If you're a fan of Western movies, chances are good a few of your favorites were shot at Old Tucson Studios -- 'Hollywood in the Desert.' The location is very well represented on DVD and Blu-ray. Here are a few points of interest.

Arizona (1940)

In 1938, Columbia Pictures built a replica of 1860s Tucson on a site adjacent to the Tucson Mountains and owned by Pima County for the movie Arizona.

In just 40 days, workers built more than 50 authentic buildings from scratch. Over 350,000 adobe bricks were made from the desert dirt with no running water on site. Many of those structures are still standing today.

Arizona had a budget of .5 million and set a new standard of realism for Hollywood Westerns. Filmmakers and audiences saw the difference between a Western filmed on location and one shot on some Hollywood backlot.

Following Arizona, Old Tucson sat idle through World War II, except for some work on, of all things, The Bells of St. Mary's (1945), starring Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman.

Not long after the war, Gene Autry moved his series of films from Republic to Columbia. The cast and crew of his first Columbia picture, The Last Roundup (1947), headed out to Old Tucson.

The '50s were a prime time for Western films, and Old Tucson became a very busy place. Some of the best cowboy movies of the decade were shot there such as:

Winchester '73 (1950)

This was the first of the excellent Westerns Jimmy Stewart would make with director Anthony Mann.

Strange Lady in Town (1955)

This big-scale picture added a number of buildings to Old Tucson's dusty streets.

3:10 to Yuma (1957)

This terrific Western, based on a story by Elmore Leonard, mixes Old Tucson and the Columbia ranch. Looking down the street one way, it's Old Tucson; looking the other is Columbia.

Gunfight At The O.K. Corral (1957)

This iconic picture may be the best way to view Old Tucson, especially on Blu-ray.

Gunsight Ridge (1957)

Toward the end of this solid little Joel McCrea picture, look close and you'll see a station wagon approaching Old Tucson.

Buchanan Rides Alone (1958)

Randolph Scott comes to Old Tucson in one of the Ranown Cycle he created with director Budd Boetticher.


Gunsmoke In Tucson (1958)

This Allied Artist Western makes excellent use of Old Tucson, and it's a great example of what a medium-budget Western can be.

The Lone Ranger And The Lost City Of Gold (1958)

This feature was based on the classic Lone Ranger TV show. TV came to Old Tucson, too, with many of the finest Western series shooting there: Wagon Train, Bonanza, The High Chaparral, Gunsmoke, Little House On The Prairie and many more.

Rio Bravo (1959)

John Wayne came to town for Howard Hawks' Rio Bravo, and he and Bob Shelton, president of the Old Tucson Company, became friends. (Wayne ultimately made four movies at Old Tucson.) Several buildings were constructed especially for Rio Bravo -- including a saloon -- and they'd crop up in many movies and TV shows over the years. (By the way, the DVD and Blu-ray of Rio Bravo features a short documentary on Old Tucson.)

Bob Shelton re-opened the studio in 1960 as both a film studio and theme park with Western stunt shows.

The Deadly Companions (1961)

One of the first films shot after the studios were opened to the public, The Deadly Companions was Sam Peckinpah's first film as director.

McLintock! (1963)

This favorite John Wayne comedy, loosely based on William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, added a hotel (The McLintock Hotel) to the streets of Old Tucson.

El Dorado (1966)

Hawks and Wayne return for another classic (a bit of a remake of Rio Bravo). Some of the studio's Front Street was reworked for this one. Wayne and Hawks would return to the studio once more, for Rio Lobo (1970).

In 1968, Bob Shelton built a 13,000 square foot soundstage, making Old Tucson an even better destination for desert moviemaking.

Filming at Old Tucson continued through the 70s, 80s and early 90s. The cast and crew of Three Amigos (1986) and The Quick And The Dead (1995) made their way to the studio.

On April 25, 1995, a fire destroyed much of Old Tucson Studios -- about 40% of it. Buildings, costumes and memorabilia were lost. Among the structures burned was the Rio Bravo jail. The soundstage was also destroyed. It was determined that the fire was a case of arson, and a suspect was identified but never charged. Tombstone (1995) provides a good last look at the pre-fire Old Tucson.

It took 20 months to rebuild Old Tucson. The buildings were not recreated and the soundstage was not rebuilt, affecting its versatility as a movie location. But the location, surely one of the best ever used in Western movies, can be visited via DVD and Blu-ray -- in all its dusty glory.

Toby Roan watches a lot of cowboy movies. His blog, 50 Westerns from the 50's, proves that point.