Four Aces Movie Ranch, Them! (1954), and Red Rock Canyon

Last fall we made a couple of interesting stops at movie locations while on our way to the 2021 Lone Pine Film Festival.

We first took a look at the 4 Aces Movie Ranch in Palmdale, an interesting little corner in the middle of nowhere which features a retro-style motel and diner.

IMDb has a list of some of the projects which have filmed at this location; most of them I've not heard of, but there are a couple of familiar titles, such as RACE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN (2009) starring Dwayne Johnson.

Of greater significance to us was the desert immediately across the street from the motel, seen to the right in this photo:

The giant ants of the sci-fi classic THEM! (1954) roamed the desert here in the '50s!

The hills in the distance above match up with the background of this screen shot from the movie. Click on any photo to enlarge it for a closer look.

Further north, we pulled off the highway briefly at Red Rock Canyon State Park, where countless Westerns and other shows have filmed.

One of the most notable Westerns to film out here was William Wyler's THE BIG COUNTRY (1958).

A look at a locations list shows dozens more familiar titles which were partly made at Red Rock Canyon.

Information on hiking in the Red Rock Canyon area may be found here or here.

For more photos of movie locations which may be visited between Los Angeles and Lone Pine, please visit my 2020 post on Halfway House Cafe and Vasquez Rocks.

Update: Here are more photos of Red Rock Canyon from the summer of 2022.

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