Line #23 Main/BronsonCanyonAndCaves


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bronsoncave.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350: So many '50s movie monsters are lurking inside this cave.]]
3
4	->''"The thought of a cardboard villain like ''you'' conquering the world -- you could barely manage a cave in Bronson Canyon!"''
5	-->-- '''Dr. Zarkendorf''', ''Fanfic/Plan7Of9FromOuterSpace''
6
7	Bronson Canyon and Caves is a section of UsefulNotes/LosAngeles' Griffith Park. It looks rugged and desolate, but is actually reasonably convenient to get to, which has made it a popular shooting location for movies and television, especially westerns and science-fiction.
8
9	This reached the point of cliché some time in the 1950s and '60s, as seemingly every low-budget B-movie would film there, and more recent uses of the location will usually be a form of {{Homage}}. The canyon's reputation has also made it a somewhat popular tourist attraction for [[UnabashedBMovieFan fans of this kind of movie]].
10
11	Website/{{Wikipedia}} has its [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronson_Canyon own article]] on the subject, with some information on its use in movies and television.
12
13	A subtrope of HeyItsThatPlace and, often, CaliforniaDoubling. Also see BBCQuarry and KirksRock. DownLADrain is another frequently-used location in Los Angeles, though usually to very different effect.
14
15	Its use as a filming location dates back to the silent era, making it OlderThanTelevision. [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant No relation to]] Creator/CharlesBronson, though there's some speculation that the actor (born Charles Buchinsky) [[StageNames took his screen name]] from Bronson Avenue, for which the canyon is also named.
16	----
17	!!Examples
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19	[[foldercontrol]]
20
21	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
22	* In 2006's ''Film/{{Abominable}}'', the Bronson Caves are used for the Yeti's lair.
23	* In the alternate ending to ''Film/ArmyOfDarkness'', Ash goes into a deep hibernation in the cave, hoping to wake up again in his own time. One of the more self-aware uses of this location.
24	* ''Film/TheBeastOfYuccaFlats'' uses the canyon and caves (which aren't very flat at all) to substitute for the title location. Filming at the actual Yucca Flats, a nuclear test site in Nevada, [[Film/TheConqueror has historically been a very bad idea]].
25	* In ''Film/BloodDiner'', George attempts to murder someone inside Bronson Cave, but his would-be victim is a skilled martial artist and defends himself. Unfortunately, he's taken out by a falling stalactite.
26	* ''Film/TheBrideAndTheBeast'' uses the cave as a standin for a cave somewhere in the jungles of DarkestAfrica, where a troop of {{killer gorilla}}s make their lair.
27	* ''Film/ButtBoy'' used the Caves as the inside of Chip's rectum.
28	* In 1957's ''Film/TheCyclops'', the monster's lair is in the Bronson Caves.
29	* Used for exterior shots in ''Film/EarthVsTheSpider'', although most of the interior cave scenes in that movie were filmed at the much more spectacular Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico.
30	* The title character in ''Film/{{Eegah}}'' lived in Bronson Cave.
31	* In the Creator/CharlesBronson film ''Film/TheEvilThatMenDo'', Bronson Canyon is used as an AbandonedMine.
32	* The 1936 ''Film/{{Flash Gordon\|Serial}}'' serial filmed exteriors for the planet Mongo at Bronson Canyon. One of the entrances to the Bronson Caves is even present in the miniature effects models.
33	* In ''Film/HailCaesar'', the titular FilmWithinAFilm shoots the "Well of Jehoshaphat" sequence at Bronson Canyon. Another self-aware usage of the location.
34	* In ''Film/TheHumanTornado'', while on the run from the Sheriff Bentley's posse, Dolemite drives through the Bronson Caves and sets up an ambush out the other side.
35	* An early appearance in the 1930s movie ''Film/IAmAFugitiveFromAChainGang'', where the canyon is used to represent the desolate hillside where the chain gang do most of their work, breaking up rocks to build a highway.
36	* The Venusian monster from ''Film/ItConqueredTheWorld'' doesn't succeed in conquering the world thanks to lack of budget, but ''It Conquered a Cave in Bronson Canyon'' wouldn't have been an impressive title.
37	* ''Film/TheLostSkeletonOfCadavra'', being an AffectionateParody of '50s sci-fi, is mostly shot here.
38	-->'''[[NeverTrustATrailer Trailer]]:''' [[VeryFalseAdvertising Years in the making, on the world's most spectacular locations!]]
39	* 1955's ''Film/KingDinosaur'' was filmed in over seven days at Bronson Canyon, as well as nearby Benedict Canyon.
40	* In 1959's ''Film/MissileToTheMoon'', Bronson Canyon (including the bushes) is used for the surface of Earth's Moon.
41	-->'''Rifftrax:''' Real nice day on the Moon! Must be a high pressure system.
42	* In ''Film/{{Munchies}}'', Bronson Canyon is used for an archeological dig site in Peru.
43	* ''Film/NightOfTheBloodBeast'' is mostly shot in the canyon, and the blood beast himself lurks in the cave.
44	* Parts of ''Film/{{Octaman}}'' are filmed around Bronson Canyon. During the film's climax, the titular monster hides out in the caves.
45	* The cave is used for the EldritchLocation in ''Film/PalmSprings'', and is the key to the movie's GroundhogDayLoop.
46	* In the 1962 western ''Film/RideTheHighCountry'', the sets for the gold mining town of Coarsegold were built at Bronson Canyon.
47	* ''Film/RobotMonster'' was mainly shot here, with the title character making his lair in the caves.
48	* In ''Film/TheSearchers'', the film's climax, between Ethan and Debbie, was filmed at Bronson Canyon.
49	* In ''Film/{{Sleeper}}'', Miles and Luna venture into Bronson Caves and discover a 200-year-old Volkswagon (which still runs) and copy of the ''New York Times'' from 1990 with the headline "Pope's Wife Gives Birth to Twins."
50	* The location was used for the site of the Rura Penthe mines in ''Film/StarTrekVITheUndiscoveredCountry''.
51	* ''Film/TeenageCaveman'' is mostly shot at the canyon.
52	* The 2011 movie version of ''Film/TheWhispererInDarkness'' shot a few scenes here, making prominent use of the cave. This was another self-aware use of the location, as the movie is made [[{{Retraux}} to look like]] a 1930s sci-fi picture.
53	[[/folder]]
54
55	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
56	* The mouth of the cave was used to represent the entrance to the Bat Cave on ''Series/{{Batman\|1966}}'' in one of the canyon's more mainstream appearances.
57	* In ''Series/{{Quark}}'', Bronson Canyon is used for the battle between Quark and his EvilTwin.
58	* From across the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' franchise:
59	** In ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode [[Recap/StarTrekS2E25BreadAndCircuses "Bread and Circuses"]], Bronson Canyon is the site of where Kirk & Co. encounter the rebel slaves.
60	** Featured as both a Bajoran settlement and the planet Kesprytt III on ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration''.
61	** Used in the ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' episode "The 37's" for a planet in the Delta Quadrant where the crew encounter [[HumanPopsicle several humans from the 1930's]], but Film/{{Flash Gordon\|Serial}} is not one of them.
62	* ''Series/TwinPeaks'' filmed a few scenes here to represent the local Owl Cave, where a very important petroglyph is discovered. The cave mouth is draped in so much foliage that it's kind of hard to recognize, however, since the arid canyon doesn't exactly resemble [[UsefulNotes/TheOtherRainforest the Douglas fir forests]] where the show is set.
63	[[/folder]]
64
65	[[folder:Web Videos]]
66	* Creator/JamesRolfe made [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oA6_my28pj4 a comprehensive video]] about all the films and TV series shot at Bronson Canyon and even recorded parts of his video narration here on location, in addition to collecting a lot of BRoll for visual reference.
67	[[/folder]]

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