Where was The Beverly Hillbillies filmed?
About The Beverly Hillbillies
The Beverly Hillbillies was a popular television series from 1962 to 1971. Fans loved the escapades of the Clampett and Bodine families and tuned in each week to see what Jed, Granny, Elly May, and Jethro were up to. The sitcom was ranked number one for two of its seasons and was in the top 20 television programs for eight of the nine total seasons. Some episodes are still on the most-watched list.
The television series, and subsequent 1993 film, tells the story of Jed Clampett, a hillbilly from Arkansas. He is out hunting one day and tries to shoot a rabbit. Although he misses the rabbit, he finds oil on his property when the bullet strikes the ground. Ozark Mountain Oil purchases his property for $1 billion. Jed is convinced by his sister Pearl to move to Beverly Hills, California, as this would be a better location and change of scenery for Elly May, Jed’s daughter. Daisy Moses, or Granny, as she is better known, is Jed’s mother-in-law, and reluctantly agrees to come along. The family also brings Jethro Bodine, Pearl’s son, with them.
The fun really starts once the clan arrives in California, and the best scenes in The Beverly Hillbillies are funny, if not slightly unrealistic. The movie stays true to the sitcom while allowing the new cast some individuality when it comes to their characters. Elly May navigates the dating and high school scene in her new town, Jethro is oblivious to the societal norms for everything from bowling to love interests, Granny stays true to her roots, and Jed seeks a new wife.
The cast includes Jim Varney as Jed Clampett, Diedrich Bader as Jethro, Erika Eleniak as Elly May, and Cloris Leachman as Granny. They are joined in Beverly Hills by Dabney Coleman as Millburn Drysdale, the CEO of the bank where all Jed’s money is. Lily Tomlin gave an excellent performance as Jane Hathaway, Drysdale’s secretary, who winds up entangling herself in all sorts of matters for the family.
Here’s a spoiler alert for you, if you haven’t seen the movie and want a surprise, it’s best to stop reading now. Although all the family members (except Granny) seem to be seeking love, none of them find it by the end of the movie, and yet, they somehow manage to have a happy ending with “one hellacious shindig” anyway.
The Beverly Hillbillies Locations
One of the best parts about the movie is that The Beverly Hillbillies’ locations were real places in and around the city. The television series only uses Beverly Hills for the opening credits, but the film uses locations in Beverly Hills and Pasadena extensively.
It’s fun to watch Jed, Elly May, Jethro, and Granny make their way around Beverly Hills in places that you or I could see on a visit to the city. The television series used Branson, Missouri for the original Arkansas scenes, but the movie kept all of its filming in California and used a studio for the brief opening scenes in Arkansas. While in California, they made the best possible use of the locations in Beverly Hills and Pasadena.
The Clampett family goes from their humble home in Arkansas to a large, stately mansion in Beverly Hills. The home has an indoor pool, bowling alley, and all sorts of other amenities the family will never have experienced before. We first see the mansion through the family’s eyes.
“Do you reckon we’re at the wrong spot, Uncle Jed?” Jethro asks as they drive up to the large, beautiful, pink mansion with a perfectly landscaped yard.
“Could be, don’t know,” Jed replies.
“It’s the right address, Pa,” Elly May says as she looks at a piece of paper. She’s sitting in the back of Jethro’s truck, with the dog on the seat between her and Granny. In the previous scene, Granny was knocked out of her rocking chair, tied on top of the truck, by a low-hanging branch, and has wisely chosen to move into the seat next to Elly May.
They walked into the large foyer with the beautiful, bifurcated stairs and Jethro declared there’s a whole other house upstairs. He tells Elly May there are two sets of stairs because one is for going up and the other is for coming down.
A fun fact is that this is the same mansion that was used in the 1992 movie, The Bodyguard, starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner.
