game, against the Renfrew Creamery Queens.
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