Los Angeles has reigned for more than a century as the world capital of the film industry, a unique and ever-changing city that has been molded and recast thousands of times through the artistic visions and cinematic dreams of Hollywood's elite. As early as 1907, filmmakers migrated west to avoid lengthy eastern winters. In Los Angeles, they discovered an ideal world of abundant and diverse locales blessed with a mild and sunny climate ideal for filming. Location Filming in Los Angeles provides a historic view of the diversity of locations that provided the backdrop for Hollywood's greatest films, from the silent era to the modern age.
Location Filming in Los Angeles
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Title: New Book of Archival Photos Sheds Light on Malibu Filming Locations
Author: SUZANNE GULDIMANN
Publisher: Malibu Surfside News
Date: 8/3/11
Malibu and the Santa Monica Mountains that surround it have served as a convenient substitute for thousands of exotic locations over the past nearly 100 years of filmmaking, standing in for everything from Wales and Africa, to Shangri-La and the Planet of the Apes.
A new book by film historians Karie Bible, Marc Wanamaker and Harry Medved, entitled "Location Filming in Los Angeles," provides a glimpse of some of the earliest Malibu-area filming sites, and offers the tantalizing suggestion that the very first scene shot in California for a dramatic film--the Selig Polyscope Company's 1908 costume drama "The Count of Monte Cristo"--may have been filmed in Malibu's backyard, near what is now Topanga State Beach.
Bible and Medved were at the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area Visitors Center this weekend, with NPS ranger and film location authority Mike Malone to discuss the book and the area's rich but often bewildering film history.
Medved and Bible explained that, while the American film industry began in New York, Philadelphia and Chicago, a campaign by the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce "enticed filmmakers with sunshine."
Film companies may not have found "350 days of sunshine," as promised, but they did find mild winters, inexpensive land, beaches, mountains, desert and a rapidly burgeoning urban landscape.
Malibu is listed as a substitute for "the Coast of Spain," on a 1938 Paramount Studios location map that is included in the book. Other nearby designations include Wales, and the South Sea Islands.
Bible said that when they started the book project, she spent many hours in film historian Marc Wanamaker's basement film archive, studying production photos.
"The book has a lot of photos that have never been seen--rare glimpses into history," she said.
Medved screened a montage of scenes from 40 films shot in the Santa Monica Mountains, including clips of John Ford's 1941 Academy Award-winning "How Green Was My Valley," scripted by longtime Malibu resident Philip Dunne, which transformed a hillside in what is now Malibu Creek State Park into a Welsh coal mining village.
In 1998, the same area became 1950s suburbia for "Pleasantville," directed by Gary Ross.
Some locations are well-documented and instantly recognizable. Rock Pool in Malibu Creek State Park shows up in dozens of films, including the Johnny Weissmuller " Tarzan" series, shot between 1932-48, George Roy Hill's 1969 "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," and Frank Capra's 1937 "Lost Horizons."
Malibu Creek State Park doubled as Korea for director and Malibu resident Robert Altman's 1970 film "M*A*S*H and the subsequent TV series, and as Africa in the 1962 Irwin Allen CinemaScope version of Jules Verne's "Five Weeks in a Balloon," and the 1967 big budget musical version of "Doctor Doolittle" directed by Richard Fleische.
Many film locations have been identified by Malone and Medved by matching the ridge lines captured on film to the local topography. "The hills don't lie," Malone said.
In other cases, anecdotes from surviving crew members or area residents have provided missing links.
Several members of the audience volunteered facts about the Conejo area during the presentation, and the film historians are always on the hunt for new leads.
However, some landmarks can be challenging to find. A massive oak tree visible in the background of Henry King's 1955 "Love Is a Many Splendored Thing" puzzled the film historians.
A careful search of the area where the film was believed to have been shot eventually turned up the tree's stump. Other areas have been subdivided and developed past recognition.
Malone has spent years piecing together film location history in the SMMNRA. It's a labor of love for the ranger.
"It's detective work," he said, "like doing genealogy. So many people from the golden age of Hollywood are long gone."
Malone's persistence and attention to detail has rewarded him with some fascinating discoveries.
A ranch in the Malibu Hills that repeatedly appeared in studio film logs-including "Last of the Mohicans" and even "Gone with the Wind," caught Malone's attention. His inquiries eventually reached the ranch owner's daughter, who confirmed the ranch's location in what is now Trifuno Canyon.
Malone said that the National Park Service will be hosting a screening of the 1939 "Beau Geste," starring Gary Cooper and Ray Milland, on Sept. 10 at Paramount Ranch in Agoura, preceded by a walk to the ridgeline where the film was shot.
Film historians like Medved, Bible and Malone continue to follow a cinematic treasure hunt for Hollywood's lost local Shangri-La, while new film location history continues to be made in the area.
In 2008, Marvel Comics superhero billionaire Tony Stark's seaside mansion in "Iron Man" was located on the top of Point Dume, just a few hundred feet above the location where the post-apocalyptic Statue of Liberty from "Planet of the Apes" once stood.
"Location Filming in Los Angeles" is published by Arcadia Publishing and is available at the SMMNRA visitor center at bookstores or online booksellers.
Malibu residents who have local historic film location information they are willing to share can contact Medved at harry.medved@fandango.com or Malone at mike_malone@nps.gov
Title: New Book Celebrates Location Filming in Los Angeles
Author: Richard Horgan
Publisher: fishbowlLA.com
Date: 12/3/2010
Once upon a time, the Hollywood film industry term "runaway" referred only to the character of a street urchin in a narrative. Not the idea that our city's once prosperous production activities are being hijacked to Vancouver, Melbourne, Bucharest and beyond.
This week, as part of its "Images of America" series, Arcadia Publishing has released a wonderful pictorial trip down memory lane to that time when the great majority of studio movies were shot locally. Each chapter of Location Filming in Los Angeles focuses on a different corner of LA, using sepia tone photos provided by Marc Wanamaker, a founding member of the Hollywood Heritage Museum and owner of Bison Archives.
Assisting Wanamaker with text and liner notes for each photo were FilmRadar.com's Karie Bible, also the official tour guide of Hollywood Forever Cemetery, and Harry Medved, author and long-time industry PR guru, currently for Fandango.com. From the get-go, the trio of authors sets the record straight as to just exactly when and how our local feature film industry got started.
In 1907, director Francis Boggs came to California for the Chicago-based Selig Polyscope Company to film a few beach scenes for Monte Cristo. Later, in March 1909, Boggs and the Selig company returned to California and set up temporary operations in the drying yard of the Sing Kee Laundry on Olive Street between Seventh and Eighth Streets in downtown LA. It was at the Chinese laundry drying yards that Boggs shot the first narrative films made entirely in Los Angeles.
Stars showcased include Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis at the Hollywood Bowl, Rosalind Russell at Occidental College and Natalie Wood on the Santa Monica Pier. Great stuff.
Author: SUZANNE GULDIMANN
Publisher: Malibu Surfside News
Date: 8/3/11
Malibu and the Santa Monica Mountains that surround it have served as a convenient substitute for thousands of exotic locations over the past nearly 100 years of filmmaking, standing in for everything from Wales and Africa, to Shangri-La and the Planet of the Apes.
A new book by film historians Karie Bible, Marc Wanamaker and Harry Medved, entitled "Location Filming in Los Angeles," provides a glimpse of some of the earliest Malibu-area filming sites, and offers the tantalizing suggestion that the very first scene shot in California for a dramatic film--the Selig Polyscope Company's 1908 costume drama "The Count of Monte Cristo"--may have been filmed in Malibu's backyard, near what is now Topanga State Beach.
Bible and Medved were at the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area Visitors Center this weekend, with NPS ranger and film location authority Mike Malone to discuss the book and the area's rich but often bewildering film history.
Medved and Bible explained that, while the American film industry began in New York, Philadelphia and Chicago, a campaign by the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce "enticed filmmakers with sunshine."
Film companies may not have found "350 days of sunshine," as promised, but they did find mild winters, inexpensive land, beaches, mountains, desert and a rapidly burgeoning urban landscape.
Malibu is listed as a substitute for "the Coast of Spain," on a 1938 Paramount Studios location map that is included in the book. Other nearby designations include Wales, and the South Sea Islands.
Bible said that when they started the book project, she spent many hours in film historian Marc Wanamaker's basement film archive, studying production photos.
"The book has a lot of photos that have never been seen--rare glimpses into history," she said.
Medved screened a montage of scenes from 40 films shot in the Santa Monica Mountains, including clips of John Ford's 1941 Academy Award-winning "How Green Was My Valley," scripted by longtime Malibu resident Philip Dunne, which transformed a hillside in what is now Malibu Creek State Park into a Welsh coal mining village.
In 1998, the same area became 1950s suburbia for "Pleasantville," directed by Gary Ross.
Some locations are well-documented and instantly recognizable. Rock Pool in Malibu Creek State Park shows up in dozens of films, including the Johnny Weissmuller " Tarzan" series, shot between 1932-48, George Roy Hill's 1969 "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," and Frank Capra's 1937 "Lost Horizons."
Malibu Creek State Park doubled as Korea for director and Malibu resident Robert Altman's 1970 film "M*A*S*H and the subsequent TV series, and as Africa in the 1962 Irwin Allen CinemaScope version of Jules Verne's "Five Weeks in a Balloon," and the 1967 big budget musical version of "Doctor Doolittle" directed by Richard Fleische.
Many film locations have been identified by Malone and Medved by matching the ridge lines captured on film to the local topography. "The hills don't lie," Malone said.
In other cases, anecdotes from surviving crew members or area residents have provided missing links.
Several members of the audience volunteered facts about the Conejo area during the presentation, and the film historians are always on the hunt for new leads.
However, some landmarks can be challenging to find. A massive oak tree visible in the background of Henry King's 1955 "Love Is a Many Splendored Thing" puzzled the film historians.
A careful search of the area where the film was believed to have been shot eventually turned up the tree's stump. Other areas have been subdivided and developed past recognition.
Malone has spent years piecing together film location history in the SMMNRA. It's a labor of love for the ranger.
"It's detective work," he said, "like doing genealogy. So many people from the golden age of Hollywood are long gone."
Malone's persistence and attention to detail has rewarded him with some fascinating discoveries.
A ranch in the Malibu Hills that repeatedly appeared in studio film logs-including "Last of the Mohicans" and even "Gone with the Wind," caught Malone's attention. His inquiries eventually reached the ranch owner's daughter, who confirmed the ranch's location in what is now Trifuno Canyon.
Malone said that the National Park Service will be hosting a screening of the 1939 "Beau Geste," starring Gary Cooper and Ray Milland, on Sept. 10 at Paramount Ranch in Agoura, preceded by a walk to the ridgeline where the film was shot.
Film historians like Medved, Bible and Malone continue to follow a cinematic treasure hunt for Hollywood's lost local Shangri-La, while new film location history continues to be made in the area.
In 2008, Marvel Comics superhero billionaire Tony Stark's seaside mansion in "Iron Man" was located on the top of Point Dume, just a few hundred feet above the location where the post-apocalyptic Statue of Liberty from "Planet of the Apes" once stood.
"Location Filming in Los Angeles" is published by Arcadia Publishing and is available at the SMMNRA visitor center at bookstores or online booksellers.
Malibu residents who have local historic film location information they are willing to share can contact Medved at harry.medved@fandango.com or Malone at mike_malone@nps.gov
Title: New Book Celebrates Location Filming in Los Angeles
Author: Richard Horgan
Publisher: fishbowlLA.com
Date: 12/3/2010
Once upon a time, the Hollywood film industry term "runaway" referred only to the character of a street urchin in a narrative. Not the idea that our city's once prosperous production activities are being hijacked to Vancouver, Melbourne, Bucharest and beyond.
This week, as part of its "Images of America" series, Arcadia Publishing has released a wonderful pictorial trip down memory lane to that time when the great majority of studio movies were shot locally. Each chapter of Location Filming in Los Angeles focuses on a different corner of LA, using sepia tone photos provided by Marc Wanamaker, a founding member of the Hollywood Heritage Museum and owner of Bison Archives.
Assisting Wanamaker with text and liner notes for each photo were FilmRadar.com's Karie Bible, also the official tour guide of Hollywood Forever Cemetery, and Harry Medved, author and long-time industry PR guru, currently for Fandango.com. From the get-go, the trio of authors sets the record straight as to just exactly when and how our local feature film industry got started.
In 1907, director Francis Boggs came to California for the Chicago-based Selig Polyscope Company to film a few beach scenes for Monte Cristo. Later, in March 1909, Boggs and the Selig company returned to California and set up temporary operations in the drying yard of the Sing Kee Laundry on Olive Street between Seventh and Eighth Streets in downtown LA. It was at the Chinese laundry drying yards that Boggs shot the first narrative films made entirely in Los Angeles.
Stars showcased include Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis at the Hollywood Bowl, Rosalind Russell at Occidental College and Natalie Wood on the Santa Monica Pier. Great stuff.
About the Author
Karie Bible is the official tour guide for Hollywood Forever Cemetery and creator of FilmRadar.com, dedicated to Los Angeles repertory and revival films. She has lectured at venues including the RMS Queen Mary and has appeared on Turner Classic Movies. Marc Wanamaker is a founding member of the Hollywood Heritage Museum and is the owner of Bison Archives, a historical research resource. His books for Arcadia Publishing include two-volume sets on historic Beverly Hills and Hollywood. Harry Medved, who has coauthored books such as Hollywood Escapes, has served as public relations director of the Screen Actors Guild, Warner Bros. Online, and Fandango.
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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
For those familiar with Arcadia Publishing's Images of America series, you already know that Marc Wannamaker has written several books in this series. He has literally thousands of pictures going back to the start of the last century to the present, very intensive in the teens, twenties and thirties though he holds some gems from the latter decades.
For those who are not but interested in photographs of the bygone era, "Location Filming in Los Angeles" is an excellent book to start. The book is broken down into chapters in terms of location: 1) Downtown, 2) Hollywood and West Hollywood, 3) Malibu to Long Beach, 4) The Westlake and Culver City, 5) Beverly Hills and Mid-Wilshire, 6) San Fernando Valley and 7) Classic Hollywood Landscapes. The photographs are normally two to a page accompanied with prose that starts with a more specific location and year. The prose or the photograph's description is quite clear of who the people are, if applicable what movie it is from and other applicable data in a concise manner.
Besides Wannamaker, two other esteemed historians have co-authored this fascinating book. Karie Bible gives tours at Hollywood Forever and owner of [...] that specializes in advertising silent,golden era, independent and foreign films and its calendar lists what's playing with special notes to those screenings where the film makers are present for questions and answers. Harry Medved has co-authored books and has served as public relations director for the Screen Actors Guild, Warner Bros. Online and Fandago.
This may be an eye opening experience for some as Los Angeles has been China, India, France and others in many productions. For instance, the Bradbury Building in Downtown L.A.... Read more ›
For those who are not but interested in photographs of the bygone era, "Location Filming in Los Angeles" is an excellent book to start. The book is broken down into chapters in terms of location: 1) Downtown, 2) Hollywood and West Hollywood, 3) Malibu to Long Beach, 4) The Westlake and Culver City, 5) Beverly Hills and Mid-Wilshire, 6) San Fernando Valley and 7) Classic Hollywood Landscapes. The photographs are normally two to a page accompanied with prose that starts with a more specific location and year. The prose or the photograph's description is quite clear of who the people are, if applicable what movie it is from and other applicable data in a concise manner.
Besides Wannamaker, two other esteemed historians have co-authored this fascinating book. Karie Bible gives tours at Hollywood Forever and owner of [...] that specializes in advertising silent,golden era, independent and foreign films and its calendar lists what's playing with special notes to those screenings where the film makers are present for questions and answers. Harry Medved has co-authored books and has served as public relations director for the Screen Actors Guild, Warner Bros. Online and Fandago.
This may be an eye opening experience for some as Los Angeles has been China, India, France and others in many productions. For instance, the Bradbury Building in Downtown L.A.... Read more ›
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The timing of this very entertaining and informative book about the history of location filming in Hollywood could not come at a better time. Governmental influences have made California less attractive to film companies for major motion pictures because of tax issues, meaning that films once secure in the motion picture lots or in the streets and landscapes of Southern California are now being shot in the more financially friendly Canada and the Midwestern and Eastern United States. Another factor that makes this well photographically documented history survey is the fact that computer generated imagery has replaced actual places with green screens and blue screens on which 'fake' scenery is projected in the editing department. So this book is a solid reminder of how films used to be made - and hopefully will return to being made in Hollywood and environs.
The survey is enhanced by the planning, design and writings from Karie Bible (who is devoted to the glories of Old Hollywood), archivist Marc Wanamaker, and writer and PR impresario Harry Medved. Their input enhances the images of old films - and many not so old films. Famous, well used locations are compared in multiple films, and exotic areas one thought to be in far away places are shown to be easily accessible spots right here in Southern California. For film buffs, and for those who love the history of the Golden Days of Hollywood, this book is a must. Grady Harp, December 10
The survey is enhanced by the planning, design and writings from Karie Bible (who is devoted to the glories of Old Hollywood), archivist Marc Wanamaker, and writer and PR impresario Harry Medved. Their input enhances the images of old films - and many not so old films. Famous, well used locations are compared in multiple films, and exotic areas one thought to be in far away places are shown to be easily accessible spots right here in Southern California. For film buffs, and for those who love the history of the Golden Days of Hollywood, this book is a must. Grady Harp, December 10
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
For fans of movies, this book uses archival stills to document popular sites in the Los Angeles area which have been utilzed in movies over the years since early film makers first decided that California was a great place to make movies.
If you have ever wondered such things as "where was Mildred Pierce's beach house located", you more than likely will get your answer and more. While this book covers a lot of filming locations and often contains pictures of the same location when used repeatedly in different movies, the supporting text goes into great detail to note differences when the locations appear slightly different. It also documents the fate of films, such as lost films which is unfortunately quite common and goes back to when films were viewed as a temporary commodity and were destroyed to salvage the silver nitrate in their stock. Additionally, films were unfortunately stored improperly and often resulted in rusted cans filled with dust and gelatinous goo.
While many of the location settings have disappeared through the passage of time, there are a surprising number of locations that are readily identifiable and remain unaltered. One of the things I really enjoy are the sheer number of locations that were dressed to sub for exotic locales. The versatility of the area continually amazes me and this book bears witness to that.
The three authors of this book have proven their expertise as Hollywood/ Film historians and are unerringly accurate. The stills chosen for this compilation cover a gamut of eras and genres and I thought they made a lot of sense for this first entry in what I hope will become a multi-volume series. As an aside, the stills are clear and in very good condition.
The Images of America series is a strong entry in a trend toward regional history.... Read more ›
If you have ever wondered such things as "where was Mildred Pierce's beach house located", you more than likely will get your answer and more. While this book covers a lot of filming locations and often contains pictures of the same location when used repeatedly in different movies, the supporting text goes into great detail to note differences when the locations appear slightly different. It also documents the fate of films, such as lost films which is unfortunately quite common and goes back to when films were viewed as a temporary commodity and were destroyed to salvage the silver nitrate in their stock. Additionally, films were unfortunately stored improperly and often resulted in rusted cans filled with dust and gelatinous goo.
While many of the location settings have disappeared through the passage of time, there are a surprising number of locations that are readily identifiable and remain unaltered. One of the things I really enjoy are the sheer number of locations that were dressed to sub for exotic locales. The versatility of the area continually amazes me and this book bears witness to that.
The three authors of this book have proven their expertise as Hollywood/ Film historians and are unerringly accurate. The stills chosen for this compilation cover a gamut of eras and genres and I thought they made a lot of sense for this first entry in what I hope will become a multi-volume series. As an aside, the stills are clear and in very good condition.
The Images of America series is a strong entry in a trend toward regional history.... Read more ›
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book was exactly what I expected. It arived fast and in perfect condition. It contains lots of photographs that I could not find anywhere else. I would recommend it to others.
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