Just west of the city of Lone Pine, CA sit the Alabama Hills, a geological wonder, which have been the setting and background for countless films and TV shows, including Gunga Din (1939), Bad Day at Black Rock (1955), and Django Unchained (2012). An often used location for westerns, the Alabama Hills will, for me, always be associated with the films directed by Budd Boetticher and starring Randolph Scott. The pairing made seven ‘b’ westerns together, shot on location in the Alabama Hills, many of which are mini masterpieces of the genre; especially Ride Lonesome (1959), The Tall T (1957), and Comanche Station (1960), which, it should be noted, were all written by Burt Kennedy.
If you make the trip out to the hills, be sure to stop by the Museum of Western Film History in nearby Lone Pine, which is full of props, posters, and memorabilia from movies shot in the area.
