The Magnificent Arizona Desert 

Being a Sedona artist painting contemporary art, I wanted to keep the Red Rocks of the Sedona landscape flavor while venturing beyond Sedona itself into the Sonoran desert. In the southwest, the Grand Canyon and Sedona, mainly, the scenery does more than fill space. Potent in its influence upon all who visit here, the landscape is a character in and of itself, showing off the beautiful Arizona desert with its many forms of cacti and canyons.

The Call of the Canyon

The first movie filmed in Sedona was Zane Grey’s The Call of the Canyon in 1923. The novel “The Call of the Canyon” was filmed in Red Rock Crossing here in Sedona, Arizona.

Discover Zane Grey

Zane wrote 64 novels, ten non-fiction books, and numerous hunting, fishing, and baseball articles. Over 130 movies were based on his Western stories, and “Riders of the Purple Sage,” considered his most exceptional novel, continues to sell between 500,000 and one million copies yearly.

Hollywood Comes Back to Sedona

There was a 7-year break before the movie industry came back to Sedona. However, in 1930, they did come back, and for many years, movies were being shot in Sedona with some regularity. John Wayne, James Stewart, Rock Hudson, Donna Reed, Richard Widmark, Sterling Hayden, Joan Crawford, Glenn Ford, Henry Fonda, and Elvis Presley all filmed movies in Sedona

Movies, TV, and Commercials

It is hard to pinpoint exactly how many movies, television shows, and commercials were filmed in Sedona, as different sources vary. However, about 100 movies have been shot in the beautiful red rocks of Sedona.

Sedona’s Landscape as a Backdrop

Some of these movies were filmed entirely in Sedona, some in Sedona and surrounding areas, and some only filmed a few critical scenes in Sedona. In addition, around 30 television shows have used Sedona as a backdrop, some for an episode and some for the show’s entire run. Numerous commercials have also been filmed in Sedona. As western movies declined, so did the number of movies made in Sedona. However, some movies are still shot in the area, just not as often as in the past.

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