Main streetat thel. W. EaoesMoaie Ranch, the state's ftrst Westernmouie set, south of SantaFe.

Movietowns set slage for aWesternrevlval storyand photography by DennisWall

ith the recent successof EavesMovie Ranch and the Cook homegrown-and is fast becom- such films as Kevin RanchMovie Set-are characters ing a sort of mini-Hollywood, Costner's DancesWith in themselves,each possessing its complete with a growing cast of Wolaesand Clint Eastwood's own unique talents. Like most L'ig-namestars taking up full- or Unforgiaen,the Western is back good actors,the setsare chame- part-time residencv.Garson with a steely-eyedvengeance. leons,able through skilled cos- Studios on the campus of College Filmmakers searchingfor a classic metic tinkering to alter their ap- of SantaFe provides first-rate Western townsite need look no pearanceagain and again, creat- soundstagesfor "interior" film- farther than the SantaFe area, ing new and often memorable set- ing. Other nearby sites,such as El where threeof moviedom's tings for the tales they tell. Ranchode las GolondrinasMu- prime Western movie setsare All three setsare located within seum and a Mexican village set found. an hour's drive of SantaFe. That's located near the EavesMovie Boarded up and empty be- no accidenl Producersof Western Ranch,serye as primary and col- tween shoots,these throwbacks movies require not only suitable lateral film sites. to Old West days rattle and creak terrain and authentic-looking In addition, photogenic locales like ghostscomplaining. But after structures,but also proximity to exist throughout New Mexico, the trucks arrive and the set hotels, eating placesand other including historic neighborhoods designersand crew begin "dress- practical amenitiesfor cast and in Las Crucesand LasVegas, the ing" them with paint and ply- crew, which can number in the red cliffs of Chama and Gallup, wood, thesemake-believe com- hundreds. SantaFe offers all the mountainsof Ruidosoand munities come alive. Soon decent those amenities,along with a pop- northernNew Mexico,and the folk and desperadoesfill their ulation that allows visiting celeb- white sandsand endlessplains streets,and the setsbustle like rities a degreeof privacy and nearAlamogordo. the century-old cowtowns and anonvmitv. Since1898, n'hen ThomasEdi- whistle-stops they're meant to Aciess io a skilled work force is son filmed Nerv Merico's land- portray. also critical, and here again Santa scape,hundreds of movieshave The state'sthree major Western Fe fills the bill. The city teems beenmade here.But a nerr phase movie towns-Glenn Hughes' with movie production people- in Westernmoviemaking began BonanzaCreek Ranch,the I. W. some Hollywood refugees,others in 1968,when T.\\'. Eavestook

26 NEW MEXICO MAGAZINE / IUNE 1994 I S

l.;iirr.q,snt the Eaues Mouie Ranch look authentic, but a stepto theside reaeals that sotne nre ncttrally falseJront structures.

NEW MEXICO MAGAZINE / JUNE 1994 27 Thechurch at theBonanza Creek Ranch stands solemnlv on a hill abouethe toutn.

Right-Imogene and GlennHughes operate theBonanza Creek Ranch,a L6,000-acre spreadsouth of SantaFe. Far ight-A close-up aiewof oneof thestore- fronts at theEaaes MoaieRanch.

28 NEW MEXICO MAGAZINE / TUNE1994 Actorsand extrasprepare to portray "Men WhoRide Sidesaddle and the WomenWho Loae Them" for a humorousbeer commercial. Smileu Productions shot the commercial at theBonanza Creek Ranch.

producerGene Kelly's advice Glenn Hughes, owner of the times thereafter,including a stint .rndbuilt a completeWestern BonanzaCreek Movie Ranchjust as Claire's house in the TV mini- tr)\r'non his ranch south of Santa south of SantaFe, remembers a seriesLonesome Doae. Fefor the filmThe CheyenneSocial visit by actor Jimmy Stewart for An Italian film company built CIub. the 1955filmThe Man From Hughes' presenttown in i989, Producedby Kelly and starring Laramie.That was the first film taking advantageof the site's I'ic'nrvFonda and famesStewart, shot on Hughes' 16,000-acre nearly unobstructed 360-degree ::.rsquirky tale of a vagabond working ranch,long beforehis view backdropped by moun- -.r\\'pokewho inheritsa brothel permanent set was built. The tains, prairie and stream-cut :.hered in the modern era in New ranch sincehas been used for arroyos-a varied terrain that can \tr'rico filmmaking. The stateal- more than 50 film productions, simulate a wide range of geo- .\avs hashad someof the world's including cattle-drive sequences graphical settings.The present :".\6t magnificent scenery;now it for the 1960sTV seriesRawhide BonanzaCreek set featuresfree- :fered a Western set rivaling any- and on a dramatically different standing, structurally complete ::.rngHollywood had ever con- note, background for the campy buildings, and has its own water -:ral up. Tab Hunter/Divine comedv Lusf and electricity. The J. W. EavesMovie Ranch In theDust. BonanzaCreek Movie Ranch -:rce hasbeen the locationfor In the late'70s,producers of The often is used in films depicting a -ores of films, including classics Legendof theLone Ranger built a pioneerish, rough-hewn period of .:ich as TheCowboys (starring fohn Western town on the ranch, but Old West history, such as the up- ,\ avne),Easy Rider, Billy lack and Hughes saysthat one didn't last coming Mickey Rooney/Gene :\)re recently Warner Brothers' long: "It was all false fronts, and Pauly production TheLegend of O. rrrc film WyattEarp. Eaves also we had a horrible time with it, B. Taggart,filmed there in late -.-::r- the set for music videos, with walls always blowing over. 1993.Like his neighbor Eaves, -..mmercials,still photographyfor So we tore it down." In 1983, Hughes also makes the set avail- .-rtalogsand print ads,and pri- director Lawrence Kasdan built a able for TV commercials,ad pho- '.-rle parties, complete with dra- ranchhouseand barn on Hughes' tography, music videos and pri- :--rtic shoot-outsand assorted property for his movie Silaerado. vate parties. -,.'rscplav. The tiny set was used several Despite the Disneyesquequality

NEWMEXICOMAGAZINE / NNE1,994 29 TheBonanza Creek Ranch duplicates the look of thepioneer phase of Westernsettlement.

of the towns, neither owner plans Random,did both Silaeradoand sitesportrayed a total of 10 sepa- to open his set to public accessri /a WyattEarp. A lot had fallen down rate towns. Arizona's Old Tucson.Insurance in the eight yearssince Silaerado, Italian-bornactor/ director/ costsand the hassleof dealing so it was completelvrebuilt. The producerTerence Hill was im- with large crowds put both men town was exp-andeilfrom sevento pressedenough with New Mex- off. In fact, says Hughes, given the 14 acres;we used about 100local ico's real and make-believeWest- choiceof supervising 200 tourists constructionpeople for the job. ern milieu to move his production or 200 longhorns, "I'd take the Somenew buildings were put up, company, Paloma Films, to Santa cows anytime." and we added a little Chinatown Fe in 1993.Hill is probablybest A third SantaFe-area Western alley. known in the U. S. for his roles in town, the Cook RanchMovie "Ida did a lot of research,using two 1970s"spaghetti Westerns," Set,was built in the mid-1980s old books,historic photosof TheyCalI MeTrinity andTrinity ls as the primary setting for Tombstone;a lot of the signage Still W Name,as well as for an- LawrenceKasdan's Silaerado. is authentic.We used one street other'70s classic(filmed in New Sincethen it's beenused at least for Dodge City. For that we Mexico), My Nameis Nobody,co- half a dozen times for a variety of added stockyardsat one end of starring Henry Fonda and direct- films. But none comparesto the town, and all the buildings sud- ed by legendaryshootrem-up five-month cinematic workout the denly had secondstories. We icon SergioLeone. town experiencedin 1993,when alsobrought in about 300cattle, Hill is one of the most popular Silaeradoprincipals Kasdan and sinceDodge was a big cattle starsin Europe,a continentthat Kevin Costner returned to pro- town." loves Westerns-with a little less duce Warner Brothers' Wyatt Filming of Wyatt Earp alternat- violence and a bit more sentiment Earp. ed between the Cook and Eaves than their U. S.counterparts. Publicist Spooky Stevens ranches,with a few scenesshot at Many of them are shot in the U.S., wouldn't confirm the film's El Ranchode las Golondrinas in English. For European distribu- rumored $60million budget, but near La Cienega.Eaves says as his tion, voices are dubbed or subti- she did say, "The town went town was being re-dressed,the tles are added. through an enormous alteration. Cook site was used for filming Hill's recentproduction of Our production designer,Ida and vice versa.Together, the two LucktlLuke, an affectionatelook at

30 NEW MEXICO MAGAZINE / IUNE 1994 I A oeekbehind the scenes at theEaaes Moaie Ranch. Theset seraed as a primarylocale t'or Keuin Costner's new WesternWyatt Earp,due out laterthis summer.

Left-The Mexicantown set nearthe Eaaes Moaie Ranch. Dozensof moaieswere shot at thesite, including the Billy theKid sagaYoung Guns.

NEW MEXICO MAGAZINE / ]UNE 1994 31 I 'bM MovrnSEr Vrsrrs

a cowboy and his horsebased on a popular Frenchcomic book, was well receivedthroughout Europe and should seeU.S. distribution soon. It was for the LuclcyLuke fea- ture film and subsequent eight- part seriesthat Hughes' present town was built in 1990. "Doing cowboy films is like a vacationfor me," Hill says."New Mexico is ideal for Westerns.I'm nuts about the light here. Spain has some wonderful Western towns, but the light is not the same.This makesa big differ- ence." His present film,The Fight Bet'oreChristmas,was filmed in the spring of 1,994on the Eaves movie setand BonanzaCreek Ranch.German production com- pany Rialto Film choseEaves' site as its main settingbecause, Hill 40l7 CentralAve, NE explains,"the script called for Albuquerque,NM 87108 more of a settled,civilized town." (5O5)2518961 The relationshipbetween actor and environment is critical to a film's impact,Hill said before shooting TheFight BeforeChrist- mas."There's a lot of comedyin this one.So we want a realistic background, and we'll probably *P.T. CROW* tone down someof the colors.If you make everything stand out * * equally,it all becomestoo sweet, ALBUQUERQUE and the humor suffers.It's the samefor my character.My cos- tume hasto be the samecolors as the background.Nothing stands out." Hill saysthat exceptfor a few key people,most of his crew came from SantaFe. With thosere- sources,the area'smovie setsand New Mexico'srich scenery, PalomaFilms is settlinginto Santa Fe for the long haul. "New Mexico has just about everything you needto make movies,"he says."I can only say positive things about the area.I've becomea resident, so that's obvious." $ DennisWall isa t'ree-lance writerl pho- tographerbased in SantaCruz. His sto- riesand photographs appear in a wide Customand HandmadeCowboy Boots rangeof publications, including South- westArt, PopularScience andThird 114Amhent S.E Albuquerque,N.M.87106 Coastmagazine. (s0s)2s6-1763 (800) 6s7-(D44 -CALL FOR MORE INFOR[IATION-

32 NEW MEXICOMAGAZINE / TUNE1994