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"40 Acres"
The Lost Studio Backlot of Movie & Television Fame
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The Desilu Years
1958-1967

By 1958, 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 1958, after it was was purchased by Desilu Productions, the studio formed in 1951 by Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. For the next ten years, 40 Acres would provide exterior locations for the company's television productions, including The Untouchables, Star Trek, Mission: Impossible, Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse and Guestward Ho!. Other production companies also regularly leased or occasionally rented the backlot for exterior filming in television series such as The Andy Griffith Show, Adventures of Superman, The Real McCoys, My Three Sons, Gomer Pyle, USMC, Hogan's Heroes, Miami Undercover, Batman, Bonanza, Land of the Giants, That Girl, Mayberry R.F.D and The Green Hornet. 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.

A Forty Acres Flyover
In the early summer of 1958, Desi Arnaz led a guided aerial tour of the Desilu studio facilities as a part of a Westinghouse promotional film. Included in the tour was a flyover of the Forty Acres backlot, travelling from east to west.

Forty Acres Flyover - War Sets
War Sets 		Forty Acres Flyover - Midwestern Town
Midwestern Town 		Forty Acres Flyover - Chicago Street
Chicago Street
Forty Acres Flyover - "Gone With The Wind" railroad depot
Gone With The Wind's
Atlanta Railroad Depot 		Forty Acres Flyover - Western Town
Western Town
(under construction) 		Forty Acres Flyover - "Gone With The Wind" "Tara" mansion
Gone With The Wind's
"Tara" mansion



40 Acres War Sets in 1958
40 Acres War Sets in 1958
(scan courtesy Bison Archives)
Although purchased primarily for use in the company's television productions, Desilu continued to rent space on the Forty Acres backlot for motion picture production, including the bombed-out town sets in the eastern wedge of the property, immediately beyond the huge silent era reform school set. Here, the war sets are dressed for an obscure 1959 film, "Blood and Steel." 		40 Acres War Sets in 1958
40 Acres War Sets in 1958
(scan courtesy Bison Archives)
In this view looking northwest, we see the back side of the silent-era reform school set, and in the distant background, the "Aunt Pittypat" house facade from Gone With The Wind



40 Acres War Sets in 1958
40 Acres War Sets in 1958
(scan courtesy Bison Archives)
This eastward view features the huge silent-era reform school set, with the war-torn town beyond it. Keep an eye out later on this page for a photograph of Don Knotts, Andy Griffith and Jim Nabors from The Andy Griffith Show, taken from a nearby vantage point, and with the same backdrop.



Goodbye to "Tara"

Tara in Ruins at Forty Acres - circa 1959
Tara in Ruins at Forty Acres - circa 1959 		Tara in Ruins at Forty Acres - circa 1959
Tara in Ruins at Forty Acres - circa 1959

It stood for twenty years as a staple of the Forty Acres backlot, before being dismantled in the summer of 1959 and shipped away. Before "Tara" was removed, the mansion facade made a few final appearances in Desilu productions, including the television series "The Texan," as seen in the images below.

Tara in "The Texan"
The Tara mansion set was immediately northwest of the Western town built by Desilu, and it occasionally crept into scenes in the background, usually partially blocked by various objects, and/or with its front porch details hidden behind a barrier. In one episode, "A Time for Planting," the set appears in closeup in a flashback scene involving a derelict post-Civil War plantation setting.
Tara in "The Texan" (background right) Tara in "The Texan" (background left) Tara in "The Texan" (background right) Tara in "The Texan" Tara in "The Texan" (steps to kitchen house)



"The Untouchables" at 40 Acres - 1959
The Untouchables at 40 Acres - 1959
(scan courtesy Bison Archives)
"The Untouchables" star Robert Stack stands amidst vintage automobiles on the 40 Acres main street, dressed as 1920's Chicago. The roof of Gone With The Wind railroad depot is visible in the background, behind the single-story flat facades. 		"The Untouchables" at 40 Acres - 1959
The Untouchables at 40 Acres - 1959
(scan courtesy Bison Archives)
This photograph was taken during the filming of a first-season episode of "The Untouchables" in the seldom-seen "barracks" area of the backlot.



40 Acres Midwestern Town View circa 1960
40 Acres Midwestern Town View circa 1960
(scan courtesy Bison Archives)
This photograph of the 40 Acres midwestern town was taken during the filming of a first season episode of The Untouchables. 		40 Acres Midwestern Town View circa 1960
40 Acres Midwestern Town View circa 1960
(scan courtesy Bison Archives)
This photograph of the 40 Acres midwestern town...a view from the porch of the set soon to become the "Andy Taylor" residence in The Andy Griffith Show...was taken during the filming of a first season episode of The Untouchables.



40 Acres Flat Facade and GWTW Railroad Depot
Flat Facade and GWTW Railroad Depot
(scan courtesy Bison Archives)
This photo taken circa 1959 reveals the true nature of the single-story facades which faced east up the town's main street from its western end, and whose purpose was to "extend" the illusion of a town while also blocking at least the lower portion of the railroad depot set leftover from Gone With The Wind.



Aerial View of 40 Acres Backlot - Feb. 1963
Aerial View of 40 Acres Backlot - Feb. 1963
(scan courtesy Bison Archives)
This view of the backlot includes several prominent features, including
the Jerusalem city set for the film The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965)
(built where "Tara" formerly stood) and the sets for television's The Real McCoys (1957-1963).


Aerial View of 40 Acres Backlot - Dec. 1963
Aerial View of 40 Acres Backlot - Dec. 1963
(scan courtesy Bison Archives)
This photograph was taken ten months following 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.


"The Andy Griffith Show" at 40 Acres - December 1962
The Andy Griffith Show at 40 Acres - December 1962
With the "Mayberry Courthouse" facade as a backdrop, Andy Griffith and Don Knotts walk toward the 40 Acres residential street during filming of the episode "The Loaded Goat" on December 3, 1962. 		"The Andy Griffith Show" cast at 40 Acres
The Andy Griffith Show cast at 40 Acres
(scan courtesy Bart Boatwright)
Don Knotts, Andy Griffith and Jim Nabors are seen here on the 40 Acres residential street, posing for the camera. In the distant background are the remains of the reform school set from Cecil B. DeMille's silent era film "The Godless Girl" (1929).



40 Acres in 1965
Aerial View of 40 Acres Backlot - 1965
Aerial View of 40 Acres Backlot - 1965
(scan courtesy Bison Archives)
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).


40 Acres "Mayberry" sets seen in "The Andy Griffith Show"
"Mayberry" Sets - The Andy Griffith Show
Most of the "Mayberry" street facades were built in the 1940's (after the filming of Gone With The Wind), including the Courthouse/Sheriff's Office, the Taylor house, the church, and the polygonal building in the town center (home to the drugstore).

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.



Star Trek cast members at 40 Acres during filming for the episode "Miri"
Star Trek cast members at 40 Acres - August 1966
Several first season episodes of Star Trek included exteriors filmed at 40 Acres, including "Miri," "Errand of Mercy," "Return of the Archons" and "The City on the Edge of Forever." The original pilot, "The Cage," also utilized the backlot's Arab Village for a scene.



"Hogan
Hogan's Heroes cast members on the 40 Acres backlot
Hogan's Heroes' "Stalag 13" occupied the northwestern corner of the 40 Acres backlot, and was used for exterior filming for the entire six-year run of the series (1965-1971), well beyond Desilu's ownership of the lot.

"Stalag 13" set for Hogan's Heroes - 1965
(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.


another view of the "Stalag 13" set - 1966



The "Camp Henderson" set from "Gomer Pyle, USMC"
This view from Culver City's Baldwin Hills of the Gomer Pyle, USMC "Camp Henderson" quonset huts also includes the set seen in The Andy Griffith Show as "Wally's Service Station" (and later in the series and in Mayberry R.F.D. as "Goober's Service Station")




40 Acres, November 13, 1961 - CD-ROM set
Now available is a CD set of forty-nine high resolution photographs, scanned from original negatives shot in 1961, of the sets/facades of the Desilu Studios "Forty Acres" backlot. These images which offer an "architectural survey" of the majority of the sets of the backlot's main town, were shot during filming of The Andy Griffith Show episode, "The Manicurist," on November 13, 1961. This marks the first time these photographs have been made available other than as a set of prints offered by the collection's prior owner on eBay five years ago which reportedly sold for over $2000. The high resolution scans (each approx. 5300x5300 pixels) on the CD-ROM set have been made from the original Kodak 120 film square negatives (6cm x 6cm), and offer remarkable clarity. Included in the images are views of several facades which date to "Gone With The Wind" including the "Atlanta Examiner" and "Aunt Pittypat" sets. Also included are the "Mayberry Courthouse" and surrounding buildings, as well as the set which served as Andy Taylor's residence. Other areas of the backlot included in the photo survey include the Chicago street and L-train stairway seen in TV's "The Untouchables," the church set from the film "Miracle of the Bells," the "Traveler's Hotel" and apartment house from "The Long Night." A limited number of discs are being made available containing high resolution versions of these images, scanned from the original negatives. The price for this disc is $75 plus $4.95 shipping & handling. Below is a sampling of the 49 images on the disc.


Forty Acres 11-13-1961 49 Hi-Res Images From Original Negatives
(see samples below)

Total with shipping: $79.95 USD


If you are a 40 Acres enthusiast, please consider purchasing this disc in support of this web site, which is a not-for-profit operation. Other than one set of prints sold by this collection's prior owner on eBay back in 2004 (which disappeared into the hands of a private collector), this marks the first time these photographs have been seen by the public.


Web-resolution versions of many of the images on this CD set are scattered throughout
the web sites "40 Acres" Studio Backlot Image Gallery and Virtual Tour
and The Andy Griffith Show: A Behind-the-Scenes Gallery.




The Atlanta Examiner facade from "Gone With The Wind"
The "Hotel Cozy" from the 1949 film noir "The Set-Up"
The Georgia R.R. & Banking Co. Agency facade from "Gone With The Wind"
The church and priest's residence from "Miracle of the Bells" (1948)



The "Grand" (theater) and "Mayberry Hotel" sets
"Aunt Pittypat's" house facade from "Gone With The Wind"
The Chicago L-train stairway from TV's "The Untouchables"



The "Andy Taylor" residence from "The Andy Griffith Show"

The "Mayberry Courthouse" facade from "The Andy Griffith Show"




The "Traveler's Hotel" from the 1947 film noir "The Long Night"
"Mayberry" shops, including "Floyd's Barber Shop"




Forty Acres Desilu Years Filmography
known and possible productions which used the backlot from 1958-1967
(grey=possible, light blue=reliably documented, white=confirmed)
Film
Verboten! (1959)
Blood and Steel (1959)
The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965)
Ride Beyond Vengeance (1966)

Television
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952-66) (occasional backlot use at least in 1960's)
The Adventures of Jim Bowie (1956-58) (Tarzan jungle set)
The Californians (1957)
The Real McCoys (1957-62)
Lassie (1957-73)
US Marshal (1958-59)
Yancy Derringer (1958-59)
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse (1958-60)
The Texan (1958-60)
Man With a Camera (1958-60)
The Untouchables (1959-60)
Guestward Ho! (1960)
The Andy Griffith Show (1960-68)
My Three Sons (1960-67) (occasional use)
Miami Undercover (1961)
Window on Main Street (1961)
Ben Casey (1961)
Miami Undercover (1961)
My Favorite Martian (1963)
The Greatest Show on Earth (1963)
My Living Doll (1964)
The Tycoon (1964)
Kentucky Jones (1964)
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. (1964-69)
Peyton Place (1964-69)
I Spy (1966) (episode "Cops & Robbers")
Hogan's Heroes (1965-1971)
Family Affair (1966)
Batman (1966-68)
The Green Hornet (1966-67)
Star Trek (1966-67) (first pilot & four first season episodes)
Mission: Impossible (1966-67) (first season only)
That Girl (1966-67) (at least one scene in first season)
Felony Squad (1966-69)
Bonanza (1967-68) (episode #'s 271-275)
The Guns of Will Sonnett (1967-69)
Judd for the Defense (1967-69)
Land of the Giants (post-Desilu, 1968) (episode "Ghost Town")
Lancer (post-Desilu, 1968)
Mayberry RFD (post-Desilu, 1968-69) (seasons 1 and 2 only)
The New People (post-Desilu, 1969)


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