One sub-niche of 1960s and 1970s television is the show that demonstrates the studio backlot for what it is. It’s a fascinating snapshot into the state of the backlot at that moment, with little embellishment. The Brady Bunch ends up at a mysterious ghost town with a menacing prospector. Tumbleweeds tumble. But it’s patently obvious… Continue reading Paramount Studios, 1970: Let’s Film on the Studio Today
Category: Simulated Places
Movie sets, trainers, simulators, fake cities, etc.
Fake Americana With a Topping of Grit: 4 Aces Movie Ranch, Palmdale
4 Aces, located in Palmdale, California, is every Highway Patrol with Broderick Crawford and B-Minus-film noir from 1949 to 1960 wrapped up into one, big, delightful fake. The Diner This is where you take the woman hitchhiking in heels with a suitcase and a shady story about her father, in Chicago, kicking her out of… Continue reading Fake Americana With a Topping of Grit: 4 Aces Movie Ranch, Palmdale
Paramount Studios’ “Murder Your Wife” Bricks in Murder Alley
At one time, it was assumed that New York City was the world and the world was New York City. So, films of the 20th century over-represented New York City in their depictions of ordinary, and often extraordinary, life. This meant that film studios always had to have a New York Street: a collection of… Continue reading Paramount Studios’ “Murder Your Wife” Bricks in Murder Alley
Bars, Nightclubs, and Casinos from Ocean’s 11 (1960)
How bad can a movie be yet look fantastic? Ocean’s 11 (1960) is a heist film famous for its slick Rat Pack, mid-century modern trappings, but altogether a heaping, floppy mess. It’s a movie you want to like but can’t. It has no real highs, no lows, no drama, little humor. Interminable parts of the… Continue reading Bars, Nightclubs, and Casinos from Ocean’s 11 (1960)
Premium Deception: Two Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills
Deception happens seamlessly. Two Rodeo Drive is an example of a deception that successfully integrated itself into the fabric of the Beverly Hills street system. Following is what you believe Two Rodeo Drive is. It is a Beverly Hills city street, charmingly angled, with a broad staircase on one end and the hilly beginning of… Continue reading Premium Deception: Two Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills