HOLLYWOOD DISCOVERS LAS PALMAS CANTINA

By Juan Montoya
On Tuesday afternoon, the stunt coordinators for Robert Duvall's movie "A Night in Old Mexico" were going over the moves for a fight scene in the Brownsville barfly hangout.
The Palm Lounge was to become Las Palmas Cantina for the movie and the stunt coordinators were acting out the scene measuring the distance between the bar and the mirrored wall from where a drunk was to jump out at the hero, played by Duvall.
Then, yesterday afternoon, patrons were ushered out of the bar as the cameras and the movie personnel moved in and covered the entrance with thick black plastic and the local extras sauntered in and managers set up the bar scenes.
The stunt men (and women) acted out the moves as the extras sat waiting behind the curtain in the back of the bar. Waitresses moved among the stunt people placing the last touches on the tables. Along the walls, instead of Bud Light and Lite been signs, Pacifica Beer banners hung over the bar's photos.
The large round tables were removed and smaller tables were placed in their stead to give the impression of a small-town cantina on the border.
A look-alike of Duvall (albeit much younger) worked with the stunt coordinators acting out the way he was going to grab the drunk and heave him over his shoulder and into the bar counter. Several stunt men practiced throwing punches toward the center of the floor.

As usual, these things take time and as the actors and stuntmen worked out their moves just as they did when they filmed at Charlie's Bar on 14th Street, and Domino's Bar on Market Square. If the places they filmed are any indication of the plot of the money it'll be a bar-hopping fisticuffs affair. At the Palm lounge a couple of ugly garishly-made up bar ficheras sat awaiting their turn to shine while a young bar girl named Maria who we have seen around town also waited nervously for her turn under the lights.

Heaven knows what the plot of "A Night in Old Mexico" will be, but we can almost guarantee that some of the places featured in the film will be all but unrecognizable even to old-time Brownsville residents. But for the last two days, the familiar Palm Lounge was transformed into a Hollywood set awaiting its place in movie lore.