A movie ranch is a ranch that is at least partially dedicated for use as a set in the creation and production of motion pictures and television shows. These were developed in the United States in southern California, because of the climate.
83-921: Movie ranches were developed in the 1920s for location shooting in Southern California to support the making of popular western films. Finding it difficult to recreate the topography of the Old West on sound stages and studio backlots , the Hollywood studios went to the rustic valleys, canyons and foothills of Southern California for filming locations. Other large-scale productions, such as war films, also needed large, undeveloped settings for outdoor scenes, such as battles. To achieve greater scope, productions conducted location shooting in distant parts of California, Arizona , and Nevada . Initially production staff were required to cover their own travel expenses, resulting in disputes between workers and
166-436: A Scanity starting in 2013. Beginning in 1952, the series began by using unconventional methods. First, the show was syndicated to local markets rather than released nationally. Second, they aired new programs every other week, rather than weekly. At the time, the conventional approach was exactly the opposite - national release on a weekly schedule in order to achieve a consistent audience. However, McCann-Erickson felt that
249-424: A soundstage while exterior scenes will be shot on location. Second unit photography is not generally considered a location shoot. Before filming, the locations are generally surveyed in pre-production , a process known as location scouting and recce . Location shooting has several advantages over filming on a studio set. First and foremost, the expense can often be far lower than that of constructing sets in
332-554: A 2,700-acre (11 km) ranch on Medea Creek in the Santa Monica Mountains near Agoura Hills , between Malibu and the Conejo Valley . The studio built numerous large-scale sets on the ranch, including a huge replica of early San Francisco , an Old West town, and a Welsh mining village (built by 20th Century Fox for (1941) How Green Was My Valley , and later redressed (with coal mine tipple removed) as
415-525: A French village for use in (1943) The Song of Bernadette , and again used for (1949) The Inspector General ). Western town sets posed as Tombstone, Arizona, and Dodge City, Kansas, as well as Tom Sawyer's Missouri, 13th-century China, and many other locales and eras around the world. It is now Paramount Ranch Park in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area . The National Park Service took over
498-417: A backlot. Additionally, a given location may have inconvenient restrictions. The convenience store where Clerks was shot was open during the day, so the crew could only shoot at night; this necessitated the shutters on the windows be closed to hide the fact that it was dark outside. Location shooting often takes place close to the studio; in Hollywood films, this region is delineated in union agreements and
581-448: A complete adobe village survived on the northeast section of the ranch. In 1990, after the death of his horse ' Champion ,' which Autry had kept in retirement there, the actor put the remaining 12-acre (4.9 ha) ranch up for sale. It was purchased by Renaud and Andre Veluzat to be developed as an active movie ranch for location shooting . The Veluzats have a 22-acre (8.9 ha) complex of sound stages , western sets , prop shop, and
664-633: A farmer married to Bessie Iverson, owning the northern half (the Upper Iverson). In the mid-1960s the state of California began construction on the Simi Valley Freeway , which ran east and west, roughly following the dividing line between the Upper Iverson and Lower Iverson, cutting the movie ranch in half. That separated the ranch, and also produced noise, making the property less useful for moviemaking. The waning popularity of
747-477: A five-year lease on a parcel of land in central Placerita Canyon. The western town constructed there was located just east of what is now the junction of the Route 14 Antelope Valley Freeway and Placerita Canyon Road. Today this is part of Disney 's Golden Oak Ranch (see below) near Placerita Canyon State Park . In 1935, as a result of a Monogram-Republic studio merger, the 'Placerita Canyon Ranch' became owned by
830-454: A form of escapism, I think". Filming on set also avoided additional fees from location shooting, Adams added, while director of photography Claude Renoir said that he preferred to film indoors because of better control of lighting. Shooting on a set gives the crew a greater control over the environment: a room may be created to the exacting specifications of the story, for example, and there is no need to shut down street traffic when shooting on
913-469: A handful of the productions that were filmed at the ranch. The rocky terrain and narrow, winding roads frequently turned up in Republic serials of the 1940s and were prominently featured in chases and shootouts throughout the golden era of action B-Westerns in the 1930s and 1940s. For the 1945 Western comedy Along Came Jones , producer and star Gary Cooper had a Western town built at the ranch; this set
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#1732776782003996-481: A larger real estate deal to be completed in 2023 which will see the studio get ownership of The Burbank Studios in time to mark its 100th anniversary. All historic sets and sound stages were demolished during December, 2023. Circa 1937, Ray "Crash" Corrigan invested in property on the western Santa Susana Pass in California's Simi Valley and Santa Susana Mountains , developing his 'Ray Corrigan Ranch' into
1079-429: A number of reasons why a production may choose not to shoot on location. While The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) filmed on location for many scenes, including one at Faslane that saved millions, production designer Ken Adam said that because of "television and new camera lenses and commercials, real life has been so much exploited", while using the giant new 007 Stage helped "provide a form of magic, of artificiality ...
1162-502: A radio program to highlight Death Valley, the obscure location of much of the company's borax mining operations. McCann copywriter Ruth Woodman, who had experience with radio copywriting, was selected to write the show. As a long-time New Yorker, Woodman had never been to Death Valley and the initial story of the discovery of borax was written entirely from reference books. Woodman eventually decided to visit Death Valley, and eventually made several trips there to research story material for
1245-468: A rustic western town, Mexican village, western ranch, outlaw hide-out shacks, cavalry fort, Corsican village, English hunting lodge, country schoolhouse, rodeo arena, mine-shaft, wooded lake, and interesting rock formations. This amusement park concept closed in 1966. In spite of Corriganville's weekend tourist trade, production of films continued. The action TV series The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin used
1328-402: A section of the lot in 1980 and restored the sets, working from old black and white photographs. The NPS website lists movie and TV productions filmed there. Location shooting Location shooting is the shooting of a film or television production in a real-world setting rather than a sound stage or backlot . The location may be interior or exterior. The filming location may be
1411-409: A studio. The illusion of reality can also be stronger; on a set, it is hard to replicate real-world wear and tear, as well as architectural details, and the vastness of a city is difficult to recreate on a backlot. The failure of Camelot (1967) caused American filmmakers to shift exterior shots from studio backlots to authentic locations. The film was widely criticized for its cheap look because it
1494-495: Is a partial listing of some of the classic Southern California movie ranches from the first half of the 20th century, including some other and newer locations. Located in the town of Apache Junction , Arizona, the Apacheland Movie Ranch and Apacheland Studio was developed from 1959 to 1960 and opened in 1960. Starting in late 1957, movie studios had been contacting Superstition Mountain-area ranchers, including
1577-439: Is known as the studio zone . Many location shoots, however, are far from the home studio, sometimes on the other side of the world. In these instances, location shooting can provide significant economic development benefits to the area in which they are shot. Cast and crew heavily rely upon local facilities such as catering, transportation, and accommodations. A film that becomes a blockbuster hit can introduce movie audiences around
1660-627: Is located near Santa Clarita, California , just north of Newhall Pass . In 1962 a brush fire destroyed most of the western town sets on the ranch, and Autry sold 98-acre (40 ha), most of Melody Ranch. The remaining 22-acre (8.9 ha) property was purchased by the Veluzats in 1990 for the new Melody Ranch Studios movie ranch. From 1926, early silent films were often shot in Placerita Canyon, including silent film westerns featuring Tom Mix . In 1931, Monogram Pictures took out
1743-469: Is one of the first anthology series to appear on television, featuring different characters and stories each episode. The stories were based in fact, all within the legends and lore of California's Death Valley . Style varied by episode, with some being drama and others comedy. Most were human-interest stories of miners and homesteaders in Death Valley, where borax was mined. Advertisements for
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#17327767820031826-559: Is to be used in The Rose of the Ranch" which has just been started. The new ground is to be used for big scenes and where a large location is needed. A stock farm is to be maintained on the ranch. It is planned to use 500 people in the story. There will be 150 people transported through Southern California for the mission scenes. The studio will be used for the largest scene ever set up, the whole state and ground space being utilized." In 1963,
1909-547: The Ahmanson family 's Home Savings and Loan purchased the property and adjacent land. Home Savings and Loan was the parent company of Ahmanson Land Company , and so the ranch became known as the Ahmanson Ranch. Washington Mutual Bank (WAMU) took over ownership of Home Savings and proceeded with the development plans for the ranch. The public advocacy for undeveloped open space pressure was very strong, and development
1992-482: The Death Valley country of southeastern California . Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program was broadcast on radio until 1945. From 1952 to 1970, it became a syndicated television series , with reruns (updated with new narrations) continuing through August 1, 1975. The radio and television versions combined to make the show "one of the longest-running Western programs in broadcast history." The series
2075-557: The Isle of Man , a crown dependency of the United Kingdom, have dedicated film offices to encourage location shooting, and to suggest appropriate locations to film-makers. In many cases a second unit is dispatched to film on location, with a second unit director and sometimes with stand-in actors. These shots can then be edited into the final film or TV program alongside studio-shot sequences, to give an authentic flavor, without
2158-574: The Santa Monica Mountains , and the Santa Clarita area of the Greater Los Angeles Area . The natural California landscape proved to be suitable for western locations and other settings. As a result of post-war (WWII) era suburban development, property values and taxes on land increased, even as fewer large parcels were available to the studios. Los Angeles development was widespread, resulting in urban sprawl . Most of
2241-724: The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy since 1987. The location of the ranch was in the northwest corner of Chatsworth , along the western side of Topanga Canyon Boulevard where it currently intersects with the Simi Valley Freeway. The First Lasky Ranch in the San Fernando Valley was located on the Providencia Ranch. In 1912, Universal purchased the property and named it Oak Crest Ranch. This old Universal ranch
2324-461: The Simi Hills on Santa Susana Pass in what is now Chatsworth , eventually expanding their land holdings to about 500 acres (200 ha). They reportedly allowed a movie to be shot on the property as early as 1912, with the silent movies Man's Genesis (1912), My Official Wife (1914), and The Squaw Man (1914) being some of the productions often cited as among the earliest films shot on
2407-620: The backlots . They call it the 'Melody Ranch Motion Picture Studio' and 'Melody Ranch Studios.' The ranch has a museum open year-round. One weekend a year the entire ranch is open to the public during the Cowboy Poetry & Music Festival , held at the end of April. The 22-acre (8.9 ha) Melody Ranch Studio was used in 2012 for filming some scenes for Quentin Tarantino 's Django Unchained . The owners in 2019 were Renaud and Andre Veluzat. In 1927, Paramount Studios purchased
2490-572: The ' Corriganville Movie Ranch .' Most of the Monogram Range Busters film series, which includes Saddle Mountain Roundup (1941) and Bullets and Saddles (1943), were shot here, as well as features such as Fort Apache (1948), The Inspector General (1949), Mysterious Island (1961), and hundreds more . Corrigan opened portions of his vast movie ranch to the public in 1949 on weekends to explore such themed sets as
2573-559: The 110-acre (45 ha) 'Monogram Ranch' property from the Hickson heirs in 1953. He renamed the property 'Melody Ranch' after his 1940 film of the same name , and his following Sunday afternoon CBS radio show (1940–1956) and . A brushfire swept through 'Monogram Ranch' in August 1962, destroying most of the original standing western sets. The devastated landscape was useful for productions such as Combat! . A large Spanish hacienda, and
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2656-465: The 1965 segment "A City Is Born" in which he played mining developer Charles Poston , the "Father of Arizona ". When Reagan left to run for governor of California, he was succeeded by Robert Taylor . Like Reagan, Taylor appeared as a character in some of the shows, including "The Day All Marriages Were Cancelled" (1966), also based on the career of Charles Poston. He portrayed Horace Bell in another 1967 episode, "Major Horace Bell." That same year in
2739-532: The 20 mule team and the bugle call. The restored TV series continues to be rebroadcast on channels such as the Encore Westerns Channel and GRIT . Shout! Factory (on behalf of Element 5 Media LLC and Rio Tinto), has released the first two seasons on DVD in Region 1 . Both seasons were released as Walmart exclusives. The third season was released on March 21, 2017 The thirteenth season
2822-581: The Apacheland Barn, both of which survived the second fire, were donated to the Superstition Mountain Museum. Each structure was partially disassembled at the ranch, moved by truck, and reassembled on the museum grounds, where both stand today. Columbia Pictures , 411 North Hollywood Way, Burbank, CA, purchased the original 40-acre (16 ha) lot in 1934 as additional space to its Sunset Gower studio location, when Columbia
2905-544: The Fort Apache set for many shots from 1954 to 1959. Roy Rogers , Lassie , and Emergency! production units also filmed scenes on the ranch. In 1966, Corriganville became 'Hopetown' when it was purchased by Bob Hope for real estate development. A wildfire destroyed the buildings in 1970. About 200 acres (81 ha) of the original 2,000 acres (810 ha) is part of the Simi Valley Park system, open to
2988-515: The Matter with Helen? . It is commonly believed, though not the case, that Leave It to Beaver was filmed here, ('Beaver' actually filmed (first season) at CBS Studio Center – née Radford Studios and later at Universal Studios ). The Waltons originally filmed on the Warner Bros. main lot where the recognizable house facade was located until it burned down in late 1991. A recreation of
3071-762: The Menace , The Hathaways , The Iron Horse , I Dream of Jeannie (which also used the Father Knows Best house exterior), Bewitched , The Monkees , Apple's Way , and The Partridge Family (which also filmed on ranch sound stages ). A short list of the many classic feature films which filmed scenes on the movie ranch would include; Lost Horizon , Blondie , Melody in Spring , You Were Never Lovelier , Kansas City Confidential , High Noon , The Wild One , Autumn Leaves , 3:10 to Yuma , The Last Hurrah , Cat Ballou , and What's
3154-529: The Pacific Electric railway services, by rail to The Oak Crest Station and then Vehicle by way todays Barham Blvd. ( Mammoth Film Plant : Van Nuys News and the Nuys Call, Nov. 29 1912) On August 4, 1918, Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company began leasing the property. It consisted of 500 acres, with an additional 1,500 acres of adjoining government land which they were allowed to use. The ranch
3237-845: The Quarter Circle U, the Quarter Circle W, and the Barkley Cattle Ranch, for options to use their properties as town sets. One notable production during this time was Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957) with Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster . Though historically inaccurate, it features the area known as Gold Canyon, with the Superstitions prominent behind the movie's representation of the Clanton ranch. During this time, Victor Panek contacted his neighbors in Apache Junction, Mr. and Mrs. J.K. Hutchens, to suggest
3320-563: The Spanish colonial era, and a few recounted stories from the early 20th century. Each of the 452 television episodes was introduced by a host . The longest running was "The Old Ranger," a character played by veteran actor Stanley Andrews from 1952 to 1964. Following the departure of Andrews, all subsequent hosts appeared under their own names, starting with Ronald Reagan , the former host of CBS's General Electric Theater . Reagan appeared in 21 episodes of Death Valley Days , including
3403-647: The Walton house was built on the Warner Bros. Ranch lot, utilizing the woodland mountain set originally utilized by Apple's Way , and later occasionally used by Fantasy Island TV shows. The facade remains and has been used in numerous productions such as NCIS , The Middle , and Pushing Daisies . On April 15, 2019, it was announced that Warner Bros. will sell the property to Worthe Real Estate Group and Stockbridge Real Estate Fund as part of
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3486-636: The Western genre and the decline of the B-movie coincided with the arrival of the freeway, which opened in 1967, and greater development pressure, signaling the end for Iverson as a successful movie ranch. The last few movies that filmed some scenes here included Support Your Local Sheriff (1968) and Pony Express Rider (1976). In 1982, Joe Iverson sold what remained of the Lower Iverson to Robert G. Sherman, who almost immediately began subdividing
3569-503: The Wind (Selznick 1939) and They Died with Their Boots On , " Santa Fe Trail " (Warner Bros. 1940), and many others. From The Moving Picture World , October 10, 1914 (page 622 relates to the Lasky ranch and page 1078 to the new Lasky Ranch): "The Lasky company has acquired a 4,000-acre ranch in the great San Fernando valley on which they have built a large two-story Spanish casa which
3652-514: The broadcast rights and home video rights. Paul Korver 's company Cinelicious in Hollywood was part of the restoration of the TV series Death Valley Days , restoring 458 half-hour film episodes. Cinelicious worked with U.S. Borax Film Archives and Rio Tinto Group in preserving the TV series. The 16mm , and 35 mm film of Death Valley Days was scanned at 4K resolution for film preservation on
3735-529: The company's best-known products, 20 Mule Team Borax , a laundry additive, Borateem, a laundry detergent, and Boraxo, a powdered hand soap, were often done by the program's host. As the series continued on the air, episodes began to focus on nearly any portion of the American West, not just the Death Valley country. Most episodes portrayed events in the late 19th century, the heyday of the "Old West". Some, however, were set in much earlier times, especially
3818-608: The episode "Shanghai Kelly's Birthday Party," Taylor played James Kelly of San Francisco . After playing Porter Stockton in another 1967 episode "Halo for a Badman", he would portray Texas John Slaughter , a role most associated with Tom Tryon , in the 1968 episode "A Short Cut through Tombstone". Taylor became gravely ill in 1969, and after 69 episodes was succeeded by Dale Robertson , former star of two other Western series, Tales of Wells Fargo and Iron Horse . Robertson served as host and occasional actor for 23 episodes until production of new episodes ceased in 1970. In 1975,
3901-549: The expense or trouble of a full-scale location shoot. NYPD Blue , for example, was filmed primarily in Los Angeles , but used second unit footage of New York City for color, as well as featuring a small number of episodes filmed on location with the cast. Death Valley Days Death Valley Days is an American Western anthology series featuring true accounts of the American Old West , particularly
3984-526: The famous "Garden of the Gods" on the west side of Red Mesa, in which many rock formations seen in countless old movies and TV shows are accessible to the public. This includes the area on the east side of Red Mesa that includes the popular Lone Ranger Rock, which appeared beside a rearing Silver, the Lone Ranger's horse, in the opening to each episode of The Lone Ranger TV show. This area has been owned by
4067-682: The go-to outdoor location for Westerns in particular and also appeared in many adventures, war movies, comedies, science-fiction films, and other productions, standing in for Africa, the Middle East, the South Pacific, and any number of exotic locations. Buster Keaton 's Three Ages (1923), Herman Brix 's Hawk of the Wilderness (1938), Laurel and Hardy 's The Flying Deuces (1939), John Wayne 's The Fighting Seabees (1944), and Richard Burton 's The Robe (1953) are just
4150-582: The historic movie ranches have been sold and subdivided. A few have been preserved as open space in regional parks , and are sometimes still used for filming. To support continued use of the remaining ranches in its jurisdiction, the Santa Clarita Municipal Code was amended in 2011 to establish a "Movie Ranch Overlay Zone" which grants operating ranches added zoning benefits, such as helicopter landing permission and 24-hour indoor and outdoor filming where not adjacent to residences. Below
4233-724: The idea of building a dedicated studio in the Superstition area. Hutchens and Panek found a suitable site that was developed into Apacheland, intended to be the "Western Movie Capitol of the World". Construction on the Apacheland Studio soundstage and adjacent "western town" set began on February 12, 1959, by Superstition Mountain Enterprises and associates. By June 1960, Apacheland was available for use by production companies and its first TV western Have Gun, Will Travel
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#17327767820034316-437: The newly formed Republic Pictures . In 1936, when the lease expired, the entire western town was relocated a few miles to the north at Russell Hickson's 'Placeritos Ranch' in lower Placerita Canyon, near the junction of Oak Creek Road and Placerita Canyon Road. The property was leased by the newly independent Monogram Pictures , and renamed as 'Monogram Ranch' in 1937. Gene Autry , actor, western singer, and producer, purchased
4399-762: The previous popularity of the radio program would overcome those obstacles, a theory that was proven in their first season of high Nielsen ratings . McCann achieved success marketing the show directly to local stations, starting with 64 in the first season, expanding to 73 in the second, their only general difficulty being one and two-station markets. During the latter years of the series, some new episodes were still being made while older episodes were already in syndication. In some markets, new episodes could even be running in competition with older ones. To make it easier for viewers to distinguish between old and new, some blocks of syndicated Death Valley Days episodes were shown under other series names and with different hosts. This
4482-577: The production of Filmaster, the production schedule was to complete two half-hour episodes per week, with final cut host segments shot at Producers Studios in Hollywood. Under the Death Valley Days title, the program was sponsored by the Pacific Coast Borax Company, which during the program's run changed its name to U.S. Borax Company following a merger. The "20-Mule Team Borax" consumer products division of U.S. Borax
4565-557: The property. It was located across the Los Angeles River from the First National/Warner Bros studios in the area which is now Forest Lawn Cemetery. Hunkins Stables and Gopher Flats are close to Old Universal/Lasky Ranch in the San Fernando Valley. This area is noted for a filming location history of many important movies, including, The Thundering Herd (Famous Players–Lasky Co. 1925), Gone with
4648-545: The property. The former Lower Iverson now contains a mobile-home park, the nondenominational Church at Rocky Peak , and a large condominium development. The Upper Iverson is also no longer open to the public, as it is now a gated community consisting of high-end estates along with additional condominiums and an apartment building. Part of the ranch has been preserved as parkland on both sides of Red Mesa Road, north of Santa Susana Pass Road in Chatsworth. This section includes
4731-561: The public as the Corriganville Regional Park. Though the original movie and TV sets are long gone, many of the building concrete foundations are still extant. Corriganville Regional Park . Parts of the movie Once Upon a Time in Hollywood were filmed at Corriganville Park, as a stand-in for the Spahn Movie Ranch . In the 1880s, Karl and Augusta Iverson homesteaded a 160-acre (65 ha) family farm in
4814-474: The ranch during its peak years. The long-running TV Western The Virginian filmed on location at Iverson in the ranch's later period, as did Bonanza and Gunsmoke . By the 1960s, the ownership of the ranch was split between two of Karl and Augusta's sons, with Joe Iverson, an African safari hunter married to Iva Iverson, owning the southern half of the ranch (the Lower Iverson) and Aaron Iverson,
4897-657: The same in which the story is set (for example, scenes in the film The Interpreter were set and shot inside the United Nations Headquarters in Manhattan ), or it may stand in for a different locale (the films Amadeus and The Illusionist were primarily set in Vienna , but were filmed in Prague ). Most films feature a combination of location and studio shoots; often, interior scenes will be shot on
4980-449: The series in 1959, specifically noting that production company president Robert Stabler had a reputation for producing shows on-time and under budget. Production was later handled by Madison Productions. Ruth Woodman had previously researched and written all of the scripts for the show's radio run. When the show was re-worked for television, she continued to write all scripts for the first five years of production, at which time she became
5063-547: The series utilized many character actors over its 18-year run. Some, (such as Don Haggerty , John Pickard, Gregg Barton , Michael Vallon, James Seay , Guy Wilkerson and Roy Engel ) appeared in multiple episodes over the entire run of the series. In 1930, the Pacific Coast Borax Company was looking for ways to market their products, including 20 Mule Team Borax. Working with their New York advertising agency, McCann-Erickson , they settled on creating
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#17327767820035146-549: The series was primarily filmed in Death Valley National Park , Segments were done on location, and shot on short, three-day schedules. Filming would take place approximately six times per year, and while on location, the cast and crew would stay at the Pacific Coast Borax Company's Death Valley resort, the Furnace Creek Inn . Host segments for the final cut were filmed in studio. Under
5229-470: The show briefly returned in reruns, with singer Merle Haggard providing narration for some previously produced episodes. The commercial spokesperson for the show was Rosemary DeCamp . When the show began in 1952, Dorothy McCann gave DeCamp a long-term contract to have DeCamp and her daughters appear in the commercials. She also appeared in four episodes. While the series followed the anthology format, with all new stories and characters in each episode,
5312-558: The show's story editor. The series required historical accuracy for its stories, breaking out of the standard Western genre plotlines, instead focusing on actual pioneer events. As an anthology, the cast changed with each episode. When Filmaster took over production in 1959, one of their immediate changes was to use bigger name Hollywood actors. Although parts of the series were filmed in Kanab , Utah and Apacheland Studio in Arizona,
5395-407: The show, which eventually became a radio hit. In 1945, the radio show was dropped in favor of other material, but after nearly eight years, the show was re-developed for television as the Pacific Coast Borax Company sought to develop material for the new medium. Originally, McCann was interested in one minute advertising spots on television, but found so few available that full program sponsorship
5478-593: The site. Many of the earliest citations, though, have turned out to be incorrect. For example, The Squaw Man is now known to have filmed a scene elsewhere in Chatsworth, a short distance southwest of the Iverson property, but did not film on the Iverson Ranch. By the late 1910s, what would become a long and fruitful association developed between Hollywood and the Iverson Movie Ranch, which became
5561-404: The studios. The studios agreed to pay union workers extra if they worked out of town. To solve this problem, many movie studios purchased large tracts of undeveloped rural land, in many cases existing ranches , that were located closer to Hollywood. The ranches were often located just within the 30-mile (48 km) perimeter, specifically in the Simi Hills in the western San Fernando Valley ,
5644-471: The very large Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve , with various trails to the Lasky Mesa locale. The property was sold to a conservancy in 2003 but some filming was done there afterwards, including some scenes for the 2006 film Mission: Impossible III . More recently, it has been a hiking area. Originally known as 'Placeritos Ranch', the 110-acre (45 ha) ranch in lower Placerita Canyon
5727-403: The world to a visually breathtaking location that they were previously unaware of, as the Lord of the Rings trilogy did for New Zealand . This can boost tourism for years or even decades. Location shooting usually requires a location manager , and locations are usually chosen by a location scout . Many popular locations, such as New York City in the United States, Toronto in Canada, and
5810-441: Was also known as Providencia Flats and the Lasky Ranch. Around the same time that the lease was expiring, Paramount Famous Lasky purchased the Paramount Ranch location in the Agoura area, and moved all of the ranch sets to the new location. The lease then was turned back to the Hollingsworth interests. In 1929, Warner Bros purchased a portion of the ranch from the W. I. Hollingsworth Realty Company. By 1950, Forest Lawn Cemetery owned
5893-415: Was built for the production of Universal 101Bison Brand Westerns. In 1912, Universal; purchased and leased land here to create the first Universal City. This Universal ranch was first used to film Universal Brand Bison films. In 1914, Universal City moved to its present location in the valley, The new Universal City was officially opened on March 15, 1925. The studio could be reached from Hollywood by using
5976-604: Was common practice at the time among syndicated series because it was easy to reshoot the hosting portions of an episode without affecting the main content. Some of these episodes were re-run with different sponsorship under the title The Pioneers with host Will Rogers, Jr. Similar rebroadcasts were done under the names Call of the West hosted by John Payne , Frontier Adventure hosted by Dale Robertson , Trails West hosted by Ray Milland , and Western Star Theatre hosted by Rory Calhoun . Little had to be changed other than
6059-425: Was commonly referred to as the 'Monogram Ranch'. Russell Hickson owned the property from 1936 until his death in 1952, and built-reconstructed all original sets on the ranch. A year later in 1937, Monogram Pictures signed a long-term lease with Hickson for 'Placeritos Ranch', with terms that the ranch be renamed 'Monogram Ranch.' After Gene Autry purchased the property in 1953, he renamed it as 'Melody Ranch.' It
6142-557: Was eventually bought out by the Dial Corporation , which as of 2014, as a division of the German consumer products concern Henkel , still manufactures and markets them. Rio Tinto Group absorbed the U.S. Borax mining operations in 1968 and now owns the TV series. Although Rio Tinto still has a financial stake in this show because copyrights are still held by U.S. Borax, the major rights are now held by Element 5 Media, LLC for
6225-534: Was filmed in November 1960, along with its first full-length movie The Purple Hills . Actors such as Elvis Presley , Jason Robards , Stella Stevens , Ronald Reagan , and Audie Murphy filmed many other western television shows and movies in Apacheland and the surrounding area, such as Gambler II , Death Valley Days , Charro! , and The Ballad of Cable Hogue . The last full-length movie to be filmed
6308-458: Was halted further by new groundwater tests showing migrating contamination of the aquifer with toxic substances from the adjacent Rocketdyne Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL) experimental Nuclear Reactor and Rocket Engine Test Facility . The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and the State of California purchased the land for public regional park . The Lasky Movie Ranch is now part of
6391-556: Was in need for more space and a true backlot /movie ranch. Through the years numerous themed sets were constructed across the movie ranch. Formerly known as the Columbia Ranch and now the "Warner Brothers Ranch", this 32-acre (13 ha) movie ranch in Burbank, California , served as the filming location for both obscure and well-known television series, such as Father Knows Best , Hazel , The Flying Nun , Dennis
6474-528: Was more feasible. With more than 750 scripts from 14 years of radio programs, they already had the content to adapt. For its first two years, the series was produced by Gene Autry 's Flying A Productions. In 1954, Dorrell and Stuart McGowan left Autry's Flying A to form McGowan Productions, bringing Death Valley Days along with them. Filmaster Productions, Inc. , which produced the first several seasons of Gunsmoke , Have Gun – Will Travel , and Playhouse 90 for CBS Television , took over production of
6557-514: Was obviously filmed on an architecturally ambiguous set against the chaparral -covered hills of Burbank. Shooting outside of the home country is sometimes used to bypass union rules, labor regulations, or work stoppages. It can also allow "frozen" currency to be used: the 1968 movie Kelly's Heroes was filmed in Yugoslavia using profits that had been made on movie exhibitions in that country but could not be exported. Conversely, there are
6640-468: Was released on July 31, 2017, as a Walmart exclusive. Then, on Tuesday, October 3, 2017, the title "went wide" with a general retail release. The fourteenth season was released on January 2, 2018. Starting from the first season of the television series, McCann-Erickson noted that they saw a rise in sales of 20 Mule Team Borax. They also noted an increase in visitors to the Furnace Creek Inn,
6723-623: Was sponsored by the Pacific Coast Borax Company , makers of 20 Mule Team Borax and Boraxo, and hosted by Stanley Andrews ("The Old Ranger") (1952–1964), Ronald Reagan (1964–1966), Robert Taylor (1966–1969), and Dale Robertson (1969–1970). Hosting the series was Reagan's final work as an actor; he left the series in 1966 to run for governor of California . The television series was conceived by Pacific Coast Borax Company's advertising agency McCann-Erickson through company executive Dorothy McCann and Mitchell J. Hamilburg, who represented Gene Autry 's Flying A Productions. Death Valley Days
6806-525: Was subsequently used in many other productions until the town was dismantled in 1957. Hollywood's focus began to shift to the medium of television beginning in the late 1940s, and Iverson became a mainstay of countless early television series, including The Lone Ranger , The Roy Rogers Show , The Gene Autry Show , The Cisco Kid , Buffalo Bill, Jr. , Zorro , and Tombstone Territory . An estimated 3,500 or more productions, about evenly split between movies and television episodes, were filmed at
6889-434: Was the 1994 HBO movie Blind Justice with Armand Assante, Elisabeth Shue, and Jack Black. On May 26, 1969, fire destroyed most of the ranch. Only a few buildings survived, but the sets were soon rebuilt to accommodate ongoing productions. A second fire destroyed most of Apacheland on February 14, 2004. The causes of both fires were never determined. On October 16, 2004, Apacheland was permanently closed. The Elvis Chapel and
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