Laura from Laura’s Miscellaneous Musings was kind enough to send me a couple rocks from the Alabama Hills. For the time being, it’s as close as I’ll be getting to the locations for some of my favorite films — the Tim Holt RKO’s, a few Roy Rogers pictures, The Gunfighter (1950), Hangman’s Knot (1952), the Ranown cycle, and on to Tremors (1990).
Thanks Laura, for helping these rocks make the 2,500-mile trek from Lone Pine to my desk.
The image above was swiped from The Great Silence, a fabulous blog dedicated to film locations.
It was my great pleasure! Enjoy!
Best wishes,
Laura
Anyone fortunate enough to have seen “Comanche
Station” or “Ride Lonesome” on a huge cinema screen
in scope will have been blown away by the “epic”
quality of the landscapes Budd achieved in these films.
Considering the modest budgets and fast shooting
schedule they smoke most big budget scope epics.
Trivia corner regarding “The Tall T” (SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!!!)
At the cinema I recall Skip Homier meeting his fate
dying in a pool of blood having been stabbed with a
butchers knife. In the superb Sony/Columbia Boetticher
box set Randolph Scott and Homier grapple with a shotgun
wherin Homier has his head literally blown off in an
incredibly violent scene for its time.Small wonder Tarintino
is such a hugh Budd fan!
Epic! Thanks for sharing them and the film location blog.
I remember vividly seeing “Comanche Station” on a Sunday
only double bill with a Victor Mature war flick called
“No Time To Die”( aka “Tank Force”) also in scope and
colour. The cinema was the Queens in Bayswater,London
a 1400 seater plus with a huge scope screen,the time
would have been the early 60s. The Queens was later
triple screened and is now a burger restaurant.
I had never seen such gorgeous location work in a Western
before.What a brilliant way to pass away a Sunday afternoon!
Love your sight. I have numerous un published photos of Lone Pine and on set photos behind the scenes of Comanche Station. I was the Stunt Double for Miss Nancy Gates, did a lot of Riding and a bit of shooting. So LUCKY to have been there.
Keep up your good work. O and Google Cojo Rojo and also Hudkins Movie Ranch.
Sylvia
Hello Sylvia Durando, I have a friend here in Guerneville, Ca.by the name of Marie Walker. She was also a western stunt double. maybe you knew each other? She is 96 years old now,
Joani, sorry I don’t recall the name. You are lucky to know her. The tales from the old Westerns are mostly long lost. I bet she knew some of my close friends like Audrey Scott and John . John was a close friend to my Mother and I knew the girls.