Mavericks and (M)ad Men: The Industrial Film Legacy of Dallas

Surviving film and videotape collections tell the story of a few of the independent filmmakers who turned the Texas metroplex into an epicenter for commercial film production.

What comes to mind when you think of media depictions of Dallas, Texas? Perhaps... Dallas? On the air from 1978 to 1991, the CBS blockbuster series remains one of the longest-running hourlong, primetime dramas in US television history. An estimated 350 million people tuned in on November 21, 1980, to solve the program's "Who shot J.R.?" mystery. American viewership alone was 83 million, representing 76 percent of all US televisions at the time.

Linda Gray on Her Role in Dallas | Segment from On the Set of Dallas (1980s) by KFDM-TVTexas Archive of the Moving Image

Interview with Linda Gray

Dallas follows the drama surrounding the Ewings, an oil-wealthy Texas family. In this 1980 segment for KFDM-TV's PM Magazine, co-host Leeza Gibbons visits the home of star Linda Gray to discuss her role as villain Sue Ellen Ewing and her struggle to learn a Texas accent.

But the city's history as a destination for on-location filming extends beyond the iconic primetime soap. The Wheelan-Loper Film Company of Dallas and San Antonio was formed in 1908. Spencer Williams shot ten race films—or films with a Black cast intended for a Black audience—in Dallas in the 1940s. And following the success of Bonnie and Clyde (1967), shot in the Dallas area, the city would attract a number of projects, including Fandango (1985), JFK (1991), Wishbone, and Walker, Texas Ranger.

Dallas could not have supported the making of popular film and television, however, if independent filmmakers had not already cultivated national renown for another kind of production—commercial film production, e.g., newsreels, industrial and promotional films, government and educational films, and television commercials. Surviving archival collections showcase a few of the pioneers that helped establish this creative legacy and earned Dallas the nickname "Little New York of the Southwest."

Jamieson Film Company

Still from Jamieson Film Company Demo Reel (1970s) by Jamieson Film CompanyTexas Archive of the Moving Image

Hugh Jamieson

Born in Kansas in 1889, Hugh Jamieson operated a movie theater and sold Kinetoscope for Thomas Edison's company before setting out to produce his own films. He moved to Dallas in 1916, opening the Jamieson Film Company the same year. 

Interview with Hugh V. Jamieson | Segment (1970s) by KERATexas Archive of the Moving Image

Interview with Hugh V. Jamieson

Most Jamieson films no longer exist. The company first produced footage of community events, advertisements, and a few dramatic narratives. Jamieson also built his own film processing machines and sound equipment. In this 1970s interview, he recounts stories from his early days.

Newsreel companies for major distributors like Universal, Pathé, Paramount, and RKO called on Jamieson to cover Dallas-area events, from the sentencing of George "Machine Gun" Kelly (the first synchronous sound footage ever shot in a federal courtroom) to the New London school explosion. In 1942, he joined the federal War Production Advisory Committee for advertising and industrial filmmakers and distributors, after which his company became a noted producer of military and government films.

Vision in Military Aviation | Segment, Jamieson Film Company, 1960s, From the collection of: Texas Archive of the Moving Image
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Aircraft Work Inspection, No. 5 - Hardness Testing | Segment, Jamieson Film Company, 1940s, From the collection of: Texas Archive of the Moving Image
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Jamieson became nationally known for processing the infamous Zapruder film, but Vision in Military Aviation provides a different example of the company's many government collaborations. Jamieson also produced films for non-military government projects, working with the Federal Security Agency and the US Office of Education to make Aircraft Work Inspection, No. 5 - Hardness Testing (Rockwell), which trains workers on how to test the strength of metal airplane parts.

While government and military contracts continued, the company also produced industrial and promotional films, television programs, and television commercials. Sons Bruce and Hugh Jr. took over company leadership in 1953, turning Jamieson into a studio-concept business with its own lab and a staff of camera operators, writers, editors, and animators—many of whom went on to successful careers in the film industry or even start their own production houses.

Bill Stokes Associates

Still from Windows in Time (1980s) by Bill Stokes AssociatesTexas Archive of the Moving Image

Bill Stokes

Bill Stokes began his film career at Jamieson. He went on to form the Dallas-based production company Bill Stokes Associates, later known as the Stokes Group, in 1965. Son Don worked at both Jamieson and Stokes before founding his own house, Post Asylum, in 2002.

With its staff of directors, writers, camera operators, animators, editors, sound recordists, and other crew members, Stokes produced industrial and promotional films as well as television commercials for a range of clients, including both local names like the Dallas Morning News and the University of Texas at Dallas and national brands like Frito-Lay and Kroger. Like Jamieson, the company also received government contracts, making recruitment films for the United States Navy and Marine Corps.

The Computer Tutor | Segment, Bill Stokes Associates, 1960s, From the collection of: Texas Archive of the Moving Image
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Pearl's a Poppin' | Segment, Bill Stokes Associates, 1970s, From the collection of: Texas Archive of the Moving Image
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Strictly On Your Own | Segment, Bill Stokes Associates, 1970s, From the collection of: Texas Archive of the Moving Image
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Films produced by Stokes spoke to a wide range of audiences. Industrial films like The Computer Tutor... or How to Teach Your Computer to Read addressed the business sector, introducing technology developed by Recognition Equipment. Marketing films like Pearl's a Poppin' were intended for product distributors, teaching Pearl Beer sales representatives about a new advertising campaign. And the military used government films like Strictly on Your Own to explain the enlistment process to recruits.

Visual Presentations

Still from Visual Presentations Ad Reel, no. 2 (1960s) by Visual PresentationsTexas Archive of the Moving Image

Bert Rodriguez

The owner of two Dallas production companies, Visual Presentations and Image House, Bert Rodriguez produced commercials for clients including Dodge, Silly Putty, and Old Home Bread. For the latter, he won multiple Clio Awards—the advertising industry's top honor.

Old Home Is a Romance | Old Home Bread Commercial, no. 2, Visual Presentations, 1970s, From the collection of: Texas Archive of the Moving Image
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Sandwich Making History | Butter Krust Commercial, no. 1, Visual Presentations, 1980s, From the collection of: Texas Archive of the Moving Image
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RadioShack Commercial, no. 1, Visual Presentations, 1980s, From the collection of: Texas Archive of the Moving Image
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Visual Presentations partnered with both regional and national brands, as evidenced by this trio of commercials. The company's award-winning Old Home Bread campaign marked the debut of country singer C.W. McCall (the stage name for Bill Fries). Then the creative director at advertising agency Bozell & Jacobs in Omaha, Nebraska, Fries co-wrote and sang the featured songs, while Dallas actors Jim Finlayson and Jean McBride Capps played truck driver McCall and waitress Mavis Davis, respectively. 

Visual's commercials often featured catchy tunes—take these earworms promoting Lone Star Beer and Play Mate, for example. The trend shows off another strength of Dallas commercial film production: its reputation as a jingle hub. KLIF's Tom Merriman and WFAA's Bill Meeks developed the concept of mass-produced radio jingles in the 1950s. Musical breaks soon became industry practice, prompting songwriters, musicians, and music producers to flock to Dallas to meet the demand for marketing jingles.

TracyLocke

Shelley Tracy and Raymond Locke opened the Southwestern Advertising Agency, later known as TracyLocke, in Oklahoma City in 1913. Four years later, the company moved to Dallas, where its headquarters remain. TracyLocke developed a number of enduring advertising campaigns, from the call to drink Dr Pepper at "10, 2, and 4" to the rebranding of 7-Eleven. The company also coined terms like "slacks" and "metroplex," the latter to describe the vast Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area.

Impy | Imperial Sugar Commercial, no. 7, Jamieson Film Company, 1950s, From the collection of: Texas Archive of the Moving Image
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Wild with Flavor | Frito-Lay Jalapeño Bean Dip Commercial, Bill Stokes Associates, 1960s, From the collection of: Texas Archive of the Moving Image
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Have a Ball with Dr Pepper | Dr Pepper Commercial, no. 3, Visual Presentations, 1960s, From the collection of: Texas Archive of the Moving Image
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TracyLocke partnered with Jamieson, Stokes, and Visual Presentations, among others, to make commercials and industrial films for its clients, which included iconic Texas-based brands like Dr Pepper, Borden DairyMrs. Baird's Bread, Frito-Lay, and Imperial Sugar. These videos demonstrate not only those collaborations but also the animation capabilities of Dallas film production companies, which kept animators on staff. Jamieson's John Beasley brought Imperial Sugar mascot Impy to life.

The Industrial Film Legacy of Dallas

This story highlights Dallas production companies and filmmakers found in the Texas Archive of the Moving Image online video collection. But countless other "mavericks and (m)ad men" called Dallas home, including S.F. "Brownie" Brownrigg, Joe Camp, Victor Duncan, Hope Yvonne Peters, Robert Redd, Larry Stouffer, Jack Whitman, and Gordon Yoder.

The Academy for the Preservation of Talking Pictures (1980s) by Academy for the Preservation of Talking PicturesTexas Archive of the Moving Image

The Academy for the Preservation of Talking Pictures

Established in 1989, the Dallas organization assembled veterans of the Texas film industry to celebrate their achievements and award the next generation of filmmakers with project grants.  

Photo courtesy of Mark Beasley

Together, Dallas independent filmmakers produced an extensive body of work seen around the globe and laid the foundation for the thriving Texas film industry of the present day. Much of their immense output no longer exists or survives only in personal collections. Their legacy continues not only through archival film preservation but also among the new generations of Dallas talent that sustain the city's starring role as a major center for media production.

Credits: Story

Mavericks and (M)ad Men: The Industrial Film Legacy of Dallas was curated by Katharine Austin for the Texas Archive of the Moving Image as a part of the Texas Film Commission's Texas Moving Image Archive Program.

Edited and produced by Caroline Frick and Elizabeth Hansen.

It features archival materials contributed to the award-winning Texas Film Round-Up program by the following individuals and organizations: Bruce Jamieson, Daniel Redd, Bert Rodriguez, Don Stokes, Sugar Land Heritage Foundation, Tyrrell Historical Library, and USNA Nimitz Library. Special thanks to Mark Beasley. 

Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.
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