| Between 1947 and 1969, Lookout Mountain Studios produced more than 6,500 films, as many as just about any other major movie studio. Few people have heard of Lookout Mountain, however, and most of its films have never been seen by the public. Located in Hollywood, California, the secret studio consisted of 250 producers, directors, and cameramen whose job it was to document America's nuclear weapons tests on film. Recruited by the U.S. Air Force's 1352nd Motion Picture Squadron, mostly from other studios, these filmakers were on location for almost every U.S. atmospheric test. Their 100,000 square foot production facility, state-of-the-art at the time, housed 3 screening rooms, an underground parking garage, a bomb shelter, and 17 climate-controlled film vaults. Much of the studio's work is still classified, only a few hours worth has ever been released to the public. Sadly, even if declassified much of it may already be lost to deterioration, as the government currently has no budget to preserve these films. The studio was closed in 1969, six years after atmospheric testing was ended by the Limited Test Ban Treaty. The building is now a private residence, located on Wonderland Avenue in Laurel Canyon, near Hollywood. There was a good documentary about Lookout Mountain called Atomic Filmakers released in 1999. It is directed by Peter Kuran, who also directed the excellent Trinity and Beyond (1995). |
