Universal Studios
Say! Howsabout another look at Universal Studios, probably in the 1950s? This is a followup to a post from nearly a year ago. Hey, I've been busy!
I'd love to know the story behind these photos... this was from before the "Glamor Tram" era, though the studio did still give tours. Here's a nice shot of a piece of a hacienda or western town. Adobe! There are horses and everything. I tried to ID that car, and the nearest I could get was a 1958 Mercury Monterey, but our pal Nanook can tell me where I erred.
I initially was not certain if this batch of slides actually showed Universal Studios, it all looked so unfamiliar compared to later views. But you can see the word "Universal" painted on that light.
It's kind of neat to see so much evidence of filming in these old photos, here's another bunch of lights, perhaps waiting until later in the day to be used?
It took me a while to find out where that house was, but I eventually found the photo below. One Adam-12, we have a naked man on Pico!
What a peaceful little town, that grassy area is just perfect for throwing a Frisbee. I'd like to go eat some bread at the bakery, then go to the tavern, and then make a nuisance of myself at the dance studio.
The useful Bison Archives had these vintage shots telling us that this was all a part of Courthouse Square. Marty!
Another view from the Bison Archives.
This pond looks like it probably has leeches and other slimy things in it. I wonder if it's the same "swamp" that Normal Bates used to hide Marion Crane's car? If the photo is from the late 1950s, "Psycho" has not been filmed yet.
More general clutter. But it's HOLLYWOOD clutter, and that makes it cool! We're outside one of the big soundstages, with more lights, and other junk that I can't quite identify.
Looking through the open door, we can see a huge painted backdrop, apparently for use in a cowboy picture of some sort.
Boy oh boy, the studio really was a beehive of activity back then! So much going on. In the distance that town looks like it has snow on the roofs. Any idea what those white things on the hillsides are supposed to be? At first I thought they were just rocks, but they look like they might be wrapped in cloth. I don't even have a guess. Meanwhile, look at that quality smog, it is some grade-A stuff.
I hope you have enjoyed your visit to Universal Studios!
13 comments:
Major-
Yes, indeed it looks like a 1958 Mercury - possibly in Emerald.
And... those larger "lights" appear to be Mole Richardson 'Brute' carbon arc lights.
Thanks, Major.
Hmmm, shirts must have been in short supply in the fifties. Probably due to the Korean War (Conflict) effort. Those mobile light stands look like vehicles from a Mad Max movie.
In the third photo, what is that 4-legged critter with the red and white disk on top? It has shaded lights, like a traffic light, on the sides.
In the "peaceful little town", I'm looking around for Simpsons characters, since the statue of Jebediah Springfield is over there on the left. This city scene, with the plaza in the middle, reminds me of the town in Back To The Future. It was a Universal picture, so maybe it is the same one.
Major, there wasn't anything "Normal" about Norman bates. ;-)
I like that painted mountainous backdrop. That, more than the lighting equipment and all the other stuff, shouts 'movie making' to me. Gets me kind of excited! I'd like to stick around and watch what they do with it.
Major, since the roofs have 'snow' on them, I would guess that the white clumps in the distance are also snow.
Oops, I forgot to thank you, Major. I never forget to do that... There must be some sort of disturbance in the Force tonight.
Not sure, but believe lighting was used in the daytime to control shadows as the sun moved, and achieve other effects not provided by sunlight. Also, some types of film -- especially early Technicolor -- required a LOT of added light, even outdoors. Back when silent crews shot outdoors (or indoors in glass-roofed stages), they'd use reflectors.
Courthouse Square also appears in "Bye Bye Birdie", setting of the number "You Gotta Be Sincere".
On the last shot, perhaps some other structures were getting similarly winterized, or they were spreading white covering to look like patches of snow. They're probably placed so when the camera takes certain shots, they'll fill the frame (and nothing more).
In that boat pic, I think we can see the backside of the castle, shown in your Universal post from last year.
I wonder if that boat....or the lake, could have been used in any of the "Creature from the Black Lagoon" films?
I love vintage movie studio pics....especially when it's Universal Studios. Thanks for sharing, Major!
I am super gooning out on these photos this morning! Back when a movie studio was a movie studio, and everyone had a back lot, a ranch lot, and a lot of lots. I would be interested to know...and now will do some research...on what was used to transport the visiting mortals around all the "magic" of Hollywood? Or in this case, the magic of "the Valley". They also referred to Culver City (MGM et al) and 20th Fox as "Hollywood" although technically they are not in Hollywood. My life in Hollywood, like Disneyland (the first chapter) was big for me, so these photos really take me back even though they were 40 years prior to me landing. As a tourist, I went to Universal a few times and it was always memorable, even as much as Disneyland was, but it a different way. It was always hot...always...and still is. Hence: shirtless grips. Grips are STILL shirtless i'm sure, despite what OSHA is telling them what to do. Grips have an "costume": generally cargo shorts, slump socks and workbooks. I was a grip/gaffer/focus puller/script supervisor on some non-union gigs, when basically I did any job that came my way and filled in for friends that needed help on a set. The actual physical lights were "ne touche pas" to a plebeian like myself, but I STILL wrap stingers (extension cords) the same way: there is a "movie way" to do practically everything...and stingers are wrapped "over/under...over/under" and this way the the natural twist of the wire doesn't interfere with the wrap...and you can unwrap it quickly and easily. I still refer to extension cords as stingers and electricians I work with in "mortal land" go "huh"? Regarding Mole Richardson: they had a store on La Brea that I drove past frequently, SUCH a cool deco building. It was TRE'd, without regard to it's provenance: was built in 1930...look it up. Lights are used inside and out. All the time. All day long. If the sun is too bright, they block it out, and light the set artificially, or use a bounce board. Lighting is everything and IS everything on a set. Takes a long time, and takes a lot of skill, with a lot of people. Even as a day player you would have a lighting double, which is why you gotta hit that mark when it's time. I am STILL hyper aware of hitting light today. I'm not sure what those white blobs are, and would have to look through the camera lens to see how they look in the frame...perhaps they read "snow" in another angle. The work I do now still involves looking at things cinematically rather than real life, and I'll often look at photos of what I am doing, as the camera will see things your eye never will. Note all the "go away green" in the photos. I'll leave it there, I could go on and on. I did not see a naked man on Pico, but I did see a naked woman in Beverly Hills strolling down Olympic like she was "just taking a little stroll". Only in LA....thanks Major! Oh...final note: Warner Ranch in Burbank is finally being town down...they are building more stages....former home to Partridge family, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, Gidget...et al. a bit sad, but I am really surprised those facades lasted as long as they did. For the diehards the "Real, Real" Bewitched House: https://www.google.com/maps/place/267+18th+St,+Santa+Monica,+CA+90402/@34.0412052,-118.4985149,3a,75y,39.62h,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s9nDGhLrVxsTeyhn9bkEDwg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192!4m7!3m6!1s0x80c2a4a621a66c63:0x6f9436651a388731!8m2!3d34.0414013!4d-118.4983253!10e5!16s%2Fg%2F11crrf51mw?entry=ttu
I think I remember Adam-12 taking a call at Scotty’s Tavern.
I like these backstage pictures, thank you Major!
JG
@ DBenson-
As Bu summarized quite well... "Lighting is everything and IS everything on a set". Early Technicolor did indeed require a LOT of light - thanks to their original 3-Strip Camera, the resulting film speed was 'about' the equivalent of ASA 5-! Even when Eastman Kodak released its first 35mm Eastmancolor Negative [Monopack] film stock (5247) in 1950, it was a whopping ASA 16D - replaced with (5248) in 1952 - zipping along with ASA 25T. Yes: Lighting IS everything.
@ Bu-
".... what is that 4-legged critter with the red and white disk on top? It has shaded lights, like a traffic light, on the sides".
That's a 'portable' wig-wag light. Yes, I realize there's no actual wig-wag on this unit, but. It's a flashing warning light indicating 'shooting is in progress'. Just about every entrance door to every soundstage has some sort of "flashing" red light indicating entering is verboten-!
Oh, boy! More vintage Universal Studios, with nary a theme park element in sight!
The third photo shows the Morrison House on Colonial Street. You can see where it was located in relation to the rest of the homes on the street here.
I also love that shot of the backdrop through the open soundstage door. I think that’s the south side of Stage 27 (now known as Stage 14), the oldest existing stage on property since Stage 28 (the Phantom of the Opera Stage) was torn down in 2014. It was built in 1932 as an effects stage and contains the largest indoor water tank at Universal. The shop extension to the left with the windows is no longer standing
I concur with everyone else’s assessment that those white-covered areas uphill represent patches of snow.
I know you know about it, Major, but for everyone’s else’s reference, a wonderful resource for pre-TRE Universal can be found here. Bison Archives can be reached online here.
JB, you are correct that Courthouse Square was used in Back to the Future.
TM!, I think you’re right about the 8th picture being the backside of the Tower of London set, which would make the body of water the southeast corner of Park Lake, directly across from where the Sweet Charity Bridge and the Parting of the Red Sea effect were later built. I don’t think that any of the Creature From the Black Lagoon films shot in this spot, although I have read that the cove behind the Sweet Charity Bridge was used as shooting location for at least one film in that series.
Bu, I had heard about them TREing the Warner Ranch (although I’m vaguely relieved it’s still going to be used for TV and film production and not being turned into another housing or commercial development a la RKO 40 Acres, MGM Lots 2 & 3, part of Corriganville and most of Iverson Ranch) but was not aware that the Bewitched house was based on an actual house. That’s pretty cool.
JG, I think I remember that episode, too.
Thanks again, Major!
Nanook, I was waiting to learn the name of the color! Really! Mole Richardson? He owes me eight dollars (I promise I won’t do that lame joke again)!
JB, people forget that shirts were not worn by most people until the late 1950’s. It’s a fact! No idea what that thing is with the red and white disk. A hip-mo-tizer? I think there was a fountain or sculpture in that “peaceful little town” area, just not in my photos, but I don’t think it was Jebediah Springfield. “Normal”… what a typo. I’ve always been fascinated by movie backlots, and wish that I could go back in time and wander around various sets and soundstages. I could yelled at by John Ford! What a dream.
JB, thank you for thanking me.
DBenson, it’s funny to watch old shows like “Bonanza” and see how there are hardly any shadows on people’s faces… you can just sense the reflectors (or lights?) just offscreen to fill those dark areas. I suppose that the white shapes could be there to represent snow, but it’s not very convincing. If it was barely seen in the distance, maybe it didn’t matter.
TokyoMagic!, oh interesting, I had no idea that could be the backside of the castle. And I’ll bet you’re right about that lake being used in “Creature of the Black Lagoon”! Not so sure about the boat.
Bu, I believe that they used ordinary buses to transport guests through the backlot. If you didn’t have a window seat, you were screwed. I can forgive lumping Universal Studios in as part of Hollywood - it’s so close! I really loved going to Universal when I was a kid, which was not terribly long after they introduced the familiar studio tour with the Glamour Trams. And commercials with Alfred Hitchcock! I don’t care how hot it is, those guys should be wearing at least a t-shirt. But… tradition rules. When you refer to extension cords as “stingers”, I assume you then have to explain what the heck you are talking about (to a mere mortal). Lighting: there is a church near me that, for a while, had a lot of night filming going on there. No idea what it was for. But they’d have these translucent screens outside the stained glass windows, and incredibly bright lights blasting those screens, clearly going for “daytime” even though it was long past sundown. I wish I knew what they were shooting, it had to be for a series, since it went on for quite a while. A naked woman in Beverly Hills? Sounds like I need to take a little drive! I know about Warner Ranch (Adam the Woo has a nice video on his YouTube channel), it makes me sad. My best friend shrugged when I talked to him about it. “The Partridge Family house? Who cares?”. He has no heart.
JG, “Scotty’s Tavern”, I guess when you retire from Starfleet you have to do something.
Nanook, I can’t imagine working with all of that unrelenting light blasting all the time. And think how hot it got. I’ve heard that some actors got a condition called “klieg eyes”.
Nanook, I wish I had a portable wig-wag.
Chuck, didn’t you see my visual aid indicating the Morrison House? That’s where Jim Morrison is buried, by the way. Probably. I was very upset when they tore down Stage 28, and I’m still unclear as to whether they saved those Paris Opera House sets. My guess is that they went to a nearby landfill. Well, I see that the “Creature” films weren’t filmed in that lake, which makes me cry. I know that at least one of the movies (the second one?) was filmed in Florida. I guess I am glad that Warner Ranch will still be used as a studio, but it’s very sad to think of those historic backlot homes and buildings being razed. To me, anyway.
”Chuck, didn’t you see my visual aid indicating the Morrison House?”
Major, you are assuming I know how to read. Sadly, I only know how to write.
Chuck, maybe you will be lucky (like me) and bump your head - and miraculously be able to read! I also can now speak fluent Sumerian, which comes in handy more often than you would think.
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