Did ‘ya Guess It?

Our seventh Location, Location, Location? may not relate to any current productions on TV or film, but we can assure you that’s it’s still showing up somewhere every day on televisions around the globe.

The answer to this week’s Location, Location, Location? location is the mountain vista seen in the opening credits of the popular and highly-revered television show, “M*A*S*H”

“M*A*S*H”  (1972-1983)

Let’s take a look at the NOW and THEN picture and a bit of information about the location … 

Malibu Creek State Park – Calabasas, CA

“M*A*S*H” is a television series based off the 1970 Robert Altman film of the same name.  A 20th Century Fox production which aired on CBS from 1972-1983, it followed the lives of doctors and army personnel based at the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital during the Korean War.  The show was groundbreaking on many levels and while regarded as a comedic series, covered many genres earning accolades every step of the way.

Goat Buttes of Malibu Creek State Park as seen in “M*A*S*H”

So how did Fox manage to film a series that takes place in South Korea without ever leaving Los Angeles?  Simple, they used their own Century Ranch backlot located in the mountains near Malibu, California on the outskirts of Calabasas.  The ranch has served as a location for many productions throughout the years including such notable films as Planet of the Apes, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Pleasantville.  Comprised of many land tracks once owned by 20th Century Fox, Paramount and even Bob Hope and Ronald Reagan, the location is now called Malibu Creek State Park and covers over 7,000 acres in the Santa Monica Mountains preserve.

“M*A*S*H” was filmed on two separate sets with the outdoor set located at the Century Ranch and an indoor set on a sound stage at Fox Studios in Century City.  For many years, the show utilized the exterior set at the ranch quite often until set changes at Fox allowed for production to move indoors with a simulated outdoor setting. Despite the reduced use of the ranch, the show continued to trek out to the mountains for many scenes that took place in the wilderness of Korea.  Most notably, the set was used extensively for the final episode of the series, “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen”, which was, at the time, the most watched episode in television history.  During filming of the last episode, the park was actually facing one of the worst brush fires in its history which forced the creators of the show to write in a forest fire started by enemy artillery.  Cast members recalled that the flames were within short walking distance of the set and forced the production to wrap early.

The amazing thing about the “M*A*S*H” site is that you can still visit it today, albeit without seeing any of the old tents or buildings.  Located at Malibu Creek State Park, you can take a 2-mile hike into the interior of the park and discover the site for yourself.  You’ll know you’ve reached the spot as it’s identified by two burned out vehicles (an ambulance and Jeep) that were used on the show and burned up in the 1982 brush fire.  Those with sharp archaeological skills may still find remnants of rebar and concrete that once formed the famous steps to the helipad.  The State Park does much to educate visitors to the site and have, in recent years, even placed markers indicating the location of “The Swamp” and other tents along with a recreated M*A*S*H signpost and other location markers.  If you successfully make the hike to the site, be sure to stop in the park visitor’s center on your way out and pick up some dog tags noting your achievement!

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There are three things that matter in filmmaking and television:

Location, Location, Location.

As part of a fun series here on Beyond the Marquee, I will be choosing random filming locations from some famous (and not so famous) film and television productions throughout the years.  They will be posted here for our viewers to take a guess as to what movie or TV show the location was used.

The location as it looks NOW will be posted on Monday and on Wednesday, I will post the answer and THEN picture identifying the location as it was seen on the large or small screen. Some entries may be very easy to guess, others may be difficult and sometimes I may give a clue that will help point you in the right direction.

Previous LOCATION, LOCATION, Location?  Entries can be found here:

http://beyondthemarquee.com/category/about-us/original-featured-sections/location-location-location/