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I first wrote about Sedona in February, 2021 and wrote mainly about Oak Creek Terrace resort and one of my favorite western cult classics, Johnny Guitar largely filmed in Sedona in 1954. An update is definitely due on that post. Since then I’ve learned that the film history of the area is more extensive than I was previously aware of. Although Arizona has a multitude of outstanding locales used extensively in film and tv for decades, in my estimation Sedona is the crown jewel of them all.
One disappointing thing though, is the closure of the Sedona Motion Picture Museum which was downtown is permanently shuttered as of January, 2026. However, for the good news, it seems that the exhibits were moved to another location known as the Sedona Heritage Museum which I’ll talk about more in a later post. Nonetheless, its amazing how extensive the filming history of the area is. Although sources vary, according to the Sedona Heritage Museum a whopping 300 movie, tv episodes, and commercials have been film in whole or in part there. The mention of commercials being shot there was somewhat of a surprise, as that aspect of film production in Sedona never occurred to me.
Apparently, the first movie ever filmed in Sedona was Call Of The Canyon (1923) going way back to the late silent era. The film was adapted from a Zane Grey book of the same name. Grey (1872-1939) was one of the most prolific Western novelists in the United States between 1900-1939. Additionally, 112 of his works were turned into films (according to Wikipedia). In that same article another famous writer, Erle Stanley Gardner (best known for Perry Mason) said of Grey: “He had the knack of tying his characters into the land and the land into the story.”
While many other western writers excelled at the rapid-fire pulp fiction style common early in the 20th century, it’s seems that Grey was able to seamlessly harmonize those elements of character and settings together in a way other writers of the western genre didn’t capture as m memorably. I would hope this gift would be reflected on screen as well, but that is for the viewer to decide, especially for those familiar with any of Grey’s books which were translated to screen. Unfortunately, though, so many silent films (of all genres!) from the silent era have been lost including those based on Grey’s books but I’m still eager to somehow find a print of Call Of The Canyon.
Call Of The Canyon sounds like an intriguing story which is about a weary World War One veteran who goes to Arizona to start a new life, while Under The Tonto Rim (1927) features a young woman struggling with frontier life in an isolated area of Arizona while trying to help scattered families as a social welfare instructor. Hmm…I definitely need to research that one too! Thinking about stories like these, I cannot help but imagine how challenging it must have been to use Arizona for location filming during the 1920s and 30s, considering the logistics of bringing cast, crew and equipment to remote rustic locations lacking adequate transportation and lodging facilities.
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During these decades most Hollywood westerns were filmed on backlots or on the outskirts of Los Angeles, so it’s impressive that some stories like the above mentioned had more effort and money invested in them to be filmed so far away from the Hollywood/Los Angeles area and utilize more authentic locations. With this in mind, although the black & white cinematography of the early 20th century can be brilliant and memorable, it cannot completely capture and flatter the gorgeous, rich red hues of the Sedona region. This matter will be discussed further in my next post about the movie history of Sedona during the 1940s and 50s coming up in a following post.
What also should also be kept in mind is that although Sedona with its stunning terrain was slowly gaining popularity as a filming location in the 1920s, it wasn’t even an actual town at this point. Though a small band of settlers came here in 1876, a post office wasn’t set up until 1902, and the area remained a small settlement of scattered farmers and ranchers for many years to come. The fledgling settlement was ultimately named Sedona in 1902 after Sedona Schnebly who was one of the original pioneers to move there. She and her husband had a farm where she also cared for patients afflicted with tuberculosis, a common illness of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The mass tourism that would contribute to the burgeoning popularity of the area (along with the film industry) was still some time off as well.
Look forward to Part 2 about Sedona later this month!
