Sunday, July 29, 2012

Corriganville's Western Street -- Silvertown

Ray Corrigan welcomes fans to Corriganville

In an earlier post at http://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2012/07/corriganville-movie-ranch-overview.html I told you about Ray Corrigan's Movie Ranch known as Corriganville.

In this post I show you a few movie stills taken on Corriganville's Western Street (completed in 1943) which was called Silvertown.


An early movie still for Brand of the Devil (1944) looking east.


Publicity still for Gangsters of the Frontier (1944) -- starring Tex Ritter -- looking east.


Another still for Gangsters of the Frontier (1944).


An early 1950s fan photo of the parking area north of Silvertown looking toward the south.


Jock Mahoney drops in on a bad guy in "The Range Rider" TV Series (1951).


Jock Mahoney drops in on a bad guy in "The Range Rider" TV Series (1951).


Above is a promotional still for the Lone Ranger (1956) with Jay Silverheels and Scout.  The camera is pointed east.


A publicity still for Noose for a Gunman (1960).  Once again the camera is pointed east to capture the rock outcroppings at the end of the street.


A street brawl in a promotional still for Gambler Wore a Gun (1961)

In 1965, Corriganville became “Hopetown” when it was purchased by Bob Hope, and it was closed to the public in 1970. That same year, a wind-swept wildfire destroyed the majority of the Silvertown sets. In November 1979, an arson-set fire destroyed the remaining Silvertown sets. All that exists today are a few concrete pads and foundations.


My 2009 photo of the Silvertown location looking east.  The walls of the barn and sable are on the left side.


My 2009 photo of the Silvertown location looking west.

For more information about the Chatsworth filming locations visit http://www.cowboyup.com/ and learn about my books: Rendezvous at Boulder Pass: Hollywood's Fantasyland © 2010 (ISBN: 978-0-615-21522-8) and Reel Cowboys of the Santa Susanas © 2008 (ISBN: 978-0-615-21499-3)

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