The Shot Seen Around the World

In the rear of a Chinese laundry near Olive and 7th streets, work began on “Across the Divide,” the first dramatic film shot entirely in the Los Angeles area. Produced by William Selig, who had recently brought his Selig Polyscope Co. from Chicago, the film was directed by Francis Boggs and shot by cameraman Thomas Persons. In May, the company filmed a dramatic feature titled “The Sultan’s Power,” starring stage actor Hobart Bosworth, who noted in his diary: “On Saturday and yesterday I acted as leading man before a Kinetascope. A strange but not unpleasant experience and I look forward to seeing myself act when the films are given here. I was paid $125 for two days’ work -- my climax in days’ earning.”