It took a Missourian transplanted to Tucson in the 1930s to really see why the Old Pueblo should appeal to Hollywood and to begin enticing moviemakers and their stars to town.
Nick C. Hall was born in 1882 near Tarkio, Missouri, and went on in his home state to attend the University of Missouri, to work at his father’s newspaper, the St. Joseph Report, and to open an automobile agency, Hall Bros., in Kansas City. During WWI, Hall served in the Motor Transport Corps of the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corp based out of Washington, D.C., and married Harriet Ade. The couple spent some time in San Antonio, where he worked at the St. Anthony Hotel.
In 1934, after Barney Goodman of Kansas City purchased the Santa Rita Hotel in Tucson, Hall relocated here in order to manage the downtown jewel.
Hall soon realized the potential his new town had to offer the filmmakers of nearby Hollywood in the Western genre. He envisioned not only filling guest rooms at his hotel but bringing much-needed work for desperate Tucsonans during the Great Depression.
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The Santa Rita Hotel ad. (Nick C. Hall, Mayor of Old Tucson) Tucson magazine, September 1939.
As Old Tucson historian Paul Lawton wrote, “Tucson’s casual and haphazard wooing of the motion picture industry changed in 1934. … Hall liked having his lobby full of movie people and he went all out to get them. He hired photographers to search out and photograph picturesque ranches and impressive mountain and desert scenery. Hall found out who owned each piece of property and who could give permission for its use. Hall persuaded local businessmen to cater to the movie makers by supplying any unlikely item at any unlikely time. He knew the ‘right’ people in Hollywood and kept them reminded of Tucson by gifts of steaks cut from champion steers.”
By May 1936, Hall was taking trips to Hollywood and talking to motion picture companies including the newly formed Pickford-Lasky Productions about filming in Tucson. This led to the filming of The Gay Desperado starring Ida Lupino and Leo Carrillo in town, which included Hall helping to set up a dark room in the basement of his hotel and a room on the mezzanine floor for the make-up room.
In October 1936, the world premiere of The Gay Desperado took place at the Fox Theater in Tucson. Arizona Gov. B. B. Moeur, Tucson mayor Henry O. Jaastad and of course Hall were in attendance.
Another film Hall helped to bring to Tucson was MGM’s Let Freedom Ring about the battle between man and the untamed desert in laying the railroad from Red Rock to Ajo.
In early December 1938, MGM movie staff showed up in town and moved into the Santa Rita Hotel. In order to help the director find extras, Hall opened a temporary casting office and hired 500 unemployed individuals, with the most desirable type for the film being the “old timer … carrying with them the very spirit of the early days in the Southwest.”
The filming for this movie ended in late December 1938, and it premiered at the Fox Theater.
As the latter movie was wrapping up production in Tucson, Harry Cohn, president of Columbia Pictures in Hollywood, had read the galley proofs of what would be a magazine serial and then a novel entitled Arizona. It was about a female pioneer Phoebe Titus in Tucson during the U.S. Civil War, written by recent Phoenix transplant Clarence Budington Kelland. Cohn bought the movie rights to it.
Cohn, however, kept quiet about the deal until a couple weeks after director Wesley Ruggles signed a contract with his studio in mid-January. Cohn also borrowed Claude Binyon from Paramount Pictures to write the movie script.
This tightly guarded secret regarding the film rights finally was let out in very early February 1939 when Louella Parsons, the Hollywood syndicated gossip columnist, shared it in her newspaper column.
Later in the month, Binyon traveled to Tucson “for atmosphere” as well as to do some historical research for the film and stayed at the Santa Rita Hotel. He was later joined by Ruggles. It’s very likely at this point that Hall after learning the men’s purpose in being in Tucson had the first opportunity to suggest the idea of actually filming in Tucson rather than the studio’s ranch in Burbank, California.
Following this, Hall began working behind the scenes to carry out his plan to have the film shot in Tucson, which included making trips to Los Angeles.
On July 26, 1939, after it was announced about a week earlier that the movie Arizona would be filmed in the Old Pueblo, the Tucson Daily Citizen shared:
“No, the producing company (Columbia Pictures) didn’t have to come here to film Arizona just because in the novel this was the scene of the action. On the contrary, it took a lot of diplomacy, a lot of string pulling. ... Nick Hall ... conceived the idea and carried on the negotiations which led to the producer’s decision to film Arizona here.”
(Old Tucson Scrip). Nick C. Hall, Mayor of Old Tucson, signature at bottom right.
Hall began his work chaperoning Columbia officials, including Jim Pratt, construction superintendent, as they planned the construction of the movie set located on Kinney Road about five miles north of Ajo Road, based on what Tucson looked like in the 1860s.
Hall made all of the arrangements for the cast and crew including the lead actress Jean Arthur to stay at his hotel and made frequent visits to Hollywood to work out details of their needs.
Hall, at times, played the role of public relations person for the production to the news media and also worked with the county to have patrol officers assigned to the route taken by the film crew from Tucson to Old Tucson to speed things up.
In late August 1939, the cast of the film “elected” Hall the mayor of Old Tucson, half in jest and half in seriousness due to the fact that he had been responsible for bringing the filming of Arizona to Tucson, which resulted in the construction of the Old Tucson movie set and in appreciation for taking care of the needs of the cast and crew.
By early September 1939, however, before any filming had begun, everything connected with the film stopped due to the start of World War II.
In October 1939, Arizona Gov. R.T. Jones proclaimed Nick C. Hall as honorary mayor of Old Tucson — in a sense validating his previous unofficial election a couple months earlier, and issued a large and ornate certificate bearing the emblem of the State of Arizona and signed by the governor.
Production of the movie "Arizona" with William Holden and Jean Arthur at Old Tucson in 1939. The movie was the first to be filmed at what would become Old Tucson.
By early 1940, according to the Tucson Daily Citizen, Hall had brought in more than $1,000,000 annually over a period of three years — 1937, 1938 and 1939 — in motion pictures business to Tucson. Hall had spent much of his time and his money inducing Hollywood to come to Southern Arizona to film their pictures.
In April 1940, Hall picked up Ruggles at the airport and brought him to the hotel. Soon after, the rest of the cast and crew returned to Tucson.
The film company essentially took over Hall’s hotel, setting up production offices, timekeeping offices, camera dark rooms, business offices, cutting rooms, a projection theater and even had its own transportation department on site.
Downtown Tucson parade during the world premiere of the movie "Arizona" in 1940. It was the first full-length movie filmed at Old Tucson Studios.
On April 7, 1940, the official dedication of Old Tucson was held. The festivities began with Hall as host of a luncheon at the hotel and followed with the presentation by Gov. R.T. Jones of a scroll to Ruggles. The guests then were driven by bus to Gates Pass circle where they were met by stage coaches and ox-trains to convey them to the movie set.
There, Hall, acting as mayor of Old Tucson, presented the key to the city to the movie director. A month later in this role he presided over the opening of the real but temporary Old Tucson Post Office.
As time got closer to the movie premiere, the Junior Chamber of Commerce (Jaycees) worked with two local banks and local merchants to issue Old Tucson scrip (paper money) in 10 cents, 25 cents, 50 cents, one dollar and five dollar amounts. The scrip could be used in Tucson and Old Tucson (which for a period was being run as the real old Tucson with stores, entertainment etc.) from Nov. 10-17, 1940. All the currency featured the signature of its mayor, Nick C. Hall.
The majestic Santa Rita Hotel, seen here on on Broadway between Scott and Sixth Avenue, as it looked in the late 1940s. The grand hotel with a stunning lobby was designed in the Mission Revival style by architect Henry Trost. Nearly 2,000 people attended the grand opening in 1904. It was demolished in 2009 to make way for the Tucson Electric Power building.
On Nov. 15, 1940, the world premiere of the film Arizona took place in downtown Tucson at four different movie theaters, Rialto Theatre, Lyric Theatre, Fox Theatre and State Theatre. The film’s stars, Jean Arthur and William Holden, were in town.
By 1946, Old Tucson was run down and the supervisors of Pima County, which owned it, were trying to decide what to do with it. In the end, they decided to allow the Jaycees to take over the movie set and run it as a tourist attraction on a lease. The lessee then decided to form a town government by choosing Jaycee members for mayor, town council, etc.
Initially, this really burned Hall up but then he cooled off. He shared, “No I’m not mad anymore. But I was just thinking about this business of voting me out as mayor of Old Tucson. The Jaycees may not remember back as far as 1936-37, but I had a dream and that dream came true. I sold it to Wesley Ruggles … and he (built) that set for ‘Old Arizona.’
“Then the war scared ‘em off, but I got them back the next year and they shot the picture (Arizona) and spent another $2,700,000 on it. That was old Mayor Nick Hall who got them here and got them back. “
By 1947, the Jaycees recognized Nick Hall as “mayor of Old Tucson,” and it appears no real challenge ever rose again to his mayorship.
In June 1951, it was announced in the newspaper that Hall had been put in charge of the Goodman owned Chapman Park Hotel in Los Angeles.
This is a mockup of what a ramada at Old Tucson will look like once it's named for Nick C. Hall.
It continued, “During his 17 years as the head of the Santa Rita, Hall made his hotel headquarters for visiting movie and stage personalities. ... Probably more than any other single individual Hall was responsible for many movies filmed in Arizona and was instrumental in securing a change in Arizona’s compensation law which threatened, for a time, the state’s movie industry.”
In July 1959, Robert Shelton of Kansas City formed the Old Tucson Development Co. and began to turn the old film set into the tourist attraction we know today.
The same year Shelton took over Old Tucson, Hall died of a heart attack while driving along the Pacific Coast Highway in Long Beach, California.
The following day, Old Tucson flew the American flag at half-staff in honor of its mayor.
An undated photo of the lobby in the grand old Santa Rita Hotel.
On Feb. 7, 1960, the newspaper announced “Nick Hall, the late famed mayor of Old Tucson, is going to be memorialized. ... Nick’s old office (at the Santa Rita Hotel) will be rebuilt by the Old Tucson Development Co. and housed in its historical museum. In it will be his copper-mounted saddle always seen in the rodeo parade, his desk, the many autographed photos … given to him by movie stars.”
Today at Old Tucson you can find many names honoring movie characters or people connected with its history. Phoebe’s Sweets, for example, honors the main character in the movie Arizona, Phoebe Titus; and Shelton Hall Museum is named for Robert Shelton. Nothing could be found that honors the man who is mainly responsible for Old Tucson existing in the first place, Nick C. Hall, however.
In 2022, the author of this Street Smarts column (David Leighton) was researching the history of the Rillito Race Track when he came across the name of a horse race “The Nick Hall Stakes”. Not having heard the name Nick Hall in Tucson history, he researched Hall’s life and found out that he was responsible for the existence of Old Tucson.
As a result, he along with City Councilman Steve Kozachik, with support from Hall’s great niece Leslie Hall Clot, Visit Tucson President & CEO Felipe Garcia, and Western film author Gene Freese worked with John A. Harper and Tony Sanders of the American Heritage Railways to name something at Old Tucson in Hall’s honor.
The ramada at Old Tucson, near the gazebo, was chosen to be named the “Nick C. Hall Ramada.”
List: 40 movies filmed in Tucson and southern Arizona
The Fabelmans (2022)
This image released by Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment shows Gabriel LaBelle in a scene from "The Fabelmans."
Tucson locations: Tucson Mountain Park and the Sonoran Desert
Cast: Michelle Williams, Gabriel LaBelle, Paul Dano, Judd Hirsch, Seth Rogen
Genre: Drama: Growing up in post-World War II era Arizona, young Sammy Fabelman aspires to become a filmmaker.
Tombstone (1993)
Kurt Russell stars as Wyatt Earp in "Tombstone" filmed at Old Tucson Studios in 1993. Copy photo taken at Quality Inn Flamingo in Tucson, Ariz., on Thursday March 31, 2011.
Tucson and Arizona locations: Old Tucson, Babocomari Ranch in Sonoita, Texas Canyon, Little Dragoon Mountains, Skeleton Canyon, Empire Ranch in Sonoita, Elgin, Sonoran Desert, Chiricahua National Monument, San Simon Valley, Mescal, Tucson Mountains, San Pedro River, Las Cienegas National Conservation Area, Patagonia, Whetstone Mountains, Turkey Creek, Mount Lemmon, Fort Crittenden, Tucson, Harshaw, St. David, Granite Mountains in Prescott, Sierrita Mountains, Benson.
According to the Internet Movie Database, Tombstone was not a location for the movie shoot.
Cast: Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Sam Elliott, Bill Paxton
Genre: Biography, drama, history: A dramatic retelling of the events leading to and following the famous Gunfight at the OK Corral.
Box office gross: $56.51 million
Almost Famous (2000)
Amost Famous
Tucson and Arizona locations: Old Ajo Highway, Tumacácori, Interstate 19, Amado, Tucson
Cast: Billy Crudup, Patrick Fugit, Kate Hudson
Genre: Adventure, comedy, drama: A high schooler travels with a rock band for a story in Rolling Stone magazine.
Box office gross: $32.53 million
A Star is Born (1976)
In this Dec. 23, 1976, file photo, producer Jon Peters, from left, Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson appear at a preview of the film "A Star is Born" in New York. (AP Photo/Suzanne Vlamis)
Tucson and Arizona locations: Tucson Convention Center, Pima County Courthouse, Old Tucson Studios, Sonoita and Tempe.
Cast: Barbra Streisand, Kris Kristofferson, Gary Busey, Oliver Clark
Genre: Drama, romance, musical: A has-been rock star falls in love with a young, up-and-coming songstress.
Box office gross: $80 million
Major League (1989)
The north side of Hi Corbett Field, 700 S. Randolph Way., in Tucson, Ariz. on January 23, 2020.
Tucson locations: Hi Corbett Field, Tucson
Cast: Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Corbin Bernsen, Margaret Whitton
Genre: Comedy, sport: The new owner of the Cleveland Indians puts together a team she hopes will lose so she can move the team. The team disagrees.
Box office gross: $49.8 million
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)
Rows of B-52's sit on the hard desert soil in Tucson, Arizona. The dry air and hard soil are the two main reasons the "Boneyard" is located here.
Tucson location: Davis Monthan Air Force Base, Boneyard
Cast: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson
Genre: Action, adventure Sci-fi: The Autobots and Decepticons battle in this sequel.
Box office gross: $402.11 million
Wild Wild West (1999)
Will Smith in a scene from the movie "Wild Wild West."
Tucson location: Old Tucson
Cast: Will Smith, Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branagh, Salma Hayek
Genre: Action, comedy sci-fi: Based on the old TV show of Secret Service agents after the Civil War.
Box office gross: $113.81 million
Public Enemies (2009)
Johnny Depp stars as legendary Depression-era outlaw John Dillinger, in "Public Enemies." (AP Photo/Universal Pictures, Peter Mountain)
Tucson location: Congress Hotel front
Cast: Christian Bale, Johnny Depp, Christian Stolte, Jason Clarke
Genre: Action, biography, crime: Feds try to take down John Dillinger.
Box office gross: $97.1 million
Can't Buy Me Love (1987)
Patrick Dempsey (in his pre-“McDreamy” era) stars as a high school nerd trying to be a cool kid in “Can’t Buy Me Love.”
Tucson locations: Davis-Monthan Air Force Base boneyard, Scoops on Speedway, a house on North Hill Farm Drive, a house on North Christmas Avenue, The Loft Cinema, Pima Air and Space Museum, Tucson High School, Tucson Mall, Arcade on Speedway, Speedway boulevard, Winterhaven neighborhood, Hill Farm
Cast: Patrick Dempsey, Amanda Peterson, Courtney Gains
Genre: Comedy, drama, romance: An outcast pays the most popular girl in school to be his girlfriend for a month.
Box office gross: $31.62 million
Young Guns (1988)
Main Street in Old Tucson in 1991.
Tucson locations: Old Tucson, Tucson, Sonoran Desert
Cast: Emilio Estevez, Kiefer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips, Charlie Sheen
Genre: Action, western: Young gunmen led by Billy the Kid become deputies and take their authority too far.
Box office gross: $45.66 million
Young Guns II (1990)
Tucson and Arizona locations: Old Tucson, Bisbee, Sonoran Desert, San Rafael Ranch State Park in Patagonia, Tucson Mountains, Ironwood Forest National Monument, Sierrita Mountains, Warren, Tumacácori National Historical Park
Cast: Emilio Estevez, Kiefer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips, Christian Slater
Genre: Action, western: Patrick Floyd Garrett receives a bounty to kill Billy the Kid.
Box office gross: $44.14 million
Revenge of the Nerds (1984)
Actors Anthony Edwards, far right and Robert Carradine, center, stumble with their suitcases during a scene for the film, "Revenge of the Nerds." Photo taken: January 30, 1984.
Tucson locations: Catalina Park Inn, Catalina Park, Bear Down Gym at the University of Arizona, Friends Meeting House on Fifth Avenue, University of Arizona, Cochise Hall at UA, Old Main at UA, Scottish Rite Temple on Scott Avenue, Old Tucson
Cast: Robert Carradine, Anthony Edwards, Timothy Busfield, Andrew Cassese
Genre: Comedy: A group of bullied college outcasts and misfits fight back.
Box office gross: $40.9 million
The Quick and the Dead (1995)
Extras for the movie "The Quick and the Dead," during filming at the Mescal Exit 297.
Tucson and Arizona locations: Old Tucson, Mescal, Sierrita Mountains, Sonoran Desert, Tucson Mountains, Ironwood Forest National Monument, Sonoita, Las Cienegas National Conservation Area
Cast: Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman, Russell Crowe
Genre: Action, romance, thriller: A female gunfighter enters a dueling tournament to avenge her father's death.
Box office gross: $18.64 million
Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997)
Lisa Kudrow and Mira Sorvino in a scene from Romy and Michele's High School Reunion.
Tucson locations: Tucson streets
Cast: Mira Sorvino, Lisa Kudrow, Janeane Carofalo
Genre: Comedy: Two dimwitted friends concoct an elaborate lie to impress classmates at their high school reunion.
Box office gross: $29.21 million
Stir Crazy (1980)
"Stir Crazy" filming at the Tucson Rodeo Grounds April 10, 1980. Citizen file photo by H. Darr Beiser.
Tucson locations: Downtown, Tucson Rodeo Grounds, Pima Community College West Campus, former Whistle Stop bar on Craycroft Road, Pima County Courthouse; other Arizona locations: Arizona State Prison in Florence, Arizona
Cast: Gene Wilder, Richard Pryor, Georg Stanford Brown, JoBeth Williams
Genre: Comedy: Two friends are set up and wrongfully accused of a crime they didn't commit.
Box office gross: $101.3 million
The Trial of Billy Jack (1974)
Tucson locations: Old Tucson Studios and Colossal Cave Mountain Park
Cast: Tom Laughlin, Delores Taylor, Victor Izay, Teresa Kelly
Genre: Action, drama
Box office gross: $89 million
Movie sets at Old Tucson in 2012.
The Cannonball Run (1981)
Tucson location: Old Tucson
Cast: Burt Reynolds, Roger Moore, Farrah Fawcett, Dom DeLuise
Genre: Action, comedy: Eccentric competitors participate in a cross-country road race.
Box office gross: $72.18 million
A scene from the movie, "Three Kings." (AP Photo/Warner Bros., Murray Close)
Three Kings (1999)
Arizona locations: Tucson, Casa Grande. Sacaton Mine in Casa Grande, Yuma, Eloy, Sonoran Desert, Coolidge, Marana, Phoenix
Cast: George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Ice Cube, Spike Jonze
Genre: Action, adventure, comedy: After the Persian Gulf War, four soldiers plan to steal gold that was stolen from Kuwait.
Box office gross: $60.65 million
The Postman (1997)
Release date: Dec. 25, 1997
Tucson and Arizona locations: Tucson, Sahuarita, Green Valley, Sopori Ranch, Amado and Nogales
Cast: Kevin Costner, Will Patton, Larenz Tate, Olivia Williams
Genre: Action, adventure, sci-fi: In post-apocalyptic America in the year 2013, an unnamed wanderer retrieves a postman's uniform and undelivered bag of mail, which he delivers to a nearby town
Box office gross: $17.6 million
Rene Russo, Don Johnson and Kevin Costner star in "Tin Cup."
Tin Cup (1996)
Tucson and Arizona locations: Hotel Congress, Tubac, Sonoita, Nogales.
Cast: Kevin Costner, Rene Russo, Don Johnson, Cheech Marin
Genre: Comedy, drama, romance: A washed up golf pro tries to qualify for the US Open.
Box office gross: $53.85 million
In this undated photo released by Disney, John Voight, left, portraying Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp, shakes hands with Josh Lucas, right, playing Texas Western coach Don Haskins in a scene from the motion picture "Glory Road." (AP Photo/Disney Enterprises, Inc., Frank Connor)
Glory Road (2006)
Tucson location: Bear Down Gym at the University of Arizona
Cast: Josh Lucas, Derek Luke, Austin Nichols, Jon Voight
Genre: Biography, drama, sport: Texas Western coach leads the first all-black starting line-up college basketball team to the NCAA championship.
Box office gross: $42.64 million
Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, and Martin Short in The Three Amigos.
Three Amigos (1986)
Tucson and Arizona locations: Old Tucson, Coronado National Forest, Florence, Apache Junction, Superstition Mountains, Apache Trail, Superstition Wilderness, Sonoran Desert, Gold Canyon
Cast: Steve Martin, Checy Chase, Martin Short
Genre: Comedy, western: Three actors go to a Mexican village to perform their onscreen roles unaware they are in a real fight.
Box office gross: $39.25 million
The cast and producer of Tyler Perry's feature "The Family That Preys." (PRNewsFoto/Lincoln Mercury)
The Family That Preys (2008)
Tucson and Arizona locations: Tucson, Sonoita
Cast: Kathy Bates, Alfre Woodard, Sanaa Lathan
Genre: Drama: Two families from different walks of life learn to work together.
Box office gross: $37.02 million
Murphy's Romance (1985)
Tucson and Arizona locations: Tucson (street scenes), Florence, Tubac, Keating Building in Florence, Eloy, Coolidge, Main Street Vault in Florence, Valley Art Theater in Tempe, Tempe, Main Street in Florence
Cast: Sally Field, James Garner, Brian Kerwin
Genre: Comedy, drama, romance: A divorcee and her son move to a ranch and she befriends a local man.
Box office gross: $30.76 million
Sammy Davis JR, and Dean Martin are cornered by mobsters (L to R) Alex Rocco, Michael Gazzo, Abe Vigoda and Henry Silva, all after the million-dollar purse offered for Cannonball Run II. Photo by Arcafin V.V./Claridge Pictures Inc.
Cannonball Run II (1984)
Tucson and Arizona locations: Tucson, Bisbee, Old Tucson, Arizona State School for the Deaf and the Blind Campus
Cast: Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise, Dean Martin
Genre: Action, comedy: This sequel features another cross country race.
Box office gross: $28.08 million
The Fox Theater on 17 W. Congress, Wed April 25, 2012.
Escape from New York (1981)
Tucson location: Fox Theater
Cast: Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine
Genre: Action, adventure, sci-fi: Manhattan is now a maximum security prison and the U.S. president has crashed into it.
Box office gross: $25.24 million
Holly (Drew Barrymore, left) introduces Jane (Whoopi Goldberg) to her new boyfiend, Abe (Matthew McConaughey, in Warner Bros.' "Boys on the Side." Photo by Suzanne Hanover
Boys on the Side (1995)
Tucson and Arizona locations: Tucson, Tumacácori, Teatro Carmen, Elusian Grove Market in Barrio Viejo, Tucson General Hospital (since demolished), Big Horn Restaurant in Amado, Tucson Elks Lodge, Amado
Cast: Whoopi Goldberg, Mary-Louise Parker, Drew Barrymore, Matthew McConaughey
Genre: Comedy, drama: Three very different women drive cross country and become close friends.
Box office gross: $23.45 million
Madhouse (1990)
Tucson and Arizona locations: Tucson, Phoenix
Cast: Richard Alexander, Kirstie Alley, John Larroquette
Genre: Comedy: A yuppie couple's villa is overrun by uninvited guests.
Box office gross: $21.04 million
8 Seconds (1994)
Tucson location: Tucson Rodeo Grounds, other Tucson locations
Cast: Luke Perry, Stephen Baldwin, James Rebhorn
Genre: Biography, drama, sport: The life of Lane Frost, 1987 PRCA Bull Riding World Champion.
Box office gross: $19.6 million
Wes Studi stars as Geronimo, the legendary Apache leader and medicine man who defied the U.S. Cavalry.
Geronimo: An American Legend (1993)
Tucson and Arizona locations: Old Tucson, Monument Valley, Kayenta, Red Mesa, Kaibab National Forest, Williams (Grand Canyon Railway), Mexican Water, San Francisco Peaks, Skeleton Canyon, Teec Nos Pos, Tucson
Cast: Jason Patric, Gene Hackman, Robert Duvall
Genre: Drama, history, western: The story of the Apache chief and his resistance to the U.S. Government's subjugation of his people.
Box office gross: $18.64 million
Kirk Douglas shows other actors how to draw and whirl during the filming of "Posse" at Old Tucson.
Posse (1993)
Tucson and Arizona locations: Old Tucson, Florence, Sonoran Desert, Empire Ranch in Sonoita, Sierrita Mountains, Tucson Mountains, Benson, Tucson
Cast: Mario Van Peebles, Stephen Baldwin, Charles Lane
Genre: Western: Buffalo soldiers find gold, desert and help defend a black town from the KKK.
Box office gross: $18.29 million
Old Tucson
Lightning Jack (1994)
Tucson and Arizona locations: Old Tucson, Page, Sonoran Desert, Tucson Mountains, Sierrita Mountains, Flagstaff
Cast: Paul Hogan, Cuba Gooding Jr., Beverly D'Angelo
Genre: Comedy, western: An Australian outlaw in the wild west.
Box office gross: $16.82 million
Terminal Velocity (1994)
Tucson and Arizona locations: Old Tucson, Douglas, Little Colorado River Canyon, Tucson, Flagstaff, Phoenix
Cast: Charlie Sheen, Nastassja Kinski, James Gandolfini
Genre: Action, mystery, romance: A maverick skydiver and a former KGB agent team up to stop the Russian mafia.
Box office gross: $16.48 million
The Getaway (1994)
Tucson and Arizona locations: Tucson, Prescott, Phoenix International Raceway, Hotel Del Sol in Yuma, Downtown Yuma, Flagstaff, Sonoran Desert, Coolidge, Maricopa County Courthouse and Old Phoenix City Hall, Apache Lodge in Prescott, Arizona Biltmore Resort in Phoenix, Phoenix Greyhound Park, Union Station in Phoenix
Cast: Alec Baldwin, Kim Basinger, Michael Madsen
Genre: Action, adventure, crime: An ex-con and his wife flee after a heist goes wrong.
Box office gross: $16.1 million
Cast member Drew Barrymore attends the premiere of Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind at the Mann Bruin Theatre in Westwood, California, Wednesday December 11, 2002.
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002)
Tucson and Arizona locations: Tucson, White Stallion Ranch, Nogales
Cast: Sam Rockwell, Drew Barrymore, George Clooney
Genre: Biography, comedy, crime: Adaptation of the cult memoir of game show impresario Chuck Barris.
Box office gross: $16 million
Flirting with Disaster (1996)
Tucson and Arizona locations: Tucson, Cave Creek, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Carefree, Marana
Cast: Ben Stiller, Patricia Arquette, Téa Leoni
Genre: Comedy: A young man searches for his birth parents.
Box office gross: $14.89 million
Fire Birds (1990)
Tucson and Arizona locations: Army Pilot Training Post in Tucson, Mammoth, Mesa, Sonoran Desert, Apache Leap Mountains in Superior, Superstition Mountains, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Superior, Picketpost Mountain in Superior, Superstition Wilderness, Miami, Globe, Reymert, Tonto National Forest, Apache Junction, Amphitheater High School
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Tommy Lee Jones, Sean Young
Genre: Action, adventure: Elite Apache helicopter pilots must destroy powerful drug cartels.
Box office gross: $14.76 million
Stay Tuned (1992)
Tucson and Arizona locations: Old Tucson, Florence, Tucson
Cast: John Ritter, Pam Dawber, Jeffrey Jones
Genre: Adventure, comedy, fantasy: a husband and wife are sucked into television sets and must survive twisted versions of TV shows.
Box office gross: $10.74 million
The Titan II Missile which is part of the Titan Missile Museum, is outside Tucson in Sahuarita, Ariz, on Nov. 14, 2018.
Cyborg (1989)
Tucson and Arizona locations: Titan Missile Museum in Green Valley, The Domes in Casa Grande, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Casa Grande, Green Valley, Tucson
Cast: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Deborah Richter, Vincent Klyn
Genre: Action, sci-fi, thriller: Hunt for a killer in a plague-infested future.
Box office gross: $10.17 million
The Wraith (1986)
Tucson locations: North Sixth Avenue, Fourth Avenue, Sabino Canyon, Catalina Highway, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, East Fifth Street, West Ajo Way and East Benson Highway.
Cast: Charlie Sheen, Nick Cassavetes, Sherilyn Fenn, Randy Quaid
Genre: Sci-fi, horror: A high-schooler returns from the dead to get revenge on the psychotic drag racer who killed him.
Box office gross: $3.5 million
The Fox Tucson Theatre has been a Tucson landmark for decades. Its history has been captured in photos since the 1930s, when it opened as a vaudeville venue and movie house. Video by Pascal Albright / Arizona Daily Star
David Leighton is a historian and author of “The History of the Hughes Missile Plant in Tucson, 1947-1960.” He has been on PBS, ABC, Travel Channel, radio, and in Arizona Highways. He named four local streets in honor of pioneers Federico and Lupe Ronstadt and barrel racer Sherry Cervi. He also named the Jonathan Rothschild Alamo Wash Greenway. If you have a street to suggest for a column, or a story to share, email him at azjournalist21@gmail.com
