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I refer to the 1940s and 50s as Sedona’s “golden age” of location filming because the area became most popular during this period with Hollywood studios for its vivid, natural backdrops. The unsurpassed scenic grandeur and mystical aura of Sedona, Arizona enhanced the turbulent narratives of many westerns and contemporary dramas during the mid-20th century.
One of the first A-level Hollywood productions in gorgeous Technicolor to utilize the natural gifts of the Sedona region was Desert Fury (1947). This tempestuously modern , racketeering western was also a fairly rare example of the color noir, effectively utilizing the garish tones to create a combustible atmosphere in this tawdry tale of deception and treachery. Desert Fury eschews the dark and shady nature of traditional black & white film noir photography to offer a different perspective on the noir style. In this overheated but entertaining narrative the Sedona area stands in for the fictional mining town of Chukwalla, Nevada seething with suspicion and treachery.
The stormy love triangle between the three principles Burt Lancaster, Lizabeth Scott, and John Hodiak has the most surprisingly homoerotic subtext to exist in any mainstream Hollywood film of the period. This subtext results in the criminal activities of Desert Fury taking a backseat to the seething romantic entanglements so much that according to film scholar Foster Hirsch: “In a truly subversive move the film jettisons the characters’ criminal activities to concentrate on two homosexual couples: the mannish mother who treats her daughter like a lover, and the gangster and his devoted possessive sidekick…Desert Fury is shot in the lurid, over saturated colors that would come to define the 1950s melodramas of Douglas Sirk.” (From Wikipedia)
The film was adapted from the 1946 Ramona Stewart novel Desert Town and from a little investigation about her I found out that her other novels also focused strongly on characters who tended to exist on the margins of society, weren’t afraid to depict gay relationships and sometimes featured supernatural forces. In my estimation this collection of elements make Desert Fury all the more appealing and memorable — in addition to its beguiling Sedona setting.
While Desert Fury may have been the most overtly gay films of the 1940s (quite daring for the time) then Johnny Guitar must be the most offbeat and outlandish Western of the 1950s — if not of all time. It’s virtually the only film featuring two female antagonists who loathe each other as much (or more so!) than any two males squaring off against each other in most Western narratives.
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Johnny Guitar features saloon-owner Vienna (played by the indomitable Joan Crawford) and Emma Smalls (the equally irrepressible Mercedes McCambridge). Their intense onscreen animosity carried over into real life, but this rancor does not seem to have impacted the box office prospects of the film. The theme song of the title was performed by popular singer Peggy Lee and enhanced the film’s cult classic status. The story chiefly concerns the rivalry between Vienna who resents the incoming railroad supported by Emma, who in turn wants Vienna run out of Sedona for her association with with the “Dancin’ Kid” (played by Scott Brady) and his gang accused of killing Emma’s brother in a stagecoach robbery.
To complicate matters, Vienna’s old flame Johnny Guitar (played by Sterling Hayden) is also back in town to check up on her, adding more entanglements to the proceedings.
However, the the fierce competition between Vienna and Emma over the affections of the “Dancin’ Kid” is the ultimate spark that sets off the tinderbox of roiling violence to come. Without being a spoiler I’ll refrain from revealing the whole story, but, much like with Desert Fury the lurid color palette of Johnny Guitar adds considerably to the seething drama of the narrative for a memorable account of hatred, jealousy, power struggles, sexual frustration, and simmering resentments that boil over with tragic results.
In addition to Desert Fury and Johnny Guitar, Sedona locations served well for another offbeat production titled Hellfire from 1949. This garish western featuring Marie Windsor as gangster Doll Brown is a pulpy, rollicking good time unique for its religious overtones and focus on sin and redemption. Hellfire is also rare for the period by having this fearless female bandit as a major character (and a very violent one at that!). The story also stars William “Wild Bill” Elliot as gambler and drifter Zeb Smith who finally “sees the light” so to speak. After a dying preacher gets Smith out of a scrape and saves his life, he transforms his wicked ways and promises the preacher that he’ll build a church and help save other reckless, “sinful” souls. Naturally, Smith requires money to accomplish this (doesn’t organized religion always need lots of money for this, that and every other thing?) Some things never change, but I digress!
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Naturally, Doll Brown is a primary target needing this moral transformation and since there’s a $5,000 reward on her head, Smith seeks her capture. While I find Hellfire a pleasure to rewatch every few years, religious conversions in most Hollywood movies (Hellfire a prime example among them) still seem suspect as the Motion Picture Production Code and other self-appointed watchdogs of public morality required them because these stories had to reiterate that “crime doesn’t pay”. God forbid anyone get that idea! In any event, eighteen other Hollywood productions were filmed in whole or in part at Sedona during the 1940s and another sixteen in the 1950s making these the most prolific decades for moviegoers around the world to gain some familiarity with the region.
For a complete list of movies 🎦 made in Sedona from the 1920s to the early 1970s check out this site: http://visit-Sedona.s3.Amazon.com/CMS/2323/movies_filmed_in_sedona.pdf
Later this month I’m going to explore some movies made in Sedona from the 1960s and beyond. See you soon!
