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RKO Forty Acres

{{Short description|Film studio backlot in Culver City, California, United States (1927–1976)}}

{{infobox building

| name = RKO Forty Acres

| image = RKO Forty Acres.jpg

| image_size = 260

| caption = 1965 aerial photo of the property, looking west.
Desilu Studios can be seen in the background.

| building_type = Film backlot

| size = {{convert|28.5|acre|abbr=on}}

| location = Culver City, California, U.S.

| coordinates = {{coord|34.022|-118.382|display=inline,title|region:US-CA_type:landmark}}

| opening_date = 1927

| demolition_date = 1976

| embedded =

{{aligned table|leftright=y|fullwidth=y|nowrap2=y

| abovestyle = background:#ededed

| above = Studios in charge

| Cecil B. DeMille
(leased from Harry Culver)| 1927

| RKO Pathé| 1928–1948

| Selznick International Pictures
(leased from RKO)| 1935–1939

| RKO (under Howard Hughes)| 1948–1955

| RKO General
(under General Tire & Rubber Co.)| 1955–1957

| Desilu| 1957–1966

| Paramount| 1967

| Perfect Film and Chemical| 1968

| OSF Industries Limited| 1969–1976

}}}}

RKO Forty Acres was a film studio backlot in the United States, owned by RKO Pictures (and later Desilu Productions), located in Culver City, California. Best known as Forty Acres{{cite book |last1=Bingen |first1=Steven |title=Hollywood's Lost Backlot: 40 Acres of Glamour and Mystery |date=2019 |publisher=Lyons Publishing |location=Guilford, Connecticut |isbn=9781493033621 |page=xi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3IFxDwAAQBAJ&pg=PR11 |access-date=10 January 2022}} and "the back forty,""Back 40" is a term used colloquially in America to describe a parcel of land, specifically, forty acres (16.2 ha) 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 was also called "Desilu Culver,"{{cite book | first=Alan | last=Asherman | year=1989 | title=The Star Trek Compendium | publisher=Pocket | isbn=067168440X | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/startrekcompendi00ashe }} [https://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 50 years it was known for its outdoor full-scale sets, such as Western Street, Atlanta Street, and Main Street and was used in many films (including King Kong (1933) and Gone with the Wind (1939)) and television series (such as Bonanza and Star Trek).{{cite web |url= http://www.radoknews.com/andy-griffith-show.html|title= Radok Corporation, (©1998 – 2003)|accessdate=2008-02-28 }}

The property was never actually forty acres in size. It was a triangular parcel of {{convert|28.5|acre|ha|abbr=on|lk=out}},{{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] a few blocks from RKO-Pathe (later Selznick, Desilu-Culver, 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

|work = About Us - Studio History

|url-status = dead

|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20080325210850/http://www.theculverstudios.com/landing_pages/9,3.html

|archivedate = 2008-03-25

}} which was situated to the west. It was bounded by Higuera Street to the north, West Jefferson Boulevard, Ballona Creek and Culver City Park to the south, and Lucerne Avenue to the west. In 1976 it was razed for redevelopment. Today it is known as the southern expansion of the Hayden Industrial Tract.{{cite web

|url=http://wikimapia.org/42604/

|title=Wikimapia.org (2006)

|accessdate=2008-03-07

|work=Hayden Tract Culver City

}} A number of the buildings in the industrial park have been converted to television studios. One of the shows produced at the park is Hell's Kitchen.

History

On 22 March 1926, Cecil B. DeMille leased the 28 1/2 acre property,

  • https://www.angelfire.com/film/locationbooks/MovieLocationsPlus/rko40.htm
  • http://retroweb.com/40acres.html
  • https://denniscooperblog.com/ghost-town-a-brief-history-of-40-acres-california-1926-1975/

on which the backlot was located, from Achille Casserini, a Swiss immigrant,https://www.animationartconservation.com/hollywood-s-lost-backlot%2C-chapter-one.html for his production of the film The King of Kings (1927). On it he constructed historical Jerusalem, which remained for the RKO production of King Kong (1933). By then it was known as Forty Acres and owned by RKO Pictures.{{Citation needed|date=April 2009}}

In 1935, David O. Selznick leased the property from RKO for his new studio, Selznick International Pictures. For his production of Gone with the Wind (1939), the plantation Tara, the Atlanta Depot (based on Atlanta's 1853 Union Station), and other Atlanta buildings were constructed there.{{Citation needed|date=June 2020}}

The depot and many of the Atlanta buildings became permanent fixtures on the property until 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 {{convert|28.5|acre}} 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.

Following years of turnover 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.{{cite web|title=The Back 40 Lot: Part 1…Just Before "Tara" Was Dismantled – Eyes Of A Generation…Television's Living History|url=http://eyesofageneration.com/the-back-40-lot-part-1-just-before-tara-was-dismantled-the-40-acre-backlo/|website=eyesofageneration.com|publisher=Eyes Of A Generation|accessdate=17 March 2018}}{{cite web|title=40 Acres - The Lost Studio Backlot of Movie & Television Fame - The Desilu Years|url=http://www.retroweb.com/40acres_desilu_years.html|website=www.retroweb.com|publisher=RetroWeb|accessdate=17 March 2018}}

Television

Forty Acres is best remembered for providing the backdrop for the fictional town of Mayberry on the television series The Andy Griffith Show.{{cite web

|url=http://www.jimnolt.com/fortyacres1.htm

|title=Garrett, Randy (2001)

|accessdate=2008-03-07

|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 to 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 used on shows like Adventures of Superman, Ozzie and Harriet, Batman, The Green Hornet, and Mission: Impossible.{{cite web

|url=http://www.retroweb.com/40acres_tour.html

|title=Teague, Kipp (©2008)

|accessdate=2008-03-07

|work=RKO 40 Acres photo tour

}} The town square was also used on Star Trek in three episodes titled "Miri," "Return of the Archons" and "City on the Edge of Forever," while another area of the lot, the "Arab village," was used in "Errand of Mercy" and the first pilot, "The Cage." 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. For example, in Star Trek's "The City on the Edge of Forever," a crossover from The Andy Griffith Show can be seen by a sign for "Floyd's Barber Shop."

Forty Acres was also the backdrop for an episode of My Three Sons entitled "The Horseless Saddle" (1961), and five episodes of the 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 razed in 1959 to become the Jerusalem set for The Greatest Story Ever Told. By 1965 the site was occupied by the Stalag 13 set for Hogan's Heroes. Most of the sets, which included Camp Henderson on Gomer Pyle, 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 Robert Wise film Star! (1968) with Julie Andrews in the lead role, and it also later made a brief appearance in the film Switchblade Sisters (1975), as did the streets and buildings of the central town area.{{Citation needed|date=June 2020}}

Overall, the property was an undulating plateau with a southern slope (by the town square) that led to Ballona Creek. Trees screened 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 recognizable, existing from 1939 until 1976. Other structures like the Jerusalem set, which was torched to make room for the Atlanta set, or Tara, which was replaced with the Hogan's Heroes, did not survive as long. The western/European set at the east end of the backlot disappeared in the late 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 corners just west of the square.

class="wikitable"
ImageStructureflrsLocationyearsSeen onSeen as
| church

| 2

| SE end of town square

| 1947–76

|

|

  • All Souls Church
100px

| courthouse

| 2

| NE of town square

| 1947–76

|

|

  • Mayberry Courthouse
| residence

| 2

| across from church

| 1939–76

|

|

  • the Taylor home
100px

| bank

| 2

| SE corner Atlanta/North

| 1939–76

|

|

  • Mayberry Bank
  • National Hotel{{cite web

|url=http://www.warnervideo.com/gonewiththewind/

|title=Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc.

|accessdate=2008-03-07

|work=Gone with the Wind (1939)

}}

  • where Kirk & Spock emerge{{cite web

|url = http://store.startrek.com/product/show/29206

|title = CBS Studios Inc.

|accessdate = 2008-03-07

|work = Star Trek: The Original Series - The Complete First Season (1966)

|url-status = dead

|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20080420165828/http://store.startrek.com/product/show/29206

|archivedate = 2008-04-20

}}

| store/cafe

| 3

| NW corner Atlanta/North

| 1939–76

|

|

  • Weaver's Department Store
  • Norcross Merchandise
100px

| main hotel

| 2

| center, town square

| 1945–76

|

|

  • Walker's Drug Store
  • Hotel CozyRKO Radio Pictures, Inc. - The Set Up (1949)
  • Rusk Hotel
100px

| tall hotel

| 4

| NW of town square

| 1947–76

|

|

  • Mayberry Hotel
  • Allegheny House
  • fire escape overlooking alley
  • ...where Kirk steals clothes
  • where Kirk finds Miri
| theatre

| 2

| NW of town square

| 1939–75

|

|

  • Grand Theatre
  • Paradise City Arena
  • 21st Street Mission
  • Smallville depot/Daily Planet
100px

| buildings

| 2

| rear of courthouse

| 1955–76

|

|

  • feed grain store
  • Bartlett stable
| shop

| 2

| E of town square

| 1955–76

|

|

  • Biggs used furniture{{cite web

|url=http://www.jimnolt.com/Krumm-Cuccia.htm

|title=Cuccia, Mark (April 11, 2002)

|accessdate=2008-03-07

|work=E-mail to Jerry Krumm

}}

  • Onlie's hideout
100px

| store plaza

| 2

| N of town square

| 1955–76

|

|

  • Floyd's Barber Shop
  • Still labeled "Floyd's Barber Shop"
100px

| depot

| 1

| west of town

| 1939–71

|

|

  • Atlanta Railroad Depot
| store/cafe

| 3

| SW corner Atlanta/North

| 1939–76

|

|

  • Lake & Lewis Hardware
| Tara

| 2

| NW portion of backlot

| 1939–59

|

|

100px

| office

| 3

| NW end of Atlanta St

| 1939–76

|

|

  • Atlanta Examiner
  • where McCoy emerges
100px

| cafe

| 2

| S side of Atlanta St

| 1938–76

|

|

  • Ringside Cafe
  • Walt's Restaurant
| hotel

| 2

| SW of town square

| 1938–76

|

|

  • Travellers Hotel
  • Bijou Theatre
  • Hotel Silsby / hospital
| townhouse

| 2

| top of North St

| 1950–76

|

|

  • Reger's home
100px

| town hall

| 2

| bottom of North St

| 1950–76

|

|

  • Headquarters 5th Air Force
  • "The Red Hour" clock

List of known productions at Forty Acres

= Film =

{{div col|colwidth=27em}}

|url=http://employees.oxy.edu/jerry/rko40.htm

|title=Occidental College (©2008)

|accessdate=2008-03-07

|work=Forty Acres

|url-status=dead

|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511193435/http://employees.oxy.edu/jerry/rko40.htm

|archivedate=2008-05-11

}} (1932)

|url=https://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/158609

|title=Miller, Frank - Turner Classic Movies (no date)

|access-date=2008-03-07

|work=Spotlight: The Little Minister

}} (1934)

| first=Boyd Magers | last=Michael G. Fitzgerald | year=1989

| title=Ladies of the Western, pg 9 | publisher=McFarland | isbn=0-7864-1140-6 }} [https://books.google.com/books?id=Yj1BU60we_cC&dq=%22rko+backlot%22&pg=PA9 Google Book Search] (1939)

|url=https://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/86564

|title=Stafford, Jeff - Turner Classic Movies (no date)

|access-date=2008-03-07

|work=Spotlight: The Big Steal

}} (1949)

|url=https://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/103608

|title=Wood, Bret - Turner Classic Movies (no date)

|access-date=2008-03-07

|work=Spotlight: Macau

}} (1952)

|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/16044/Escape-to-Burma/overview

|title=Erickson, Hal - Allmovie (2008)

|accessdate=2008-04-11

|first=O. A.

|last=G

|url-status=dead

|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520011009/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/16044/Escape-to-Burma/overview

|department=Movies & TV Dept.

|work=The New York Times

|date=2011

|archivedate=2011-05-20

}} (1955)

|url=https://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/24089

|title=Stafford, Jeff - Turner Classic Movies (no date)

|access-date=2008-03-07

|work=Spotlight: Death of a Scoundrel

}} (1956)

[http://www.jimnolt.com/batman.htm JimNolt.com] (1975)

{{div col end}}

= Television =

{{div col|colwidth=27em}}

|url=http://www.1966batfan.com/40acres.htm

|title=The 1966 Batman TV Tribute Site

|accessdate=2008-03-25

|work=40 Acres Backlot

|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080223191856/http://www.1966batfan.com/40acres.htm

|archivedate=2008-02-23

|url-status=dead

}} (1957–62)

|url=http://www.moviefreak.com/artman/publish/dvd_missionimpossible_s2.shtml

|title=MovieFreak.com (©1999)

|accessdate=2008-03-07

|work=Mission Impossible

|url-status=dead

|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071110014343/http://www.moviefreak.com/artman/publish/dvd_missionimpossible_s2.shtml

|archivedate=2007-11-10

}} (first two seasons: 1966-68)

  • 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

|work=Bonanza - Scenery of the Ponderosa

}} (1967–68)

{{div col end}}

See also

References

{{reflist|colwidth=35em}}

External links

  • [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uULPRDRsZ7E CULVER CITY'S LOST BACKLOT: 40 Acres] Culver City Historical Society · YouTube
  • [https://phantomofthebacklots.com/ Phantom of the Backlot] by Donnie Norden, former neighborhood kid, history of studios in Culver City
  • [http://www.retroweb.com/40acres.html "40 Acres"] Studio Backlots at Kipp Teague’s RetroWeb

Category:Backlot sets

Category:RKO General

Category:History of Hollywood, Los Angeles

Category:Buildings and structures in Culver City, California

Category:Cinema of Southern California

Category:Desilu Productions

Category:Gulf and Western Industries