Set / Sound stage

[BoandLuke]

Now when Bo and Luke entered the garage, Boars Nest, Sheriff's office, the farm, etc are they on a set or really in that place? We see the General pull up to the garage or the Sheriff's office...when they enter the location is it somewhere else on a sound stage or at that location on the square?

Why are some episodes a real farm is used and then the next episode a small set (fake farm) is used?

[Brian Coltrane]

Now when Bo and Luke entered the garage, Boars Nest, Sheriff's office, the farm, etc are they on a set or really in that place? We see the General pull up to the garage or the Sheriff's office...when they enter the location is it somewhere else on a sound stage or at that location on the square?

Why are some episodes a real farm is used and then the next episode a small set (fake farm) is used?

Howdy there. This is the easy way to put it:

The first 5 episodes of the show were filmed using real places and buildings in Georgia. The Duke farm was a real farmstead; the junkyard was real; the town square was Covington, GA, ect. The courthouse building in "High Octane" was the Newton County Courthouse in Covington.

After the 5th episode, everything else was filmed in California, using Warner Bros studio sets and backlots. Hoss C, one of our most esteemed members, has put together extensive research on the California filming locations. You can find some of that by clicking this link.

Hoss has also researched some of the chase scene locations in California. Let us know if there's something specific you are looking for and we'll do our best to help.

[HossC]

As Brian said, many of the answers can be found in the Hazzard Square thread. I think Brian also covered the Georgia episodes, so my response relates to the California episodes.

To answer the last one first, the Duke Farm moved around about every other season, depending on which ranch they were using for filming. This means that the surrounding area looks very different thoughout the series. There was also a sound stage set of the exterior of the farm. I think all the interior shots of the farm were sets.

Moving to Hazzard Square, most of the buildings had interiors that were used for filming. Thanks to research by Mark B we know that the interior of Cooter's was also used in the movies 'The Music Man' and 'The Shootist'.

I'm guessing that the sound stages allowed longer filming hours, but it's quite clear that some exterior shots were filmed at night and lit to look like daytime.

[roy1elvis]

In a lot of the later seasons -- you can see the breath of the actors. As well, Daisy is in jeans and long sleeve shirts -- I'm sure this is because call was probably 4am; with shooting starting as soon as the sun came up. As HossC said -- I think the "fake" exterior shots of the farm were used for time and also because "quickie" scenes wouldn't be cost effective to take cast and crew all the way to the ranch. There's another post on here that shows the ranches they used weren't exactly next to WB's in Burbank. As well; you'll notice that some scenes have stand-in's. In group shots; you only see back of actor. When that actor speaks; the whole picture is of said actor - filmed at a different time. Or, as in a few cases -- the actor says their line off camera -- because they're not present at time of filming.

[BoandLuke]

There's another post on here that shows the ranches they used weren't exactly next to WB's in Burbank.

Anyone know where the pics of the ranch are (I'm new here)?

[CDoherty95]

The most recognizable ranch is probably Valencia Oaks Movie Ranch (now Lyons Canyon Ranch) mainly because it was used for 3 seasons and is still largely intact. Unfortunately all the sets were torn down in the early 90's,and the lake has long since dried up,but most of the roads are still there.

[HossC]

Anyone know where the pics of the ranch are (I'm new here)?

The ranches are mentioned in various threads, although I'm not sure about pictures. Here's some Google Maps links to the main ones:

Lyons Ranch - as mentioned by CDoherty above.

Disney's Golden Oak Ranch - also near Santa Clarita.

Lake Sherwood - now re-landscaped as the Sherwood Country Club. Many of the public roads in this area were also used.

Newhall Ranch - now includes the Indian Dunes location just to the north. The airfield used in several episodes was the Indian Dunes Airport (now a plowed field), and the record-breaking Styx River jump also took place here. The Six Flags Magic Mountain amusement park, used in 'Lulu's Gone Away' (season 6 episode 1), is just to the east. There's pictures of that in the Hazzard Square thread.

Just for completeness, the Burbank Studios are here.