South Central New Mexico

“A Gunfight” (1971) starring Johnny Cash and Kirk Douglas. Filming locations in New Mexico include Santa Fe and Eaves Movie Ranch. Financed by the Jicarilla Apache Tribe as a possible source of income, “A Gunfight” includes many other “firsts” (it was the acting debut of Johnny Cash and Keith Carradine) and a poignant “last” (the line “You stay the hell away from me, you hear” can be heard in Cash’s final music video). Its ending has been roundly criticized, but…

Read More Read More

“Ace in the Hole” (1951) Starring Kirk Douglas. Co-written and directed by Billy Wilder. Filmed in Gallup, New Mexico. After a string of box office and critical successes for Billy Wilder including “Ninotchka” (1939), “Double Indemnity” (1994), “The Lost Weekend” (1946) and “Sunset Boulevard” (1950), “Ace in the Hole” was a colossal flop when it first opened. Paramount re-released it as “The Big Carnival” and it flopped so badly again that the film company made the decision to garnish the…

Read More Read More

“Ride the Pink Horse” (1947), starring Robert Montgomery who also directed and Thomas Gomez who was nominated for an Oscar. It was the first time a Latino was nominated. Screenplay by Ben Hecht and based on novel by Dorothy B. Hughes. Filming locations include La Fonda Hotel and Santa Fe. A film noir that includes a femme fatale, smoky atmospheric scenes, shadows and lights, this movie is perhaps most interesting as a taste of post-World War II Santa Fe. The…

Read More Read More