The Update:
I've been back to Paramount Ranch a few times since I filmed this
segment for my Family Adventures news program. Every time I've gone
there I've found a new adventure. Often, I've stumbled upon filming going
on in the town for any of a number of motion pictures, commercials,
and television programs. You're welcome to watch all the action as long
as you stay clear of the film crew, keep quiet, and don't bother the stars.
I n 1927, Paramount Pictures purchased 2,400 acres of the old Rancho Las Virgenes for use as a “movie ranch.” For 25 years, a veritable who’s who of Hollywood practiced their craft at Paramount Ranch including direc-tor Cecil B. Demille and actors Bob Hope, Gary Cooper and Claudette Colbert. The diverse landscape was the real star of the show. It offered film makers the freedom to create distant locales such as colonial Massachusetts in The Maid of Salem, an-cient China in The Adventures of Marco Polo, a South Seas island in Ebb Tide (1937) and numerous western locations including San Francisco in Wells Fargo. The art of illusion was mastered on the landscape.
From 1957 to 1980, the ranch changed ownership several times, but filmmaking continued. After purchasing the property in 1980, the National Park Service revitalized the old movie ranch. From 1991 to 1998, Paramount Ranch was used as the setting for the television show, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. Whether watching filming or exploring the area, experience the drama and grandeur of the Santa Monica Mountains.
Sam Dalton
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