Tag: mgm-trepassing-tale

Apes vs Gorillas

Phantom of the BacklotLeave a comment
Cover of 'Planet of the Apes' featuring a close-up of an ape character wearing a helmet and a military-style uniform against a yellow background.
Two men in black and white, posing with firearms, stand beside wooden crates labeled 'DYNAMIT.' The setting appears to be a train station.

Ron Harper is the luckiest man alive-this is one guy I really look up to. He played Army with real weapons and explosives, using that experience to survive on a Planet full of Apes.

A group of three characters posing together, one is wearing a realistic ape costume, while the others are dressed in distinctive, historical-style clothing.
A group of five men posed in a warehouse or train station, some holding guns and looking serious. The background features train tracks and industrial elements.

Actor Ron Harper returns to a set in 1974 that he helped destroy in the Hit T.V Series Garrison’s Gorillas, episode 1,Season 1 pilot in 1967. Planet of the Apes would bring about his return to the MGM Lot 2 Grand Central RailRoad Station in this high budget T.V Series.

1967…MGM is all its glory had four WAR TV SERIES filming in 1967. Combat was in its final season. Jericho was a backlot regular, The Rat Patrol and Garrison’s Gorillas. All these series filmed in the backlot area closest to my family home. We had normal dinners, sitting at the table while “talking over’ the sounds of machine gun fire.

I already am well aware these battles we hear are going on at MGM. I pass by it every day, on my way to school, with my Rat Patrol lunch box handle firmly attached to Schwinn bicycle handle bars. I have seen every vehicle painted on my box in the backlot I slowly go by daily…just looking in holes, similar to television sets, what I see is life and in color.

War finally stopped at the time of the MGM Auction. in 1970.Many things were left behind afterwards, thousands of blank ammo cartridges, green Army jackets, and helmets avoided relocation. The sets all will stand another decade, and many sets are still ravaged with craters and bullet holes. No liberation, just a hasty retreat is the vibe I get exploring early on. Window to window, doorway to doorway, always looking out for something in these scary bombed villages that you don’t want to hear unanticipated noise.

1973

We took some of the military gear and dressed the part for B.B Gun Fights we had amidst the shell casings still on the floor from Combat. Same war-different T. Series This street is text book perfect for Daisy Rifles. They hurt from this close, and break windows…which is really cool when your hiding behind one.

T.V stopped but real soldiers starting playing this sport with me-at night. Talk about scary, playing against Marines that have to be back at roll call. Drunken, crazy Marines are quite the challenge, one time on top of the arch, center of town, I got hit twice in the head at the same time from two separate directions. That was a long shot to execute with such accuracy-very impressive, lucky I didn’t fall off the top of the arch-a hard climb just to reach. We kept the agony of war going after cancellation of all these series.

Planet of the Apes-1974 Look who’s back, Ron Harper, the star of Garrison’s Gorillas, but this time he’s running for his life…from apes. Anything can and does happen here. Another old MGM Star is happy to be here and that Chimp happens to be Roddy McDowell. Roddy is a primate and Harper is a human together-they make a team. Urko leads a militia of apes on horseback in a mad chase into this train depot. The same station in 1967 Ron Harper had to escape by tank from on a dark backlot glowing orange from all the pyro and the the always intense rattle of 50 caliber machines firing between bomb blasts. Dinner plates near sit entirely still when war lifts its ugly head.

Time-Out…Humans

Planet of the Apes has my neighborhood going ape- shit. This as big as it gets for teenagers, most kids want to be apes for Halloween. Most these kids happen to be to scared to trespass-well shame on them! “What’s going to happen, going to get shackled by an Ape?”

For this scene, because of the camera angle, being positioned on the train tracks just outside the station and backlot offers a great view if you get above the fence- you see everything close up. No need to take risks, we can all watch from the tracks. We set up makeshift things to climb on, everyone ran home to get a broken ladder or step stool to get their head above an 8 foot fence. Kids of every size and shape, tall ones, short ones, odd ones- climb up on there devices and peer inside. Apes on horseback happen to be chasing Ron Harper, as the horses grind to a stop and Ron looks towards the camera which is what we are behind, he see’s us, suddenly everyone does, a stunned look followed by laughter is how production is interrupted. It is as if the cast is looking up at the Little Rascals.

Roddy McDowell comes over to touch hands with all us on-lookers. This is quite a Hollywood moment reflecting back, but in 1974 this was kinda typical for MGM. If Planet of the Apes isn’t enough, King Kong has eyes set on this backlot…

Sign stating 'TRESPASSING AND LOITERING FORBIDDEN BY LAW' from Metro Goldwyn Mayer Inc.
A red car parked beside a corrugated metal fence, with a tree and building structure visible in the background.

“The Rules” are posted every twenty yards. Maureen’s front door view and her sister -Barbra’s Opal parked just outside the train depot.

Construction site with industrial structures and a surrounding fence, under a clear sky.
Abandoned industrial site with a partially demolished building in the background and rusty metal structures in the foreground, overgrown with grass.

Apes took over after Gorilla’s shut this depot down.

A tank with a person operating the turret, emitting smoke and firing a weapon in a dramatic scene.
A black-and-white scene depicting a person gesturing from a doorway labeled 'Consigne Gepäckraum', with stairs leading down and a person visible below.

The door that a German is being shot in was the opening that Ron Harper first spotted us looking through-the fence is directly behind this door/wall.

A person in a blue outfit climbing a wall near a street lamp at night.
A scene depicting a military tank in the foreground with a town square in the background, featuring people walking and an old building with a canopy.

Ron Harper had weapons to fight off the Germans in 1967

An old, weathered train car partially obscured by overgrown vegetation and structural beams in an industrial area.

A Studio built for Apes.

A woman and two children running alongside a train track, with a wooden cart being pushed by one of the children.
A man and a woman running beside a train, partially obscured by foliage.
A scene featuring three characters running past an ornate clock, surrounded by snow and an indoor setting.

As this sequence is being filmed that us kids ere spotted by Ron Harper on top of the fence-like Domino’s falling-each cast and crew member had to stop what they were doing to see my army on top of the fence. Time stopped here as Roddy McDowell came over to us and communicated as a chimp would. MGM Security could say nothing since we were on the legal “city side” of the studio.

Abandoned train station with an empty platform, visible train tracks, and an old train car near the structure.
A dirt road with scattered rocks, leading past a partially visible building doorway, with two riders on horseback approaching, surrounded by greenery.
A rider on a white horse leads a group of mounted figures through a dusty street lined with greenery and buildings.
A rider on a white horse and another on a brown horse are galloping through a partially deserted street, with several riders on black horses visible in the background.
Historical film set featuring empty streets, a bridge structure overhead, and vintage-style buildings in the background.

History happens here- in my backyard!

A group of people running away from a structure, with a train in the background and trees and buildings visible.

Follow me- No-one knows this place better than I do!

Cover of the comic book 'Garrison's Gorillas: Mission of Mercy' featuring a group of armed men in tactical poses, emphasizing a daring rescue mission.
“To save a buddy- who’s an APE!
A dimly lit scene featuring a figure holding a firearm on a balcony, with smoke in the air and decorative light fixtures visible.
A tense scene depicting a soldier in a helmet aiming a gun from behind wooden crates, while another figure crouches nearby, suggesting a military confrontation.
A close-up of a character resembling a humanoid ape, wearing a dark hooded cloak, with distinct facial features, including fur and expressive eyes.
Close-up portrait of a man with blonde hair, wearing a brown garment and looking thoughtfully to the side.
A soldier in a military uniform holding a weapon, standing in a dark environment.

That was the look Roddy had on his monkey face as he looked up at a street full of kids looking over a fence as this gets filmed. Ron Harper-same set-7 years later…

A historic building under renovation, with construction debris scattered in front and workers present in the area.

Two Hollywood Apes seated, smoking and reading Variety!

A view of a dilapidated street with rubble, featuring old brick buildings with fire escapes and a solitary figure on horseback walking through the debris.

Something as clear in my mind as when I took this picture-An Ape with a Gun-on a Horse. That’s a lot to take in-still to me on this day.

A military tank positioned on a street with buildings in the background, creating a dramatic scene.
A military tank is parked near a burning structure, with soldiers present nearby.
View of industrial construction site with partially built structures and scaffolding, taken from a high vantage point.

Front row-Box seats! –Close enough to feel the heat and smell the explosives…

A scene featuring a military vehicle with soldiers on board, illuminated by a blue light, set against a dark backdrop.
A dark, foggy scene with a figure illuminated in the distance, suggesting tension or conflict, set in an outdoor environment with military equipment.

Let’s shoot our way outta here!

A chaotic scene with flames and smoke in an urban setting, featuring people and vehicles, under a sign that reads "ON-ESPACE LIBRE 5 m".
A view of a dilapidated building with a pointed roof, partially obscured by trees, and overgrown grass in the foreground.

Just beyond the Mule Cart being pulled, pictured right-was this finally of fire and mayhem that was one of the loudest battles I ever heard take place on this backlot known for…WAR -T.V.

A top-down view of a construction site with several people walking over uneven ground, surrounded by rubble and debris.
A thoughtful ape sitting against a wall, smoking a cigarette, with a pocket featuring a small figurine. Graffiti on the wall reads 'Cornelius ♥ Zira'.

One of the nicest stars I ever met…Roddy McDowell. I took the picture on the left, as Roddy is briefed for the next scene here where the ground collapses into a subway. He is in a robe-fresh out of make-up, smoking a cigarette. The smoke carried upstairs, where I was hiding with my camera. A strict-“no camera” rule was the only rule they had, I could not resist, so I went PHANTOM on set…

A man styles the hair of a person in a gorilla costume who is reading a magazine titled 'Famous Monsters of Filmland.' The scene captures a humorous interaction between the hairdresser and the costumed individual.
An elderly man with white hair smiling and holding an action figure package from 'Planet of the Apes', signed by him, while sitting at a table.

What a life….Ron Harper

A soldier in a WWII uniform holding a rifle, wearing a helmet, with a backdrop of a damaged building.

A man wearing a wide-brimmed hat holds a large machine gun, looking intently at the camera.

Two men holding weapons while standing next to wooden crates marked 'DYNAMIT' in a dramatic setting.

My ears are still ringing from all the rounds fired by these 3 fellas!– WAR T.V MGM

Written and Lied by…Donnie Norden