Every Movie, Short Film and Music Video Filmed in Boulder Creek
Boulder Creek has been a filming location for more than a century. A studio built a permanent gold-rush town outside of town in 1915. Mary Pickford shot here in 1917. Hitchcock filmed the redwood scene in Vertigo nine miles up Highway 236. Downtown played a fictional town called Buzzsaw in a 1992 Matthew Broderick comedy. This page is the working database: every production we can document, what part of the area it actually used, and how solid the evidence is.
It's not finished, and it says so where it isn't. If you know something we don't, there's a contribution link at the bottom.
How to read this page
Two things trip up every other list of movies filmed in Boulder Creek.
Geography. Big Basin Redwoods State Park has a Boulder Creek mailing address, but it's nine miles up Highway 236 and it's not downtown. A scene shot among the park's old-growth redwoods is a Big Basin scene. We label the actual place. The same goes for Ben Lomond, Brookdale, Felton and Bonny Doon, all part of this valley's film history, none of them Boulder Creek.
Evidence. A production shows up in one blog, which gets copied into five more, and suddenly it's a fact. Each entry below carries a status:
- Confirmed: official or primary source, or multiple strong independent sources
- Well documented: reputable researcher or strong secondary source
- Local firsthand: confirmed by a named or internally documented local source, not yet in formal records
- Research lead: plausible, evidence incomplete, do not repeat as fact
Silent era: 1914–1923
Nearly all of this activity traces to one thing: the Poverty Flat set, a roughly 25-building gold-rush town that George Middleton and Beatriz Michelena built on family land outside Boulder Creek in early 1915 for the California Motion Picture Corporation. UCSC's Santa Cruz Silent Cinema project is the core research on it, and also records the main drag of Highway 9 doubling as a western mining town.
Film titles link to IMDb. Where a film has entered the public domain and a legitimate copy exists, we link that too.
| Film | Year | Location used | Evidence | Survives? Where to watch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salomy Jane | 1914 | Boulder Creek area filming reported; scene-level detail unresolved | Research lead | Yes. Print found in Australia 1996, preserved by the Library of Congress. Watch free via the National Film Preservation Foundation |
| The Lily of Poverty Flat | 1915 | Poverty Flat set, Boulder Creek | Well documented | Presumed lost |
| The Rose of the Misty Pool | 1915 | Poverty Flat set | Well documented | Presumed lost |
| A Phyllis of the Sierras | 1915 | Poverty Flat set | Well documented | Presumed lost |
| The Half-Breed | 1916 | Poverty Flat set | Well documented | Survives; restored by the San Francisco Silent Film Festival. No authorized free stream |
| A Romance of the Redwoods | 1917 | Poverty Flat set (town exteriors); stagecoach holdup in Ben Lomond | Well documented | Yes. 35mm print at the George Eastman Museum; public domain copy at the Internet Archive |
| Sudden Jim | 1917 | Boulder Creek reported as a fictional lumber town | Research lead | Lost |
| The Sunset Trail | 1917 | Boulder Creek | Confirmed: IMDb carries a Boulder Creek filming-location credit | Unresolved |
| Just Squaw | 1919 | Poverty Flat set | Well documented | Survives; print held by the Library of Congress. Reported as the only surviving Beatriz Michelena Features production |
| Heart of Juanita | 1919 | Poverty Flat set | Well documented | Presumed lost |
| The Flame of Hellgate | 1920 | Poverty Flat set | Well documented | Presumed lost. Michelena's final film |
| Soul of the Beast | 1923 | Boulder Creek, incl. Poverty Flat area; elephant performer Anna May | Well documented | Yes. Public domain copy at the Internet Archive |
| Salomy Jane (remake) | 1923 | Expanded settlement in the Boulder Creek area | Research lead | Lost |
| Evangeline | 1929 | Big Basin forest and waterfall sequences are claimed locally; the documented location photography was at Point Lobos, near Carmel | Research lead | Survives; entered US public domain in 2025. Copy at the Internet Archive |
Two notes on that table. The Sunset Trail is the one silent title where IMDb itself records Boulder Creek as a filming location, which makes it better evidenced than the surrounding entries even though it's less discussed locally. And the two Salomy Jane films are different pictures a decade apart (the 1914 original survives, the 1923 remake is lost), so check the year before citing either.
Two titles above use language that is offensive today. We keep them as released because that's how the films are cataloged in archives, and because how these productions handled race is part of the record.
Most of this footage no longer exists. A 1931 fire in the California Motion Picture Corporation's San Rafael storage vault destroyed the nitrate negatives.
Big Basin on film
The park is its own filming location with its own history, and the biggest name in it is Hitchcock.
| Production | Year | Location | Evidence | Where to watch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vertigo | 1958 | Big Basin: the redwood forest sequence, which in the story represents Muir Woods | Confirmed | In copyright; rental or streaming |
| The Gnome-Mobile | 1967 | Big Basin redwood scenes | Research lead | Disney+ or paid rental |
| Cirque du Soleil: Journey of Man | 2000 | Big Basin: bungee sequence among the redwoods | Research lead | Subscription streaming |
| The Truth About Beef Jerky | 2002 | Big Basin area | Research lead | Not located |
| The Tripper | 2006 | Big Basin (21600 Big Basin Way) and Santa Cruz; filmed February 2006 | Well documented | Rental |
The Vertigo correction is worth stating plainly, because it's one of the most persistent errors in Bay Area film geography: Scottie and Madeleine's scene at the cross-section of the felled redwood is not Muir Woods. Location research places it at Big Basin Redwoods State Park, with location filming running from late September into October 1957. Hitchcock's own ranch was near Scotts Valley, a short drive from the park.
The Tripper, David Arquette's 2006 horror comedy, used the park's forest for its hippie-festival encampment and chase sequences. Whether any of it was shot in Boulder Creek proper rather than the park is an open question we'd like to close. If you were around for that shoot, we want to hear from you.
Downtown Boulder Creek on screen
| Production | Year | Location | Evidence | Where to watch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Out on a Limb | 1992 | Downtown Boulder Creek as the fictional town of Buzzsaw; the Boulder Creek Fire Protection District building at 13230 Highway 9 played the bank; chase sequences on Moon Drive off Highway 236 and beyond | Well documented | Paid rental |
| Graves End | 2005 | Downtown Boulder Creek and nearby mountain locations reported | Research lead | Not readily available |
| Motos | 2025 | Filmed in Boulder Creek on the director's own property; post-wildfire subject | Well documented | Free via Omeleto, a licensed short-film distributor |
Out on a Limb is the best-documented modern production. Directed by Francis Veber and released by Universal in September 1992, it starred Matthew Broderick, Jeffrey Jones, Heidi Kling and John C. Reilly, and shot across Northern California with Boulder Creek supplying the town of Buzzsaw. Location listings also place work in Bonny Doon, Davenport and Big Basin.
If you were an extra, worked on the crew, or ran a business that got dressed as a Buzzsaw storefront, that's exactly the material this page is missing. Photographs from the shoot are a priority.
Music videos
| Artist | Title | Boulder Creek connection | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wolf Jett ft. The T Sisters | Garden of Pain (2020) | Shot on 16mm in Boulder Creek, on the foundation of the drummer's home destroyed by the CZU fire | Confirmed: stated twice in the artist's official description |
| Avery Chapman | In California (2021) | Filmed in Half Moon Bay and Boulder Creek | Confirmed: stated in the artist's official description |
| Rachel Platten | Fight Song (2015) | The bar sequence is identified locally as Joe's Bar, downtown Boulder Creek | Local firsthand only: see below |
All three links go to the artist's own channel or official VEVO upload. We don't link fan re-uploads; Garden of Pain in particular has a second copy on an unrelated channel, and it isn't the one to cite.
The Wolf Jett video is the strongest documented music-video connection this town has, and it's the one nobody talks about. The official description says it was shot on Kodak 16mm in Boulder Creek and dedicates the video to residents affected by the CZU Lightning Complex fire. It was filmed on the foundation of drummer Jon Payne's house, which the fire destroyed. That's a Boulder Creek story in its own right, and we'd like to talk to the band.
On Fight Song. A worldwide hit from 2015 contains a bar scene, and local firsthand knowledge supplied to Boulder Creek Local identifies that bar as Joe's. We went looking for corroboration and did not find any: the official video description is boilerplate credits, and no production or press source we could locate names a Boulder Creek location. So the label stays local firsthand: credible, locally sourced, not externally documented. If you worked on that shoot or remember it, you can settle this.
Removed from this list
TonyG, "Will You Be Mine Tonight?" (2013) previously appeared here on the basis that the official upload identified Boulder Creek. It does not. The entire official description is a one-line copyright credit, and we could find nothing connecting the artist or the video to Boulder Creek. We've taken it off rather than leave an unsupported entry sitting in a table, and we're recording the removal here so it doesn't get re-added.
Leads we have not resolved
These come up in conversation or in scattered sources. None is confirmed. Several may turn out to be somewhere else entirely.
- The Primal Lure, The Narrow Trail, Melissa of the Hills: silent-era titles with reported Santa Cruz Mountains connections
- Thunder Mountain: a persistent local claim with no located evidence
- Beaver Run Café: reported production, details unknown
- A CBS Eye on the Bay segment shot at the White Cockade
- Commercials, student films and locally produced video not indexed anywhere online
Things that are not Boulder Creek
We keep this list so the same errors stop getting recycled:
- Productions shot in Santa Cruz, Felton, Ben Lomond, Brookdale, Bonny Doon or Aptos with no Boulder Creek scene
- References to a different Boulder Creek: there are towns by that name in Idaho and Colorado
- Films set in redwoods but shot elsewhere
- Big Basin scenes described as downtown Boulder Creek
Help us finish this
This is where you come in. We're looking for anything that turns a research lead into a documented fact:
- Photographs from any shoot on this page
- Memories from extras and crew
- Business owners who were paid for location use
- Permits and local newspaper coverage
Use the contribution link below. Tell us whether your information is firsthand, family knowledge or something you heard, all three are useful, and we'll label them accordingly.
This page is reviewed quarterly.
Frequently Asked Questions
What movies were filmed in Boulder Creek?
The best-documented are A Romance of the Redwoods (1917, Mary Pickford and Cecil B. DeMille), Soul of the Beast (1923), and Out on a Limb (1992), in which downtown played the fictional town of Buzzsaw. At least eight silent films used the Poverty Flat set built outside town in 1915. Vertigo (1958) and The Tripper (2006) filmed at Big Basin, which has a Boulder Creek address but is nine miles up Highway 236.
Was Vertigo filmed at Muir Woods?
No. The redwood forest sequence was shot at Big Basin Redwoods State Park, though the story places it at Muir Woods. This is one of the most common mistakes in Bay Area film geography.
Where is the bar in Rachel Platten's Fight Song video?
Local firsthand knowledge identifies it as Joe's Bar in downtown Boulder Creek. We label this a local confirmation rather than a documented fact: we searched for external corroboration and found none, and the video's official description is only credits. If you were involved in that shoot, you can settle it.
Which Boulder Creek music video is best documented?
Wolf Jett's "Garden of Pain" (2020). The band's official description states it was shot on Kodak 16mm in Boulder Creek and dedicates it to residents affected by the CZU fire; it was filmed on the foundation of the drummer's home, which the fire destroyed.
Can I watch the old films for free?
Several are public domain. Salomy Jane (1914) streams free via the National Film Preservation Foundation, and A Romance of the Redwoods (1917), Soul of the Beast (1923) and Evangeline (1929) have copies at the Internet Archive. Links are in the tables above. We only link authorized or public-domain sources.
Can I visit any of the filming locations?
Big Basin Redwoods State Park is open for day use. Check parks.ca.gov for current access, since recovery from the 2020 CZU fire is ongoing. Downtown Boulder Creek is walkable. The Poverty Flat set is gone and its probable site is private property with no public access.
Why do so many old films from here no longer exist?
A 1931 fire in the California Motion Picture Corporation's San Rafael storage vault destroyed the nitrate negatives for nearly the entire studio output, which includes most of what was shot at Poverty Flat. Nitrate stock is also chemically unstable, and much American silent film was scrapped after sound arrived.
Is anything filmed in Boulder Creek today?
Independent and short-film production continues; the 2025 short Motos was filmed on private land in Boulder Creek. Productions of any size are far less common than during the silent era, and most local filming now happens without public announcement.
Two threads on this page reward a closer look on their own: the gold-rush set at Poverty Flat that made Boulder Creek a silent-film town for a decade, and the career of Beatriz Michelena, the star who helped build it. And if you have a photograph, a memory, or an old permit from any shoot listed here, the contribution link above is how a research lead becomes documented local history.
