Lightning Strikes Back takes you back to the 1950s, the earliest of the earliest era in the history of entertainment. The 1930s saw the transition of the industry from silent films to talkies. The 1950s saw a rising switch towards different genres. The after-war era needed some change in the mindset, calmness, and happiness in their daily life.
Lightning Strikes Back was one such movie, released on April 12, 1951, in the United States. The next release took place in Sweden on June 25, 1951. Apparently, the movie was also named Branded Women in the US. It was a crime melodrama with evenly planned laughing scenes.
Directed by King Vidor, one of the legendary directors of the time, who also oversaw the drastic changes in the entertainment industry, the movie became a must-watch for viewers.
“A framed murderer with indulgent in romance, desperate but doubtful for what the future carries, but an overall happy ending” was exactly the story people needed at the time. Now let’s look at the filming spots that made the movie possible on such harsh days.
Lightning Strikes Twice Filming Locations
IMDb information states that the filming took place in three places, let’s see more about these locations.
Paso Robles, California, USA (The Nolan’s House)
Paso Robles is a city in California, and the Nolan’s House would probably have been a rented house at the time. I am not entirely sure, but building a set was tough at the time, and arranging the materials even more. The crew wrapped up the shooting in two months, and it all points toward a rented system.
Paso Robles is now famous for its wineries and olive groves. Its location near the Salinas River makes it fit for wine and olives. It is pretty much a holiday town, with a 19th-century school, a reconstructed jail, and picnic spots around the river. The place was also the shooting location for projects like Rawhide (1959-1965) and one episode of This Is Us, among many more.
Victorville, California, USA
Other than Paso Robles, the shooting took place in Victorville, California. Victorville is a city in San Bernardino County with an estimated population of 135K (as of 2020). It is a beautiful place with moderate weather and the Mojave Desert at its northern edge.
Like Paso Robles, Victorville has also been the shooting location for numerous popular films like Tenet, Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift, Hulk, and Kill Bill: Vol. 2. My most intriguing doubt is how exactly they processed the scenes from both places. The distance between Paso Robles and Victorville is 245 miles (roughly 394 Km).
I can’t quite figure out the amount of work the crew had to put in to travel between the places with all the instruments. They definitely wouldn’t have done it, like, shoot all the Paso Robles scenes first and then move to Victorville, or vice-versa. It would take time, but we would get to the right answer. Meanwhile, let’s see the third and final filming location.
Warner Brothers Burbank Studios – 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA
The last one, of course, is the Warner Bros. Studio. Nothing would have resulted if not for the studio sets. The studio was used to prepare the motion sets, like the car driving and court scenes. Warner Bros. Inc. was known as Warner Bros. Pictures Inc. at that time.
We don’t have words to say more about this location because everyone knows what Warner Bros. stands for and has achieved throughout the active years. Back in the day, the studio area wasn’t spread over 110 acres as it is today.
Where To Watch Lightning Strikes Twice?
The only source to watch Lightning Strikes Twice is to buy a CD from an online source. Other than that, I couldn’t find any platform streaming the movie. And it’s not striking since the movie dates back to 1951. Online platforms stream movies up to the 1970s, as far as my experience goes. The DVD is available on Amazon at $8.99.
Also Read: Where are Peter Pan and Wendy Filmed? About The Filming Locations
