Dan Rice, owner of the 66-to-Cali souvenir shop on the Santa Monica Pier, does a very good job answering that question. The western terminus of the Mother Road has a complicated history:
Dan Rice, owner of the 66-to-Cali souvenir shop on the Santa Monica Pier, does a very good job answering that question. The western terminus of the Mother Road has a complicated history:
Definitely some good information there and some points worth listening to. Good job, Dan. Can you tell us what movie it was in 1935? Inquiring minds want to know!
In case anyone wants all of the details, here are all of the official western termini for Route 66:
11/11/1926 – 12/31/1935: Broadway and 7th, Downtown Los Angeles
1/1/1936 – 12/31/1964: Lincoln and Olympic, Santa Monica
1/1/1965 – 12/31/1974: Colorado and Arroyo Parkway, Pasadena
1/1/1975 – decertification: Arizona / California border
Thanks Scott, and of course a tip of the hat goes to you on this. To answer your question, the movie seems to be unknown. I’ve talked to several people who are older locals and none of them seems to agree on it. Many say it was a John Wayne movie but none can agree on which one. I doubt this is true however, due to the simple reason that the time lines don’t match up with Wayne’s career. The “End of the Trail” sign allegedly went up in 1935, but Wayne’s career didn’t begin until 1939’s “Stagecoach.” Of course it’s possible that whatever the movie, like many in Hollywood, could have never been completed or released at all. Bottom line is since no one seems to have a good answer on a name, I simply tell folks its unknown.
Actually Wayne was in 9 films released in 1935 (according to the wikipedia article on his filmography. All of them appeared to be Westerns though. I doubt the Wayne film connection, myself.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wayne_filmography_(1926%E2%80%931940)
Well done. I’ve read about the hoopla of putting up the End of Trail sign and I’ve seen other videos of Dan talking about ends and signs and piers. I’ve never met Dan but know enough of his story to admire him and appreciate the success and impact of 66-to-Cali. But, to this cynic, those other videos still seemed to be about selling T-shirts. I’ve never doubted that Dan’s a good guy and good for the road but I also thought him something of a terminus usurper. I came here to report my change of heart and when I arrived and saw that Scott had already weighed in I felt even better about it. Heck, I may even buy a T-shirt some day.
According to IMDB (Internet Movie Database) there was no movie made in 1935 that listed Santa Monica as a filming location – https://www.imdb.com/search/title?locations=Santa%20Monica,%20California,%20USA&sort=year
It should be noted that IMDB, as great of a resource as it is, is notoriously incomplete for the early decades of moviemaking.
Mainly that’s because the majority of updates are done by individuals involved rather than companies involved. There are not too many individuals from 1935 moviemaking still around, so it falls to the fans.