Friday, August 01, 2008

Tom Mix Ropes Them Up Location (The Alabama Hills Series)

(GPS: N36 35.860 W118 11.160)

Here is an easy one, but fun because it is a silent movie location:
Tom Mix made Riders of the Purple Sage in 1925. He made Just Tony (1922), Flaming Guns (1932), and Terror Trail (1932) here in Lone Pine as well. This is an easy to find location because they filmed in what is known today as Lone Pine Campground. In fact, if you reserve it, there is a camp parking spot right next to this rocks on the right side. Usually when I am here there is someone's car right next to these rocks.
The only movie I know of that has Henry Fonda in Lone Pine is How the West Was Won. In a scene, he had a cabin nearby that he lived in. John Wayne was nearby as well for North to Alaska. People tend to take pictures from here because you have a direct line to Mt. Whitney in the background.
You may have to click my picture to get a bigger view of it or look closely, but you can see the trail that was there in 1925. It looks like it splits around.
I like silent movie locations because those tend to be the harder ones to find. Most silent film areas are so old that they usually are built over unless you are away from civilization like this one.