This Week in Aspen History

“Famous Movie Show Tonight,” proclaimed the Aspen Democrat-Times on April 10, 1917. “Dodge Brothers dealer to show western desert film. It has been decided definitely that the ‘Death Valley Dodge’ motion pictures will be shown in Aspen. Word has been received by The Aspen Mercantile Co., Dodge Brothers local dealer, that the film has been allotted to him for Tuesday, April 10^th, when it will be shown at the Isis Theatre. The coming of this production insures for Aspen an opportunity to see the ‘unbelievable’ in motoring. The Death Valley Dodge’s feats sound almost impossible until enacted on the screen as they must have been enacted in reality. The film provided by Dodge Brothers for the benefit of their dealers, patrons and the public in general leaves little opportunity for imagination. While not taken in Death Valley, where the car got its name, the picture provides a realistic view of other trips, almost equally hazardous through deserts and mountains of the west. Sands, rocks and rivers form no barrier.  Mountains are made mere mole hills. The scenery throughout is in turn awe-inspiring and magnificent. Critics have termed it one of the most remarkable pictures yet produced. The fact that all these obstacles were surmounted by an ordinary stock car selected from the salesroom of the Los Angeles dealer, speaks highly for the quality of Dodge Brothers motor car. ‘This picture must be exceptionally vivid and convincing,’ states the Aspen Mercantile Co., ‘or the company would not expend an enormous sum to produce it before the entire country and even in cities of other nations.'”