This is part of the continuing series of historical articles to highlight the Mendocino Heritage Days from May 5 through May 14. There's also a page with more information about movies filmed around Mendocino.
Movies - they have the power to entertain us, to educate us, to make us laugh, to make us cry. Whatever our mood we can escape into another place and time just by buying a ticket and sitting in a movie. Movies can go back to the days of the caveman or forward to the space travel to distant planets. Movies can lift your heart and make you want to sing and dance or they can drop your heart to your shoes and scare you.
Name a well-known favorite movie star past or present. Mel Gibson, Jane Wyman, Sean Penn, Angela Lansbury, James Dean, Julia Roberts, Wallace Berry, Ray Milland, Joan Fontaine, Julie Harris, Charles Bickford, Jennifer O'Neill, Bette Davis, Herald Lockwood, Jonathan Winters, Goldie Hawn? They were all here at one time or another, filming movies on the Mendocino Coast. But think about your favorite star. It has to be the town of Mendocino.
All the town is a stage. The history of Mendocino must certainly include the many motion pictures made here. Many Oscar winning films depict the ever-changing Pacific Ocean, its rugged cliffs, pristine beaches, winding rivers and giant redwood trees.
Almost by magic a bank can become a mortuary, a real estate office can become a coffee shop or a museum can be the sheriff's office. Overnight, houses can be built, fences can appear; where there was an empty field, the next day an orchard grows and Mendocino can become a New England fishing village. Big movies, little movies, movies never shown were filmed in our magnificent local. Every movie filmed here uses the scenery as the main attraction.
There were 17 silent movies made here; 27 movies, 13 television shows, some with more than one episode, two educational films, one videodisc which was an experimental process (not meant to be released, but was indeed shown to give clues to for a contest), and one scheduled to be filmed here but was shut down by protesters. That doesn't even count the numerous commercials filmed here. These endeavors pumped many dollars into the Coast's economy in the form of housing and feeding the stars and crews. They also provided paying jobs for extras and other local people who worked in the production crews. The movies also gave this area a chance to contribute to the world's most popular form of entertainment.
See you at the movies!