Movie-Making in Andalucia by David Cawley

The Wild West theme Parks inland of the Costa del Sol, are more than just contemporary random day tripping pleasure grounds for those looking for a day away from the beach. What many people have yet to discover, is the role this almost perpetually sunny Andalucian land between Almeria, Murcia and Granada had on movie-making history.

Since the 1950’s, the province of Almeria has echoed to the shouts of “action, cut, print” during the making of more than 150 movies made as recently as 2004 when, Vincent Cassel, Juliette Lewis, Michael Madson and Ernest Borgnine were here to shoot the French Western “Blueberry”.

But the real heyday for location Almeria came during the 1960’s and 70’s when the province really came into its own.

Spaghetti Westerns in a European Desert

At its peak it seemed you couldn’t move two meters without falling over a member of the Hollywood’s A-list in this once dusty corner of southern Spain. Local doctor to the stars Antonio Moreno wrote, ''I saw Anthony Quinn and Stewart Granger at a kiosk bar in the street, Fay Dunaway and a friend walking down the Paseo in Almeria City, Ursula Andress at a pool in Aguadulce. No one ever went up to them then. Actors liked filming here because they felt very comfortable.'' A particular bonus for Moreno’s drinking buddy Peter O'Toole whose off-stage leisure time exploits are legendary.

Makers of Spaghetti Westerns were the first to arrive and make cinematic magic in the potent light and almost perpetual heat beating down on the arid landscapes of windblown sandstone, scrub and dry river beds of Tabernas, Europe’s only desert. Most famously Sergio Leone made this new revolutionary genre of film here and managed to turn the Western (a traditional brand that you messed with at your professional peril) into a new kind of ironic fairy tale that blended grungy close-ups and over-the-top spectacle with a grunting, growling understated dialogue. The interplay of images and music was a further unique feature, with Leone’s long term collaborator Ennio Morricone’s sparse, unique arrangements and whistling soundtracks used to legendary and iconic effect…Woooeeoooeeooo wawawah.

Leone’s tour de force, his “Dollars” trilogy: A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965), and The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966) not only introduced the world to a young Clint Eastwood (“the man with no name”) they were instant box office successes in both Europe and America.

Leone also employed the multi talented Carlo Simi to design his sets and it these that have since become slightly surreal theme parks that try to both embrace and speculate on the ghosts of silver screen stars and the still standing cinematic archaeology.

Almeria's Western Theme Parks

Texas Hollywood is the most gratifying. It has a slightly neglected air, with the Mexican and American towns constructed next to each other faded, peeling and generally looking the worse for wear. The facades of homes, banks, shops, barbers can be entered but are empty - interior filming was done elsewhere - and only now play home to critters of the dessert. Towards the stockade and exhausted collection of occasionally bellowing bison, donkeys and horses are the neglected piled high remnants of props - coffins and furniture – collecting dust beneath a tin roof.

The small numbers of visitors there add to the atmosphere; the wide dusty streets, bleating of nearby goats and chatter of their herdsmen in the distance enhanced the experience. All that was needed was a dust devil tumbling through the main street. But the very notion of Yul Brynner, Henry Fonda, Klaus Kinski, Lee Van Cleef , Charles Bronson et al all once treading these boards and perhaps slamming open the saloon swing doors (The saloon is a café) to slake their thirst is a tingling thrill.

A short journey away along the N-340 and past a remote and smaller collection of western town façades is Mini Hollywood.  Though perhaps a little more over dressed than its neighbour, this is a more complete and popular destination for families who don’t necessarily share the movie heritage enthusiasm and offers a zoo as a distraction to ‘pardners’ bored with guns, Stetsons and the Wild West in general.

Actors still work full time in both Texas and Mini Hollywood to entertain those who pay to enter the gates. Daily they recreate a bank robbery, throw themselves off balconies and get dragged along by a horses, all done with much enthusiasm and good humour, though it is perhaps more reminiscent of Blazing Saddles than Magnificent Seven.

Adaptable Andalucia

Like any good actor, this area of Andalucia was also adaptable and took on many parts. Following a run of western roles, the region began to expand its repertoire, stretching beyond recreating towns and landscapes of North America to further include the coastline and regional capital. Almeria became a stage for war, biblical and adventure productions and its time, nooks and crannies were transformed temporarily into Arabia, Russia, Mexico and northern Africa.

David Lean transposed the seaside town of Carboneras into the Jordanian port of Aqaba to memorable effect in the charging and battle scene from the movie Lawrence of Arabia; while to the north, the classic story of love in the time of a snow-bound Russian revolution, Dr Zhivago, was in part captured in Guadix. Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton arrived to film 'Cleopatra'; the tanks rolled into Almeria City’s handsome Plaza de Catedral for the filming of 'Patton' in 1970; while in 1989 Spielberg picked the beautiful coastal park of Cabo de Gata-Nijar for parts of 'Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade'.

Located nearby is the obvious place to stay for a night amongst the stars. Built by Eddie Fowlie, the props master of Lawrence of Arabia, the interior The El Dorado Hotel while hovering close to the red area on the chintzometer, is chock-full of original movie memorabilia, signed photos and a huge woolly cat that wouldn’t look out of place on the lap of a James Bond nemesis. It’ll also come as welcome relief after a day on the prairie, on entering the bar, the piano won’t abruptly stop; the conversation suddenly hush and the only sound in the stillness is the gentle stroking of a coat tail brushing behind holstered pistol grips.

Fancy exploring the history of movie-making in southern Spain? Check in at one of our selection of luxury hotels in Andalucia.