RKO Forty Acres

Forty Acres was a film studio backlot that belonged to RKO Pictures and Desilu Productions, located in Culver City, California. Best known as Forty Acres, or "the back forty" ["Back 40" is a term used colloquially in America to describe a parcel of land, specifically, forty acres or one sixteenth of a section, constituting the smallest unit of agricultural land commonly surveyed ("back 40," "front 40"); "back 40" also refers to an undeveloped plot of land (as on a farm, ranch, etc.) of unspecified size. Further reading: Public Land Survey System] , it had other names such as "Desilu Culver" [cite book
first=Alan | last=Asherman | year=1989
title=The Star Trek Compendium | publisher=Pocket | id=ISBN 067168440x [http://www.amazon.com/dp/0671796127 Amazon.com] ] , the "RKO backlot" and "Pathé 40 Acre Ranch" depending on which studio owned the property at the time. For nearly fifty years it was famous for its outdoor full-scale sets such as Western Street and Atlanta Street or Main Street and was used in films like "King Kong"cite web |url= http://www.radoknews.com/andy-griffith-show.html|title= Radok Corporation, (©1998 – 2003)|accessdate=2008-02-28 |format=html |work= ] (1933) and "Gone with the Wind"Radok Corporation, (©1998 – 2003) [http://www.radoknews.com/andy-griffith-show.html Radok News] ] (1939), and television shows like "Bonanza" and ""Radok Corporation, (c) (1998 – 2003) [http://www.radoknews.com/andy-griffith-show.html Radok News] ] . It was situated on a triangular parcel of land that measured 28½cite book
first=Joseph | last=Musso | year=1993
title=Forty Acres: A History of RKO Backlot Films (article)| publisher=Burroughs Bulletin #14 [http://www.burroughsbibliophiles.com/ Burroughs Bulletin] ] acres, located a few blocks from RKO (now "The Culver Studios"cite web
url=http://www.theculverstudios.com/landing_pages/9,3.html
title=The Culver Studios (©2006)
accessdate=2008-03-07
format=html
work=About Us - Studio History] ) which was situated to the west. It was bounded by Higuera Street to the north, West Jefferson Boulevard, Ballona Creek and Baldwin Hills to the south and Lucerne Avenue to the west. In 1976 it was razed for re-development and is known today as the southern expansion of the Hayden Industrial Tract [cite web
url=http://wikimapia.org/42604/
title=Wikimapia.org (2006)
accessdate=2008-03-07
format=html
work=Hayden Tract Culver City] .

History

The property on which the backlot was located was originally intended to be a lease for Cecil B. DeMille’s production of the 1927 film "The King of Kings"The Culver Studios (©2006) "About Us" [http://www.theculverstudios.com/landing_pages/9,3.html The Culver Studios] ] . On it he constructed the historical City of Jerusalem, which remained for the RKO production of "King Kong" in 1933. By then it was known as Forty Acres and owned by RKO Pictures.

In 1935 David O. Selznick leased the property from RKO for his new studio, Selznick International Pictures. For his 1939 production of "Gone with the Wind", the plantation "Tara", the Atlanta Depot, and other Atlanta buildings were constructed on Forty Acres. The depot and many of the Atlanta buildings became permanent fixtures on the property till its final days, while the set of "Tara" was sold in 1959 to investors who planned to open a theme park in the Atlanta area (see Tara Plantation). From 1943 to 1958, a separate part of the 28½ acres known as the African jungle set, located on the opposite side of Ballona Creek, was used extensively for the "Tarzan" series by RKO, and later for "The Adventures of Jim Bowie" television series by Desilu.cite book
first=Joseph | last=Musso | year=1993
title=Forty Acres: A History of RKO Backlot Films (article)| publisher=Burroughs Bulletin #14 [http://www.burroughsbibliophiles.com/ Burroughs Bulletin] ] Following years of turnovers by several owners, including Howard Hughes, the backlot was practically deserted and cinematic productions declined. It was purchased in 1957 by Desilu with the intention of filming for the burgeoning television industry.

Television

Forty Acres is best remembered for providing the backdrop for the fictional town of Mayberry on the television hit series "The Andy Griffith Show"cite web
url=http://www.jimnolt.com/fortyacres1.htm
title=Garrett, Randy (2001)
accessdate=2008-03-07
format=html
work=Metropolis and Mayberry] . Many of the street scenes and buildings on the backlot were seen regularly on television screens across America and became quite familiar with viewers. The original Town of Atlanta set, comprising a New York style street, a town square and a residential area to the east, was situated in the center of the property and was used on shows like "Adventures of Superman"Radok Corporation, (©1998 – 2003) [http://www.radoknews.com/andy-griffith-show.html Radok News] ] , "Ozzie and Harriet"Radok Corporation, (©1998 – 2003) [http://www.radoknews.com/andy-griffith-show.html Radok News] ] , "Batman"Radok Corporation, (©1998 – 2003) [http://www.radoknews.com/andy-griffith-show.html Radok News] ] , "The Green Hornet"Radok Corporation, (©1998 – 2003) [http://www.radoknews.com/andy-griffith-show.html Radok News] ] and ""cite web
url=http://www.retroweb.com/40acres_tour.html
title=Teague, Kipp (©2008)
accessdate=2008-03-07
format=html
work=RKO 40 Acres photo tour] . It was also used on "" in three episodes entitled "Miri", "The Return of the Archons" and "The City on the Edge of Forever". Sharp-eyed television viewers could note many visual cues that crossed over from one series to the next, including the structures themselves, or signs on doors and windows. In "Star Trek's" "The City on the Edge of Forever" for example, a crossover from "The Andy Griffith Show" was evident by noting a window sign for "Floyd's Barber Shop" in a particular scene involving Captain Kirk (William Shatner) and Edith Keeler (Joan Collins) who were strolling by.Teague, Kipp (©2008) "RKO 40 Acres photo tour" [http://www.retroweb.com/40acres_tour.html RetroWeb] ] .

Forty Acres was also the backdrop for a 1961 episode of "My Three Sons" entitled "The Horseless Saddle", and five episodes of the hit TV series "Bonanza" where the backlot’s Western Street, next to the "Garden of Allah" (1936) set, served as a trail town. An added feature was the fact that some portions of the backlot were occupied by fields and scrub and provided the ideal conditions for filming a western. The "Tara" set, which sat on a sloping rise at the north western corner of the property, was torn down in 1959 to eventually become the Stalag 13 set for "Hogan's Heroes"Radok Corporation, (©1998 – 2003) [http://www.radoknews.com/andy-griffith-show.html Radok News] ] . Most of the sets, which included Camp Henderson on "Gomer Pyle"Radok Corporation, (©1998 – 2003) [http://www.radoknews.com/andy-griffith-show.html Radok News] ] , were situated primarily in the center, south and west end of the property. The narrower east end was the site of a western town set at one time, and was later home to an unusual, narrow alley set lined by two long facades facing each other. The alley set was constructed for the 1968 Robert Wise film "Star!" starring Julie Andrews, and it also later made a brief appearance in the 1975 film Switchblade Sisters, as did the streets and buildings of the central town area.

Overall, the property was an undulating plateau with a southern slope (by the town square) that led to Ballona Creek. Picturesque Sycamore Maple and willow trees dotted the northern and southern perimeter of the property.

List of familiar backlot buildings

Core structures that stood for decades and appeared in many productions are listed here, most of which were constructed to represent, in "Gone with the Wind", the antebellum Town of Atlanta, and later used for the fictional Mayberry. This portion of the backlot was the most permanent, and thus the most repeatedly recognizable, existing from 1939 until 1976. Other structures like the Jerusalem set, which was torchedThe Culver Studios ©2006) "About Us" [http://www.theculverstudios.com/landing_pages/9,3.html The Culver Studios] ] to make room for the Atlanta set, or Tara, which was replaced with the "Hogan Heroes" stalag set, did not survive as long. The western/European set at the east end of the backlot also did not survive past the mid sixties.

The two main arteries that traversed the Atlanta/Mayberry set were Atlanta or Main Street, which ran east/west and opened at one point onto a town square, and North Street, a cross street that bisected it at the four cornersTeague, Kipp (©2008) "RKO 40 Acres photo tour" [http://www.retroweb.com/40acres_tour.html RetroWeb] ] just west of the square.

List of productions at Forty Acres

Film

* "The King of Kings" (1927)
* "The Godless Girl"Teague, Kipp (©2008) "RKO 40 Acres photo tour" [http://www.retroweb.com/40acres_tour.html RetroWeb] ] (1929)
* "Bird of Paradise"cite web
url=http://employees.oxy.edu/jerry/rko40.htm
title=Occidental College (©2008)
accessdate=2008-03-07
format=html
work=Forty Acres] (1932)
* "The Most Dangerous Game" (1932)
* "King Kong" (1933)
* "The Return of Chandu" [http://employees.oxy.edu/jerry/rko40.htm Forty Acres] ] (1934)
* "The Little Minister"cite web
url=http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=158609&mainArticleId=158602
title=Miller, Frank - Turner Classic Movies (no date)
accessdate=2008-03-07
format=html
work=Spotlight: The Little Minister] (1934)
* "Bonnie Scotland"Miller, Frank (no date) "Spotlight: "The Little Minister" [http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=158609&mainArticleId=158602 Turner Classic Movies] ] (1935)
* "The Garden of Allah" (1936)
* "Little Lord Fauntleroy" (1936)
* "Gone with the Wind" (1939)
* "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" [cite book
first=Boyd Magers | last=Michael G. Fitzgerald | year=1989
title=Ladies of the Western, pg 9 | publisher=McFarland | id=ISBN 0786411406 [http://books.google.ca/books?id=Yj1BU60we_cC&pg=PA9&lpg=PA9&dq=%22rko+backlot%22&source=web&ots=1HWWflGNJc&sig=alGe1E5dScwsddA8bn5o0FHPG84&hl=en Google Book Search] ] (1939)
* "Rebecca" (1940)
* "Citizen Kane" (1941)
* "The Magnificent Ambersons" [http://employees.oxy.edu/jerry/rko40.htm Forty Acres] ] (1942)
* "Tarzan Triumphs" (1943)
* "Tarzan's Desert Mystery" [http://employees.oxy.edu/jerry/rko40.htm Forty Acres] ] (1943)
* "The Falcon in Hollywood" [cite web
url=http://www.movierevie.ws/movies/1050770/The-Falcon-in-Hollywood.html
title=Net Industries (©2008)
accessdate=2008-03-07
format=html
work=Movie Reviews for The Falcon in Hollywood] (1944)
* "Tarzan and the Amazons" (1945)
* "The Story of G.I. Joe"Teague, Kipp (©2008) "RKO 40 Acres photo tour" [http://www.retroweb.com/40acres_tour.html RetroWeb] ] (1946)
* "The Devil and Daniel Webster" (1946)
* "The Long Night" (1947)
* "Tarzan and the Huntress" (1947)
* "Miracle of the Bells" (1948)
* "The Set-Up" (1949)
* "Tarzan's Magic Fountain"cite book
first=Joseph | last=Musso | year=1993
title=Forty Acres: A History of RKO Backlot Films (article)| publisher=Burroughs Bulletin #14 [http://www.burroughsbibliophiles.com/ Burroughs Bulletin] ] (1949)
* "The Big Steal" [cite web
url=http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article/?cid=86564
title=Stafford, Jeff - Turner Classic Movies (no date)
accessdate=2008-03-07
format=html
work=Spotlight: The Big Steal] (1949)
* "The Great Rupert" (1950)
* "Where Danger Lives"Teague, Kipp (©2008) "RKO 40 Acres photo tour" [http://www.retroweb.com/40acres_tour.html RetroWeb] ] (1950)
* "Tripoli"Teague, Kipp (©2008) "RKO 40 Acres photo tour" [http://www.retroweb.com/40acres_tour.html RetroWeb] ] (1950)
* "Tarzan's Peril" [http://employees.oxy.edu/jerry/rko40.htm Forty Acres] ] (1951)
* "Superman and the Mole Men" (1951)
* "Macau" [cite web
url=http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article/?cid=103608
title=Wood, Bret - Turner Classic Movies (no date)
accessdate=2008-03-07
format=html
work=Spotlight: Macau] (1952)
* "One Minute To Zero" (1952)
* "Tarzan and the She-Devil" cite book
first=Joseph | last=Musso | year=1993
title=Forty Acres: A History of RKO Backlot Films (article)| publisher=Burroughs Bulletin #14 [http://www.burroughsbibliophiles.com/ Burroughs Bulletin] ] (1953)
* "The Raid" (1954)
* "Escape to Burma" [cite web
url=http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/16044/Escape-to-Burma/overview
title=Erickson, Hal - All Movie Guide (2008)
accessdate=2008-04-11
format=html
work=New York Times review] (1955)
* "Night of the Hunter" (1955, riot scene only)
* "Around the World in Eighty Days" (1956, jungle set)
* "Attack!"Teague, Kipp (©2008) "RKO 40 Acres photo tour" [http://www.retroweb.com/40acres_tour.html RetroWeb] ] (1956)
* "Death of a Scoundrel" [cite web
url=http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article/?cid=24089
title=Stafford, Jeff - Turner Classic Movies (no date)
accessdate=2008-03-07
format=html
work=Spotlight: Death of a Scoundrel] (1956)
* "Jet Pilot"Teague, Kipp (©2008) "RKO 40 Acres photo tour" [http://www.retroweb.com/40acres_tour.html RetroWeb] ] (1957)
* "The Greatest Story Ever Told" (1965)
* "Star!"Teague, Kipp (©2008) "RKO 40 Acres photo tour" [http://www.retroweb.com/40acres_tour.html RetroWeb] ] (1968)
* "Switchblade Sisters" [Krumm, Jerry (no date) "Batman and Forty Acres" [http://www.jimnolt.com/batman.htm JimNolt.com] ] (1975)
* "LepkeTeague, Kipp (©2008) "RKO 40 Acres photo tour" [http://www.retroweb.com/40acres_tour.html RetroWeb] ] (1975)
* "Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS" (1975)
* "Vigilante Force" (1976)

Television

* "Adventures of Superman" (first season only, 1951-52)
* "The Adventures of Jim Bowie"cite book
first=Joseph | last=Musso | year=1993
title=Forty Acres: A History of RKO Backlot Films (article)| publisher=Burroughs Bulletin #14 [http://www.burroughsbibliophiles.com/ Burroughs Bulletin] ] (Tarzan jungle set / 1956-58)
* "The Californians" (1957)
* "The Real McCoys"cite web
url=http://www.1966batfan.com/40acres.htm
title=The 1966 "Batman" TV Tribute Site
accessdate=2008-03-25
format=html
work=40 Acres Backlot] (1957-62)
* "US Marshal" (1958-59)
* "Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse" (1958-1960)
* "The Texan" (1958-60)
* "Man With a Camera" (1958-60)
* "The Untouchables" [cite web
url=http://www.edrobertson.com/stack.htm
title=Robertson, Ed (©1996, 2006)
accessdate=2008-03-07
format=html
work=Television Chronicles: Interview with Robert Stack] (1959-60)
* "Guestward Ho!" (1960)
* "The Andy Griffith Show" (1960-1968)
* "My Three Sons" (occasional scenes between 1960-67)
* "Miami Undercover" (1961)
* "Ben Casey"cite web
url=http://www.1966batfan.com/40acres.htm
title=The 1966 "Batman" TV Tribute Site
accessdate=2008-03-25
format=html
work=40 Acres Backlot ] (1961)
* "My Favorite Martian" (1963)
* "My Living Doll"cite web
url=http://www.1966batfan.com/40acres.htm
title=The 1966 "Batman" TV Tribute Site
accessdate=2008-03-25
format=html
work=40 Acres Backlot ] (1964)
* "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C." (1964-69)
* "I Spy" (episode "Cops & Robbers", 1966)
* "Hogan's Heroes" (1965-1971)
* "Family Affair"cite web
url=http://www.1966batfan.com/40acres.htm
title=The 1966 "Batman" TV Tribute Site
accessdate=2008-03-25
format=html
work=40 Acres Backlot ] (1966)
* "Batman" (1966-68)
* "The Green Hornet" (1966-67)
* "" (four first season episodes: 1966-67)
* "" [cite web
url=http://www.moviefreak.com/artman/publish/dvd_missionimpossible_s2.shtml
title=MovieFreak.com (©1999)
accessdate=2008-03-07
format=html
work=Mission Impossible] (first season only: 1966-67)
* "That Girl" (at least one scene in first season, 1966-67)
* "Bonanza" (episodes 271-275) [cite web
url=http://ponderosascenery.homestead.com/files/episode/season9.html
title=RM & Bonanza (©2000 – 2004)
accessdate=2008-03-07
format=html
work=Bonanza - Scenery of the Ponderosa] (1967-68)
* "Judd for the Defense" (1967-69)
* "Land of the Giants" (episode "Ghost Town", 1968)
* "Mayberry R.F.D." (first two seasons only: 1968-70)

See also

* Colonial Street
* History of film
* Movie studio

References