IN THE MOVIES

Many films have been shot in Northeast New Mexico. The variety of terrain - from desert to mountain to grasslands - has offered great locale for many Hollywood films since the beginning of the motion picture industry.

Why have so many films been shot in Las Vegas?

Promo shot of Tom Mix from Weary Goes A-Wooing (1915)

Las Vegas has been a favorite setting and location for films since the beginning of the film industry. One of the first to discover it was Tom Mix who stopped there on a train ride from Hollywood to Pennsylvania (his home). He got off that train, started exploring town, and fell in love with the place. As you see below, he shot many of his films there. He loved the variety of western terrain and the people of Las Vegas who made everything easy for his productions. He said if he ever could break away from Hollywood, he'd move to Las Vegas and live out his days there.

Las Vegas has always offered a variety of locales and 'feels' for different movies. Located between the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains, it has great expanses of open space, mountains, lakes, and the town itself has beautiful old neighborhoods with a variety of architecture - from Victorian to Plains to Southwest styles. Over 900 homes and buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This small town makes it easy on the production crews to manage equipment trucks and crews, while affording a variety of hotels and accommodations for large movie crews.

In addition, there's an abundance of livestock from all the ranches in the area, Las Vegas has its own small airport, and there's a large airport in Albuquerque. All this adds up to a great location for movie-making. This was true in 1915, and is still true today.

Films Shot in Northeast New Mexico