|
|
 |
"So here we are once more in the wilds, and once more we've come upon some out of the way corner. But what a wilderness, and what an out of the way corner!"
—Nikolai Gogol, 'Dead Souls.'
Next, the crew filmed at the Mescal Movie set, a storied Western town in Cochise County, eastern Arizona, about 40 miles east of Tucson, just north of Interstate 10 near the town of Benson.¹ It's the site of over 80 previous films starting with Monte Walsh (1970) with Lee Marvin and Jack Palance. The likes of Clint Eastwood, Steve McQueen, and Paul Newman have also walked the dusty streets of this mythical western town. Tombstone, The Outlaw Josey Wales, Tom Horn, and The Life & Times of Judge Roy Bean were shot there.
Cox says, "My plan had been to film everything in Spain. But the Almeria sets were mostly booked—thanks to a plethora of production, Westerns Dutch, German and French occupying almost everything. So we shot five days in Almeria, and eleven in Arizona."² The Mescal site features 28 authentic buildings like a full saloon, a jail, a church, and a livery stable, and an undertaker's office. Cox had first visited Mescal back in 1987, when scouting locations for additional sequences in Walker. It had fallen into picturesque decline since those days. "Today it's being painstakingly restored by local volunteers—but it still has a desolate, beaten-up quality."
The team filmed on the Mescal set during the weeks of November 11th and 18th, 2024. The most memorable days were Thursday 14 November (the gunfight), and Friday 15 November (The Streets of Laredo musical number) and Saturday 16 November (the gambling scenes, an inquest, and a wake in the saloon).
"Staying in Benson and Tabernas, we become attached to the town. We film in desert canyons or Western poblados for about ten hours. Then the sun sets, and we head for base—ten minutes to Tabernas, fifteen to Benson. Most of our hours are spent here, sleeping (and being woken twice a night in Benson by the freights as they roll through), figuring out where to eat, or meet for a drink, or doing laundry, or (in the case of the hard-working and devoted actors) practicing our lines at the Quality Inn. Before long our displaced involvement shifts to the real place from the fantasy one."² At the close of shooting, Cox announced, "The shoot in Mescal was splendid. This is a great set, with multiple practical interiors in a pristine desert environment. It is presided over by a black cat, Sammy, who showed up as a feral kitten 12 years ago. Sammy has several assistants, including Mark, Paul and Johnny—all of whom are great guys and were a massive help to us. Johnny is also a professional singer, and we recorded an additional scene in which he sang "The Cowboy's Lament" while walking through town. I'm not sure if this will be part of the Chautauqua scene, or an additional element on the DVD/bluray. Either way I think you will enjoy it."
Next, the crew moved on to the Gammons Gulch Movie Set,³ a film site about twelve miles north of Benson on 10 acres of land, featuring 17 building facades and 11 fully-staged buildings, but with a very different look from El Paso, El Condor, and Mescal, including a jail and a copper mine set. Cox announced, "We will also shoot Gianni Garko's alternative ending there." Cox said, "After Mescal we filmed for two days at Gammon's Gulch, a nearby western set with lovely jail cells. There used to be a great jail at Mescal, but it didn't stand the ravages of time. Mescal is now under new ownership, and being restored by local volunteers. They have recently completed The Jersey Lily, a replica of the saloon owned by Judge Roy Bean in the film of the same name. Paul invited me to move to Benson, AZ, and join the volunteer construction crew. But the dogs and Tod are calling me home." Ted Falagan plays Mr Oso, the owner of the open-pit copper mine where bodies are buried. And he took some photos of the experience:
The final day of shooting was done among the big cactus at the 'VV Boy Scouts' Ranch' beside the magnificent Saguaro National Monument, just south of Tucson. The ranch is a picturesque 360-acre property located six miles southwest of Tucson, near Cat Mountain. The Saguaro National Park, where films like Tombstone, Winchester '73, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Three Amigos, and William Wyler's The Big Country were shot, features some of the largest cacti in the country, making it a memorable backdrop for a movie set. Cox revealed that, "Along with the first Monday in Spain, this was our most complex and arduous shoot, as the camera and sound teams lugged their equipment across the desert from one location to the next. In ten hours we shot five and a half pages, and finished the film."
The Arizona shoot had taken eleven days, and the total shooting period, including with the other crew in Spain, had been sixteen days altogether (originally scheduled for eighteen days, including two in California at the Calico Ghost Town, that were dropped). "All went better than we could have hoped," Cox noted. "I cannot heap enough praise on the Arizona crew. Our DP Chance, our designer M, our sonidista Nolan, our costumer Jessica, our armorer Amos, our horse master Jesse, our makeup and facial hair artist Quin, our stunt coordinator Rob, all did work above and beyond the call of budget and duty. And their teams were magnificent. Special thanks are reserved to our producer and my compadre Merritt, who chose the crew and put the whole thing together."
 
NOTES ON THIS PAGE
¹—Mescal Movie set (1538 N. Mescal Rd. in Benson, AZ): "The Mescal Movie Set is an iconic 'Old West' frontier town that presents a unique filming experience. The historical set is ideal for feature films, television series, reality shows, commercials, music videos, photo shoots, and other film productions. The Mescal Movie Set is located 40 miles south of Tucson with easy access off of I-10. The set offers 28 buildings on 70 acres in a cattle country setting with mountain backdrops, scenic vistas, and spectacular sunsets."
²—BENSON, AZ, AND TABERNAS, AL:" "My plan had been to film everything in Spain. But the Almeria sets were mostly booked—thanks to a plethora of production, Westerns Dutch, German and French occupying almost everything. So we shot five days in Almeria, and eleven in Arizona—mostly at the Mescal Western location... A big budget film like The Good, The Bad & The Ugly or Straigtht to Hell would probably house its actors in one of the top hotels in Almeria city. Back in those days this meant the boomerang-shaped, six-storey Gran Hotel. But if yours is a low-budget production, you may opt to house your small crew closer to the location ... and so, we made our base in small hotels and posadas in the desert mountain town of Tabernas. And when we filmed at Mescal, we ventured not to the megalopolis of Tucson, but resided in nearby Benson, Arizona. Benson is a railroad town beside the highway. It has two diners, three or more motels, a Mexican place, an oil-change place, a gymnasium, and a supermarket with funny and outspoken baggers and checkers. Benson was celebrated long ago by John Carpenter, whose debut feature Dark Star ends with a (thoroughly generic) ballad in celebration of the town." (alexcoxfilms.wordpress.com).
³—Gammons Gulch Movie Set: "Gammon's Gulch offers over 10 acres of authentic Old West charm, featuring 17 stunning facades and 11 fully staged buildings, ready for your next film production. This unique movie set, bathed in the region's abundant sunshine, provides ideal conditions for outdoor filmmaking year-round. Conveniently located with easy access and living quarters on-site, Gammon's Gulch stands as a prime location brimming with opportunities for filmmakers seeking a genuine Western experience."
|
