Equinox (1970) Film Locations
Equinox (1970) Film Locations
Until reading Monster! (Issue 14 February 2015) I’d never heard of this movie. I associated the title with highfalutin gyms in Pasadena, not a creature feature. After reading the issue, I was intrigued and tracked down the movie. It has something for everyone: stop-motion special effects, Herb Tarlek from WKRP in Cincinnati, and the writer Fritz Leiber.
The movie has an interesting history. Originally it was a short made in 1967 by Dennis Muren and friends: Dave Allen and Jim Danforth. If you don’t recognize their names, all three are masters in special effects. Go ahead and look up their careers on IMDB. Very impressive.
Tonylyn Productions liked the short, so they hired director Jack Woods to expand it into a feature length film by directing additional footage. Including, adding himself to the cast as Asmodeus the now villain of the film.
The basic plot is four young adults (David, Susan, Jim, and Vicki) head out on an afternoon adventure (and picnic) to find Dr. Arthur Waterman. Things go sideways fast and soon they are facing off against Asmodeus and his minions.
If your looking to shoot a science-fiction, horror movie, basically any genre, and you need a cave, then you are most likely to film at Bronson Caves in Griffith Park.
In the cave, the foursome meet an strange old man who provides them with a esoteric magic book. Just what you need to liven up a picnic.
The film uses a framing story of Dave who suffers an accident after frantically running onto a road and hit by a driverless car. He ends up catatonic at at hospital the beginning of the movie. The reporter who initially covered his accident returns after a year and the doctor plays him a recording Dave made when admitted.
The exteriors used for the hospital scenes are of St. Luke Medical Center in Pasadena, California. The facility was closed down in 2002 and still sits abandoned. Recently, the City of Pasadena looked at re-opening during COVID-19 to use as a resource. However, the facility after being vacated for so many years was determined not to be viable.
The facility was initially built in 1933 in Zigazg Moderne / Art Deco style. As the need for medical services grew, so did the facility with major additions done every decade starting in the 1950s.
Originally, the dome had turqoise tile, but the tile was replaced as a result of the 1987 Sierra Madre earthquake. The dome is now clad in lead with copper sheeting.
The facility was initially designed by Gene Verge & Associates. The firm worked on other religious churches and institutions in Los Angels County.
One of the many unique trivia of the movie is that Fritz Leiber played Dr. Arthur Waterman. If you are unfamiliar with him, he wrote fantasy, horror, and science fiction from 1934 until he passed away in 1992 in San Francisco. I knew him for his Fafhrd and Gray Mouser fantasy series. He was a prolific writer. Definitely check out his work. His novel Conjure Wife has been adapted for film/television four times.
Also, I couldn’t end this post, without mentioning that Jim was played by Frank Bonner. This was his first acting gig and he later went on to cult television fame by playing Herb Tarlek in WKRP in Cincinnati (both in the original run and the 1990s updated series.)
Locations:
- Bronson Canyon/Caves is located in Griffith Park, 3200 Canyon Drive, Los Angeles, California
- St Luke’s Medical Center is located at 2690 E. Washington Blvd., Pasadena, California