40 Acres Studio Backlot - Rex McGee's Photographs from 1970

"40 Acres" Studio Backlot
Rex McGee's Photographs from 1970

Back in 1970, Rex McGee was eighteen years old and about to attend film school at the University of Southern California. Rex was in love with David Selznick's 1939 classic film, "Gone With The Wind," and he was determined to visit the Forty Acres backlot where the Atlanta train depot and other sets from the film still stood. On October 29, 1970, Rex managed to get onto the lot with his camera, and he shot twenty-seven color slides of various sets around the lot. Today, Rex McGee is a screenwriter, and he has generously provided for our collective enjoyment the following digital scans of the stunningly clear and colorful photographs he shot that day. Thank you Rex!

Atlanta train shed set from "Gone With the Wind"	Atlanta train shed set from "Gone With the Wind"	closeup of Atlanta train shed set southeast corner
closeup of Atlanta train shed set south end	closeup of Atlanta train shed set southeast corner	closeup of Atlanta train shed set southeast corner, in an angle roughly matching one seen in "Gone With The Wind." In the film, a matte painting was substituted for the top portion of the frame, giving the station a curved roof line, and adding an "ATLANTA" station name sign.
view of east wall of Atlanta train shed set	view of east wall of Atlanta train shed set	interior view of Atlanta train shed set
interior view of Atlanta train shed set	interior view of Atlanta train shed set, looking east.	west, unfinished side of Atlanta train shed set
west end of main street ("Atlanta Examiner" set from "Gone With The Wind" at left)	view north up cross street	midwestern town area
"Mayberry" sets, still dressed from their last use in "Mayberry R.F.D." Although the final season of this series was still in production at the time of this photograph, exterior filming had moved to the Warner Burbank backlot for this season.	The "Mayberry" Courthouse and "Emmett's Fix-It Shop" sets, still dressed from their last use in "Mayberry R.F.D."	view west down residential street
portion of Arab village set	"Goober's Service Station" (formerly "Wally's") from "Mayberry R.F.D."	The quonset huts originally built for "Gomer Pyle USMC," which had ended production a year prior. The sign seen here is from the most recent appearance of the sets in the short-lived ABC series, "The New People."
"Sam Jones'" ranch house, from the first two seasons of "Mayberry R.F.D." Although the final season of this series was still in production at the time of this photograph, exterior filming had moved to the Warner Burbank backlot for this season.	The "Stalag 13" sets from "Hogan's Heroes," situated generally where the "Tara" mansion set from "Gone With The Wind" once stood.	The "Stalag 13" sets from "Hogan's Heroes," still in use at the time of this photograph for exterior filming of the series' final season.
The "Stalag 13" sets from "Hogan's Heroes," still in use at the time of this photograph for exterior filming of the series' final season.	The "Stalag 13" sets from "Hogan's Heroes," still in use at the time of this photograph for exterior filming of the series' final season.	The still-standing colonial-style Culver City Studios administration building, built in 1919 as part of the Thomas H. Ince Studios, and which itself has appeared as a backdrop in a number of televisions series and films, including those dating to the silent era.

All photos Copyright © pending, Rex McGee.
Visit the IMDB profile page for Rex McGee.

Also be sure to visit the RetroWeb site:
40 Acres - The Lost Studio Backlot of Movie & Television Fame

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