In Old California (1910 film) In Old California (1910 film) In Old California is a silent movie filmed in 1910. It was the first movie shot in Hollywood, California. It was directed by D. W. Griffith of the Biograph Company (then based in New York, New York). The film is a melodrama about the Mexican era of California. Director D.W. Griffith discovered the little village of Hollywood on his trips to California and decided to shoot there because of the beautiful scenery and friendly people. On May 6, 2004 a monument was erected at 1713 Vine Street, just north of Hollywood Boulevard. The monument was
Henry W. Griffith Henry W. Griffith Henry Watson Griffith (January 11, 1897 – July 21, 1956) was an American businessman, newspaper publisher and politician from New York. He was born on January 11, 1897, in Palmyra, Wayne County, New York, the son of State Senator Frederick W. Griffith (1858–1928) and Mary (Adams) Griffith. He graduated from Palmyra High School in 1914, and "in absentia" from Hamilton College in 1918. During World War I he was a second lieutenant of field artillery of the U.S. Army. In 1925, he married Agnes McLouth, and they had four daughters. He published the "Palmyra Courier–Journal", a weekly