Depicting a harsh and dystopian world (at least for the humans), “Planet of the Apes” has become an unlikely film franchise spanning over half a century. The original “Apes” from 1968 has some of the most fantastical, caveman-chic sets of any of the films. Art Directors William Creber and Jack Martin Smith were charged with… Continue reading Planet of the Apes (1968) Set Design
Category: Themed Environments
Tiki Torch: See How This Icon of Mid-Century Polynesian Pop Culture Started
The Tiki Torch is both older and newer than you might think. It’s newer in the sense that the tiki torch–or let’s use the brand name, Tiki Torch–burning in your backyard, the bamboo kind with a reservoir filled with petroleum-based fuel, has no basis in true Polynesian history. It’s older in the sense that those… Continue reading Tiki Torch: See How This Icon of Mid-Century Polynesian Pop Culture Started
Hogan’s Heroes Set at 40 Acres Backlot: Then and Now
Sure, the Cuningham Group of Culver City, CA-based architects may try to blow smoke in our direction with such slogans as “We exist to Uplift the Human Experience,” but we know better. Back in the Cuningham Group’s past lies the depravities of Nazi Germany–a prisoner of war camp, complete with guard towers, barbed wire, fierce… Continue reading Hogan’s Heroes Set at 40 Acres Backlot: Then and Now
Mountain in the Middle of L.A.: Paramount Studios’ Western Street and Its Fake Mountain
Once there was a mountain in the middle of Los Angeles. Most movie studios, in their backlots or in movie ranches in the San Fernando Valley or in environs close to L.A., had a Western town. It was simply part of the time. Starting with The Squaw Man in 1913 (or The Great Train Robbery,… Continue reading Mountain in the Middle of L.A.: Paramount Studios’ Western Street and Its Fake Mountain
Monsanto House of the Future: When Our Future Was Made of Plastics
Built in Disneyland in 1957 as a joint project between Disneyland, Monsanto, and MIT, the House of the Future was constructed of 16 identical plastic shells that were fabricated off-site and then shipped to the building site for assembly. The home was meant to display technological marvels, such as the microwave oven and speaker phone,… Continue reading Monsanto House of the Future: When Our Future Was Made of Plastics