By Chuck Lanehart| Special for the Avalanche-Journal
Editor’s note: Caprock Chronicles is edited by Jack Becker, Librarian Emeritus, Texas Tech University Libraries. He can be reached at jack.becker@ttu.edu. Today’s article about movies made in Claude, Texas is the second of a two-part series by frequent contributor Chuck Lanehart, Lubbock attorney and award-winning history writer.
Situated on the grassy plains of Armstrong County, the picturesque Texas town of Claude has for decades enjoyed its reputation as “The Movie Capital of the Panhandle,” thanks to three films: “Hud,” “Sunshine Christmas” and “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.”
In late June of 1962, Paramount Pictures completed work in Claude on the first film, “Hud.” As about 100 filmmakers returned to California, star-struck Claude residents reflected on their big-screen experiences.
The filmmakers “remembered all of our names, even our kids,” recalled Claude grocer Bill Brady. “We had ‘em up to dinner!”
“Everybody that had any contact with them was very pleasantly surprised,” said Claude banker Bert Woodridge, “They were very considerate of us. We kind of hated to see them leave.”
The Reverend James Todd commented, “A number of people thought (actor Paul) Newman was distant, but when you got him in a conversation, he was very friendly. A small number of married women and teen-age girls lost their heads over him."
In a 2024 interview, retired Amarillo police officer Jimmy Stevens told the following story. “When I was in high school, two of my buddies and I went to an Amarillo go-cart track. On the track were three fellows, and they were the only other ones there. The six of us had a great time racing each other. We finished about the same time and waited in line to pay at the counter behind the other three guys. It became readily apparent one of the guys—with striking blue eyes—was Paul Newman. Another guy was the co-star Brandon deWilde, and the third guy was their bodyguard. When we got to the counter, the clerk said Paul Newman had paid for our rides!”
Hospitality blossomed into romance through the Hollywood experience. Paramount set director Robert Benton met Sue Todd in Amarillo, and Benton soon proposed. Marriage vows were conducted June 10 before Rev. Todd at the First Christian Church of Claude.
In a full-page Amarillo newspaper announcement, Paramount thanked Claude residents. “We want to express our deep appreciation of the heartwarming hospitality and cooperation extended us by everyone. We hope you will be proud of ‘Hud.’ You have all in a way contributed to it. Certainly, lacking your help, we would not have been able to get the fine results with which we return to Hollywood.” The note was signed by director Martin Ritt and actor Paul Newman.
After the great success of the movie “Hud,” Claude was dubbed “The Movie Capital of the Panhandle” by Amarillo TV weatherman Dan True. Locals proudly basked in cinematic glory.
Years later, the 1977 NBC-TV movie “Sunshine Christmas” was filmed in Claude. The sentimental film tells the story of a musician (played by Cliff DeYoung), despondent after his girlfriend marries another man. He decides to take his adopted daughter (played by Elizabeth Cheshire) to his hometown in Texas to celebrate Christmas with his family. While there, he rekindles the relationship he once had with his childhood girlfriend. The musical score features a John Denver composition, “Sunshine on my Shoulders.”
The movie was shot in and around Claude. Both the town and Armstrong County are properly identified, as filmmakers opted not to portray a fictional setting (as in “Hud”). The home where the primary scenes were staged still stands. Claude teenager Gay Crump—now of Amarillo—was a stand-in for the daughter in the film, but few in the town seem to remember much about the making of the movie.
The ending of the Paramount Pictures 1989 movie “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” was shot in Armstrong County. The scene shows Indy (Harrison Ford), his father Henry (Sean Connery) and two companions riding off into the sunset. The scene lasts but 15 seconds before credits roll.
The sunset scene was shot just southwest of Claude on the Figure 3 Ranch, established in about 1900 by James Terrill Christian. His great grandson Rit Christian, who still lives on the ranch, was Harrison Ford’s double in the scene, riding third from the left in the sunset scene. Amarillo native Shawn Uselding doubled for Sean Connery, riding second from the left. The two others portrayed were professional stunt riders. Christian is now an Amarillo CPA, and Uselding is an Amarillo police officer.
In a recent interview, Christian said there were 20-30 Paramount crew present, but director Steven Spielberg was absent. He remembers meeting the film’s writer, George Lucas, who brought along his girlfriend Linda Ronstadt, but no actors appeared during the single day of filming. The magnificent sunset depicted was not a Hollywood special effect. “It was real, for sure,” said Christian.
Ranch hands were paid to clear mesquite from the pasture so there would be no trees in the scene. The studio also paid Christian and Uselding for use of their horses and saddles, and a bit of money for their riding, “but we had to pay the Actors Guild some of that,” Christian complained.
