Mescal Movie Ranch & Filming Location

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Blog Created: 5-4-2025

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WESTERN MOVIE SET

The Mescal Movie Set is an iconic "Old West" town that presents a unique and authentic filming experience. The Western frontier town offers 28 buildings complete with props and is nestled in historic cattle country with mountain backdrops, scenic vistas, and spectacular views.

The historical set is ideal for featured films, television series, commercials, music videos, reality shows, photo shoots, and other film productions.

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Mark Sankeym, Mescal Movie Set

1538 N. Mescal Rd/ PO Box 833 (mailing)

Benson, AZ 85602

info@mescalmovieset.com

"An 1880s Western Town, Surrounded by the High Desert Plains of Southeast Arizona and the Rincon Mountains."

The film history of the Mescal area dates back over 70 years with scenes from Winchester 73 with Jimmy Stewart, The Big Country with Gregory Peck, and Cimarron with Glenn Ford. The physical set was built as a town in 1968-1969 for Monte Walsh, starring Lee Marvin and Jack Palance. This movie mirrors the current situation with the Mescal Set. An aging cowboy realizes the west he loves will soon be gone, and there is no room for cowboys like him. Released the same year was the Western comedy Dirty Dingus Magee with the legendary Frank Sinatra. Another Hollywood legend graced the set when Elizabeth Taylor filmed Poker Alice.

A succession of movies followed, including The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean starring Paul Newman, The Outlaw Josey Wales with Clint Eastwood, and Tom Horn with Steve McQueen. The 1990s had major big-budget productions. Tombstone starred Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Sam Elliott, and many other notables such as Charlton Heston, Harry Carey Jr., and narration by Robert Mitchum. It has become a cult classic and easily the most quoted western of all time. The Quick and the Dead followed with Hollywood "A-Listers" Sharon Stone, Russell Crowe, Gene Hackman, and a very young Leonardo DiCaprio.

Country music fans will recall the 1986 remake of Stagecoach starring the Highwaymen, including Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, and Kris Kristopherson. Mescal was also used in The Gambler with Kenny Rogers.

The Mescal Set was an alternative town set for many episodes of your favorite western TV series, including Bonanza, Gunsmoke, The Magnificent Seven, and Little House on the Prairie. Fans will also remember it as the town of Sweetwater in The Young Riders series.

Mescal was also a popular site for TV Movies, including The Sacketts, with Tom Selleck, Glenn Ford, and Sam Elliott, Maverick with James Garner, Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster, and Buffalo Soldiers with Danny Glover.

As of Valentine's Day 2021, Mescal became no longer attached to the Old Tucson Studios group as a secondary film site. The set is now on its own and building its notoriety as the world-famous Mescal Movie Set. Kartchner Ventures is thrilled to give Mescal a well-deserved facelift and is dedicated to helping bring the film industry back to Southern Arizona. Please join us in celebrating the re-opening of such a western treasure!

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The Mescal Movie Set in southern Arizona has seen a lot over its 70-year history, which began with scenes shot there for "Winchester 73" starring Jimmy Stewart.

After a town set was built in 1968 and 1969 for the movie “Monte Walsh,” which starred Lee Marvin and Jack Palance, it became an even more popular place to film movies and TV series. “Bonanza,” “Gunsmoke,” “The Magnificent Seven” and “Little House on the Prairie" were shot against the backdrop of the iconic Western landscape.

Other big Hollywood names to have stepped onto the Mescal Movie Set include Jimmy Stewart, Gregory Peck, Glenn Ford, Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, Clint Eastwood, Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio.

The 28 buildings on 70 acres of land in cattle country with mountain backdrops, scenic vistas and stunning sunsets was owned by Old Tucson Studios but fell into disrepair. The set was scheduled to be demolished if no buyer came through.

A buyer stepped up in 2021 and is now giving the set some much-needed restoration in hopes of bringing the film industry back to southern Arizona.

Who owns Mescal Movie Set?

The Mescal Movie Set is owned by Kartchner Ventures, which is owned and operated by the Kartchner family, a fifth-generation ranching family from Cochise County, Arizona. Kartchner Caverns State Park near Benson also gets its name from this family.

The Kartchners weren’t planning on being in the movie business but felt the set had significant history worth preserving.

Where is the Mescal Movie Set located?

The movie set is at 1538 N. Mescal Road, Benson, Arizona.

What movies were filmed at the Mescal Movie Set?

Many films have shot scenes on the Mescal Movie Set, including:

What renovations are happening at the Mescal Movie Set?

When it first came under the ownership of the Kartchners in 2021, the set had 28 buildings that needed to be repaired.

According to AZ Family, the repairs are being completed by volunteers and funded by money from tours and special events.

They owners also hope to expand. Mark Sankey, director of marketing and media at the Mescal Movie Set, told AZ Family that they hope to add blacksmith shops, barns, houses and commercial buildings, as well as turning the one main street into three streets with alleys in between.

Four movies had been lined up to film there this fall, but due to the SAG-AFTRA strike, that number is down to two.

Can you visit the Mescal Movie Set?

The Mescal Movie Set will offer sunset historical tours at 5:30 and 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 2 and Sept. 16. The sunset tour is $15 per person; kids 10 and under can join for free. To make a reservation or check for October sunset tour dates, go to MescalMovieSet.com.

Daytime historical tours are available on Oct. 6, 7, 13 and 14 at 9 a.m., 10 a.m., 11 a.m., noon and 1 p.m. Tours cost $15 per person, free for kids, and last an hour.

A ghost hunt is planned for 8-10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9. The Tucson Ghost Company will provide equipment including ghost meters, cell sensors, rad detectors, thermostats and dosing rods so you can try to communicate with the spirits.

The cost is $45 per person. Participants must be 14 or older; anyone under 18 needs to be accompanied by an adult. A waiver must be signed prior to the ghost hunt. Wear hiking or walking shoes (no open-toe shoes) and bring a flashlight, warm clothing and water. Reserve your spot on Mescal's website.

Details: 520-255-6662, mescalmovieset.com.

Reach the reporter at dina.kaur@arizonarepublic.com. Follow @dina_kaur on X, formerly known as Twitter.

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Swap meet allows guests to explore movie set

By Laura Latzko, April 20, 2023

Popular movies like “Tombstone” and “The Quick and the Dead” as well as over 100 other westerns were filmed in Benson at the Mescal Movie Set.

During the upcoming Cowboy Western Tack and Swap Meet on Friday, April 21, and Saturday, April 22, visitors can walk around the movie set while shopping from local vendors.

During the market, vendors will sell items such as tack, antiques, period clothing, cowboy hats, leather crafts, rocks and minerals, jewelry, pottery, Native American artwork and western décor.

Rick Harker from Harker’s Museum will have movie props.

Mescal Movie Set Program Director Paul Retzlaff said around 50 vendors will be out at the swap meet.

Most of the vendors are from Tucson and nearby cities, such as Willcox, Benson, Sonoita and Sierra Vista, as well as New Mexico and Wisconsin.

Authors who have written about movies made at Mescal and the area will appear. Food vendors will sell barbecue, hot dogs, baked goods, freeze-dried or old-time candy, flavored soda, ice cream or gourmet sandwiches.

A local Buffalo Soldiers group will have a display dedicated to the Buffalo Soldiers who served at Fort Huachuca. The Buffalo Soldiers were a group of African American soldiers who served in the West in the period following the Civil War. The 1997 film “Buffalo Soldiers,” which starred Danny Glover, was filmed at Mescal and nearby locations.

During the event, a donkey rescue will visit with their animals. A dealer will teach guests how to play the old-time card game Faro.

Movie legends who have filmed at Mescal such as Emily Blanton, Ed Adams, Lynn Steele, Glen Gould and Frank Noel will be out at the set, meeting with guests and handing out cards with their likenesses and signatures.

Mescal had a similar of vendor fair last November. The upcoming event is more cowboy and western themed, while last year’s vendor fair had a holiday flair.

There will be a mixture of returning and new vendors at the swap meet.

The movie set has also hosted a Civil War canon demonstration, car shows and meet and greets with movie legends who have filmed at Mescal.

Retzlaff said he hopes to bring more events to the studio.

“We are an active movie set. We still are pursuing and doing productions,” he said.

“In between, we want to make sure we share the set with people, both for the movie history and just the general feel of what it’s like to be at a movie set. Something like this fits in very well. People get to come, walk around, shop, see some of the local merchandise and still get to look at our wonderful little movie town.”

Proceeds from the swap meet go toward restoring the movie set and bringing western films back to Arizona.

Efforts to rebuild the town started during COVID-19 with new owners, the local Kartchner family of Kartchner Caverns. Much of the renovation work has been done by volunteers such as Retzlaff.

“We definitely did a lot of pre-construction, salvaging and trying to save the movie set before it was ever open for people to come in,” Retzlaff said.

“We all feel that we should be preserving the western history and the movie history in general and making sure that we stay on the map, that people know we are here and what we do.”

Hailing from Wisconsin, Retzlaff moved to Arizona during the pandemic. He previously appeared in Buffalo Bill Wild West re-enactment shows in Wisconsin.

He and his wife decided to move to the area after seeing Mescal.

“We fell in love with it. We knew that we needed to fully retire and move down here and be part of it,” Retzlaff said.

Many volunteers, including Retzlaff, dress up in period costume when they are out at Mescal.

The swap meet will take place throughout the movie set. The only two buildings that will be open are the Redemption Saloon from the movie “The Quick and the Dead” and the Tonsorial building, which houses the gift shop.

“The buildings aren’t open, but they are free to walk up and down the main street, look at the exterior of the buildings. We also have historians on site to explain to people what movies and what buildings were used and who was there,” Retzlaff said.

“You get to have the experience of walking up and down the same street as Clint Eastwood, Glenn Ford, Steve McQueen and some big stars have walked.”

Inside the gift shop and saloon, guests can purchase cream sodas and sarsaparilla. It also offers laser-engraved, salvaged wood from the movie set for sale.

Guests may be greeted by Sammy, the mascot cat who has lived on the set for 11 years.

Many of the buildings inside Mescal were constructed specifically for productions. The mercantile store, for example, was built for “The Outlaw Josey Wales.”

There are also cottages and the O.K. Corral from “Tombstone,” a livery from “Tom Horn” and a brothel from “Dirty Dingus MaGee.”

Buildings are also added to the set with new productions.

Mescal has recently been the site for a feature western film, a rap video, western and non-western short films and commercials.

Retzlaff said although Arizona has a rich history of filmmaking, for a time, it wasn’t a popular destination for film. He said recently places like Mescal have become attractive to filmmakers.

“We are an interesting set because we are surrounded by empty land and mountains. A lot of the filmmakers love that. They don’t have to worry about having to block out houses and traffic,” Retzlaff said.

After experiencing the town during the swap meet, visitors can return for tours. They are offered 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays when filming isn’t in progress.

Tours are $15 for adults, and free for children 10 and under.

Reservations are encouraged.

During the warmer summer months, the movie set offers tours every other Saturday in the evenings.

The tours are led by a group of historians.