Bronson Canyon

The East Portal

Bronson Canyon, or Bronson Caves, is a section of Griffith Park in Los Angeles, California that has become famous as a filming location for a large number of movies and TV shows, especially westerns and science fiction, from the early days of motion pictures to the present. Its craggy and remote-looking setting, but easily accessible location, has made it a prime choice for filmmakers, particularly of low-budget films, who want to place scenes in a lonely wilderness.

Location and history

Bronson Canyon is located in the southwest section of Griffith Park and is thus easily accessible from Hollywood. From Franklin Avenue, go north on Canyon Drive until the road ends for vehicular traffic at the parking lot for "Camp Hollywoodland". At the right (east) side of the road is a small concrete bridge painted red. Cross the bridge and walk around the vehicle barrier, and follow the unpaved road, keeping left, for the short walk into Bronson Canyon.

In 1903, the Union Rock Company founded a quarry, originally named Brush Canyon, for excavation of crushed rock used in the construction of city streets. The quarry ceased operation in the late 1920s, leaving the caves behind. The caves became known as the Bronson Caves after a nearby street, giving the area its more popular name of Bronson Canyon (the same street indirectly provided the stage name for actor Charles Bronson, who chose the name of the Bronson Gate at Hollywood's Paramount Studios, which in turn derived its name from Bronson Street).

Scenes of the main cave entrance are normally filmed in a manner that shows the entrance at an angle. This is because the cave is actually a very short tunnel through the hill, with the rear opening easily visible in a direct shot. The most well known appearance of the tunnel entrance is likely as the entrance to the Batcave in the Batman television series of the 1960s.

Comprehensive filmography

• Bronson Canyon

Partial list of motion pictures filmed in Bronson Canyon

The West Portal

This list includes films with one or more scenes filmed in Bronson Canyon, including many serials filmed on location.

• Lightning Bryce (1919)
• Riders of the Purple Sage (1925)
• The Lightning Warrior (1931)
• Hurricane Express (1932)
• I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)
• White Zombie (1932)
• The Three Musketeers (1933)
• The Vampire Bat (1933)
• Mystery Mountain (1934)
• The Phantom Empire (1935)
• Robinson Crusoe of Clipper Island (1936)
• Zorro Rides Again (1937)
• Dick Tracy Returns (1938)
• Hawk of the Wilderness (1938)
• The Lone Ranger Rides Again (1939)
• The Adventures of Captain Marvel (1941)
• Call of the Canyon (1942)
• Leather Burners (1943)
• Pirates of Monterey (1947)
• Silver River (1948)
• Atom Man vs. Superman (1949)
• Mark of the Gorilla (1950)
• Flame of Araby (1951)
• Unknown World (1951)
• Carson City (1952)
• Robot Monster (1953)
• Captain John Smith and Pocahontas (1953)
• Killers from Space (1954)
• The Day the World Ended (1955)
• Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
• It Conquered the World (1956)
• The Searchers (1956)
• Men in War (1957)
• Night of the Blood Beast (1957)
• The Brain from Planet Arous (1957)
• The Cyclops (1957)
• Earth vs. the Spider (1958)
• Monster from Green Hell (1958)
• The Return of Dracula (1958)
• Teenage Caveman (1958)
• The Jayhawkers! (1959)
• Invisible Invaders (1959)
• Teenagers from Outer Space (1959)
• The Cape Canaveral Monsters (1960)
• Eegah (1962)
• Invasion of the Star Creatures (1962)
• Ride the High Country (1962)
• The Gun Hawk (1963)
• They Saved Hitler's Brain (Madmen of Mandoras) (1963)
• The Human Duplicators (1965)
• Batman: The Movie (1966)
• Mondo Bizarro (1966)
• Flaming Frontier (1968)
• Head (1968)
• The Mighty Gorga (1969)
• Equinox (1970)
• Octaman (1971)
• Lost Horizon (1973)
• Mrs. Sundance (1974)
• Flesh Gordon (1974)
• The Choirboys (1977)
• Last Ride of the Dalton Gang (1979)
• The Return (1980)
• The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981)
• The Sword and the Sorcerer (1982)
• The Evil That Men Do (1984)
• Thrashin' (1986)
• The Wizard of Speed and Time (1989)
• Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
• The Roller Blade Seven (1991)
• Army of Darkness (1992)
• Guns of El Chupacabra (1997)
• George of the Jungle (1997)
• The End of Violence (1997)
• The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra (2001)
• Cabin Fever (2002)
• Fangs (2002)
• The Scorpion King (2002)
• Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt (2003)
• Tremors 4: The Legend Begins (2004)
• Vampire Blvd. (2004)
• Diabolical Tales (2007)
• D-War (2007)
• Mega Python vs. Gatoroid (2010)
• Mega Shark vs. Crocosaurus (2010)

TV series filmed in Bronson Canyon

• The A-Team
• The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.
• The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin
• Alias Smith and Jones
• Bat Masterson
• Batman
• Beauty and the Geek
• Bonanza
• Combat!
• The Dukes of Hazzard ("Hazzard Connection")
• Falcon Crest
• Gunsmoke
• Have Gun, Will Travel
• Little House on the Prairie
• The Lone Ranger
• Mission: Impossible (1960s)
• The Monkees
• The Outer Limits (1960s)
• Rawhide
• Salute Your Shorts (The Cursed Skull)
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
• Star Trek: Enterprise
• Star Trek: The Next Generation
• Star Trek: The Original Series
• Star Trek: Voyager
• Twin Peaks
• V
• The Virginian
• Wonder Woman

Partial list of novels set in Bronson Canyon

• Lost Light by Michael Connelly

External links

• Bronson Canyon in the Movies
• Bronson Canyon - Representing the divine on earth