Bronson Canyon

Bronson Canyon is a section of Griffith Park in Los Angeles, California that has become famous as a filming location for a very large number of movies and TV shows, especially westerns and science fiction, from the early days of motion pictures to the present. Its craggy and remote-looking setting, but easily accessible location, has made it a prime choice for filmmakers, particularly of low-budget films, who want to place scenes in a lonely wilderness.

Originally named Brush Canyon, the famous hill and cave setting is on the western side of Griffith Park. In 1903, the Union Rock Company founded a quarry for excavation of crushed rock, used in the construction of city streets. The quarry ceased operation in the late 1920s, leaving the caves behind. The caves, known as the Bronson Caves, gave the area its more popular name of Bronson Canyon.

Scenes of the main cave entrance are normally filmed in a manner that shows the entrance at an angle. This is because the cave is actually a very short tunnel through the hill, with the rear opening easily visible in a direct shot. The most well known appearance of the tunnel entrance is likely as the entrance to the Batcave in the "Batman" television series of the 1960's.

Comprehensive Filmography

* [http://www.moviesites.org/filmsbronson.htm Bronson Canyon]

Partial list of motion pictures filmed in Bronson Canyon

(This list includes films with one or more scenes filmed in Bronson Canyon, including many serials filmed on location.)

* "Lightning Bryce" (1919)
* "Riders of the Purple Sage" (1925)
* "The Lightning Warrior" (1931)
* "Hurricane Express" (1932)
* "The Three Musketeers" (1933)
* "The Vampire Bat" (1933)
* "Mystery Mountain" (1934)
* "The Phantom Empire" (1935)
* "Robinson Crusoe of Clipper Island" (1936)
* "Zorro Rides Again" (1937)
* "Dick Tracy Returns" (1938)
* "Hawk of the Wilderness" (1938)
* "The Lone Ranger Rides Again" (1939)
* "The Adventures of Captain Marvel" (1941)
* "Call of the Canyon" (1942)
* "Leather Burners" (1943)
* "Pirates of Monterey" (1947)
* "Silver River" (1948)
* "Atom Man vs. Superman" (1949)
* "Mark of the Gorilla" (1950)
* "Flame of Araby" (1951)
* "Carson City" (1952)
* "Robot Monster" (1953)
* "Killers from Space" (1954)
* "The Day the World Ended" (1955)
* "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (1956)
* "The Searchers" (1956) [cite book | first= David | last=Rothel | year=1991 | title=Ambush of Ghosts: A Guide to Great Western Film Locations | publisher=Empire Publishing | location=Madison, WI, USA | id=ISBN 0944019102pages=39 & 150-5]
* "Night of the Blood Beast" (1957)
* "The Brain from Planet Arous" (1957)
* "Earth vs. the Spider" (1958)
* "Teenage Caveman" (1958)
* "The Jayhawkers" (1959)
* "Teenagers from Outer Space" (1959)
* "The Cape Canaveral Monsters" (1960)
* "Eegah" (1962)
* "Ride the High Country" (1962)
* "The Gun Hawk" (1963)
* "They Saved Hitler's Brain" ("Madmen of Mandoras") (1963)
* "The Human Duplicators" (1965)
* "Flaming Frontier" (1968)
* "The Mighty Gorga" (1969)
* "Equinox" (1970)
* "Octaman" (1971)
* "Lost Horizon" (1973)
* "Mrs. Sundance" (1974)
* "The Choirboys" (1977)
* "Last Ride of the Dalton Gang" (1979)
* "The Return" (1980)
* "The Legend of the Lone Ranger" (1981)
* "The Sword and the Sorcerer" (1982)
* "Thrashin' (1986)
* "The Wizard of Speed and Time" (1989}
* "" (1991)
* "The Roller Blade Seven" (1991)
* "Army of Darkness" (1993)
* "Guns of El Chupacabra (1997)
* "The End of Violence" (1997)
* "The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra" (2001)
* "The Scorpion King" (2002)
* "" (2003)
* "Vampire Blvd." (2004)
* "D-War" (2007)

TV series filmed in Bronson Canyon

* "Batman"
* "Gunsmoke"
* "The Lone Ranger"
* "Rawhide"
* "Bonanza"
* "Little House on the Prairie"
* "Have Gun, Will Travel"
* "Bat Masterson"
* "The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin"
* ""
* ""
* ""
* ""
* ""
* "Wonder Woman"
* "The Adventures of Brisco County Jr."
* "Salute Your Shorts" ("The Cursed Skull")
* "Combat!"
* "Beauty and the Geek"
* "V (TV series)"
* "The Outer Limits" (1960s)

References

External links

* [http://www.moviesites.org/bronson.htm Bronson Canyon in the Movies]
* [http://www.humanform.info/htm/bronson.htm Bronson Canyon - Representing the divine on earth]