Page "History of film" Paragraph 72

The move to filming in California had begun when Selig, one of the MPPC companies, sent a production unit there in 1909.

Other companies, both independents and members of the MPPC, then sent units to work there in the summer to take advantage of the sunshine and scenery.

The latter was important for the production of Westerns, which now formed a major American film genre.

The first cowboy star was G. M.

Anderson (" Broncho Billy "), directing his own Western dramas for Essanay, but in 1911 Tom Mix brought the kind of costumes and stunt action used in live Wild West shows to Selig film productions, and became the biggest cowboy star for the next two decades.