By Phil Rosenthal
I realize my articles primarily are meant to provoke discussions of a historical nature. However, sometimes other related elements of the Alamo Saga may hold interest for the reader. One of the most oft-asked questions when it comes to the Alamo is, “How did you first get interested in the Alamo”?
Well, the answer to that question for many a baby boomer is through Disney’s “Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier,” starring Fess Parker. One of the best parts of the whole three-part TV show and subsequent feature-length movie, circa 1954-55, was in the third installment when Davy, Georgie Russel (Buddy Ebsen), Thimblerig (Hans Conreid) and Bustedluck (Nick Cravat), race to the Alamo, chased by a company of Mexican cavalry.
Well of course, being a little guy then, I naturally thought the breathtaking landscape we saw as the men rode hell-bent through the ravines and below the towering mesas was exactly what Texas and specifically, San Antonio looked like. The only problem was, that part of the film was shot in California. And believe it or not, very few people – even the main star his own bad self – did not recall, after fifty some-odd years, where the scenes were actually shot.
In 2005, while visiting my “adopted” son in Ventura, CA, I was perusing the Internet to find out some places I could travel to the next morning nearby since I had some free time before I had to meet him for dinner. As a kick, I decided to seek out some film locations in the Ventura – Santa Barbara area, specifically for two of my favorite films, Big Wednesday, starring then-star and my wife’s personal acquaintance, Jan-Michael Vincent, and “Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier.” As I searched, I came across a surprise, reading about a place called the Janss-Conejo Ranch in nearby Thousand Oaks. It said that scenes from “DCKWF” had been filmed there. There were some pictures and something very familiar jumped out at me. It looked like the very same landscape where the chase scene was filmed.
Now, up to that time, many had recalled those scenes having been filmed at the Paramount Ranch off of Mulholland Highway at Malibu Creek State Park in Agoura Hills. Even Frank Thompson, when I called him with the news that night, was surprised, and that is one guy who definitely knows his film history. I felt so smart and fervently hoped that I was right in going to the ranch, because if I didn’t, I knew Thompson would hold it against me and in fact, do violence upon my person in the form of a pizza in my face at Vitello’s Italian Restaurant in Studio City (our favorite get-together restaurant, or at least, mine). The man is a killer. Don’t let the mutton chops and the granny glasses he wore in “The Alamo” fool you. He just looked like Santa Claus. That is where the resemblance stops. This is also not to mention what Ned The Nefarious One would do to me were I wrong. He is the other member of our “Vitello’s Volunteers” and has been known to make me cry before (actually, with laughter, but not for the purposes of this tome).
Anyway, I digress, as I am wont to do, but I wont do it again. So I ride out to the Ranch, which I discover now is a municipal park called Wildwood Park (take the Lynn Road exit off the 101; it’s almost a straight shot about 10 minutes, if that, down the road).
I ride through Thousand Oaks and it is this beautiful suburban community and no way the wild mesa and desert landscaping is going to be here. But voila, I make two lefts off of Lynn and there is this incredibly beautiful vista of mesas, cliffs, ravines and hills with beautiful oaks on them, right at the end of the town! As I walked up the trail, I turned the corner by some beautiful stands of prickly pear cactus and there were the beautiful reddish-brown cliffs that I remember towering over the quartet as they raced to the Alamo! And as I walked further, there was a ravine that looked just like the one they crossed in the chase (after 50+ years, it might have been a different one, but it looked just like it). I was amazed and in awe.
To really appreciate this park, you have to get off your butt and hike it. You can actually hike up to the tops of the cliffs in relative safety but wear appropriate gear because this is a wild park and you can get ticks and rattler bites if you wander off the trail. There are appropriate warnings at the trailhead. If you’re in decent shape, it’s an easy hike. Bring water.
Feeling like I just discovered gold, I made it a point to make sure I met Fess Parker that evening up in his Inn in Los Olivos. As he, his beautiful wife Marcy and I had some wine (Fess Parker, of course) in the lobby of the Inn, I mentioned I had been to Wildwood Park that morning to see where the chase had taken place. Fess corrected me and said no, the chase took place at Paramount Ranch. My heart sank and I asked for the whole bottle, in order to drown myself in liquid sorrow, but then I was saved from this tragedy by the beautiful and talented Marcy who remarked that no, that wasn’t right, it was filmed on a ranch further north. And Fess, remarked, “Maybe you’re right.” My heart leapt as I put the bottle down and ceased wondering how messy it would be after I threw myself under a truck on the main drag. I then proceeded to show Fess the digital photos I took and he said, “Yeah, that looks like it alright.” He also remarked how tough it was for all riding the horses in those scenes because of all the ravines, boulders and generally uneven ground.
I felt vindicated, leaving Fess and Marcy with a feeling of well-being and knowing that Frank and Ned would let me live on to fight another day. Yes, I thought to myself, that pizza (or ravioli, which I what I always order – I recommend it!) will taste much better in me than on me.
So, if you ever get a chance to get out to the L.A. area, go up the 101 to Thousand Oaks (in non-rush hour, it’s about a half hour from the Hollywood Barham Boulevard entrance onto the 101 North). It’s really a beautiful place, and another 90 minutes up the 101 is Los Olivos (you need to take a few smaller roads after that to get to the town, but it’s easy and a beautiful drive), and maybe on a Thursday night, you’ll get to see Fess and Marcy leading a sing-along at the Inn.
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