"Rawhide," the TV western that helped launch the long career of Clint Eastwood, used the Route 66 town of Tucumcari, N.M., as a base to film five episodes in 1959, according to a story in the Quay County Sun. If you have fuzzy memories of "Rawhide," this might jolt your brain: The Sun reports: Actors … Continue reading “Rawhide” was once filmed in Tucumcari area
Category: Movies
Scenes from the Fun Run
Here's a very good slide show by Jeff Rucker from last week's Historic Route 66 Fun Run in western Arizona. Songs from the "Cars" soundtrack are included.
Notes from the road
Kim Benoit of Montreal has created a miniature version of the fictional Route 66 town of Radiator Springs, seen in the 2006 Disney/Pixar animated movie "Cars." Here are the photos that Benoit sent: Well done, I'd say. --- The owners of Seaba Station on Route 66 near Warwick, Okla., seek to reopen the historic auto … Continue reading Notes from the road
Child actor in “The Grapes of Wrath” dies
I missed this a few weeks ago, but Shirley Mills Hanson, 83, who portrayed a young Ruthie Joad in the 1940 classic film "The Grapes of Wrath," died on March 31 from complications of pneumonia at a hospital in Arcadia, Calif., according to the Los Angeles Times. Known during her acting career as Shirley Mills, … Continue reading Child actor in “The Grapes of Wrath” dies
Notes from the road
Richard Talley of the Motel Safari in Tucumcari, N.M., says a lot has been happening in his town lately. Here's what he said by e-mail (with some minor editing): Here's a shot of the new AutoPros auto care center across the street from us on Route 66 (used to be Tucumcari Tire Co., closed for years). … Continue reading Notes from the road
Two Guns as a movie location
Billy and Anais Yeager spent some months in the Route 66 ghost town of Two Guns, Ariz., to film footage for their forthcoming independent film, "Jesus of Malibu." Here's an edited section of a report by the Bravo Television about the Yeagers' experience in Two Guns. (Warning: one brief scene near the end of the … Continue reading Two Guns as a movie location
‘A John Hughes movie’ on Route 66
Brad Hansen, a 26-year-old Iowa native, has just finished his first feature-length film, "Driver's Ed Mutiny," that takes place on Route 66. Hansen told the Muscatine (Iowa) Journal that he sought to make a "Breakfast Club" movie on wheels. "I set out to make a modern-day John Hughes movie," Hansen said. "I was sad to … Continue reading ‘A John Hughes movie’ on Route 66
Notes from the road
The Oklahoma Route 66 Association is sponsoring a clean-up day on Saturday, April 17, at the old Ozark Trail section of Route 66 west of Sapulpa. This project is in conjunction with the Great American Cleanup and Keep Oklahoma Beautiful programs. Work will begin at 10 a.m. and continue until 2 p.m. The association wants … Continue reading Notes from the road
At the drive-in
Here's a collection of intermission advertisements that you often saw in drive-in movie theaters of the 1960s.
DVD about Arizona’s Route 66 is completed
Kirk Slack and his Out West Family Films have released a 34-minute DVD about the history and attractions of Route 66 in Arizona, according to the Kingman Daily Miner. The documentary begins with the route's Arizona origins along the Beale Wagon Trail in 1928, progressing to its role in the 1930s dustbowl migration, into its … Continue reading DVD about Arizona’s Route 66 is completed