"North by Northwest"--location of cornfield scene?

[h***@bbs.cpcn.com]

In this film Cary Grant takes a bus to a deserted rural crossroads
where he is attacked by a crop duster plane.

Would anyone know accurately if this was filmed on location (not in a
studio), and if so, where?

Wonder what it looks like today. Probably developed with Walmarts, K-
Marts, etc.

[Laurence F. Sheldon, Jr.]

Post by h***@bbs.cpcn.com
In this film Cary Grant takes a bus to a deserted rural crossroads
where he is attacked by a crop duster plane.
Would anyone know accurately if this was filmed on location (not in a
studio), and if so, where?
Wonder what it looks like today. Probably developed with Walmarts, K-
Marts, etc.

Don't know the movie, but I'll bet the airplane took of from and landed
from a little airport on the desert (all I can think of is "Little rock"
and I think that is wrong.

Power line across the end of the runway was always a teaching aid on the
subject of "density altitude".

I'll be packing my log for the move--I'll look it up.

(It always amazes me how many places on the planet have Vasquez Rocks in
the background.)

[Laurence F. Sheldon, Jr.]

Post by Laurence F. Sheldon, Jr.

Post by h***@bbs.cpcn.com
In this film Cary Grant takes a bus to a deserted rural crossroads
where he is attacked by a crop duster plane.
Would anyone know accurately if this was filmed on location (not in a
studio), and if so, where?
Wonder what it looks like today. Probably developed with Walmarts, K-
Marts, etc.

Don't know the movie, but I'll bet the airplane took of from and landed
from a little airport on the desert (all I can think of is "Little rock"
and I think that is wrong.
Power line across the end of the runway was always a teaching aid on the
subject of "density altitude".
I'll be packing my log for the move--I'll look it up.

Aqua Dulce.

Post by Laurence F. Sheldon, Jr.
(It always amazes me how many places on the planet have Vasquez Rocks in
the background.)

[Laurence F. Sheldon, Jr.]

Post by Laurence F. Sheldon, Jr.

Post by Laurence F. Sheldon, Jr.

Post by h***@bbs.cpcn.com
In this film Cary Grant takes a bus to a deserted rural crossroads
where he is attacked by a crop duster plane.
Would anyone know accurately if this was filmed on location (not in a
studio), and if so, where?
Wonder what it looks like today. Probably developed with Walmarts, K-
Marts, etc.

Don't know the movie, but I'll bet the airplane took of from and landed
from a little airport on the desert (all I can think of is "Little rock"
and I think that is wrong.
Power line across the end of the runway was always a teaching aid on the
subject of "density altitude".
I'll be packing my log for the move--I'll look it up.

Aqua Dulce.

Post by Laurence F. Sheldon, Jr.
(It always amazes me how many places on the planet have Vasquez Rocks in
the background.)

Second thoughts--don't remember corn out there.

[d***@gmail.com]

Post by Laurence F. Sheldon, Jr.

Post by h***@bbs.cpcn.com
In this film Cary Grant takes a bus to a deserted rural crossroads
where he is attacked by a crop duster plane.
Would anyone know accurately if this was filmed on location (not in a
studio), and if so, where?

Aqua Dulce.

I have read in several pieces about the movie, including an interview
with one of the stars, that the crop duster scene was filmed near
Wasco, California, and that the corn stalks were actually planted (as
stalks) into a bare dirt field by the prop crew.

Wasco is on California 46 between Cal 99 and I-5, and the road used to
be US-466. Whether this was filmed on 466 or on a side road, I don't
know, but it appears to be big enough for 466, and there aren't a lot
of larger roads around there.

[Laurence F. Sheldon, Jr.]

Post by d***@gmail.com

Post by Laurence F. Sheldon, Jr.

Post by h***@bbs.cpcn.com
In this film Cary Grant takes a bus to a deserted rural crossroads
where he is attacked by a crop duster plane.
Would anyone know accurately if this was filmed on location (not in a
studio), and if so, where?

Aqua Dulce.

I have read in several pieces about the movie, including an interview
with one of the stars, that the crop duster scene was filmed near
Wasco, California, and that the corn stalks were actually planted (as
stalks) into a bare dirt field by the prop crew.
Wasco is on California 46 between Cal 99 and I-5, and the road used to
be US-466. Whether this was filmed on 466 or on a side road, I don't
know, but it appears to be big enough for 466, and there aren't a lot
of larger roads around there.

Might have been a real crop duster then.

[James Robinson]

Post by d***@gmail.com
I have read in several pieces about the movie, including an interview
with one of the stars, that the crop duster scene was filmed near
Wasco, California, and that the corn stalks were actually planted (as
stalks) into a bare dirt field by the prop crew.
Wasco is on California 46 between Cal 99 and I-5, and the road used to
be US-466. Whether this was filmed on 466 or on a side road, I don't
know, but it appears to be big enough for 466, and there aren't a lot
of larger roads around there.

According to this Wiki article:

"The cropduster sequence, meant to take place in northern Indiana, was
shot on location on Garces Highway (155) near the towns of Wasco and
Delano, north of Bakersfield in Kern County, California (35°45?38.81?N
119°33?41.52?W)"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_by_Northwest

or this:

"The actual filming site was located north of Bakersfield, CA, outside
the towns of Wasco and Delano, just east of the intersection of Corcoran
Road and Garces Highway (155)."

http://virtualglobetrotting.com/map/where-cary-grant-fled-from-the-crop-duster-in-north-by-northwest/

[d***@gmail.com]

Post by James Robinson

Post by d***@gmail.com
I have read in several pieces about the movie, including an interview

"The cropduster sequence, meant to take place in northern Indiana, was
shot on location on Garces Highway (155) near the towns of Wasco and
Delano, north of Bakersfield in Kern County, California (35°45?38.81?N
119°33?41.52?W)"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_by_Northwest
"The actual filming site was located north of Bakersfield, CA, outside
the towns of Wasco and Delano, just east of the intersection of Corcoran
Road and Garces Highway (155)."
http://virtualglobetrotting.com/map/where-cary-grant-fled-from-the-cr...

Certainly looks good: http://goo.gl/dhWF1

I don't have the film near me, but I remember the side road.

[James Robinson]

Post by d***@gmail.com

Post by James Robinson

Post by d***@gmail.com
I have read in several pieces about the movie, including an
interview

"The cropduster sequence, meant to take place in northern Indiana,
was shot on location on Garces Highway (155) near the towns of Wasco
and Delano, north of Bakersfield in Kern County, California
(35°45?38.81?N 119°33?41.52?W)"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_by_Northwest
"The actual filming site was located north of Bakersfield, CA,
outside the towns of Wasco and Delano, just east of the intersection
of Corcoran Road and Garces Highway (155)."
http://virtualglobetrotting.com/map/where-cary-grant-fled-from-the-cr.
..

Certainly looks good: http://goo.gl/dhWF1
I don't have the film near me, but I remember the side road.

A clip of the scene, with unnecessary music added, but it's reasonably
clear:

An interview with Hitchcock on the making of the scene, mostly in
English, but some French at the beginning:

[h***@bbs.cpcn.com]

Post by James Robinson
A clip of the scene, with unnecessary music added, but it's reasonably
http://youtu.be/S09WLTLkra0

Thanks for the responses.

The 1950s show "Highway Patrol" is being aired on "THIS TV" network
early in the morning. It frequently has rural roadside settings.
others have explained previously where they were filmed. They also
show buildings, stores, and workshops of small towns which are
interesting as well. Watching the background one can see stuff
unchanged from the 1930s. Generally, the world featured in H/P was
not an affluent one, with lots of working people and drifters, who
were either criminals or the victims of crime.

Worth a recording or two to check out. (Check local listings for
channel). ("Sea Hunt" with Lloyd Bridges airs too.)

Ziv TV was known as a low budget filmmaker which was great for TV in
those days. I would think filming outdoors on public streets and
private property would cost money for police protection and property
rentals, but maybe back then things were a lot simpler and those
isolated rural roads with few cars were truly isolated and rural--
something hard for many of us to imagine today. (Country roads my
family used when I was a kid are now four-six lane divided highways
and the only "country" is in the name of stores.)

[James Robinson]

Post by h***@bbs.cpcn.com
The 1950s show "Highway Patrol" is being aired on "THIS TV" network
early in the morning. It frequently has rural roadside settings.
Worth a recording or two to check out. (Check local listings for
channel). ("Sea Hunt" with Lloyd Bridges airs too.)

You can also watch them any time you want, for free, on Hulu:

http://www.hulu.com/search?query=highway+patrol

[d***@gmail.com]

Along the same lines, I also was interested in seeing the scenes from
"It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World," both then and now, at this page:
http://members.cox.net/mkpl4/mmmmw/thumb.htm

Some are suburbia now, others still desert.

[g***@googlemail.com]

Drove from Pacific Grove to Death Valley last Thursday, past the junction where James Dean was killed in a car crash and took a small detour to where the iconic plane scene was filmed in North By Northwest.