One of my favorite genres was the "western." As an adult, I was hooked on western TV series like "Bonanza," "Cheyenne," "Maverick" and "Wagon Train." That's why it was such a hoot for me to recently visit Old Tucson Studios in Tucson, Arizona.
This nostalgic tourist attraction consists of 75 buildings set on 320 acres of location sets between Tucson Mountain Park and Saguaro National Park. What you see is a complete western town, although some of the buildings are facades. This was the setting for a plethora of movies and TV series that took place in the Old West.
Old Tucson Studios began in 1939, when Columbia Pictures built a replica of 1860 Tucson for the filming of "Arizona," starring William Holden and Jean Arthur. More than 350,000 adobe bricks were used in constructing the dusty old town, which continues to be used as a filming location. There's actually an O.K. Corral here!
It is mind-boggling how many movies were filmed here. They include "Hondo," "McClintock" and "Rio Bravo" starring John Wayne; "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral" starring Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster; "Hombre" starring Paul Newman; "Cannon Ball Run II" starring Burt Reynolds; "Tombstone" starring Kurt Russell; "The Quick and the Dead" starring Sharon Stone and Russell Crowe.
TV series filmed here include: "Gunsmoke," "Have Gun Will travel," "The High Chaparral," "The Big Valley," "Bonanza" and "Little House on the Prairie." The mountain overlooking Old Tucson Studios is Golden Gate Peak, probably the most filmed mountain in westerns. The buildings along Main Street were often "recycled."
The Mission, built in 1939 for the movie "Arizona," was remodeled for use in "Tombstone." The hotel used in "Winchester 73," a 1950 movie starring James Stewart - with a then-unknown Rock Hudson - was used in "The three Amigos" with Steve Martin and Chevy Chase. The 1872 Reno locomotive appeared in thirty movies. The telegraph office is notable because Ronald Reagan entered it in "The Last Outpost," a 1951 movie.
Bob Quesnette, head of security at the studios, struts around town while dressed as the town marshal, and pretended to "arrest" my 12-year-old granddaughter, Samantha, in front of the saloon. For fun, I and my grandchildren Andrew and Alyssa voluntarily "locked" ourselves inside an Old West jail cell on display on dusty Main Street.
My grandkids can't appreciate the movie history echoing throughout Old Tucson Studios, or the western history chronicled inside the studios' museum, but they did enjoy panning for gold in a trough, rifle-shooting at pretend targets, lunching at Big Jake's, an on-site eatery, and watching the Can-Can dancers inside the Grand Palace Saloon.
Other amusements include an Old Tucson Studios Historic Tour via a train that ambles around the facility; a stunt show; an exhibit of costumes worn in episodes of "The Big Valley" and "Little House on the Prairie," and costumes worn by Clint Eastwood, Frank Sinatra and other performers in movies they filmed here.
Old Tucson Studios confirms that those vintage westerns were make-believe, but for the kid inside me, they sure were magic. Contact Old Tucson Studios at (520) 883-0100.
Roberta Sandler is an award-winning writer/author. Her newest book is A Brief Guide to Florida's Monuments and Memorials, published by University Press of Florida. She and her husband live in Wellington, FL.