Friday the 13th: Part II - Behind the Scenes

Photo from Cliff Cudney's Facebook

A lot of these photos from this sequence have been popping up here and there, but here is one that we haven't seen before. It's of stunt coordinator extraordinaire Cliff Cudney and his talent Steve Dash – better known as Jason Voorhees. 

Higgins Haven in Other Movies

We all know the cabin at Veluzat Movie Ranch simply as "Higgins Haven", which was the name it was given as it appeared in Friday the 13th: Part III (1982). The cabin was actually a set that was constructed for the production of Friday the 13th: Part III and was used many times after until it was finally burned down by some dumb fan trying to relive "Shelly's" scene in the movie.

The barn still makes appearances from time to time in movies and on television. Here are some other cameos the cabin made before it met its fate.

By the way, thanks to The Location Scout blog for these photos.

Zero Boys (1986)

The Devil's Rejects Filming Locations(s)

Even though Rob Zombie has called the Friday the 13th franchise "stupid", I saw a lot of (maybe) unintentional homages throughout his 2005 movie The Devil's Rejects. The most obvious is Tiny's outfit in the beginning of the movie was spot on to Jason's in Friday the 13th: Part II.

Though, The Devil's Rejects was set in Texas, is was shot in the lower Mojave desert and places more south like Santa Clarita. Most of the movie was shot at the Sable Movie Ranch on Sand Canyon Road, right in the middle of Santa Clarita, California. Scenes like the "chicken fucker", Charlie Altamont's place, the Firefly house, and many more scenes. Here are some locations off of that movie ranch that reached as far up as Lancaster, California. 

"Buck's Grab n' Go" where Spaulding pulled into when his truck ran out of gas.

Rio Groceries is an actual store right outside of Acton, California.

Rio Groceries was used in the movie (mostly exterior shots), and is an actual store right on Soledad Canyon Road. It'a about 2 miles before the Acton KOA Campground. Even though the store has changed a little bit and was dressed up for the movie, it still remains pretty similar and still functioning.

What's good for the goose...

I am not trying to beat a dead horse here, because quite frankly the whole Gillette vs. Dash confrontation of a decade ago is a tired, stupid situation. At one time I sided with Steve Dash – and still feel his complaints back then had merit – but at the same time, I also see a lot of other genre actors signing photos that may not depict them. Like, I have seen C.J. Graham sign photos of Dan Bradley, Tony Moran sign photos of other people who played Michael Myers in Halloween, and so on.

Part III Contact Sheets

These were recently listed on eBay, and the seller apparently has a lot of them. Some of them have some very awesome shots of cast and crew from behind the scenes - a must for any die-hard Part III mark!

Cathy LaBelle: Miss Florida 1977; Runner up Miss America 1978

We all recognize that face – it's none other than Friday The 13th: Part III star, Catherine Parks! Before she was involved in show business, she was Miss Tampa in 1976, Miss Florida in 1977, and then third runner-up in the 1978 Miss America pageant.

Jason Lives: Behind the Scenes

From Tom McLoughlin's Facebook page

A rare behind-the-scenes photo of director Tom McLoughlin and his leading male Thom Mathews in the 1986 film Friday the 13th, Part VI: Jason Lives, on set in Covington, Georgia.

from: Tom McLoughlin

Robbi Morgan as Curly McDimple, 1967 - 1969

Long before Robbi Morgan portrayed the impossible-to-dislike Annie in Friday the 13th (1980), she starred as a Shirley Temple rip-off Curly McDimple on Broadway in a musical with the same name. Apparently the show ran a few years with Robbi as Curly McDimple.

Blackberry Farm at Kelly Gulch

Blackberry Farms taken from their Facebook page.

A lot of us Friday the 13th fans are aware that the famous Kelly Gulch property at 1801 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd. was up for sale recently. Looks like the new owners have turned it into a functioning farm, but still available for filming and weddings.

I am very happy that the new owners have chose to use this property for personal use as opposed to just having it there for rental, shooting, etc.

The location is as beautiful as ever and they hold pubic events like Halloween parties and pie baking contests! This means that fans will have an opportunity to tour the property legally.

Check out their Facebook!

Manny's Orphans (1978)

Back before Sean S. Cunningham wanted to attempt to cash in on the Halloween slasher craze, he attempted to cash in on the sports team full of down-and-out pre-teens craze – al a The Bad News Bears – with Manny's Oprhans and then Here Come the Tigers. 

Manny's Orphans is a tad better than Here Come the Tigers, in my opinion, but both movies failed to capture that fun that The Bad News Bears captured.

Manny's Orphans was made with a slightly lower budget than Friday the 13th, but had the same team of Cunningham (director), Victor Miller (writer), and Steve Miner (editor, assistant) and even some of cast members: Ari Lehman and Irwin Keyes. 

Apparently Manny's Orphans was based on a short story by Miner.