A community near the Ventura-Santa Barbara County line has an almost forgotten past as a popular spot for Hollywood location shoots, but local historians hope the public can help unravel the mystery.
Film Historian Harry Medved, who lives in Oak Park, a community of about 15,000 people in Ventura County northeast of Westlake Village realized there was a Hollywood mystery literally in his backyard.
Even old-timers in the community didn’t realize that TV series like Zorro, which was made in the 1950’s, was shot in the area. The classic 1939 film, “Of Mice and Men,” was also filmed in the community.
Medved says while he thought Oak Park might have a cinematic past, the proof came one night as he was watching TV. He was watching an old rerun of “Zorro” on TV, when he recognized the rugged mountain peaks behind his house. There’s a ranch where much of the filming took place, but no one has been able to pinpoint its location.
Medved says they think it might be near the current site of Oak Park High School. Oak Park is celebrating its 50th anniversary this week, and Medved says as part of it, they’re hoping area residents can come to a special event to help solve the mystery behind the forgotten movie ranch.
It will be at Oak Park’s library at 7 p.m. Wednesday, where they will show film clips and pictures, and they are hoping residents might recognize some of the locations.
Oak Park is also celebrating its 50th with a day-long celebration at Oak Canyon Community Park on Sunday.
You can find more information on Oak Park History Night, and 50th Anniversary Celebration here.
