If you were unaware that Martians had ever invaded Corona, perhaps that’s how the Martians would prefer it. They did lose, after all.
“The War of the Worlds,” the 1953 film version, is set in contemporary Southern California rather than Victorian England, as in the H.G. Wells novel. And the movie’s opening scene, as a UFO passes overhead through the night sky, was shot in downtown Corona.
That’s according to the Corona Historic Preservation Society, which says shooting — the film kind, not the military-response kind — took place in January 1952.
The two shots are only seconds long and show structures along Main Street. One has First Baptist Church in the foreground. The other has a stretch of commercial buildings that include Henson’s Shoe Store and the O.K. Market.
Oddly, there doesn’t seem to have been a fuss locally. Perhaps the invaders wiped everyone’s minds clean. The film shoot, in fact, was largely unknown until six years ago, admitted Wes Speake, the society’s president and a member of the City Council.
Two intrepid men who were researching all things “War of the Worlds,” Bill Rosar and Robert Skotak, contacted the society after reviewing the movie’s production notes, which documented that Corona was a location.
Until then, the filming “was one of those urban legends,” Speake told me Wednesday. Armed with proof, he said, “we went through it frame by frame: ‘That’s downtown. That’s that church. That’s that shoe store.’”
Courtesy of the Historic Preservation Society, “The War of the Worlds” will be screened at 10:30 a.m. Saturday (April 6) at Starlight Dos Lagos Luxury Theatres, 2710 Lakeshore Drive in Corona. Admission is $5.
(Why show this thriller in the comforting light of morning? Perhaps to avoid inflicting trauma on any Martian-war veterans in the audience.)
The movie was also screened in Corona in 2019, preceded by a presentation by Rosar and Skotak.
The Paramount Pictures film was released on Aug. 13, 1953, although it’s unknown to me when it first screened here. The Corona Daily Independent on Jan. 14, 1954 ran a front-page story headlined “Corona Buildings Recognized in Movie Thriller.”
Speake sent it my way. It’s only two paragraphs long.
“Coronans who have seen ‘The War of the Worlds’ … recognized some of the scenes,” the story notes. “Paramount photographers were here taking still pictures of buildings on Main street during the filming of the movie.”
As Rosar put it in his 2019 presentation: “They probably sat up in their chairs saying ‘Oh!’”
Various locales are mentioned in the dialogue: Carbon Canyon, Victorville, the Puente Hills, Pomona and, yes, Corona (“southwest of Corona somewhere”). Toward the climax, a Martian war machine fires death rays at the iconic Los Angeles City Hall. Be ready to cheer.
“The War of the Worlds” won the Academy Award for best visual effects. And in 2011 it was placed in the National Film Registry after the Library of Congress deemed it “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.”
However, it’s not recommended for germaphobes — pardon the “War of the Worlds” in-joke.
Cal Jam
As a reminder, I’m soliciting your memories of the April 6, 1974 California Jam rock festival in Ontario, the one that drew 200,000 fans. How many of you have gotten in touch? Four. Well, it’s a start. Only 199,996 to go! Email me with your festival memory, your name and your city of residence, please. And remember to rock responsibly.
The future is now
My first discount after turning 60? That was in Montclair over the weekend. The ticket touchscreen at the AMC 12 unexpectedly offered savings for “seniors 60+.” Hey, that’s me!
“Dune: Part Two” was, to be honest, on the dry side, as befits a movie taking place entirely on a desert planet. But at $11.19 for nearly three hours, including previews, I can’t say I was shortchanged.
Cake, women and song
In 2017, I was invited to speak to the University Club of Claremont on March 14, which happened to be my 53rd birthday. Recognizing the occasion, the club presented me with a cake and sang “Happy Birthday.”
Last week, seven years later, I was asked back to give another talk. And wouldn’t you know it, a cake was presented to me again and the group sang “Happy Birthday” for my 60th.
Not to press my luck, but perhaps I’ll be invited again in March 2031.
Club president David Sonner asked members what advice they had for me. Among the wry responses: “Never take advice from strangers”; “keep breathing”; “don’t make your doctor a beneficiary”; and “don’t get old, it’s a trap.”
While I hope to carry my years lightly, it was hard to feel my age in that crowd. Even at 60, I was the youngest person in the room.
Doesn’t compute
Also during my break last week, I ventured to the Orpheum in downtown L.A. to see musician, artist and cut-up Laurie Anderson. Early on, as she joked about AI, the screen behind her showed one of those all-too-familiar “I am not a robot” street-scene photos dissected into grids, this one of a fire hydrant.
“How many times a day do we have to take a test to prove we aren’t robots?” Anderson deadpanned, as we in the audience laughed.
“And who judges these tests?” she added, pausing for effect before supplying the answer: “Robots.”
brIEfly
Wednesday, the last nice day before days of unseasonable cold, might have been fine for a picnic. While out and about, I did the next best thing, which was to dine outdoors at a restaurant with picnic tables on its patio. It was breezy enough that everyone else at Chino’s Super Chili Burger was eating indoors. Turning the pages of a newspaper in a stiff breeze made me doubt the wisdom of staying outside. But sometimes, darn it, a man has to stick to his principles.
David Allen hitches up his pants Friday, Sunday and Wednesday. Email dallen@scng.com, phone 909-483-9339, like davidallencolumnist on Facebook and follow @davidallen909 on Twitter.
