In 1920, the Electric Theater in Larned, Kansas featured a film starring the famous Tom Mix called "The Feud." This film showed Tom Mix as the character Jere Lynch who was supposed to be the head of a caravan that proceeded along the Santa Fe Trail.
Tom Mix was the star of many early Western silent films from 1909-1935. Mix was one of the early pop icons of the cinema and was featured in many films that were shown at the Electric Theater. Many early actors had once been outlaws, lawmen, cowboys, or pugilists which helped shape their characters. Although they were often men with their faults, they were idolized by adoring fans who only saw them for the characters they portrayed. An art form that existed over a century ago, silent movies lasted from 1903 to about 1927. Out of the nearly 11,000 major silent features, 900 of those were westerns. The cinema played a key role in society, and going to the movies was prized by anyone who could afford a movie ticket.
One of the first movies to develop the storytelling of a longer feature was the "Great Train Robbery." In 1904, John Schnack and R.R. Smith, owners of the Edison Exhibition Company, showed the movie at the Larned Opera House. This was the first full-length feature to be shown in this part of Kansas, although these two gentlemen had been touring the middle and eastern states showing shorter films since 1902. In 1910, Schnack established the Electric Theater. The company would last for over 40 years, and in 1948, Schnack was recognized as a "Pioneer of the Motion Picture Industry."
Opening next week at the Santa Fe Trail Center Museum is an exhibit "Cowboys of the Silver Screen - the First 50 Years" featuring the private collection of John Birdeno. Birdeno has collected Western movie memorabilia for nearly half a century and has known both the actors and relatives of many of the actors. The exhibit features photographs and objects of over 60 of the early Western actors both famous and obscure.