![](https://www.betsyjgreen.com/rails/active_storage/representations/redirect/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBd203QVE9PSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--596d677986ad1aafb665a5c326866818ef01e4ae/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaDdCem9MWm05eWJXRjBTU0lJYW5CbkJqb0dSVlE2RkhKbGMybDZaVjkwYjE5c2FXMXBkRnNIYVFMZ0FXa0M0QUU9IiwiZXhwIjpudWxsLCJwdXIiOiJ2YXJpYXRpb24ifX0=--d00c0b801be2eac628730b2b4ffb891cbdd69dfe/6-12_-_the_roman_-_still.jpg)
Scene from The Roman
The Roman
This 1910 one-reel religious drama was the first movie to be filmed here. The Roman stars Hobart Bosworth who, despite his unwieldy name, was a respected stage actor who switched to silent movies because of voice problems. He plays the part of Spurious Maelius, another guy with a name problem. Believe it or not, Spurious is actually a good guy in this movie. Go figure!
This is one of the 60+ movies that I discovered in my research for a book about silent movies made in Montecito.