Once upon a time, when movies
were made in Hollywood, finding a place to make Westerns was never a concern. Hollywood
simply went out to its own backyard and started SHOOTING!
Welcome to "Hollywood Trails -- Where The West Was Shot!"
Whether growing up watching Westerns at the Saturday matinee, or at home on television,
chances are, when you picture the West, you're more likely to think of Monument Valley,
rather than the San Fernando Valley. If so, you've responded exactly the way Hollywood
wanted you to, by accepting what was being seen as the "West." It's an illusion
of course. Yet, the West has always been perceived in that suppositious fashion, from the
very days of the frontier itself, starting out with exaggerated and often suspect
newspaper reports that led to dime novels and pulp fiction.
Then came the melodramatic stage plays, followed by the extremely
popular Wild West Show. After William "Buffalo Bill" Cody toured the world with
his version of the West, he literally went Hollywood. The famous Universal Studios in
California was opened in 1915 by the legendary buffalo hunter, Indian fighter, and showman
himself. Cody was not just the greatest character..................................... |
