Editors Note: Anecdotes by Tom Blackman, Amador County Film Commissioner, appear in brackets.
Let’s pretend you are returning to downtown Ione one day in 1998, but the town does not look at all familiar. You park on Main Street, get out and look around. Then you probably think to yourself, “Hey, I must be in Kenner, Louisiana!”
That’s exactly what a movie location film crew wants you to think. To help convince you, some road signs have been changed. Main Street is now a part of U.S. Highway 61. Another points the direction to New Orleans. Ione’s City Hall looks like Mulate’s Cajun Restaurant. Other buildings have been aged with paint and corrugated tin roofs, and some business fronts now appear typical of the Deep South. A tax accountant’s office has become the bus depot. It has taken the crew about a week to transform the town of Ione. Now the cameras are ready to roll!
If you are lucky, you will catch a glimpse of Patrick Swayze descending from the recently arrived bus for a scene from the movie “Letters From a Killer.” Swayze’s character is returning home to Kenner, LA from prison after being framed of a crime he did not commit.
[Prior to completion of thefilm Swayze, in a riding scene, hit an oak tree and broke his leg. His twin brother had to step in and finish the shots.]
“Letters from a Killer” is just one example of numerous motion picture, television and commercial location “shoots” in Amador County over the years. Here are a few more:
Rocket J. Squirrel and Bullwinkle the Moose flew in to the County when a scene from “The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle” included a bi-plane smashing through a billboard on Latrobe Road. That was filmed in the year 2000 near Plymouth. [That scene took a week to film. It’s amazing how long things take!] The movie is a combination of animation and live action. Our heroes team up with a young FBI agent to thwart the evil plans of Boris and Natasha and their Fearless Leader (voiced by Robert DiNiro).
More than 200 movies have the word “Apparition” in their title! The 2019 version was filmed at Preston Castle School of Industry in Ione. The 131-year-old Castle is attractive to film location crews because it already looks so daunting and spooky. The lead actress, Mena Suvari, and friends find themselves being guided by an apparition to enter an abandoned castle that is definitely haunted. As a bit of trivia, four former inmates of the School made it big in the entertainment world: country singer Merle Haggard, Mike Connors (Mannix), Eddie “Rochester” Anderson (The Jack Benny Show)., and cowboy star Rory Calhoun.
“The Horse Whisperer” (1998) could be the best remembered movie on this list. The bulk of the film’s locations were in Montana. However the dramatic snow scene and fatal truck wreck were filmed on a road near the turnoff from Highway 88 to Pi-Pi Valley. Robert Redford starred in, produced and directed “The Horse Whisperer.”
[About 60 idle loggers were put to work “preparing” preparing a portion of the forest with artificial snow It was a nice Christmas bonus for a lot of people out of work.]
“Smoke Jumpers” movie for TV (1996) is about elite firefighters who jump from aircraft to extinguish fires. It should not be compared to the “Smoke Jumpers” movie for the big screen (2008), which is also about elite firefighters who jump from aircraft to extinguish fires. Adam Baldwin is the lead in the TV version. [Amador County film locations were just off rural roads above rolling land and into the timber.]
An exasperated Bill Murray has his hands full when he inherits a very large, very lively elephant in the comedy “Larger Than Life.” (1996) [Location scenes in Amador County included Highway 88 for truck scenes and the hitchhiking scene. Highway 88 shots required stopping traffic for up to twenty minutes. Once the sixty plus cars were released, Murray, in character, stood on the double yellow line and slapped cars, shook hands and thanked everyone for waiting!]
[The elephant swimming scene was filmed in near-by Hope Valley just off Blue Lakes Road. The script did not call for the elephant to go swimming, but instead of stopping for water, it kept walking right into the lake until it disappeared with only the tip of his snout out. Murray stayed on its back and together they rolled and played in the lake, cameras still rolling!]
Downtown Sutter Creek was used to shoot scenes in the 1971 movie “The Grissom Gang” for which Kim Darby was the lead actress. The town was used to replicate Kansas City during the Great Depression. A plot summary says the story is about a gang of half-witted hoods who kidnap an heiress.
Anne Sheridan starred in “Come Next Spring”, filmed in Ione in 1956. A reformed alcoholic man returns home, after twelve years, in order to win back his family and regain the respect of his community. Ione was chosen to represent a small town in Arkansas in the 1920’s. Readers may not recognize a very young-looking Walter Brennan.
“Man of Conquest” was filmed on Salt Springs Road near Pioneer in 1939. In the movie Sam Houston leads Texas to statehood, and becomes the first president of the Republic of Texas. For a brief time Pioneer was used as a part of the Lone Star state. Joan Fontaine was in the cast as Eliza Allen.
How do producers of movies, television shows, and commercials, come to use Amador County for their location sites? The answer is the Amador County Film Commission that acts as a liaison between the companies and the County.
The Commission strives to make it easy for these companies to find rooms, restaurants and caterers. It also simplifies the process of obtaining permits, closing off streets, providing security, accessing local workers, doing whatever it takes to fulfill routine or unique requests.
This is what the Commission presents as the benefits of shooting on location here:
“Nestled in the heart of California’s Mother Lode, Amador County’s natural attributes are numerous, from sprawling ranchlands and lush vineyards to scenic lakes and rivers. Few other counties offer such a variety and wealth of natural beauty!”
Tom Blackman, Amador County Film Commissioner since 1994, has an extensive background in the entertainment industry. He was one of the original, pre-television Mouseketeers, who traveled with the Disney stage show called “Mickey’s Circus.” He was also a child movie actor in such films as “Pollyanna” and “Shaggy Dog.” Seven-year-old Tommy Blackman had the lead role in the 1960 movie “Half Pint.” He has also appeared as an extra in many films shot locally.
The purpose of the Film Commission is to enhance its county’s position as the location of choice for motion picture, television and commercial production. “That’s why I volunteer,” says Tom Blackman, “for the economy of Amador County.”
