By Betsy J. Green
Commercials in movie theaters have existed just as long as moving images have been shown. Back in Santa Barbara in 1916, moviegoers here watched an infomercial titled, “Death Valley Dodge and Its Mountain and Desert Travels.”
The local paper wrote: “This unusual car has battled its way through every noted desert of the Southwest, has climbed inconceivable steep mountains, and holds the unique double record of having been driven from below sea level to the highest point ever reached by automobile on the Pacific Coast.”
Then came the film’s thrilling conclusion: “It ends with a race between the Death Valley Dodge and a Southern Pacific train when the automobile attains a speed of 62 miles an hour.” (Way back when, the speed limit in downtown Santa Barbara was 15 miles per hour.)
