FILM HISTORY IN CHATSWORTH
CHATSWORTH GETS TOP RANKING IN HOLLYWOOD FILM HISTORY
The beginning of the 20th century was full of wonderment and awe. It ushered in an era overflowing with inventions of convenience, such as the escalator, radio, vacuum cleaner, windshield wipers and instant coffee, to name a few. It was a time when motor cars were coming of age, and moving pictures were evolving from short films to longer epics. The companies that produced them were also starting to develop from just film houses to having their own distribution and production units. Many were relocating to Los Angeles from the east coast. The beautiful weather, mountain ranges and miles of undeveloped land had motion picture companies looking beyond the studio set.
It was filmed at the Chatsworth Reservoir. Pickford stayed at the Chatsworth Inn on Lassen Street near the intersection of Topanga Canyon Blvd. The hotel was built in 1890, and was more desirable than traveling between Los Angeles and Chatsworth in this pre-101 Freeway era.
Soon ranchers and farmers in the area were renting out their land to film producers. Chatsworth and its surrounding area included several ranches, including Iverson, Johnson / Brandeis, Bell, Porter and Spahn ranches. The most successful of these ranchers were Augusta and Karl Iverson, who along with their five children lived at Iverson Ranch.
The San Fernando Valley, just northwest of Los Angeles, would soon become a prime location for the studios’ expanded vision. Of the many towns in the Valley, Chatsworth became a favorite with movie producers and directors. Out of the oddly shaped rock formations, trails and wide open expanse they imagined western towns, farms, alien planets, tropical paradises, stagecoach rides, train chases, farm scenes and the wild west.
One early film shot in Chatsworth circa 1922 was Tess of Storm Country, featuring silent film star Mary Pickford, the“ Meryl Streep” of that time.
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