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Show 6B Moab Happenings April, 199 1f OUTDOOR STUDIO FOR BIG TIME MOVIES and TV Commercials, Music Videos, TV Specials, Documentaries and more... Moab and Gouldings's Lodge, in Monument Valley, Utah, have both served as temporary homes for some of Hollywood's greatest movie stars and film directors. It is not uncommon to find oneself sitting across the room from sane cinema celebrity, while having dinner in a local restaurant. A visiting tourist may wind up sleeping in the very motel room where John Wayne, Richard Widmark, Henry Fonda, or Richard Boone once slept. After a long days work on location, the stars and other film crew often frequent local clubs, the movie theatre and bowling alley. In most recent years Robert Duvall, Gene Hackman, Wes Studi, Geena Davis, Susan Sarandan, Billy Crystal and Jason Patric were among those who enjoyed the subtle nightlife in Utah's canyon country. Celebrating its 45th anniversary, the Moab to Monument Film Commission holds the world record as the longest continuous film commission in existence. Cameras have been rolling in these parts since 1925 when director George B. Seitz shot "The Vanishing American" in Monument Valley. Director John Ford made Monument Valley and John Wayne household words when he produced the 1939 Western Classic, Stagecoach." There were six movies made in Monument Valley over the next decade, half of them directed by John Ford. In 1949, Ford finally discovered Moab. Arches National Park is also loaded with hot film locations. It was here that young Indiana Jones stumbled upon the cave where he found the holy grail in the 1988 movie, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade." The cave was actually constructed in Hollywood, but he found it at Double Arch in the Windows section of the park. It was in the park's Courthouse Towers region that Thelma and Louise (in a 1 990 feature with the same name) locked a policeman in the truck of his car. The early western "Battle at Apache Pass," Rio Grande " (1950) with John Wayne When the film world took Moab by storm, the big picture was "Wagon Master," starring Ben Johnson, Harry Carey, Jr., Joanne Dru, and Ward Bond. The movie was filmed in Professor Valley, between Fisher Towers and Castle Rock. Only a single-lan- e dirt road, winding along the mighty Colorado River, lead to this remote location. Today the road is paved and has been designated Utah's Scenic Byway 128. Professor Valley, along with Monument Valley, have become known as John Ford Country, due to the many Westerns he filmed here. Most film companies shooting in southeastern Utah schedule at least one scene in popular Professor Valley. This beautiful location, with the Colorado River winding through it, is used for more than just Western theme projects. Ted Danson drove his cardown Scenic Route 128 in the 1993 movie "Pontiac Moon, as did actress Ellen Barkin in "This Boy's Life," 1992. Chevrolet made Castle Rock famous in 1963, when it placed a vehicle on top of the single towering pinnacle, 2000 feet above the canyon floor, then repeated the stunt for its advertising campaigns in 1976 and 1985. The company won much acclaim for its unique TV commercials. Bon Jovi selected the top of Rectory Butte (next to Castle Rock) to belt out his award winning song, "Blaze of Glory." On the north side, just under Castle Rock and the Rectory, Columbia Pictures constructed Fort Carlos for their big 1993 feature, Geronimo: An American Legend." Since the cameras began to roll in Professor Valley, it has been the scene of many battles between cavalry and Indians, settlers and outlaws. All sets have been struck and the land reclaimed, leaving little evidence of prior Hollywood activities. starring Jeff Chandler, John Lund, Susan Cabot, Hugh O'Brian, Richard Egan and Jay Silverheels was filmed in the area in 1 952, when it was not yet a national park. In 1987 Inhaus Productions shot about fifty percent of the feature "Nightmare at Noon" inside the park. There was a spectacular aerial battle in this picture, which starred George Kennedy, Bo Hopkins, and Wings Hauser. The scenery, from the air, was even more breathtaking than it had been in films shot only on the ground. Arches National Park has also been a key location for countless vehicle and other commercials, documentaries. fashion shoots, and " Geronimo " with Jason Patric At Dead Horse Point State Park, part of John Wesley Powells crew was ambushed and killed by Indians in the 1959 Disney production "Ten Who Dared," a stay of Major Powell's river excursions. In "Against a Crooked Sky." 1975, actor Richard Boone was captured by a band of Indians as he ventured into their camp, located near one of the parks scenic overlooks. One can also peer over the canyon rim, at Dead Hose Point, and view the cliff below where Thelma and Louise leaped their convertible into oblivion. The Green River Overlook section of Island In The Sky Canyonlands National Park was the setting where Jesus delivered his Sermon on the Mount in the "Greatest Story Ever Told," a 1963 George Stevens production. This area was not a national park at the time. Further south, in Indian Creek Canyon (Highway 211) enroute to lower Canyonlands National Park, is the Dugout Ranch, location several scenes in "City Slickers II: The Search for Curleys Gold." This 1993 Castle Rock production, also shot segments in the area near Fossil Point, where Thelma fa and Louise made their last stand. The old Marie Ogden Settlement, located off Highway 211, shortly after leaving Home is not where you live but where they understand you. Christian Morgenstem I( is Highway 191, served as a location in "Slaughter of the Innocents," a 1 992 movie starring Scott Glenn. Some of the more notable movies filmed in Motument Valley include: "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon," "The Searches," Sergeant Rutledge," and "Cheyenne Autumn." More recently, some scenes were shot for "Back to the Future m," "Forrest Gump," and "Tall Tales." In all, there have been over 85 movies and hundreds of TV commercials and other films shot in southeastern Utah. For real movie buffs who would like to leant more about area filming, a new book is out, titled: "Where God Put the West," a Valley movie history, by Bette L. Stanton. The title is a direct quote from John Wayne. When asked why 20th Century Fox was filming "The Comancheros" around Moab, Wayne remarked, "TV you can make on the backlot, but for the big screen, for the real outdoor dramas, you have to do it where God put the West...and there is no better example of this than around Moab. The book can be purchased at shops throughout southeastern Utah or at the Moab to Monument alley Film Commission, 50 East Center; next to the Moab visitor' s Information Center. Visit the Moab Film Commission Museum & Gift Shop SO East Center better to know sonte of the question, than all ( the answers. James Thurber |
