Batman And The Desilu Backlot

General goings on in the 1966 Batman World

Moderators: Scott Sebring, Ben Bentley

User avatar
epaddon
Posts: 0
Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2012 12:09 am

Batman And The Desilu Backlot

Post by epaddon »

While watching the False Face episode the other night as part of my tribute to Malachi Throne, I had a chance for the first time to see how the climactic chase at the end of Part 2 really gives us a fascinating view of the Desilu "40 Acres" backlot that played host to many TV shows in the 1950s and 1960s as well as having originally been the RKO lot where "Gone With The Wind" was filmed.

There is a fascinating site that allows you to see images of the backlot and take a "virtual tour" of the place and also get a better sense of the specific sets that Batman used.

http://www.retroweb.com/40acres.html

The nature of the chase taking place at an "abandoned movie studio" allowed us to see views we wouldn't usually see. For instance, here the Batmobile drives by the quonset hut sets of "Gomer Pyle USMC" complete with their false rears. ("Surprise, surprise! Batman and Robin, well goll-eee!")

Image

Image

The large building to the left is the railway station originally built for "Gone With The Wind".

Image

The red building above Blaze is another "Gone With The Wind" structure, the Atlanta Examiner building.

Image

An exterior and interior look at the "Arab Village" set that had at this point recently been used for partial filming of the Biblical epic "The Greatest Story Ever Told".

Image

Image

And finally the very familiar "central building" and church from the town of Mayberry, North Carolina which also saw double duty in the first season Star Trek episodes "Miri" and "City On The Edge Of Forever" (and which unconvincingly stand in for Gotham City itself in earlier parts of the episode).

Image

Here's an overview shot of the lot from 1965 that helps put a lot of this layout in perspective!

Image
User avatar
Riddler Fan
Posts: 3
Joined: Sat Dec 01, 2012 9:42 pm

Re: Batman And The Desilu Backlot

Post by Riddler Fan »

Great research. I never noticed all the various sets that were in the background. I had noticed that both I Dream of Jeannie and Bewicthed were filmed on the same sets, but that was at a different studio.
User avatar
exm
Posts: 0
Joined: Sat Nov 17, 2012 2:16 pm

Re: Batman And The Desilu Backlot

Post by exm »

That's fascinating stuff, epaddon - must have taken quite some time to piece that together from the brief shots in the chase scene.
That "central" building is the same one that shoawed in numerous first season Batmobile chase scenes?
Also, can you tell what part of the map the trio is standing at where they have the long view of the Atlanta Examiner building?
User avatar
epaddon
Posts: 0
Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2012 12:09 am

Re: Batman And The Desilu Backlot

Post by epaddon »

Thanks! The linked site to the 40 Acres Lot history basically furnished all the details so it didn't take too long once I had their maps for reference. On page 3 of their "Virtual Tour" (http://www.retroweb.com/40acres_tour_pt3.html) there's a similar image with the view of the Examiner Building, which puts them as "looking back at the western end of Main Street" which itself is just out of the aerial shot. I think a litle more south out of frame and a little more east would put them at that spot.
User avatar
High C
Posts: 0
Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2012 8:01 am

Re: Batman And The Desilu Backlot

Post by High C »

Terrific stuff, epaddon! Very informative.

That site is quite fascinating. It was interesting to see the backlot also was used for the 'water tower' scene in the S2 Mad Hatter storyline. I'm sure there were other eps too in which it was used. Have to believe it was the 'Western town' in the first Shame ep.
'I thought Siren was perfect for Joan.'--Stanley Ralph Ross, writer of 'The Wail of the Siren'

My hobbies include gazing at the Siren and doing her bidding, evil or otherwise.

'She had a devastating, hypnotic effect on all the men.'--A schoolmate describing Joan Collins at age 17
User avatar
BATWINGED HORNET
Posts: 0
Joined: Fri Sep 07, 2012 5:32 am

Re: Batman And The Desilu Backlot

Post by BATWINGED HORNET »

Great research, epaddon. Just imagine a typical day when several shows were using different sections of that lot on the same day!
Beneath Wayne Manor
User avatar
Chuck Williams
Posts: 0
Joined: Thu Aug 30, 2012 7:57 am

Re: Batman And The Desilu Backlot

Post by Chuck Williams »

Great post epaddon!!
Thanks for the link...Love this kind of stuff!!
Quick, Everyone, Flee for your lives, into the street!!!!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/WilliamsStudio ... eller_info
User avatar
John Mack
Posts: 0
Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2012 11:15 pm

Re: Batman And The Desilu Backlot

Post by John Mack »

Holy cats you did a great job mapping this out for us Batgeeks! I doff my cowl to you sir. Thank you.

JOhn
Music. BAT! Music.
User avatar
epaddon
Posts: 0
Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2012 12:09 am

Re: Batman And The Desilu Backlot

Post by epaddon »

My pleasure! Here's another aerial 1965 shot that gives us a view of the entire backlot. It's low resolution but the Andy Griffith Show main street referenced above is visible in the center.

Image
User avatar
Jim Akin
Posts: 0
Joined: Tue Sep 18, 2012 8:24 pm

Re: Batman And The Desilu Backlot

Post by Jim Akin »

Excellent detective work!
User avatar
Bat Tom
Posts: 0
Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2012 6:48 am

Re: Batman And The Desilu Backlot

Post by Bat Tom »

Thanks for sharing this.
User avatar
zapFREAK
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Feb 05, 2013 9:37 am

Re: Batman And The Desilu Backlot

Post by zapFREAK »

The level and depth of knowledge on this board constantly amazes me. Thanks to all the scholars out there!!
User avatar
epaddon
Posts: 0
Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2012 12:09 am

Re: Batman And The Desilu Backlot

Post by epaddon »

The Wikipedia entry for "RKO Forty Acres" also provides some more background information on the set and other productions that used it.

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

By the time of "Batman" some previous landmarks of the set like "Tara" from "Gone With The Wind" had been bulldozed. The original "King Kong" was also shot there and its giant wall set destroyed for the burning of Atlanta sequence of GWTW.

Although not seen during the False Face chase episode, by this point 40 Acres had also built the Stalag 13 set for "Hogan's Heroes" on the lot and this I think more than anything else explains the inexplicable window cameo of Werner Klemperer as Colonel Klink in a S2 episode. Yes, "Hogan's Heroes" was on another network but they and "Batman" were sharing the same backlot which is why he would have been available to pop in!
User avatar
exm
Posts: 0
Joined: Sat Nov 17, 2012 2:16 pm

Re: Batman And The Desilu Backlot

Post by exm »

Good point about Klink! Andy Grffith seems to have held such a stranglehold on all those exteriors that I'm surprised we didn't get cameos from his troupe. When one thinks of the possible walk-ons due to the actor's proximity (Captain Kirk, Mr.Phelps...), I don't know why we wound up with some of the lame window cameos.
User avatar
Dr. Shimel
Posts: 0
Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2012 8:14 am

Re: Batman And The Desilu Backlot

Post by Dr. Shimel »

So five of the 14 window cameos can be explained:

Van Williams/Bruce Lee (The Spell of Tut): Plugging the Green Hornet
Howard Duff (The Impractical Joker): Plugging Felony Squad
Werner Klemperer (It's How You Play the Game): Sharing the same backlot
Santa Claus--Andy Devine (The Duo is Slumming): The episode was shown three days before Christmas
Carpet King--Cyril Lord (Ice Spy): Giving Dozier a good deal

Presumably the others were simply giving celebs begging to be on a cameo.
Post Reply