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"A popular series of pictures called 'A Thief Chase' was posed in Bronx Park. A deserted suburban mansion served as a background
for 'A Fire in a Boarding School'.
In the 'Great Train Robbery', another popular series of pictures, the scenes showing
a dance hall, a telegraph office, and the interior of a baggage car were made in studio. The train scenes were filmed near
Paterson, N.J. A special passenger train was hired for the occasion and 300 theatrical supers were rehearsed to act as passengers,
train crew, and bandits.
Another popular series showing a trained dog picking pockets in the streets, his arrest and
punishment, were photographed in streets on Morningside Heights and Harlem.
'Curiously,' said one of the stage managers,
'the most difficult scenes of all to make are those in the city streets. When we go into the country to make films we post
a circle of pickets to keep people away from our scene. But in the city, the appearance of a camera means the gathering of
a crowd. It is next to impossible to keep people out of range.'"
The above is from the New York Times of
January 3, 1909.
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