Clara Bow – Wings – 1927

 

The first movie to win the Oscar for Best Picture – the silent World War I epic Wings – was filmed in San Antonio, using its many military facilities as backdrops. Kelly and Brooks Fields were used as cadet training sites. The Ft. Sam Houston gate near the Quadrangle was used in the opening shot, and Camp Stanley acted as St. Mihiel, France, where the 2nd Infantry fought. The film premiered in San Antonio on May 19, 1927, at the Texas Theatre. Proceeds from the event ($5,500) were given to a memorial fund for the 2nd Infantry Division, which lost 25,000 troops in World War I. Actors Buddy Rogers, Clara Bow, Richard Arlen, and Jobyna Ralston attended the premier of their film, as did many actors from the movie Rough Riders, which was filming in San Antonio at the time.
Only the facade of the Texas Theatre exists today on Houston Street.

 

Clara’s Closet – Home of the Unique and Antique