1 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bronsoncave.png]] |
2 | [[caption-width-right:350: So many '50s movie monsters are lurking inside this cave.]] |
3 | |
4 | ->''"The thought of a cardboard villain like ''you'' conquering the world -- you could barely manage a cave in Bronson Canyon!"'' |
5 | -->-- '''Dr. Zarkendorf''', ''Fanfic/Plan7Of9FromOuterSpace'' |
6 | |
7 | Bronson Canyon and Caves is a section of UsefulNotes/LosAngeles' Griffith Park. It looks rugged and desolate, but is actually reasonably convenient to get to, which has made it a popular shooting location for movies and television, especially westerns and science-fiction. |
8 | |
9 | This reached the point of cliché some time in the 1950s and '60s, as seemingly every low-budget B-movie would film there, and more recent uses of the location will usually be a form of {{Homage}}. The canyon's reputation has also made it a somewhat popular tourist attraction for [[UnabashedBMovieFan fans of this kind of movie]]. |
10 | |
11 | Website/{{Wikipedia}} has its [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronson_Canyon own article]] on the subject, with some information on its use in movies and television. |
12 | |
13 | A subtrope of HeyItsThatPlace and, often, CaliforniaDoubling. Also see BBCQuarry and KirksRock. DownLADrain is another frequently-used location in Los Angeles, though usually to very different effect. |
14 | |
15 | Its use as a filming location dates back to the silent era, making it OlderThanTelevision. [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant No relation to]] Creator/CharlesBronson, though there's some speculation that the actor (born Charles Buchinsky) [[StageNames took his screen name]] from Bronson Avenue, for which the canyon is also named. |
16 | ---- |
17 | !!Examples |
18 | |
19 | [[foldercontrol]] |
20 | |
21 | [[folder:Films -- Live-Action]] |
22 | * In 2006's ''Film/{{Abominable}}'', the Bronson Caves are used for the Yeti's lair. |
23 | * In the alternate ending to ''Film/ArmyOfDarkness'', Ash goes into a deep hibernation in the cave, hoping to wake up again in his own time. One of the more self-aware uses of this location. |
24 | * ''Film/TheBeastOfYuccaFlats'' uses the canyon and caves (which aren't very flat at all) to substitute for the title location. Filming at the actual Yucca Flats, a nuclear test site in Nevada, [[Film/TheConqueror has historically been a very bad idea]]. |
25 | * In ''Film/BloodDiner'', George attempts to murder someone inside Bronson Cave, but his would-be victim is a skilled martial artist and defends himself. Unfortunately, he's taken out by a falling stalactite. |
26 | * ''Film/TheBrideAndTheBeast'' uses the cave as a standin for a cave somewhere in the jungles of DarkestAfrica, where a troop of {{killer gorilla}}s make their lair. |
27 | * ''Film/ButtBoy'' used the Caves as the inside of Chip's rectum. |
28 | * In 1957's ''Film/TheCyclops'', the monster's lair is in the Bronson Caves. |
29 | * Used for exterior shots in ''Film/EarthVsTheSpider'', although most of the interior cave scenes in that movie were filmed at the much more spectacular Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. |
30 | * The title character in ''Film/{{Eegah}}'' lived in Bronson Cave. |
31 | * In the Creator/CharlesBronson film ''Film/TheEvilThatMenDo'', Bronson Canyon is used as an AbandonedMine. |
32 | * The 1936 ''Film/{{Flash Gordon|Serial}}'' serial filmed exteriors for the planet Mongo at Bronson Canyon. One of the entrances to the Bronson Caves is even present in the miniature effects models. |
33 | * In ''Film/HailCaesar'', the titular FilmWithinAFilm shoots the "Well of Jehoshaphat" sequence at Bronson Canyon. Another self-aware usage of the location. |
34 | * In ''Film/TheHumanTornado'', while on the run from the Sheriff Bentley's posse, Dolemite drives through the Bronson Caves and sets up an ambush out the other side. |
35 | * An early appearance in the 1930s movie ''Film/IAmAFugitiveFromAChainGang'', where the canyon is used to represent the desolate hillside where the chain gang do most of their work, breaking up rocks to build a highway. |
36 | * The Venusian monster from ''Film/ItConqueredTheWorld'' doesn't succeed in conquering the world thanks to lack of budget, but ''It Conquered a Cave in Bronson Canyon'' wouldn't have been an impressive title. |
37 | * ''Film/TheLostSkeletonOfCadavra'', being an AffectionateParody of '50s sci-fi, is mostly shot here. |
38 | -->'''[[NeverTrustATrailer Trailer]]:''' [[VeryFalseAdvertising Years in the making, on the world's most spectacular locations!]] |
39 | * 1955's ''Film/KingDinosaur'' was filmed in over seven days at Bronson Canyon, as well as nearby Benedict Canyon. |
40 | * In 1959's ''Film/MissileToTheMoon'', Bronson Canyon (including the bushes) is used for the surface of Earth's Moon. |
41 | -->'''Rifftrax:''' Real nice day on the Moon! Must be a high pressure system. |
42 | * In ''Film/{{Munchies}}'', Bronson Canyon is used for an archeological dig site in Peru. |
43 | * ''Film/NightOfTheBloodBeast'' is mostly shot in the canyon, and the blood beast himself lurks in the cave. |
44 | * Parts of ''Film/{{Octaman}}'' are filmed around Bronson Canyon. During the film's climax, the titular monster hides out in the caves. |
45 | * The cave is used for the EldritchLocation in ''Film/PalmSprings'', and is the key to the movie's GroundhogDayLoop. |
46 | * In the 1962 western ''Film/RideTheHighCountry'', the sets for the gold mining town of Coarsegold were built at Bronson Canyon. |
47 | * ''Film/RobotMonster'' was mainly shot here, with the title character making his lair in the caves. |
48 | * In ''Film/TheSearchers'', the film's climax, between Ethan and Debbie, was filmed at Bronson Canyon. |
49 | * In ''Film/{{Sleeper}}'', Miles and Luna venture into Bronson Caves and discover a 200-year-old Volkswagon (which still runs) and copy of the ''New York Times'' from 1990 with the headline "Pope's Wife Gives Birth to Twins." |
50 | * The location was used for the site of the Rura Penthe mines in ''Film/StarTrekVITheUndiscoveredCountry''. |
51 | * ''Film/TeenageCaveman'' is mostly shot at the canyon. |
52 | * The 2011 movie version of ''Film/TheWhispererInDarkness'' shot a few scenes here, making prominent use of the cave. This was another self-aware use of the location, as the movie is made [[{{Retraux}} to look like]] a 1930s sci-fi picture. |
53 | [[/folder]] |
54 | |
55 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
56 | * The mouth of the cave was used to represent the entrance to the Bat Cave on ''Series/{{Batman|1966}}'' in one of the canyon's more mainstream appearances. |
57 | * In ''Series/{{Quark}}'', Bronson Canyon is used for the battle between Quark and his EvilTwin. |
58 | * From across the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' franchise: |
59 | ** In ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode [[Recap/StarTrekS2E25BreadAndCircuses "Bread and Circuses"]], Bronson Canyon is the site of where Kirk & Co. encounter the rebel slaves. |
60 | ** Featured as both a Bajoran settlement and the planet Kesprytt III on ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration''. |
61 | ** Used in the ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' episode "The 37's" for a planet in the Delta Quadrant where the crew encounter [[HumanPopsicle several humans from the 1930's]], but Film/{{Flash Gordon|Serial}} is not one of them. |
62 | * ''Series/TwinPeaks'' filmed a few scenes here to represent the local Owl Cave, where a very important petroglyph is discovered. The cave mouth is draped in so much foliage that it's kind of hard to recognize, however, since the arid canyon doesn't exactly resemble [[UsefulNotes/TheOtherRainforest the Douglas fir forests]] where the show is set. |
63 | [[/folder]] |
64 | |
65 | [[folder:Web Videos]] |
66 | * Creator/JamesRolfe made [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oA6_my28pj4 a comprehensive video]] about all the films and TV series shot at Bronson Canyon and even recorded parts of his video narration here on location, in addition to collecting a lot of BRoll for visual reference. |
67 | [[/folder]] |
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