Old Tucson Studios was created as a vision. Before its creation in 1939, many Western movies were filmed in front of painted backdrops and were very unrealistic. Old Tucson was created to represent Tucson as it was in the 1860's. The first movie to be filmed at the studios was called Arizona. This movie was made for $2.5 million and starred William Holden and Jean Arthur.
In a matter of 40 days, local technicians and carpenters, along with descendents of the Tohono O'odham, helped create 50 structures that started Old Tucson. It took more than 350,000 adobe bricks to create the buildings, all created without the convenience of running water.
After the filming of Arizona was complete, Old Tucson sat in the hot Southern Arizona sun. The movies The Bells of St. Mary's (1945), which starred Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman, Winchester 73 (1950), which starred Jimmy Stewart, and Gunfight at the OK Corral (1956), which starred Burt Landcaster and Kirk Douglas, all utilized the unique set that was Old Tucson.
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Robert Shelton, a carpenter from the Midwest, laid his eyes on the dormant set in 1959. He believed that the collection of buildings meant a lot to the people of Southern Arizona, so he decided to lease the land from Pima County and turn the ghost town that Old Tucson was becoming into a family attraction like it is today.
In 1960, Old Tucson was opened to the public as a film studio and a family fun park too. The movies that were filmed on the set allowed for the growth of the park building by building. Each of John Wayne's four movies that were filmed at Old Tucson added buildings to the thriving park. The film Rio Bravo (1959) added a saloon, bank building, and doctor's office to the park. The film MCLINTOCK! (1963) added the McLintock Hotel to the set. A face lift was given to on Front Street for the filming of the film El Dorado (1967). And the film Rio Lobo (1970) created a cantina, a granite lined creek, a jail, and Phillip's ranch house to the set.
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There was a stampede of films that were created during the early years of the Studios re-opening in 1960. They include: The Deadly Companions (1961), starring Brian Keith and Maureen O'Hara; Lilies of the Field (1962) starring Sidney Poitier; Have Gun Will Travel (1962); The Outrage (1964) and Hombre (1966) with Paul Newman; and episodes of Bonanza (1966,'71, '72); Death Valley Days (1966-69); and High Chaparral (1966-71).
The tremendous use of Old Tucson during the filming of these movies established the studios as a credible location to film Western movies in. In 1968, a 13,000 square foot soundstage was built to give Old Tucson complete movie-making versatility. Young Billy Young (1968) was the first movie to utilize the use of the newly built soundstage to its advantage. In this same year, Robert Shelton also purchased the Mescal property as a secondary filming location. This property is located just 40 miles southeast of Tucson.
The Studios only experienced more and more growth. In the years of 1970 to 1971, the studio hosted 15 film productions which included Dirty Dingus Magee (1970) with Frank Sanatra; Yuma (1971) starring Glenn Ford; and Joe Kidd (1971) starring Clint Eastwood. The park expaned to include Silverlake Park area, complete with antique carousel, a new train depot and narrow-gueage train, the C.P. Huntington, and antique car rides. The most exciting acquisition of the time was the 1872 steam locomotive named the "Reno." Shelton purchased the authentic train from MGM and brought it to the studios in 1970. The Reno has since appeared in hundreds of films and television shows. In the 70's, the Mescal property hosted 77 different film and television productions including Michael Landon's Little house on the Prairie (1977-1983).
Old Tucson was becoming more and more of an attraction. Its attendance was nearing the half million mark in the late 1980's and early 1990's. The studios hosted productions such as CBS-TV's Poker Alice starring Elizabeth Taylor, TNT's Geronimo and Gore Vidal's Billy the Kid, as well as commercials for McDonald's, Harley Davidson, and Anheuser Busch. The more popular films that were shot during this time include The Three Amigos (1986) which starred Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, and Martin Short; Tombstone (1993) with Kurt Russel; and The Quick and the Dead (1994) starring Sharon Stone and Gene Hackman.
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On April 24, 1995, a fire swept through Old Tucson, destroying over 40 percent of the park. Such landmarks such as McLintock Hotel, Rio Lobo Cantina, the Mission in Mexican Plaza, and the soundstage were all destroyed. Although much of the park was untouched by the blaze, the park was closed for reconstruction. During this time, over 100,000 visitors from all over the work visited the Last Outpost, the park's visitor center and gift shop. The decision to reconstruct the park was agreed on by the public as well as the management. In 1998, after 6 decades, hundreds of films, and a devastating fire, Old Tucson has reclaimed its title of "Hollywood in the Desert."