Today in Santa Clarita History on March 23, 1934 local film history director Robert N. Bradbury helmed another classic Western, shot on location at Trem Carr’s movie ranch in Placerita Canyon the very same land where Disney’s Golden Oak Ranch stands today.

Back in the early 1930s, the Santa Clarita Valley was quickly becoming a hotspot for Hollywood’s growing appetite for rugged Western landscapes, adding to SCV History.

Carr, a pioneering producer and studio executive, had secured a 5-year lease on the property in the early part of the decade and turned it into a full-fledged filming location.

The film, like many of its kind during the era, starred a young John Wayne. 

These Lone Star films had a signature crew: Trem Carr served as vice president in charge of production, Ernie Hickson (his longtime friend) was the technical director and likely handled set design, Archie Stout brought the action to life as cinematographer, and the legendary Yakima Canutt performed jaw-dropping stunts as Wayne’s double—often playing villainous characters himself.

The film captured the spirit of the American West and reflected a period of movie magic that was built in the hills and canyons of the Santa Clarita Valley.

Two years later, in 1936, when Carr’s lease on the Placerita Canyon property expired, he packed up his Western movie town and moved it down the road—literally. 

He relocated his sets to land owned by Hickson, just a few miles away. 

That new location would soon become known as Melody Ranch, a legendary filming site still used today and forever linked to the golden age of Western cinema.

To see yesterday’s today in history, click here.

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