E Estrelando Pancho Villa

While filming a battle between the forces of Pancho Villa and federal troops near Ojinaga for Life of Villa (1912), cameraman Charles Rosher was captured by federal soldiers and brought before their commanding general. Rosher thought he was about to be executed as a spy, and things didn't look too good for him until the Mexican general noticed Rosher's Masonic pin in his lapel. The general then gave Rosher the Masonic greeting; it turned out he was a Mason, too. Instead of being shot as a spy, Rosher was treated as a guest, and was later released after the Mexican government made a deal with the American government that allowed their troops to cross into American territory in order to outflank Villa's forces and attack them from the rear.

At the beginning of the film, Pancho Villa makes a remark about Charlie Chaplin. This scene takes place sometime between the end of 1913 and the beginning of 1914. Chaplin made his screen debut in January 1914. In any case, there's no chance that Pancho Villa would have known Chaplin's films, considering that at that time (1914) the future star was just only another Keystone employee.

Featured in The 56th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (2004)