Up a hill just northwest of the railroad depot stood Scarlett O'Hara's "Tara" mansion facade from Gone With the Wind. The facade was intended to be filmed only from the front
side, which faced east, and as with most other 40 Acres sets, there were no back walls...only wooden beams and supporting framework. The set was dismantled in 1959 and shipped to Georgia
for intended restoration and display, however, the restoration was not practical due to the
nature of and poor condition of the set, and what did remain was cut up and sold piecemeal to
collectors at auction in the 1990's. The mansion's front door survived, and is in a private collection.
aerial view of Tara mansion from Gone With The Wind, early summer 1958, which was situated near the northwest corner of the backlot. This set was
disassembled and removed in 1959, and the area ultimately was home to the "Stalag 13"
set for TV's Hogan's Heroes (from Desilu/Westinghouse sponsor film)
virtual view of Tara mansion
(ray-traced rendering from 3D model)
The deteriorated state of the "Tara" set two decades after its construction is evident in this photograph taken circa 1959
(courtesy Bison Archives)
virtual view of Tara mansion
(ray-traced rendering from 3D model)
another virtual view of Tara mansion
(ray-traced rendering from 3D model)
in this still frame from The Adventures of Superman, the Tara Mansion can be
seen in the distance, just to the left of and slightly below actor George Reeves' elbow
(with thanks to Jerry Krumm whose definitive research several years ago confirmed the location of this scene as well as of the Tara mansion)
Elsewhere in 40 Acres
Southwest corner
Southwest of the railroad depot was a western town set built in the late 1950's, and adjacent to
it, an older Arab village set which also frequently doubled in various appearances
as a Spanish or Mexican town. Further southwest was the filming area for TV's The Real
McCoys, an area in which would later be erected the quonset huts used for exterior filming
in Gomer Pyle, USMC. The main entrance to the backlot (from Ince Blvd.) was also in the
southwest corner.
aerial view and guide to 40 Acres southwest corner from 1965,
featuring the exterior set for Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C.,
the Arab village and the western town sets.
a view of the 40 Acres western town set, from The Untouchables. The western
town set was constructed for the 1958 Desilu TV series "The Texan."
view of western town set from Batman. The western town also appeared, oddly
enough, in "My Three Sons," and also in several episodes of "Bonanza"
another view of western town set from Batman
western town set (from Batman)
southward view of the railroad "yard" adjacent to the western town,
with Baldwin Hills in the b.g. (from The Untouchables)
view in opposite direction, of railroad track and its road crossing at the edge
of the western town (from The Untouchables)
view of the railroad crossing and the west end of the western town, from
My Three Sons. Note that the town is dressed as "Cloverville," as it
was named in its appearance in The Untouchables.
as seen here, one of the two diverging tracks in the railroad
yard set ended at the tree line just north of the Real McCoys/Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C. exterior set location, while the track in the foreground crossed the western town
street as seen in the previous image. the tower seen here
later served as one of the guard towers for the Hogan's Heroes
Stalag 13 set (dual-frame from The Andy Griffith Show)
Immediately adjacent to the western town was an Arab village with origins in
the silent era (e.g. "Forbidden Woman", "Fighting Love" and "King of Kings," all
1927), and which later was redressed for David Selznick's "The Garden of Allah" (1936).
The sets also later appeared in
films such as Selznick's "Intermezzo" (1939) and Alfred Hitchcock's "Rebecca" (1940),
as well as in the RKO Tarzan films. In the 1960's, this set also appeared in episodes of
various television series, including "Mission Impossible," "Batman" and "Hogan's Heroes."
The Arab village also appeared in the Star Trek episode, "Errand of Mercy."
Wally's Service Station, from The Andy Griffith Show, was
located immediately west of the Arab village, and east of the Real McCoys/Gomer Pyle, USMC filming area.
the "Wally's" set re-dressed as a diner, for an episode of Gomer Pyle, USMC.
view east near "Wally's Service Station", with entrance visible to the backlot's wooded, southern edge road which paralleled Ballona Creek (from Gomer Pyle, USMC)
earlier view (circa 1962) northwest from "Wally's Service Station" with barn & sheds from The Real McCoys
in b.g.. these structures were removed by 1964, and the Gomer Pyle quonset huts were
constructed immediately south of the barn (from The Andy Griffith Show)
a view of the same barn seen in the background in the previous image, five years earlier, from The Real McCoys
The Real McCoys' house, located just south of the barn
the water tower seen here to the southwest of the barn would several years later be re-used
in the "Stalag 13" set for Hogan's Heroes (from The Real McCoys)
another view of same barn from The Andy Griffith Show, looking south. The tree seen
in both this and the view from "Wally's" was preserved when the Gomer Pyle quonset huts
were constructed, and can be seen in their midst in some of the images which follow.
yet another view of the "McCoys'" barn and shed from The Andy Griffith Show, looking northeast
westward view of the set of Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C.,
directly across the road from "Wally's Service Station," with
Culver City residences visible in the background.
view south of the Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C. set and Culver City's
Baldwin Hills in b.g., from just north of
the fence and small shack (see aerial view for orientation)
a high-angle view in the same general location & direction, roughly five years
earlier. the same large tree is common to both images. note the corner of
the Arab village set visible at upper left (from The Untouchables)
view from The Andy Griffith Show, northwest from Wally's Service Station,
in which the corner of a quonset hut from the Gomer Pyle, USMC exterior set
is visible to the left. The fence and small
shack seen in the previous photo are also visible in the distance.
view southwest along grassy slope immediately to the northwest
of the Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C. set
In The Andy Griffith Show, the grassy slope to the
north of the Gomer Pyle quonset huts served as a football
field. This image from a scene at the field is looking northeast
at the fence and small shack, and in the background, clearly visible
are two facades in the 40 Acres western town.
view southeast of Ince Blvd. entrance and backlot guard shack, appearing
here as a U.S. Marines guard shack in Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C..
Across Ballona Creek from the main 40 Acres backlot was a small jungle and lake set
which was prominently featured in RKO's Tarzan films of the 1940's (from
The Andy Griffith Show)
seen here are two of the large berms created around the backlot
by Desilu some time around 1960. these earthen mounds allowed for the illusion of rural
settings in relatively cramped spaces which were surrounded by a variety of exterior sets. the berms seen here were near the southern edge of the backlot, just southwest of the railroad depot. visible rising in the distance in this view northeast is the tip of the church tower in
the midwestern town area. (from Gomer Pyle)
in this scene from Hogan's Heroes, we see a railroad trestle section which has been
been constructed between the two berms seen in the previous image.
in the same location a few years earlier sat the house facade seen in these two images, both
from the 1966 film "Ride Beyond Vengeance." in the second image, we see the house viewed from
the street of the Western town.
In the mid-to-late-1960's, the northwest corner of the backlot (and former location of
the Gone With The Wind "Tara" set) was home to "Stalag 13" of TV's "Hogan's Heroes."
aerial view and guide to 40 Acres northwest corner from 1965, featuring the "Stalag 13"
set for Hogan's Heroes. The buildings and facades on this
set were situated to block views of Culver City residences on Lucerne
Avenue immediately adjacent to the backlot. From the north to the east,
high berms blocked views of the city.
view northeast from Stalag 13 set. telephone poles along Culver City's
Higuera St. are visible just beyond the dirt berm
in this image from Hogan's Heroes, the water tower at the
Desilu Studios complex just west of 40 Acres can be seen in the background.
The snow-bare Baldwin Hills of Culver City stand in odd contrast to "Stalag 13"
and its simulated snow scattered about the set (from Hogan's Heroes)
immediately east of the Tara / "Stalag 13" area were a barn and others sheds and facades
occasionally seen in The Andy Griffith Show as farm exteriors. a high berm
protects the view northeast, but if the
camera were to pan slightly left, one would see the guard towers of "Stalag 13"
just up the dirt road.
to the rear of the set in the right-hand side of the previous image was a large barn
set, seen here in one of the few Bonanza episodes which filmed on the backlot.
this view south also includes the backdrop of Culver City's Baldwin Hills.
another view of the barn set, now slightly modified. the barn was a frequent
filming location in Hogan's Heroes.
the western town's barn set also made an appearance in the first season of Mayberry R.F.D..
a frequent filming location for nearly all of the television series which filmed
in 40 Acres, "berm road" paralleled Higuera St. just to the north, and whose utility poles
are visible in the background (from The Andy Griffith Show). The green shed seen
in the background was not a set, but instead served the utilitarian function as the backlot's restroom.
another view of "berm road" (from The Andy Griffith Show)
immediately north of the railroad depot, and adjacent to the vantage point
in the previous photo, were three facades (a house and two sheds)
facing each other in a circle and surrounded by a fence. This setting is believed to have been
constructed in 1960 for the shortlived Desilu sitcom "Guestward Ho!" It may have
also been used in the 1964 series "Kentucky Jones."
the house facade seen in the previous image was later modified as seen here in 1968, when
it was serving as Sam Jones' farmhouse in Mayberry R.F.D., a spinoff of The Andy
Griffith Show.
another view of the Sam Jones' farm house set, from the opening credits of Mayberry R.F.D.
For Mayberry R.F.D., a new barn facade was added to the east of and perpendicular to the ranch house. In this view looking east, we can also see the backs of the sets along the
40 Acres main street, with the 4-story "hotel" dominating the skyline.
a wider angle view showing the relative positioning of the house and barn facades in 1968
(from Mayberry R.F.D.)
Eastern wedge & southern edge
aerial view of eastern tip of 40 Acres, early summer 1958, with bombed-out
European town and reform school sets in foreground (see below).
The back side of the church, and the midwestern town area are visible top
center (from Desilu/Westinghouse sponsor film)
In this unusual view, we are in the eastern wedge of the backlot (now cleared of
all sets seen in the previous view), looking west,
and visible in the distance is the back side of the church (left), as well as the dilapidated
houses at the east end of the residential street, along with the taller "Aunt Pittypat's"
house (right)
(with thanks to Jack Thompson)
view southwest from church lawn. the houses seen here back up to
facades at the east end of the midwestern town area, and are also visible
in the preceding aerial, just to the left of top center
(from Mission Impossible)
view in same direction...twenty years earlier...from the 1948
film The Miracle of the Bells. This area of the backlot area
was referred to as the "Barracks" area by RKO and later, Desilu Studios.
view west of a vintage set on the south side of the back lot, partially visible
in the distant background in the previous image (from The Untouchables)
another use of the same set seen in the previous image, from
a different episode of The Untouchables
The "barracks" area again (view west), including the same set seen in
the previous images, from the film Jet Pilot, where
these sets served as a Russian village. Jet Pilot was
released in 1957, but filmed in 1951-1953.
view northeast and uphill, of church and parsonage, roughly from same vantage point as in
previous photo. the wall and gate are additions for the scene (from Mission: Impossible)
Reform School Set
built for The Godless Girl (1929)
One of the earliest sets built in 40 Acres, the reform school for
the 1929 silent film "The Godless Girl" was
constructed in the backlot's eastern tip, atop a knoll at what would
later be the eastern end of the residential street. In this view east,
we see the yard of the school, with a fence separating the boys from
the girls.
In this view from The Godless Girl, we are looking northwest from
the eastern tip of the backlot.
In this eastward-looking behind-the-scenes photo from Gone With The Wind, the
reform school set can be seen in the background. The set is also partially visible
in the film in an earlier scene.
In the 1945 war film, The Story of G.I. Joe, the reform school set
(seen in the background just right of center) was part of a bombed-out European town.
This view is roughly from the same location as the second photo above.
The reform school set, with its connecting walkway now absent, and seen here
in a closeup view looking northwest, appeared again in the 1956 war film Attack!.
In this view from an early episode of The Andy Griffith Show,
the reform school set can be seen in the background (upper right). The set was demolished
some time in the early 1960's, after having stood on the backlot for over
thirty years.
The decrepit reform school set looms in the background in this scene
from My Three Sons.
In this publicity photo from The Andy Griffith Show circa 1963, the reform
school set is visible in the background. The set for Andy Taylor's house is also
visible to the left.
The reform school set is again visible, this time viewed from the
dirt road south of the church, in this previously unpublished
behind-the-scenes view from The Andy Griffith Show, photographed
on December 3, 1962 during the filming of the episode "The Loaded Goat."
(a RetroWeb Archives image)
one more for the road...
view north from Baldwin Hills, with portion of 40 Acres backlot visible
in background of a scene from The Adventures of Superman.
The railroad depot structure is prominently visible to the left of the frame, seen end
on from the south side. In the middle of the frame,
the western end of the main street is visible, including the "Atlanta
Examiner" building from Gone With The Wind. To the far right of the
frame, the 4-story building in the midwestern town area is also visible. Click
here
for a captioned view of the same image.
By the early 1970's, the "40 Acres" backlot had fallen into disrepair and was seeing little use
in TV or film. In 1976, the acreage was sold to industry, and bulldozers brought down the final curtain on the backlot. Of course, it wasn't truly the final
curtain, as the streets and facades of 40 Acres are immortalized on film...which was in fact
the only purpose of the backlot from its outset. That said, it's still a shame that this place
so full of film and television history was not preserved for the ages.
Comments / Questions ?
