Tweet "WINGS" AND "BILLY AND HIS PAL" IN SAN ANTONIO

I'll be introducing a screening of the restored "Wings" (1927) in San Antonio, Texas, the city where it was produced, on May 29, 2012. The feature will be preceded by the Texas premiere of another San Antonio-produced film, "Billy and His Pal" (aka "Bobby and His Pal") (1911). This rare product of Gaston Melies's Star Film Ranch was discovered as part of the New Zealand cache in 2010. Because I've spent more than twenty years researching this subject I felt a personal responsibility for this one-reel western starring Francis Ford and Edith Storey, so my wife Claire and I sponsored its restoration and preservation.

So, as you can imagine, this will be a big night for me.

If you're anywhere near San Antonio, I hope you'll come join us. I'll be signing copies of my book "Texas Hollywood" after the screening.

May 29, 7:30pm, Santikos Bijou
4522 Fredericksburg Rd. (inside Wonderland Mall)
Tickets available at http://www.tpr.org/cinema" target="_blank, or by calling 1-800-622-8977

Frank Thompson

Good luck with the show!

The show went very well. Both WINGS and BILLY AND HIS PAL were shown simultaneously in two theaters and both houses were sold out. That afternoon before the screening, I went to visit some of my favorite ruins -- the last remaining walls of Hot Wells Hotel, where Gaston Melies and the Star Film Company lived while they were in San Antonio. The Star Film Ranch was just a stone's throw away, just across the San Antonio River. All in all, a memorable day.