RKO Forty Acres
RKO Forty Acres | ||
---|---|---|
Desilu | 1957–1966 | |
Paramount | 1967 | |
Perfect Film and Chemical | 1968 | |
OSF Industries Limited | 1969–1976 |
RKO Forty Acres was a film studio
The property was a triangular parcel of 28.5 acres (11.5
History
The property on which the backlot was located was originally intended to be a lease for Cecil B. DeMille’s production of the film The King of Kings (1927).[5] On it he constructed historical Jerusalem, which remained for the RKO production of King Kong (1933). By then it was known as Forty Acres and owned by RKO Pictures.[citation needed]
In 1935, David O. Selznick leased the property from RKO for his new studio, Selznick International Pictures. For his production of Gone with the Wind (1939), the plantation Tara, the Atlanta Depot (based on Atlanta's 1853 Union Station), and other Atlanta buildings were constructed there.[citation needed]
The depot and many of the Atlanta buildings became permanent fixtures on the property until its final days, while the set of Tara was sold in 1959 to investors who planned to open a theme park in the Atlanta area (see Tara (plantation)).
From 1943 to 1958, a separate part of the 28.5 acres (11.5 ha) known as the African jungle set, located on the opposite side of
Following years of turnover by several owners, including Howard Hughes, the backlot was practically deserted and cinematic productions declined. It was purchased in 1957 by Desilu with the intention of filming for the burgeoning television industry.[7][8]
Television
Forty Acres is best remembered for providing the backdrop for the fictional town of
Forty Acres was also the backdrop for an episode of
Overall, the property was an undulating plateau with a southern slope (by the town square) that led to Ballona Creek. Trees screened the northern and southern perimeter of the property.
List of familiar backlot buildings
Core structures that stood for decades and appeared in many productions are listed here, most of which were constructed to represent, in
The two main arteries that traversed the Atlanta/Mayberry set were Atlanta or Main Street, which ran east/west and opened at one point onto a town square, and North Street, a cross street that bisected it at the four corners[10] just west of the square.
Image | Structure | flrs | Location | years | Seen on | Seen as |
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church | 2 | SE end of town square | 1947–76 |
| ||
courthouse | 2 | NE of town square | 1947–76 |
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residence | 2 | across from church | 1939–76 |
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bank | 2 | SE corner Atlanta/North | 1939–76 | |||
store/cafe | 3 | NW corner Atlanta/North | 1939–76 | |||
main hotel | 2 | center, town square | 1945–76 | |||
tall hotel | 4 | NW of town square | 1947–76 | |||
theatre | 2 | NW of town square | 1939–75 | |||
buildings | 2 | rear of courthouse | 1955–76 | |||
shop | 2 | E of town square | 1955–76 | |||
store plaza | 2 | N of town square | 1955–76 |
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depot | 1 | west of town | 1939–71 |
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store/cafe | 3 | SW corner Atlanta/North | 1939–76 |
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Tara | 2 | NW portion of backlot | 1939–59 | |||
office | 3 | NW end of Atlanta St | 1939–76 | |||
cafe | 2 | S side of Atlanta St | 1938–76 | |||
hotel | 2 | SW of town square | 1938–76 | |||
townhouse | 2 | top of North St | 1950–76 |
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town hall | 2 | bottom of North St | 1950–76 |
|
List of known productions at Forty Acres
Film
- The King of Kings (1927)
- The Godless Girl[10] (1929)
- The Fall Guy[10] (1930)
- Bird of Paradise[15] (1932)
- The Most Dangerous Game(1932)
- Lucky Devils (1933)
- King Kong (1933)
- The Return of Chandu[15] (film serial, 1934)
- The Little Minister[16] (1934)
- Bonnie Scotland[16] (1935)
- She (1935)
- The Garden of Allah (1936)
- Gone with the Wind (1939)
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame[17] (1939)
- Intermezzo (1939)
- Rebecca (1940)
- Citizen Kane (1941)
- The Devil and Daniel Webster(aka, All That Money Can Buy, 1941)
- The Magnificent Ambersons[15] (1942)
- Tarzan Triumphs (1943)
- Tarzan's Desert Mystery[15] (1943)
- Tarzan and the Amazons (1945)
- China Sky (1945)
- The Story of G.I. Joe[10] (1946)
- The Long Night[10] (1947)
- Tarzan and the Huntress (1947)
- The Miracle of the Bells[10] (1948)
- The Set-Up[10] (1949)
- Tarzan's Magic Fountain[4] (1949)
- The Big Steal[18] (1949)
- Mighty Joe Young (1949) (used Arab village set)
- The Great Rupert (1950)
- Where Danger Lives[10] (1950)
- Tripoli[10] (1950)
- Tarzan's Peril[15] (1951)
- Superman and the Mole Men (1951)
- Two Tickets to Broadway (1951)
- Macau[19] (1952)
- One Minute To Zero(1952)
- Eight Iron Men[10] (1952)
- Tarzan and the She-Devil[4] (1953)
- The Raid[10] (1954)
- Escape to Burma[20] (1955)
- Night of the Hunter[10] (1955, riot scene only)
- Around the World in Eighty Days(1956, jungle set)
- Attack![10] (1956)
- Death of a Scoundrel[21] (1956)
- Screaming Eagles (1956)
- Jet Pilot[10] (1957)
- Verboten![10] (1959)
- Blood and Steel[10] (1959)
- The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965)
- Ride Beyond Vengeance[10] (1966)
- Star![10] (1968)
- Switchblade Sisters[22] (1975)
- Lepke[10](1975)
- Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS (1975)
- The Fortune[10] (1975)
- The Four Deuces[10] (1976)
- Vigilante Force[10] (1976)
Television
- Adventures of Superman (first season only, 1951–52)
- The Adventures of Jim Bowie[4] (Tarzan jungle set / 1956-58)
- The Californians (1957)
- The Real McCoys[23] (1957–62)
- Sheriff of Cochise/United States Marshal (1958–59)
- Yancy Derringer (1958–59)
- Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse (1958–1960)
- The Texan (1958–60)
- Man with a Camera (1958–60)
- The Untouchables[24] (1959–60)
- Guestward Ho!(1960)
- The Andy Griffith Show (1960–1968)
- My Three Sons (occasional scenes between 1960–67)
- Miami Undercover (1961)
- Window on Main Street (1961)
- Ben Casey[23] (1961)
- My Favorite Martian (1963)
- My Living Doll[23] (1964)
- Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. (1964–69)
- I Spy (episode "Cops & Robbers", 1966)
- Hogan's Heroes (1965–1971)
- Family Affair[23] (1966)
- Batman (1966–68)
- The Green Hornet (1966–67)
- Star Trek (four first season episodes: 1966-67)
- Mission: Impossible[25] (first two seasons: 1966-68)
- That Girl (at least one scene in first season, 1966–67)
- Bonanza (episodes 271-275)[26] (1967–68)
- Judd for the Defense(1967–69)
- Land of the Giants (episode "Ghost Town", 1968)
- Mayberry R.F.D. (first two seasons only: 1968-70)
- The New People (1969)
See also
- History of film
- Movie studio
References
- Public Land Survey System
- ISBN 067168440X. Amazon.com
- ^ a b c d e f g "Radok Corporation, (©1998 – 2003)". Retrieved 2008-02-28.
- ^ a b c d e Musso, Joseph (1993). Forty Acres: A History of RKO Backlot Films (article). Burroughs Bulletin #14. Burroughs Bulletin
- ^ a b c "The Culver Studios (©2006)". About Us - Studio History. Archived from the original on 2008-03-25. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
- ^ "Wikimapia.org (2006)". Hayden Tract Culver City. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
- ^ "The Back 40 Lot: Part 1…Just Before "Tara" Was Dismantled – Eyes Of A Generation…Television's Living History". eyesofageneration.com. Eyes Of A Generation. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
- ^ "40 Acres - The Lost Studio Backlot of Movie & Television Fame - The Desilu Years". www.retroweb.com. RetroWeb. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
- ^ a b c d "Garrett, Randy (2001)". Metropolis and Mayberry. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq "Teague, Kipp (©2008)". RKO 40 Acres photo tour. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
- ^ a b c "Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc". Gone with the Wind (1939). Retrieved 2008-03-07.
- ^ a b "CBS Studios Inc". Star Trek: The Original Series - The Complete First Season (1966). Archived from the original on 2008-04-20. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
- ^ a b c d RKO Radio Pictures, Inc. - The Set Up (1949)
- ^ "Cuccia, Mark (April 11, 2002)". E-mail to Jerry Krumm. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
- ^ a b c d e "Occidental College (©2008)". Forty Acres. Archived from the original on 2008-05-11. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
- ^ a b "Miller, Frank - Turner Classic Movies (no date)". Spotlight: The Little Minister. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
- ^ "Stafford, Jeff - Turner Classic Movies (no date)". Spotlight: The Big Steal. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
- ^ "Wood, Bret - Turner Classic Movies (no date)". Spotlight: Macau. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
- ^ G, O. A. (2011). "Erickson, Hal - Allmovie (2008)". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2011-05-20. Retrieved 2008-04-11.
- ^ "Stafford, Jeff - Turner Classic Movies (no date)". Spotlight: Death of a Scoundrel. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
- ^ Krumm, Jerry (no date) "Batman and Forty Acres" JimNolt.com
- ^ a b c d "The 1966 Batman TV Tribute Site". 40 Acres Backlot. Archived from the original on 2008-02-23. Retrieved 2008-03-25.
- ^ "Robertson, Ed (©1996, 2006)". Television Chronicles: Interview with Robert Stack. Archived from the original on May 18, 2006. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
- ^ "MovieFreak.com (©1999)". Mission Impossible. Archived from the original on 2007-11-10. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
- ^ "RM & Bonanza (©2000 – 2004)". Bonanza - Scenery of the Ponderosa. Retrieved 2008-03-07.