Welcome back to our tour of show business history in Arizona. Since we focused on central and southern Arizona in part one, now it’s time to explore the screen legacy in the vast northern region of the state. Such fabled locations as the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Sedona, and Route 66 have provided indelible settings for some of the most memorable films and tv shows ever created.
When it come to mountainous terrain and outstanding reddish-pink rock formations, the natural splendor of Sedona may be unmatched anywhere in the world. Without doubt, this region became one of the most popular filming locations for its spectacular vistas – especially as settings for Hollywood westerns since the 1940s. There have been close to 100 westerns filmed in whole or in part around the Sedona-Oak Creek Canyon area beginning in 1923. However, in 1945 the 20th Century-Fox production of Leave Her To Heaven which was a departure in genre for Sedona, a sensational psychological melodrama/noir story about a beautiful but very disturbed young woman whose obsessive jealousy and selfishness causes havoc with her family and marriage.
The color process used in this film along with another noirish melodrama Desert Fury (1947) and the cult western Johnny Guitar (1954) make the Sedona landscapes all the more vivid and memorable. An important bit of trivia here: according to her book, author Lili Debarbieri states that in many films Sedona served as a stand-in for westerns or other stories that were actually set in other states or even Canada! She went on to point out that The Rounders (1965) a comedy western, was the first film to make use of the name Sedona and to finally identify the area as distinctly within Arizona. Another fun fact she points out is that Sedona: The Movie (2012) was the first movie filmed there to both use the name as the title and where the story is about the town itself. The indie film was about two intertwining stories involving the bohemian, eccentric citizens the town is known for. We hope that Sedona will continue to be an inspiration for future filmmakers as well.
Debarbieri’s book also mentioned the possibility of a tv series taking place in Sedona because of the richness of local characters and the many potential stories to tell. Unfortunately, as of this writing nothing ever became of that. In any case, it’s time to move along to our next exciting stop of Location Filming In Arizona. The dense ponderosa pine forests and the fantastic San Francisco peaks of the Flagstaff region have also made it a prime area for filming in Arizona. Hollywood has called in Flagstaff since the silent era and one of the most amazing facts for me was to find out that several of the nightclub scenes from Casablanca (1942) – one of the greatest films ever made …were indeed filmed nowhere near Morocco – but inside the historic Hotel Monte Vista downtown! Like the San Carlos Hotel in Phoenix, the Monte Vista has also hosted many of Hollywood’s greatest stars such as John Wayne and Humphrey Bogart.
Many of the motorcycle riding scenes from the ultimate counterculture/ hippie era film Easy Rider (1969) were shot on Rte. 89 near Flagstaff. Some of the running scenes from Forrest Gump (1994) were also shot along the fabled Rte. 66 in the the same area. Now, our next visit is to Prescott, which along with Tucson may be the most filmed area of the entire state. Prescott is often considered to be the ultimate ideal of an Old West town with a very colorful history to match. Even though the city has grown considerably over the past two decades or so, it retains a great deal of its 19th century architecture- making it a favorite of filmmakers all through the 20th Century. One of the more noteworthy films is Junior Bonner (1972) about a former rodeo champion (Steve McQueen) returning to his hometown utilized several locations along Prescott’s famed “Whiskey Row”.
The Granite Dells outside of town have also been the setting for many famous westerns beginning with such early western silent era stars like Tom Mix. He starred in Riders Of The Purple Sage (1925) utilizing the Dells to superb backdrop effect. This reknowned western romance was adapted from one of Zane Grey’s most popular novels of the same title, originally published in 1912. He may be the fiction writer most associated with the Wild West and Arizona in particular. His novels and short stories have been produced many times for film and tv. Of course, this story would not be complete without discussion of The Grand Canyon and Monument Valley. Although the Valley has been a setting for many films, this vast region of breathtaking scenery and gigantic rock formations along the Arizona- Utah border became indelibly linked to John Ford, truly one of the most gifted film directors of all time.
Since Monument Valley is part of the Navajo nation, it is probably the best known and most visited of any reservation lands around the United States. Beginning with Stagecoach (1939) Ford directed seven westerns in Monument Valley making it a truly iconic region which has impressed film audiences around the world as a marvel of nature in Arizona. In fact, Stagecoach was the first western to elevate the genre into a respected form and made a star of John Wayne – who would ultimately become one of the world’s superstars and a consistent top 10 box office draw. Last, but certainly not least we travel to the Grand Canyon! This awe-inspiring geological feature has made Arizona one of the world’s major tourist destinations. The canyon has been the focus of short subjects, documentaries and feature films ever since 1903.
Much like Flagstaff, the Grand Canyon has hosted some renowned movies of its own such as National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983) which is pretty self explanatory and Grand Canyon (1991) with an ensemble cast who experience a series of life changing events and go to the canyon together on vacation. While there, they take time out to reflect on their lives and the magnitude of a place much bigger, more significant than themselves. On this note, we conclude our tour of Location Filming In Arizona: The Screen Legacy Of The Grand Canyon State. Hopefully, this has whetted the appetite of those film and tv aficionados to read this enjoyable and informative book.
