December 1, 1964
Most films get the kiss of box office mediocrity when they choose the Central Coast as a location. Arachnophobia, My Blue Heaven, The Monster of Piedras Blancas, I Know who Killed Me, The Great Race, film it here and the movie will more likely flop than fly. Ain’t a Citizen Kane in the bunch. Post a comment if you disagree.
According to Wikipedia, The Great Race underperformed at the box office but over the years it has proved more durable than the first release results would indicate. It has my nomination for best movie filmed in the county.
Directed by Blake Edwards (Pink Panther movies, 10) the cast included:
• Jack Lemmon as Professor Fate/Prince Hapnick
• Natalie Wood as Maggie DuBois
• Tony Curtis as Leslie Gallant III (“The Great Leslie”)
• Peter Falk as Maximillian ‘Max’ Meen
• Keenan Wynn as Hezekiah Sturdy
A cross between Roadrunner cartoons, classic silent movie slapstick, costume caper and movie parody, Jack Lemmon takes a rare turn as a villain.
Professor Fate would exhort his evil henchman to, “Push the button Max.” as he tries to prevent the Great Leslie from winning a post Victorian era race from New York to Paris.
Patti Elder, stand in for Natalie Wood, filmed horseback scenes in the Oceano Dunes as the camera flew overhead in a helicopter.
Long time readers of the paper will recognize the byline of staff writer Dorie Bentley who wrote features for the paper until she retired in 1990’s. She began her career when she made a feisty call to a local paper and complained that her garden club publicity releases were being mangled. The editor invited her to report for the paper and she ended up having rich career from that decision to pick up the phone.
Photos by Jim Vestal
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This is an amazing blog! I recommended it to my dad who is a elementary school teacher up in Atascadero and is very interested in local history. Also, I believe movies filmed on the Central Coast that didn’t flop include The Ten Commandments and the third Pirates of the Caribbean movie, both of which had scenes shot at the dunes.
Thanks for the compliment Diana T. it makes the dizzy spinning through the microfilm easier.
Thanks also for sharing local movie nominations.
Ten Commandments was a 1923 silent from early in the career of Cecil B. DeMille and you are right, this one was an epic hit, but most people today remember DeMille’s Academy Award winning 1956 Charlton Heston remake filmed elsewhere.
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (filmed near the Guadalupe Dunes location of the 1927 Ten Commandments) wasn’t a flop but the buccaneers I sail with liked the first two in the series better.
DeMille, Jerry Bruckheimer, Blake Edwards, quite a collection of Hollywood heavyweights have come to our dunes to film.
Anyone else have a favorite Central Coast filmed movie?