The history of "40 Acres" and its appearances in movies and television is well-represented
on the web (see Links section below). This web page, which serves to complement these other
resources, presents several aerial photographs of "40 Acres" over the years, including
a 1940 plot plan detailing the sets on the backlot at that time.
Plot Plan of Pathe Studio "40 Acre Ranch" - May 9, 1940
This survey map details the location of standing 40 Acres sets in 1940,
most of which are from the 1939 David Selznick classic, Gone With The Wind.
Some of the earlier sets on the backlot, including sets for the movies King Kong (1933)
and Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936), had false fronts attached by Selznick and
were then burned for the "Burning of Atlanta" scene in GWTW. Legend has it
that on the night "Atlanta" was burned, some residents of Culver City, unaware of
what was happening, assumed Los Angeles was afire, and fled the area in their cars.
Other sets detailed on the survey map include the "Mandalay" mansion from Alfred Hitchcock's
first American film, Rebecca (1940).
1940 Aerial View of 40 Acres
Visible in this view is the railroad depot built for Gone With The Wind,
as well as the set for Scarlett O'Hara's estate known as "Tara." Left of center
in the photo is the Atlanta street set for the film.
Railroad Depot as it appeared in Gone With The Wind
The Atlanta railroad depot facade built in the late 1930's for Gone With The Wind became
a permanent structure in the 40 Acres backlot.
View east down 40 Acres Atlanta street set, from Gone With The Wind
Many, but not all, of the structures/facades on the street set became permanent fixtures in
40 Acres. Those that did survive saw significant re-dressing in later years when the set
became a locale for other films and for television series' such as The Andy Griffith Show.
The large, columned structure in the center (the church/hospital in GWTW) did not survive
the later set renovations.
Gone With The Wind Producer Selznick at 40 Acres
(scan courtesy Randy Garrett)
David Selznick stands in an arch of the Atlanta railroad depot set, gazing toward
the Tara mansion set on the hill above.
Late-1950's View of Scarlett O'Hara's "Tara"
(scan courtesy Randy Garrett)
from the New York Times, June 23, 1965 obituary of Producer David O. Selznick:
"Nothing in Hollywood is permanent," Mr. Selznick said in 1959 on a Hollywood set,
as Tara, the mansion built for "Gone With The Wind," was being dismembered and
shipped to Atlanta, Ga. "Once photographed, life here is ended. It is almost
symbolic of Hollywood. Tara has no rooms inside. It is just a facade. So much of
Hollywood is a facade."
Aerial View RKO Studios and 40 Acres Backlot - 1946
Partial View of 40 Acres Backlot - 1955
This view features the street set and building facades built in the 1930's for Gone With The Wind, with a few
changes and additions since that time, and later used in television's The Andy Griffith Show,
The Adventures of Superman, Batman, Star Trek, Mission: Impossible and a variety of other
television series and films.
Also visible in this photograph at the east end of 40 Acres (upper portion of photo)
is what appears to be a European city set (usage unknown).
40 Acres and the Desilu Years - 1957-1967
By 1957, RKO Studios and the 40 Acres backlot had already changed ownership several
times, including ownership by Howard Hughes from 1948 to 1955.
The studio and backlot acreage changed hands again in 1957 when it
was purchased by Desilu Productions, the studio formed in 1951 by Lucille Ball and Desi
Arnaz. For the next eleven years, 40 Acres would provide exterior locations for the
company's television productions, including The Real McCoys,
The Danny Thomas Show, Lassie, Life & Legend of Wyatt Earp,
US Marshal, The Untouchables, The Andy Griffith Show,
My Three Sons, My Favorite Martian, Gomer Pyle, USMC,
I Spy, Hogan's Heroes, Batman, Mission: Impossible
and Star Trek. The backlot would also continue to see occasional use in films
during this period, including in 1963 for the production of The Greatest Story Ever
Told, whose set for the city of Jerusalem had to be reconstructed at 40 Acres after
a series of freak snowstorms halted on-location production in Arizona.
Aerial View 40 Acres Backlot - 1963
This enlarged view of the image featured at the top of this web page includes
several prominent features, including the Jerusalem city set for
the film The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965) and the sets for television's
The Real McCoys (1957-1963).
Aerial View of 40 Acres Backlot - late 1963
This view is taken later the same year as the preceding one, and from the opposite
side of the backlot, looking west. In it, the sets constructed for The Greatest Story Ever Told
have already been razed (the large area of land at the far west end), and the
Gomer Pyle marine camp barracks have also been constructed (top left), replacing
the sets for The Real McCoys.
40 Acres in 1965
Aerial View of 40 Acres Backlot - 1965
This remarkable 1965 aerial photograph offers several detailed views of the sets on
the backlot, from Andy Griffith's "Mayberry" in the foreground, to Hogan's Heroes'
"Stalag 13" in the distance. Also visible in this view is the wedge-shaped Tarzan
jungle set across Ballona Creek (upper left).
"Mayberry" Set, The Andy Griffith Show
Aerial photo evidence reveals that many of the "Mayberry" street facades were built
after the filming of Gone With The Wind, including the Courthouse/Sheriff's
Office, the Taylor house, or the angular building in the town center (home to the drugstore),
all of which were constructed later.
Back in 1967, Andy Griffith commented, "Funny thing about the Mayberry we know at
Forty Acres - is that even though all the buildings are false fronts, when you're
working there, you get the feeling of being in a small town. You forget that on
the other side of the fence is one of the biggest cities in the world."
(from mrpophistory.com)
The small-town feeling cited by Andy Griffith wouldn't last long once one stepped through one of
Mayberry's doors...one that was real that is. As with nearly all of the structures in 40 Acres,
the buildings and homes that served as
the town of "Mayberry" (for example) were for the most part mere facades, and were almost never
used for filming of interior scenes. With rare exceptions, there were only prop walls behind
doors and windows, which gave the illusion of an actual interior. Instead, interior scenes were
filmed in the Desilu Cahuenga studio facilities about six miles away in Hollywood. Conversely, even
some "outdoor" scenes were filmed in the studio, on partial sets constructed to match the exterior
facades in 40 Acres. For example, many of the scenes which took place on the sidewalk in front
of the Mayberry Courthouse and Floyd's Barbershop were shot in the studio on a duplicate set.
The lighting is usually a giveaway on these scenes, which almost always lack the genuine outdoor
"feel" of those shot on the actual outdoor set.
"Stalag 13" Set, Hogan's Heroes
(note the simulated snow on roofs of barracks)
The Tara mansion in Gone With The Wind stood in this area of
40 Acres for at least two decades. Prior to being home to Hogan's Heroes'
"Stalag 13," this area was used for construction of an ancient city featured in
the 1965 film, The Greatest Story Ever Told.
Camp Henderson Barracks, Gomer Pyle, USMC
This area was also the location for the home and farm of The Real McCoys
television series which ran from 1957-1963.
Gone With The Wind's Railroad Depot Set - Nearly 30 Years Later
Arab Village
Part of the original Jerusalem city for Cecil B. DeMille's King of Kings (1927),
this set was also featured (redressed) as an Arab village in David Selznick's
Garden of Allah (1936), and continued over the years to be used as a locale
in a number of films and television series.
Western Street
This western street set adjacent to the Arab village set saw many appearances
in television shows, including Bonanza, which filmed five episodes here in its
later seasons. An earlier western street set was located in the southeastern
area of the backlot.
Acknowledgements
John Bertram (Culver Studios)
Julie Lugo Cerra (City of Culver City)
Jake Easton (Radok)
Randy Garrett
Jerry Krumm
Allan Newsome (The Andy Griffith Show Rerun Watchers Club)
Jim Nolt (The Adventure Continues)
Joel Rasmussen
Jerry Schneider
and
Mark Wanamaker (Bison Archives)
The original version of this web page debuted on May 27, 2006.
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