Movie Magic at Bass Lake – The Great Outdoors

June 17th marks 33rd anniversary of the release of “The Great Outdoors” movie. This production is especially close to us, as both the Pines Resort and Bass Lake served as a Hollywood replacement for this comedy classic. Let’s throwback to 1987 and discuss behind the scenes of The Great Outdoors. We have stories from residents, who got to be in the film, or watched it get made. Did you ever wonder how this experience impacted the community? What legacy that film made on a little mountain village?

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MOVIES AT BASS LAKE

There’s been a few films throughout the decades that have utilized the scenic location of Bass Lake:

Carnival Boat (1932)
Leave Her to Heaven (1945)
Hiawatha (1952)
Meatballs 4 (1992)
a vehicle for Corey Feldman
Mouse Hunt (1997), starring Nathan Lane and Lee Evans, and was the directorial debut of Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean, Rango)
The Giant of Thunder Mountain (1991) co-starring area resident Richard Kiel—known for portraying the Jaws character in the James Bond films.
The one that most people remember is The Great Outdoors (1988).

THE GREAT OUTDOORS (1988)

The movie follows two families and their vacation in Wisconsin. Chet Ripley, along with his wife and two kids go on a long-awaited outdoorsy vacation. All is going well, until their relaxing time is interrupted by an unexpected arrival of his obnoxious brother-in-law, Roman Craig, his wife and couple’s twin daughters. That triggers some tension between families and results in a series of funny adventures.

The family film starred two comedic giants in the prime of their careers. In one corner, there was Dan Aykroyd, former Saturday Night Live alum, who was fresh off the success of Trading Spaces (1983) and Ghostbusters (1984). On the other there was John Candy, who was featured in a string of ‘80s classics like Splash (1984), Brewster’s Millions (1985), Spaceballs (1987), and Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (1987).

Howard Deutch was in the director’s chair, but the man at the helm was no other than John Hughes. He would also direct Candy in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles and would go on to achieve his greatest success by penning what would become the highest grossing comedy for its time: Home Alone (1990).

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THE MAKING OF THE MOVIE

The movie is set in Pechoggin, Wisconsin (Lake Potowotominimac in the movie), but, in actuality, it was made here, at Bass Lake. The film was shot at the renowned mountain resort town for six weeks in October of 1987. Even though the plot takes place during the summertime, production took place in the later part of the fall. There had to be some real convincing acting on the actors’ parts to make it seem they were warm. Especially in scenes where they were out at night or near or in water.

While Chet’s vacation home was actually a movie set and does not exist, the locally famous Ducey’s Bass Lake Lodge and Bar & Grill stood in as Wally and Juanita’s Perk’s Pine Lodge in the movie. It was the go-to place when visitors want to have food and drinks while overlooking the picturesque wonder of this hidden utopia. And it’s featured quite often as the setting for many of the characters’ interactions. Unfortunately, shortly after the film wrapped, the original Ducey’s burned down as the result of a kitchen fire. Luckily, it was rebuilt, and the new lodge – today’s Ducey’s on the Lake, opened on Saturday, April 20, 1991 in a new, lakefront location. Movie memorabilia can still be found displayed in the restaurant.

For the residents of Bass Lake, it really brought the town together and that camaraderie was felt throughout the entire shooting schedule. Some common problems when it comes to on-location filming are: the traffic, a curfew (if one exists), the big crews causing distractions. In some cases, it causes animosity amongst townsfolk. That was not the case at Bass Lake! There was none of that. The town fully supported the movie. The filmmakers got their location and movie, and the community benefitted economically from their presence in the middle of a very slow winter season which made it an excellent year business wise.

STORIES FROM THE LOCALS

People who still reside here not only got to see the movie go down but got to participate in the making of the film. There’s Rhonda Salisbury, CEO of Visit Yosemite/Madera County (the official Visitors Bureau for southern Yosemite and Madera County). She was the Executive Secretary for the General Manager of The Pines Resort in Bass Lake at the time of the making of the film. And there’s Steve Welch, who worked as Operations Manager and eventually became V.P. and General Manager of the Pines Resorts from 1984-2007, when the resort was sold. Steve is also President of the Bass Lake Water Company. Their own perspectives about the production are priceless.

The last scene of the movie was the most memorable scene for the local residents. The principal cast members and the extras were dancing joyously and raucously to Wilson Pickett’s “Land of 1000 Dances” at Ducey’s. It is so unabashedly bonkers and wild, but so entertaining to watch. Rhonda recollects the filming of those takes, and it stands out for her much as it does for others that have seen it.

“The dance scene at Ducey’s bar was so much fun. Dan Aykroyd was hilarious as was Annette Bening. We had so many locals

and extras dancing around…it was a blast and the cast really interacted with the locals.” Rhonda Salisbury

Not a lot of high-profile people of that magnitude made it up to the lakeside town in that capacity. For that reason, people were awe struck by the presence of Aykroyd and Candy. So was Steve Welch. It wasn’t their mainstream names that had him shook up, but the fact that these performers were established in the entertainment industry as playing outlandish characters for the purpose of laughter. Behind the camera, they were anything but that, and it was that professionalism and calmness from the two leads that Steve remembers the most.

“I met both a few days before filming began as the director, Howard Deutch, had asked to get into the Pines Bar one morning to rehearse a scene. I opened the bar and shortly afterward in walked Dan and John. They introduced themselves and sat down at the bar (I was behind the bar), and we all began a very friendly conversation. They were casual and relaxed and remained that way for the duration of the shooting. I must say, since they were two of my comedy idols, I surprisingly found myself being a bit star-struck.” Steve Welch

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LEGACY OF THE FILM AND THE LAKE

When the film was released, the studio held a premiere for the townspeople in the old Ponderosa Pines Theatre, and the whole town came out and laughed through the whole movie. Rhonda pointed out that she may even have the commemorative wine glass from that event. Maybe it was champagne…she can’t recall.

The film was released on June 17th, 1988 and made $43.4 million at the box office. When it came out it did good business, but it didn’t set the box office on fire. Since then it has become a cult classic. Anytime summer rolls around, when people want to see a lake movie, or when people talk about family comedy films of the ‘80s, this film is always shown or brought up.

People ask about the movie and wanting to go see Chet’s vacation house, when they visit here. Those who have never heard of it, once they learn of this unique fact – it elevates their experience. Guests find it special, knowing that they’re standing on the grounds that provided a cinematic landscape that’ll forever be commemorated on celluloid. For those that still call this area home, and who were here during the production, it is always discussed amongst them and has never been forgotten.