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Show by Kari Murphy, Executive Director, Moab to Monument Valley Film Commission With over 100 feature films here over the last 50 years, and on the average of 75 commercials filmed here a year, you would be hard pressed to watch TV these days and not s.ee Moab andor Monument Valley on the screen during the commercials or perhaps even during the mo ie you are watching. It has often been said that director John Ford discovered Monument Valley, yet still others believe it w as John Wa ne w ho brought the area to John Fords attention. Actually, it was director George Seitz who first called Lights! Camera! in the land of Action! the monuments when he filmed The Vanishing American in 1925. But it w'as Harry Goulding 1938, brought who, the film industry to stay in southeastern Utah. in Goulding captivated by nineteen forties include Kit Carson, Billy the Kid, The Harvey Girls, My Darling Clementine, Fort Apache and She Wore A Yellow Ribbon. The last three were directed by John Ford. It w'as 1949 and Ford had just completed his fourth picture in Monument Valley and was looking for a change of scenery. Someone suggested that he consider the magnificent landscapes around Moab. While scouting the area Ford met with George E. White, who not only owned a tanch and had his own livestock, but worked for the road department and knew the area quite well. Looking down river past Fisher Tow ers and the Priest and the Nuns butte, with the LaSal Mountains as a backdrop. Ford exclaimed, Thats the greatest sight Ive ever and declared that Wagon Master would be filmed here in was Monu- Moab. ment Valley when he visited in the 1920s 1 Vfls 'WY and hoped to someday make it his home. Wagon Master was a big hit on the screen as well as with the local folks. Over 130 cast and crew were brought into Moab and 50 locals were hired as extras, as well as their cattle, wagons, and household items. It took little time for value the local businessmen to realize the econo-mi- c of the film industry. Not only was there t During his early trips to the valley, he helped the Navajo Indians prevent a shooting war with the neighboring Piutes. In gratitude, the Navajos allowed him to homestead a small piece of reservation land right in the middle of the monuments. In the 1930s when the Great Depression hit the a the community during production, but the promotional Goulding that aspects followed proved decided to sell the areas significat financial impact to Navajo Nation so hard, seen! most valuable - its invaluable, as they still do today. While filmmaking is not the major livelihood in Grand and San Juan counties, it is a commodity spectacular scenery. His goal was to convince Hollywood to film a in movie Monument Valley. Harry and his wife, Last Crusade, Thelma and Louise, Back to the Future, Tall Tales, To Wong Foo, This Boys Life, Geronimo, City Slickers II, Lightning Jack, Pontiac Moon, Larger Than Life, Sunchasers, Riders of the Purple Sage, Breakdown, Passion in the Desert, and Treasure of Dos Santos. For a complete list of all the Films shot in southeastern Utah, call the Moab to Monument Valley Film Commission at or write to Kari Murphy, Moab to Monument Valley Film Commission, 50 East Center 1, Moab, UT 84532. For real movie buffs who would like to learn more about the area filming, a book entitled Where God Put The West, a Valley Movie History, written by Bette L. Stanton, Moab Film Commissioner from 1982 to 1996. The title is a direct quote from John ayfle. While filming The Comancheros in Moab, the Duke was asked why he was filming on location instead of a studio set, and he remarked, TV you can make on the backlot, but for the big screen, for the real outdoor dramas, you have to do 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 Valley Film Commission, next to the Moab Information Center. 435-259-63- 88 Moab-Monume- nt significant contributor to the Leona economy. Films (whose also add a touch of was Ben Johnson and Ward Bond making Wagonmaster (1949) nickname the to color Mike) headed to economic foundation and provide worldwide California with some photos, a bedroll, and their last $60. It was a tough sell, but finally the movie makers exposure, enhancing tourism. The number one goal in southeastern Utah is to acquire a diverse and (with John Ford in the directors seat) decided to take stable economy, while maintaining a quality the risk and the result of this challenging venture w as the 1939 release of the feature Stagecoach , the first environment, and the film industry is inclined to assist in this goal.' and perhaps greatest western classic ever produced. Recent features filmed in the Moab and It was destined to make Monument Valley synonymous Monument Valley area include: Indiana Jones and the with The Old West. Features produced during the Commercials Industrial Videos Training Videos Documentaries Casting Executive Producer i tx 9 Fax Digital BETA SP Editing Location Managers Location Permits Script Writers Stock Video Footage Behind the Scenes Documentaries Non-Line- ar Scouting; Steadicam Master Series 435-259-84- 44 the set of Geronimo Video Camera Operators Certified-Monitor- s Jim Mattingly On 435-259-48- 02 c ' Cell 435-260-11- 04 Moab, Utah 84532 |