On the Beach
The making of the Hollywood movie 'On the Beach' was a significant event for Melbourne and for the Melbourne Showgrounds.
In October 1958, Melbourne Showgrounds was leased from the RASV by The Stanley Kramer Pictures Corporation of USA for the making of the film On the Beach. Pavilions and office buildings were converted into a film studio and film sets with the interiors of the garage, house and lighthouse and the Swordfish submarine constructed within the Government Pavilion.
Stanley Kramer set up his production office in a car showroom, his wardrobe department in the display house for farm tools and his own office in what was called The Lost Dogs Home. The RASV supplied a lawn mower - a flock of sheep which were moved around the site to keep the grass down. (Philip R Davey, When Hollywood Came to Melbourne: The Story of the Making of Stanley Kramer's On the Beach, 2011, p 41)
At Melbourne's "Little Hollywood" yesterday 50 carpenters and other skilled tradesmen put together sets on which big-screen cameras will soon be filming "On the Beach." "Little Hollywood" is at the Showgrounds.
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For further information on the making of 'On the Beach' see: 'When Hollywood Came to Melbourne: The Story of the Making of Stanley Kramer's On the Beach' (2011) publication by Philip R Davey and 'Fallout' (2013) film by Lawrence Johnston.
Ava Gardener, Gregory Peck, and Fred Astaire in On the Beach.