"40 Acres"
The Lost Studio Backlot of Movie & Television Fame
a RetroWeb Studio Backlots website
The Early Years
1930 aerial view of Pathé 40 Acre Ranch (captioned) (scan courtesy Bison Archives) Seen in this aerial view looking east are most of the earliest sets built for Cecil B. DeMille's silent films in the 1920's, including the Temple of Jerusalem for "The King of Kings" (1927), along with the Jerusalem village area, a portion of which also made appearances as Morocco, Algeria and Tunis in "Forbidden Woman" and "Fighting Love" (both 1927), and which was later re-dressed as an Arab village for Selznick's "Garden of Allah" (1936). Other sets pictured include the lot's original city streets and facades believed to have been constructed for DeMille's "Chicago" (1927) (and later mostly replaced by Selznick's "Atlanta" sets), the medieval village and towers (reportedly dating to an early Vilma Bánky film), along with a Napoleonic French village built for "The Fighting Eagle" (1927). Not visible in this photo (off-camera at the top of the frame) is the large reform school set for "The Godless Girl" (1929). |
Tunis set for "Fighting Love" (1927) (scan courtesy Bison Archives) |
Temple of Jerusalem set from The King of Kings (1927) (scan courtesy Bison Archives) This massive set for Cecil B. DeMille's silent classic was constructed just west of the 40 Acres main street (seen in the foreground), and approximately where the Gone With The Wind railroad depot set would be built over a decade later. |
on the set of Cecil B. DeMille's "The King of Kings" (1927)
movie still from "The Fighting Eagle" (1927) |
movie still from "The Fighting Eagle" (1927) |
Algeria set from Forbidden Woman (1927) (scan courtesy Bison Archives) |
Reform school set from The Godless Girl (1929) This west-facing set for DeMille's final silent film was located in the eastern wedge of the backlot. Portions of the set stood until approximately 1963. |
French Village Sets and Ballona Creek in scene from The French Village set spanned Ballona Creek, connected by a bridge which spanned the creek until roughly 1935, when the Army Corp of Engineers was enlisted by Culver City to straighten the creek and line it with concrete in order to resolve a recurring flooding problem. The specific set seen here in the background is the same structure seen to the right in the photograph from "The Fighting Eagle" a few photos back. |
French Village Sets in scene from Seen here in this view west is a portion of the French Village sets on the north side of Ballona Creek, which is partly visible to the left. The horse and carriage on the left of the scene have just crossed the bridge seen in the previous photo. |
VIP visit to "Garden of Allah" sets - 1937 (scan courtesy Bison Archives) |
early Pathé Studios Sets - 1929 (scan courtesy Bison Archives) |
church set destroyed on film in "All Quiet on the Western Front" (1930) (scan courtesy Bison Archives) the set seen here, located south of Ballona Creek, was destroyed on film in "All Quiet on the Western Front." |
early street sets - 1937 (scan courtesy Bison Archives) with Baldwin Hills as a backdrop, this view south shows some of the early street sets of the backlot. the upper, north-facing portion of the facade seen here to the left, survived Selznick's transformation of the original sets for Gone With The Wind, and remained as seen until the backlot was razed in 1976. (this photo was dated 1932, however, the group of men seen here appear to be the same group of men seen in the 1937 photo in the Arab village set) |
early 1930's view of original street facades (from July 1936 "Stage" magazine article, w/ thanks to Marc Wanamaker) |
bridge and ruined farmhouse (from July 1936 "Stage" magazine article, w/ thanks to Marc Wanamaker) the bridge over Ballona Creek was eliminated in the mid-1930's when the Army Corp of Engineers channelized the creek and ultimately lined it with concrete. |
medieval village and tower sets (from July 1936 "Stage" magazine article, w/ thanks to Marc Wanamaker) |
the "King Kong" gate dressed for "She" (1935) (from July 1936 "Stage" magazine article, w/ thanks to Marc Wanamaker) |
view north of medieval towers set from "The Black Room" (1935) |
view east of medieval village set from "The Black Room" (1935) |
the 40 Acres farm house set
(from July 1936 "Stage" magazine article, w/ thanks to Marc Wanamaker)
this set appeared (modified) in "The Animal Kingdom" and a number of
other films. The 1940 plot plan labels it as the "Country Doctor" set,
which was the title of a 1927 DeMille picture.
1930 aerial view of Pathé 40 Acre Ranch (captioned) Seen in this aerial are most of the backlot's earliest sets built for Cecil B. DeMille's silent films in the 1920's, including the Temple of Jerusalem for "The King of Kings" (1927), along with the Jerusalem village area, a portion of which also made appearances as Morocco, Algeria and Tunis in "Forbidden Woman" and "Fighting Love" (both 1927), and which was later re-dressed as an Arab village for Selznick's "Garden of Allah" (1936). Other sets pictured include the lot's original city streets and facades believed to have been constructed for DeMille's "Chicago" (1927) (and later mostly replaced by Selznick's "Atlanta" sets), along with a Napoleonic French village built for "The Fighting Eagle" (1927). Not visible in this photo (off-camera to the left) is the large reform school set for "The Godless Girl" (1929). |
original 40 Acres city facades in scene from "The Fall Guy" (1930) In this view south down the 40 Acres cross-street, we see some of the lot's original city facades believed to have been built for DeMille's 1927 silent film "Chicago." These facades are visible in the above aerial (also a southward view), in the left third of the frame. |
early 40 Acres courthouse facade in scene from "The Fall Guy" (1930) This huge facade was immediately west of the city 4-way intersection, and faced north. It was presumably built for DeMille's 1927 silent film "Chicago." This facade is clearly visible in the above aerial. |
"Skull Island" wall and door from King Kong (1933)
The King Kong wall and gate was built re-using a portion of the Jerusalem temple set from The King of Kings
May 1938 aerial view of 40 Acres (captioned)
This aerial view of the backlot was taken seven months before the original main town and King Kong
wall & gate sets were set ablaze to depict the burning of Atlanta for Gone With The Wind
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Forty Acres Early Years Filmography
known and possible productions which used the backlot from 1927-1938 (grey=possible, light blue=reliably documented, white=confirmed) |
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Corporal Kate (1926) The Night Bride (1926) Chicago (1927) Dress Parade (1927) Blue Danube (1927) The King of Kings (1927) The Fighting Eagle (1927) Fighting Love (1927) Forbidden Woman (1927) Turkish Delight (1927) The Godless Girl (1929) The Leatherneck (1929) All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) The Fall Guy (1930) Beyond Victory (1931) Bird of Paradise (1932) The Most Dangerous Game (1932) The Animal Kingdom (1932) King Kong (1933) Morning Glory (1933) The Fighting Parson (1933) The Return of Chandu (1934) The Little Minister (1934) The Count of Monte Cristo (1934) Bonnie Scotland (1935) She (1935) The Black Room (1935) Let 'Em Have It (1935) The Three Musketeers (1935) Born to Gamble (1935) The Last Days of Pompeii (1935) Becky Sharp (1935) The Garden of Allah (1936) (Little Lord Fauntleroy's Brooklyn street scenes were filmed at Harold Lloyd's Westwood Location Ranch) A Star is Born (1937) The Prisoner of Zenda (1937) Nothing Sacred (1937) The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938) The Young in Heart (1938) Bringing Up Baby (1938) |
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