Telling tales of life in the Wild West was all in a day鈥檚 work for the folks behind the Mescal Movie Set east of 蜜柚直播.
The filming location, a lot of 27 structures that, until recently, served as an extension of Old 蜜柚直播, played host to more than 80 Western movies and television shows over the course of five decades.
Actors like Lee Marvin in 鈥淢onte Walsh,鈥 Mel Gibson in 鈥淢averick鈥 and Steve McQueen in 鈥淭om Horn鈥 brought gunfights, poker games and cattle rustling to the silver screen on the 70-acre lot, about 4 miles north of Interstate 10.
Kurt Russell as Wyatt Earp faced off against red-sashed cowboys with his brothers Virgil, played by Sam Elliott, and Morgan, played by Bill Paxton, in the 1993 classic 鈥淭ombstone.鈥
In the modern Western, 鈥淭he Quick and the Dead,鈥 Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman, Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio, went toe-to-toe in Mescal, participating in a quick-draw contest to determine the fastest gun in the West.
People are also reading…
Mark Sankey, spokesman for the set, can tell you where any movie star who played cowboy on the property took their last breath.
鈥淟eonardo died right on that spot,鈥 said Sankey, pointing to a patch of dirt amid the saloons, brothels and trade shops, where DiCaprio, as 鈥淭he Kid鈥 caught a slug during a duel with Hackman.
Ethan Kartchner fills in for a horse as he and his mother J.J. give a new buggy a test drive on the main street of the Mescal Movie Set.
As an alternate film set to Old 蜜柚直播, Mescal produced a long list of iconic films about the West.
Now, thanks to a local ranching family, that tradition will continue.
In February, Kartchner Ventures, owned and operated by the Kartchners, a fifth-generation ranching family in 蜜柚直播 County for which Kartchner Caverns is named, acquired the property in an effort to keep the set from being torn down.
The owners of Old 蜜柚直播 and the Mescal set shuttered Old 蜜柚直播 in September of 2020, citing the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdown as the culprit.
Mescal, which had fallen into disrepair and in recent years had only been used in smaller productions, was slated to be demolished if a buyer did not materialize.
Sankey said the Kartchners weren鈥檛 looking to get into the movie business, but felt preserving the set was important.
Tom Kimmel cuts lumber salvaged from the damaged buildings and structures while helping repair the boardwalk outside the main saloon on the Mescal Movie Set.
鈥淭he Western genre has always appealed to broad audiences and will for generations to come,鈥 J.J. Kartchner, speaking for the family, said in an email statement. 鈥淎t its base, the Western stories are about good guys against bad guys, overcoming struggles and living by a code. As ranchers, we felt the need to keep the West alive and share it with the world.鈥
The Kartchners plan to revitalize the set to make it appealing to film productions, both great and small. They also plan to open the lot up for guided tours by reservation as early as Labor Day, Sankey said.
To do any of that, a lot of work still needs to be done.
Some of the buildings, like the saloon erected during the making of 鈥淭he Quick and the Dead,鈥 are still in relatively good shape.
鈥淲e call it the saloon that Sharon Stone built,鈥 Sankey said. 鈥淪he was a producer on that movie.鈥
Others, like the building that was used as the courthouse in the Paul Newman classic, 鈥淭he Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean,鈥 are near collapse.
At one point, the Mescal Movie Set had 45 structures, many of which were built to be moved around to change the town鈥檚 look.
The Mescal Movie Set is getting a second chance after the Kartchner family purchased the filming location with hopes of revitalizing it.聽
Of the structures that remain 鈥 including the buildings along the main thoroughfare, an out-of-town ranch house to the west, and a nearby cavalry fort, built for the 1997 television movie, 鈥淏uffalo Soldiers,鈥 鈥 鈥渆very one of the roofs leak,鈥 Sankey said. 鈥淥ur biggest concern right now is safety, stabilizing the buildings, the flooring, getting the roofing done.鈥
For that, the movie set has recruited a small army of volunteers who have been working nonstop since early April to get the property back up to snuff.
Cindy Kuhn, office manager for the operation, said she has a running list of about 300 volunteers who have expressed a willingness to help.
Right now, while the summer heat is on and the monsoon is still active, organizers are only tapping the talents of their skilled volunteers, people with backgrounds in fields like carpentry and architecture, to come out.
鈥淥ur volunteers have been amazing,鈥 Kuhn said. 鈥淭hey come from all walks of life, all ages, with different skill sets, but with the same passion.鈥
Sankey said, in addition to rehabilitating the aging structures that exist, the goal is to eventually create more, constructing buildings that have fallen down or were never there to begin with, like a blacksmith shop, a stage depot, a caf茅 and a church.
Publicity stills, backstage photos, including one of Ricardo Montalban on the set of 鈥淭he High Chaparral,鈥 and signage from Old 蜜柚直播 Studios can be seen at the Mescal Movie Set.
鈥淲e are going to put in a couple more houses,鈥 Sankey said. 鈥淲e are investigating what other movie sets have and don鈥檛 have. Our advisers have strongly urged us to put in more homes.鈥
Sankey said when the renovations are complete, they hope to draw, at first, midlevel film productions and smaller projects, such as commercials and music videos.
The crew breaks for lunch, using the main saloon for their meal at the Mescal Movie Set. Volunteers have been working since April to get the property back up to snuff.
The set will also be available for weddings, reunions and corporate events.
Sankey said the goal is to complement, not compete against places like the real Tombstone, located about 40 minutes southeast of Mescal.
鈥淲e see this as a stopover on the way to Tombstone from 蜜柚直播,鈥 he said. 鈥淪top here for a tour, enjoy it, and then head down the road for lunch and a beer. We are networking with the local towns and cities to show that we aren鈥檛 competing for their tourism dollars.鈥
Photos: Moviemaking at Old 蜜柚直播 Studios
Visitors at Old 蜜柚直播 often have a chance to watch actual movie or television filming. Shown in the foreground, they watch actor Cameron Mitchell at work in July 1977. John Wayne, Paul Newman, Glenn Ford, Clint Eastwood and Kirk Douglas are among the stars that have filmed there.
James Coburn during production of "The Last Hard Man" at Old 蜜柚直播 on November 6, 1975.
Lee Marvin, right, talks with Jack Palance during a break in the filming of "Monte Walsh" at Old 蜜柚直播 in 1970. For this film the production company built the town of Harmony 35 miles east of 蜜柚直播. The set there is now the Mescal location and still used today.
Old 蜜柚直播 Studios in 1980.
Night scenes for the John Wayne classic, "Rio Bravo" at Old 蜜柚直播 on May 24 1958.
Building the soundstage at Old 蜜柚直播 on June 11, 1968.
The cast of the televsion show "High Chaparral" on set at Old 蜜柚直播 in May, 1968. From left, Henry Darrow, Leif Erickson and Don Collier, who lived in 蜜柚直播 and showed up in local TV commercials later in life.
Glenn Ford at Old 蜜柚直播 on October 1966 during production of "Pistolero" Upper Sabino Canyon was also used for filming. The classic Western actor also appeared as the bad guy in the original "3:10 to Yuma," also filmed at Old 蜜柚直播.
Dean Martin hangs on to Ricky Nelson as John Wayne takes a swing with a blanket on the set of Rio Bravo at Old 蜜柚直播 Studios in 1959.
Actor Max von Sydow gets makeup on the set of "Reward" on June 15, 1964. A section of the Old 蜜柚直播 in 蜜柚直播 Mountain Park was remodeled to depict a street in a small Mexican town. Two of the movie's scenes were filmed at Old 蜜柚直播.
Actor John Saxon, left, and director John Huston during production of "The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean" at Old 蜜柚直播 in December, 1971. The film starred Paul Newman.
An Andy Warhol Western? Yep. It was "Lonesome Cowboys" and it was filmed at Old 蜜柚直播 in 1968.
The streets of Old 蜜柚直播 transformed for the movie "McLintock!" starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara in December, 1962.
A film camera truck pulls a stagecoach on the set of "The Lone Ranger" near Old 蜜柚直播 in 1957.
Sidney Poitier with Lilia Skala on the set of "Lilies of the Field" Movie in December 1962. Poitier was the first African American actor to win the Oscar for Best Actor for his portrayal of Homer Smith in the movie.
On the set of "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral" in 1957. It starred Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas and was directed by John Sturges, who directed several other movies at Old 蜜柚直播.
Actor Paul Newman has his photo taken by his wife Joanne Woodward during a break in filming of "Hombre" at Old 蜜柚直播 in 1967. Woodward said, "Being married to Paul is being married to the most considerate, romantic man." Newman died in 2008.
Director John Sturges, left, confers with actor Clint Eastwood during production of "Joe Kidd" at Old 蜜柚直播 on December 2, 1971. Sturges was a well-known action film director with such hits as "The Great Escape" and "The Eagle Has Landed."
Noah Beery Jr. at Old 蜜柚直播 on June 5, 1968. He played James Garner's father in the TV series, "Rockford Files."
Walter Brennan snd John Wayne during filming of Rio Bravo in 1958. These ruins are leftover walls from the Mexican Village built for the film "蜜柚直播." John Wayne filmed four movies at Old 蜜柚直播.
A building is expanded during set improvements for the movie "El Dorado" starring John Wayne and Robert Mitchum at Old 蜜柚直播 on September 28, 1965.
The church is changed using adobe bricks during set improvements for the movie "El Dorado" starring John Wayne and Robert Mitchum at Old 蜜柚直播 on September 28, 1965.
Robert Shelton (left) then president of Old 蜜柚直播 talks with art director George Chan (right) from 20th Century Fox during building construction in 1964.
A scene from the 1940 film "蜜柚直播" for which Old 蜜柚直播 was built. The look and feel of the town was more authentic than any Western filmed to that point..
James Arness rides through Old 蜜柚直播 as Sheriff Matt Dillon in TVs Gunsmoke. Gunsmoke ran from 1955-1975, though most episodes were filmed in Southern California.
Kirk Douglas shows other actors how to draw and whirl during the filming of "Posse" at Old 蜜柚直播 in October, 1974. Douglas was the star and director of the film.
Actor Josh Brolin, who played Jimmy Hickok in the television show "The Young Riders" on the set at Old 蜜柚直播 Studios in August, 1989. Brolin is an accomplished actor, with credits like "No Country for Old Men."
Moses Gunn (left) and Merlin Olsen (right), rehearse a scene from one of the many episodes of "Father Murphy" filmed at Old 蜜柚直播 from 1981-83. Olsen was a Pro Hall of Fame tackle for the Los Angeles Rams.
Actress Michelle Carey (best known for her role in "El Dorado" with John Wayne) on the set of "Scandalous John" at Old 蜜柚直播 in November, 1970. Carey spent most of her career in supporting TV roles, including three appearances in "The Wild Wild West."
John Wayne, on the set of "Rio Lobo" in Old 蜜柚直播 in June, 1970, confessed to 蜜柚直播 Citizen movie critic Micheline Keating that he was nervous about the Academy Awards show the next night. He won Best Actor for "True Grit." Rio Lobo was his last film at Old 蜜柚直播.
An extra catching a snooze in the warm sun on the set of "McLintock!" at Old 蜜柚直播 in 1962.
Writer-director Burt Kennedy, right, on the set of "Young Billy Young," aka "Who Rides with Kane" at Old 蜜柚直播 in July, 1968. Actor John Anderson is at left. Kennedy, a decorated WWII veteran, also directed "The War Wagon," "Support Your Local Gunfighter," and episodes for several TV show.
In this Series
Get a taste of 蜜柚直播 with these 2021 stories by Star reporter Gerald Gay
A 蜜柚直播 record label is releasing some of Janis Joplin's earliest recordings
Gerald M. Gay
Reporter
