Spanish Ghost Sets (Part 4)

Daily Mail

By Gareth Davies

June 1 2017

The Spanish Spaghetti Western ghost town where abandoned Hollywood film sets are still standing in the desert almost 50 years on

Despite forming huge chunk of Western film history, these amazing photographs show the iconic spots in ruin

Spaghetti Western was initially handed down as a derogatory term for low-budget films directed by Italians

Over time it became a badge of honour thanks to conveyor belt of talent like Sergio Leone and Clint Eastwood

But despite its iconic status within the Western film world, many deserted sets have been left to rot in Spain

The Spanish Spaghetti Western ghost town where abandoned Hollywood film sets are still standing in the desert almost 50 years on

Despite forming huge chunk of Western film history, these amazing photographs show the iconic spots in ruin

Spaghetti Western was initially handed down as a derogatory term for low-budget films directed by Italians

Over time it became a badge of honour thanks to conveyor belt of talent like Sergio Leone and Clint Eastwood

But despite its iconic status within the Western film world, many deserted sets have been left to rot in Spain

Western Leone

In Once Upon a Time in the West, local gunmen fight for control of the Sweetwater Ranch, which is defended by the widow Jill McBain (Claudia Cardinale) with some help from a mysterious harmonica-playing gunman (Charles Bronson).

The only building at the ranch site is a two-story log cabin with a distinctively angled roof.

The set was later expanded for subsequent films and is now open for tourists under the name Western Leone.

The old film set of El Condor in the Spanish hills. Despite having formed a huge chunk of film history in Spain, these amazing photographs show how the iconic Spaghetti Western sets have fallen into decay after decades of neglect. The initially derogatory name was handed down to films directed and produced by Italians and filmed in the Spanish countryside to save on budget costs.

A diner, which advertises as being open seven days a week, sits at the bottom of a hill upon which a building was built for the film El Condor. It now lies in ruin. Photographer Mark Parascondola said: 'The amazing landscapes and quality of light. I also became fascinated by these old film sets and locations as a different kind of 'ghost town'. Unlike real ghost towns, the Western movie sets were never really inhabited.'

The remains of a building labelled Pension Coyote which was used as the fort from the film El Condor. Originally an elaborate fortress constructed in 1969 for the film, this site was reused over the years for a variety of films, usually involving lots of dynamite.

Remains of the fort from the film set named El Condor. Photographer Mark Parascandola has been documenting the forgotten era of Hollywood in the Spanish city of Almeria. In the 60s and 70s, Almeria was used to film a number of Spaghetti Westerns with some of the sets remaining today.