La Calahorra, a stop along the railroad tracks for Spanish western films
20 Minutes.es
3/1/2013
When one recalls the westerns that were filmed in Spain, called
spaghetti westerns, most people think of Almería. But there is a corner of
Granada which also appears in this chapter in the history of cinema. This is La
Calahorra, specifically the railroad station La Calahorra
It is halfway between La Calahorra and Charches, taking
the off ramp at signposted at kilometer 312 of the A-92 (Granada-Almería
highway). It is an eerie stop on the rail line from Almería. It is probably why
Sergio Leone and others considered it a perfect setting for their films.
Half a century ago there was a flurry of activity there.
It was here they ran, up and down, the electrical, decorators, the actors and
actresses, the script girls, the still photographers, the cinematographer,
assistant director and, of course, the director. Leone used this railway
station in almost every one of his films.
You can remember certain scenes ... as at the beginning
of “Once Upon a Time in the West”, Jill (Claudia Cardinale) arriving by train
at Flagstone, or Tuco (Eli Wallach) boarding the train before his escape in the
“Good, the Bad and the Ugly.”
These scenes were filmed at the station of La Calahorra,
in the mountains of Sierra Nevada and the Sierra de Baza in the background,
framing the action.
For the film buff and the curious there still stands not
only the modest station but some of the sets for “Once Upon a Time in the West”
such faded signs as Phoenix, Dr.
Merchant, dentist can still be seen on the buildings walls.
[Here’s a common scene today a modern high speed train
approaching what remains of the old La Calahorra train station seen in several
of Sergio Leone’s westerns.]
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