Hiking Photos

3200 Canyon Drive

Los Angeles, CA 90068

Bronson Canyon is a section of Griffith Park in Los Angeles, California that has become famous as a filming location for a very large number of movies and TV shows, especially westerns and science fiction, from the early days of motion pictures to the present. Its craggy and remote-looking setting, but easily accessible location, has made it a prime choice for filmmakers, particularly of low-budget films, who want to place scenes in a lonely wilderness.

Originally named Brush Canyon, the famous hill and cave setting is on the western side of Griffith Park. In 1903, the Union Rock Company founded a quarry for excavation of crushed rock, used in the construction of city streets. The quarry ceased operation in the late 1920s, leaving the caves behind. The caves, known as the Bronson Caves, gave the area its more popular name of Bronson Canyon.

Scenes of the main cave entrance are normally filmed in a manner that shows the entrance at an angle. This is because the cave is actually a very short tunnel through the hill, with the rear opening easily visible in a direct shot. The most well known appearance of the tunnel entrance is likely as the entrance to the Batcave in the Batman television series of the 1960s.

Here are some of the movies that were filmed at Bronson Canyon a.k.a. The Bat Cave

"Lightning Bryce" (National Pictures 1919) Directed by: Paul Hurst. Cast: Paul Hurst, Ann Little, Yakima Canutt, Steve Clemente, Jack Hoxie, Slim Lucas, George Champion, Ben Corbett, George Hunter, Walter Patterson.

"Riders of the Purple Sage" (Fox 1925) Directed by: Lynn Reynolds. Cast: Tom Mix, Mabel Ballin, Beatrice Burnham, Harold Goodwin, Fred Kohler, Charles Le Moyne, Wilfred Lucas, Warner Oland.

"The Lightning Warrior" (Mascot 1931) Directed by: Armand Schaefer and Benjamin Kline. Cast: Frankie Darro, Hayden Stevenson, George Brent, Pat O'Malley, Georgia Hale, Theodore Lorch, Lafe McKee, Frank Brownlee, Bob Kortman, Dick Dickinson, Yakima Canutt, Frank Lanning, Helen Gibson, Kermit Maynard, Rin Tin Tin.

"Hurricane Express" (Mascot 1932) Directed by: Armand L. Schaefer. Cast: Tully Marshall, Conway Tearle, John Wayne, Shirley Grey, J. Farrell MacDonald, Matthew Betz, James P. Burtis.

"Three Musketeers" (Mascot 1933) Directed by: Colbert Clark & Armand Schaefer. Cast: Jack Mulhall, Raymond Hatton, Ralph Bushman, John Wayne, Ruth Hall, Noah Beery Jr., Lon Chaney Jr., Al Ferguson.

"Mystery Mountain" (Mascot 1934) Directed by: B. Reeves Eason & Otto Brower. Cast: Ken Maynard, Verna Hillie, Edward Earle, Edmund Cobb, Lynton Brent, Syd Saylor, Carmencita Johnson, Lafe McKee, Al Bridge, Edward Hearn, Bob Kortman, Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Wally Wales, Tom London, George Chesebro.

"The Phantom Empire" (Mascot 1935) Directed by: Otto Brower and B. Reeves Eason. Cast: Gene Autry, Frankie Darro, Betsy King Ross, Dorothy Christy, Wheeler Oakman, Charles K. French, Warner Richmond, Frank Glendon, Smiley Burnette.

"Robinson Crusoe of Clipper Island" (Republic 1936) Directed by: Mack V. Wright and Ray Taylor. Cast: Mala, Rex, Buck, Mamo Clark, Herbert Rawlinson, William Newell, John Ward, John Dilson, Selmer Jackson, John Piccori, George Chesebro, Robert Kortman, George Cleveland, Lloyd Whitlock, Tiny Roebuck, Tracy Layne, Herbert Weber, Anthony Pawley, Allen Connor.

"Zorro Rides Again" (Republic 1937) Directed by: William Witney and John English. Cast: John Carroll, Helen Christian, Reed Howes, Duncan Renaldo, Noah Beery, Richard Alexander, Nigel de Brulier, Robert Kortman, Jack Ingram, Roger Williams, Edmund Cobb, Mona Rico, Tom London, Harry Strang, Jerry Frank.

"Dick Tracy Returns" (Republic 1938) Directed by: William Witney and John English. Cast: Ralph Byrd, Lynne Roberts, Charles Middleton, Jerry Tucker.

"Hawk of the Wilderness" (Republic 1938) Directed by: William Witney and John English. Cast: Herman Brix, Mala, Monte Blue, Jill Martin, Noble Johnson, William Royle, Tom Chatterton, George Eldredge, Patrick J. Kelly, Dick Wessel, Snowflake, Tuffy.

"The Lone Ranger Rides Again" (Republic 1939) Directed by: William Witney. Cast: Robert Livingston, Chief Thunder Cloud, Duncan Renaldo, Billy Bletcher, Jinx Falkenberg, Ralph Dunn, J. Farrell MacDonald, Rex Lease, William Gould, Henry Otho, John Beach, Glenn Strange, Stanley Blystone, Eddie Parker, Al Taylor, Carleton Young.

"Rancho Grande" (Republic 1940) Directed by: Frank McDonald. Cast: Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, June Storey, Mary Lee, Dick Hogan, Ellen Lowe, Ferris Taylor, Joseph DeStefani, Roscoe Ates, Rex Lease.

"Adventures of Captain Marvel" (Republic 1941) Directed by: William Witney & John English. Cast: Tom Tyler, Frank Coghlan Jr., William Benedict, Louise Currie, Robert Strange, Harry Worth.

"Call of the Canyon" (Republic 1942) Directed by: Joseph Santley. Cast: Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Ruth Terry, Joe Strauch Jr., Thurston Hall, Cliff Nazarro, Dorthea Kent, Bob Nolan, Pat Brady, Edmund McDonald, Marc Lawrence, John Holland, Eddy Waller, Budd Buster.

"Leather Burners" (United Artists 1943) Directed by: Joseph E. Henabery. Cast: William Boyd, Andy Clyde, Jay Kirby, Victor Jory, George Givot, Shelley Spencer, Bobby Larson, George Reeves, Hal Taliaferro, Forbes Murray.

"Pirates of Monterey" (Universal 1947) Directed by: Alfred Werker. Cast: Maria Montez, Rod Cameron, Mikhail Rasumny, Philip Reed, Gilbert Roland, Gale Sondergaard, Tamara Shayne, Robert Warwick.

"Silver River" (Warner Bros. 1948) Directed by: Raoul Walsh. Cast: Errol Flynn, Ann Sheridan, Thomas Mitchell, Bruce Bennett, Tom D'Andrea, Barton MacLane, Monte Blue, Jonathan Hale, Alan Bridge, Arthur Space, Art Baker, Joseph Crehan.

"Superman" (Columbia 1949) Directed by: Spencer Bennett and Thomas Carr. Cast: Kirk Alyn, Noel Neill, Tommy Bond, Carol Forman, George Meeker, Jack Ingram, Pierre Watkin, Terry Frost, Charles King, Charles Quigley, Herbert Rawlinson, Forrest Taylor, Stephan Carr, Rusty Wescoatt.

"Mark of the Gorilla" (Columbia 1950) Directed by: William A. Berke. Cast: Johnny Weissmuller, Trudy Marshall, Onslow Stevens, Suzanne Dalbert, Robert H. Purcell, Pierce Lyden, Neyle Morrow, Selmer Jackson.

"Flame of Araby" (Universal 1951) Directed by: Charles Lamont. Cast: Jeff Chandler, Maureen O'Hara, Maxwell Reed, Lon Chaney, Buddy Baer, Richard Egan, Dewey Martin, Royal Dano, Susan Cabot, Judith Braun, Henry Brandon.

"Carson City" (Warner Bros. 1952) Directed by: Andre de Toth. Cast: Randolph Scott, Lucille Norman, Raymond Massey, Richard Webb, James Millican, Larry Keating, George Cleveland, William Haade, Thurston Hall, Vince Barnett, Don Beddoe, Jack Woody, James Smith.

"Robot Monster" (Three Dimensional Pictures 1953) Directed by: Phil Tucker. Cast: George Nader, Claudia Barrett, Selena Royle, John Mylong, Gregory Moffett, Pamela Paulson.

"Killers From Space" (RKO 1954) Directed by: W. Lee Wilder. Cast: Peter Graves, James Seay, Steve Pendleton, Frank Gerstle, John Frederick, Barbara Bestar, Shepard Menken, Jack Daly.

"The Day the World Ended" (Golden State Prod. 1955) Directed by: Roger Corman. Cast: Richard Denning, Lori Nelson, Paul Birch, Mike Connors, Adele Jergens, Raymond Hatton, Paul Dubov, Jonathan Haze, Paul Blaisdell.

"Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (Allied Artists 1956) Directed by: Don Siegel. Cast: Kevin McCarthy, Dana Wynter.

"The Brain from Planet Arous" (Marquette Productions 1957) Directed by: Nathan Juran. Cast: John Agar, Joyce Meadows, Robert Fuller, Thomas Browne Henry, Ken Terrell, Henry Travis, E. Leslie Thomas, Tim Graham, Bill Giorgio.

"Earth vs. the Spider" (American International Pictures 1958) Directed by: Bert I. Gordon. Cast: Ed Kemmer, June Kenny, Eugene Persson, Gene Roth, Hal Torey, Mickey Finn, Sally Fraser.

"The Jayhawkers" (Paramount 1959) Directed by: Melvin Frank. Cast: Jeff Chandler, Fess Parker, Nicole Maurey, Henry Silva, Herbert Rudley, Jimmy Carter, Shari Lee Bernath, Leo Gordon.

"Teenagers from Outer Space" (Warner Bros 1959) Directed by: Tom Graeff. Cast: Tom Graeff, Dawn Anderson, Bryant Grant, Harvey B. Dunn, Thomas Lockyer, King Moody, Helen Sage.

"The Cape Canaveral Monsters" (CCM 1960) Directed by: Phil Tucker. Cast: Scott Peters, Linda Connell, Jason Johnson, Katherine Victor, Billy Greene, Chuck Howard.

"Ride the High Country" (MGM 1962) Directed by: Sam Peckinpah. Cast: Randolph Scott, Joel McCrea, Mariette Hartley, Ronald Starr, Edgar Buchanan, R. G. Armstrong, John Anderson, L. Q. Jones, Warren Oates, James Drury, John Davis Chandler, Jenie Jackson.

"The Gun Hawk" (Allied Artists 1963) Directed by: Edward Ludwig. Cast: Rory Calhoun, Rod Cameron, Ruta Lee, Rod Lauren, Morgan Woodward, Robert J. Wilke, John Litel, Rodolfo Hoyos, Lane Bradford.

"The Human Duplicators" (Woolner 1965) Directed by: Hugo Grimaldi. Cast: George Nader, Dolores Faith, Richard Kiel, George Macready, Hugh Beaumont, Barbara Nichols, John Indrisano, Ted Durant.

"Flaming Frontier" (Warner Bros. 1968) Directed by: Alfred Vohrer. Cast: Stewart Granger, Pierre Brice, Mario Girotti.

"The Mighty Gorga" (American General 1969) Directed by: David L. Hewitt. Cast: Gary Kent, Scott Brady, Bruce Kimball, Greydon Clark, Kent Taylor, Megan Timothy.

"Equinox" (1970) Directed by: Dennis Muren & Jack Woods. Cast: Edward Connell, Barbara Hewitt, Robin Christopher, Jack Woods, Fritz Leiber, Patrick Burke, Jim Phillips, Frank Bonner.

"Octaman" (Filmers Guild 1971) Directed by: Harry Essex. Cast: Kerwin Matthews, Pier Angeli, Jeff Morrow, David Essex, Jerome Guardino, Robert Warner.

"Lost Horizon" (Columbia 1973) Directed by: Charles Jarrott. Cast: Charles Boyer, Peter Finch, Michael York, Olivia Hussey, Sally Kellerman, George Kennedy, James Shigeta, Liv Ullmann, Bobby Van.

"Mrs. Sundance" (20th Century Fox 1974) Directed by: Marvin Chomsky. Cast: Elizabeth Montgomery, Robert Foxworth, L. Q. Jones, Arthur Hunnicutt, Lorna Thayer, Lurene Tuttle, Claudette Nevins, Byron Mabe, Robert Donner, Dean Smith, Jack Williams, Todd Shelhorse.

"The Choirboys" (Lorimar 1977) Directed by: Robert Aldrich. Cast: Charles Durning, Louis Gossett Jr., Perry King, Clyde Kusatsu, Stephen Macht, Tim McIntire.

"Last Ride of the Dalton Gang" (NBC-TV 1979) Directed by: Dan Durtis. Cast: Cliff Potts, Randy Quaid, Larry Wilcox, Sharon Farrell, Jack Palance, Dale Robertson, Matt Clark, Royal Dano, Julie Hill, John Karlen, Bo Hopkins, R. G. Armstrong, Scott Brady.

"The Return" (1980) Directed by: Greydon Clark. Cast: Cybill Shepherd, Jan-Michael Vincent, Neville Brand, Raymond Burr, Martin Landau.

"The Legend of the Lone Ranger" (Universal 1981) Directed by: William A. Fraker. Cast: Klinton Spilsbury, Michael Horse, Christopher Lloyd, Matt Clark, Juanin Clay, Jason Robards, John Bennett Perry, Richard Farnsworth, John Hart, David Hayward, Lincoln Tate, Ted Flicker.

"The Sword and the Sorcerer" (Sorcerer Productions) Directed by: Albert Pyun. Cast: Lee Horsley, Kathleen Beller, Simon MacCorkindale, George Maharis, Richard Lynch, Richard Moll.

"Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country" (Paramount 1991) Directed by: Nicholas Meyer. Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, George Takei, Kim Cattrall, Mark Lenard, Grace Lee Witney, Brock Peters.

"The Adventures of Brisco County Jr." (Warner Bros. 1993) Directed by: Bryan Spicer. Cast: Bruce Campbell, Julius Carry, Billy Drago.

"The End of Violence" (Ciby Pictures 1997) Directed by: Wim Wenders. Cast: Bill Pullman, Andie MacDowell, Gabriel Byrne, Loren Dean, Traci Lind, Daniel Benzali.

"The Scorpion King" (Universal 2002) Directed by: Chuck Russell. Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Steven Brand, Kelly Hu.