The RKO location ranch was located in Encino. It sported a complete western town with intersecting streets and a New York street.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame set was there as well as a Hacienda set.
A rail line ran through the property and was occasionally used for filming.
Other sets were built as needed, such as the 4 acre sets for It’s A Wonderful Life.
The ranch was located approximately between Louise Avenue on the west, Balboa Blvd. on the east, Burbank Blvd. on the south, and Oxnard on the north, all in the city of Encino.
The ranch property was sold in 1954 to the Encino Park housing development. The 89-acre backlot was bulldozed with plans to adjoin it to the growing community’s needs.
(Sources [http://employees.oxy.edu/jerry/rkoranch.htm] and [http://ponderosascenery.homestead.com/files/rko.html])
Photo Gallery
Photos can be seen on the RKO Encino Ranch Facebook page
Productions shot at RKO Encino
Feature Film (8) | |||
| Title | Released | Director | IMDB |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Day The Earth Stood Still | 1951 | Robert Wise |  |
| It's A Wonderful Life | 1946 | Frank Capra | |
| The existing 'Modern Street' at the Encino Ranch was used for the town of Bedford Falls. | |||
| The Magnificent Ambersons | 1942 | Orson Welles, Fred Fleck, Robert Wise | |
| Stagecoach | 1939 | John Ford | |
| The Hunchback of Notre Dame | 1939 | William Dieterle | |
| The Cheyenne Kid | 1933 | Robert F. Hill | |
| Cimarron | 1931 | Wesley Ruggles | |
| Western Street | |||
| Men of Chance | 1931 | George Archainbaud | |
Movies shot at the RKO Encino Ranch
List from www.imdb.com)
- Cross Fire (1933)
- Alice Adams (1935)
- The Law West of Tombstone (1938)
- The Marshal of Mesa City (1939)
- Racketeers of the Range (1939)
- Prairie Law (1940)
- Thundering Hoofs (1942)
- Tall in the Saddle (1944)
- Crossfire (1947)
- Out of the Past (1947)
- Trail Street (1947)
- 3 Godfathers (1948)
- Blood on the Moon (1948)
- Guns of Hate (1948)
- Joan of Arc (1948)
- They Live By Night (1948)
- Western Heritage (1948)
- Brothers in the Saddle (1949)
- Stagecoach Kid (1949)
- Border Treasure (1950)
- Riders of the Range (1950)
- Rio Grande Patrol (1950)
- The Half-Breed (1952)
- Devil’s Canyon (1953)
- Split Second (1953)
- Cheyenne Autumn (1964)