Artifact Spotlight: Wookies in the Redwoods

In celebration of the Eureka Theater's Martini Matinee series of locally filmed movies, this week's post covers a few of the movies that were filmed in Humboldt County.

Humboldt County has garnered a number of descriptive names, many derived from the mysterious, foggy landscape, the hard to get to places, and the forests that encircle most communities here. The sights and sounds of the forests, beaches, hills, and mountains here make it easy to imagine that this place is not of this world. All of these things make Humboldt County-and its redwoods- a great location for movies. A number of films have either taken place here or were filmed here and renamed in the studio to be far-off, exotic locations like the forested moon of Endor in Star Wars.

Humboldt's movie history stretches back before the 1983 filming of "Return of the Jedi" however. "Valley of the Giants", produced in 1919, was filmed in many different locations around Humboldt County, including Eureka and Arcata, with some scenes including local lumber towns. Scroll down to see many of the movie stills from various films that used beautiful Humboldt County as a backdrop.

Valley of the Giants (1919): Arcata, Korbel, Carson Mansion, Scotia

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The Big Trees (1952): Orick and Humboldt Redwoods State Park

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Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983): Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park and Jedidiah Smith Redwoods State Park

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Outbreak (1995): Ferndale

Want more locally filmed movies? Check out the Eureka Theater Website for their full schedule of "Martini Matinees" featuring films made in Humboldt County!

Photos are from the Clarke Museum Collection. Information on local films was found in Humboldt-Del Norte Film Commissions "Map of the Movies", which can be picked up at many local hotels, visitor centers, and tourist destinations, including the Clarke Museum.