Over the years, the Black Hills, region has had a starring role in a number of motion pictures and television productions.
Filming of documentaries and films here goes back to the early years of the 20th Century. In 1913, Buffalo Bill Cody Productions filmed a short epic called “The Indian Wars”. Also in that decade the pioneering Black American filmmaker Oscar Micheaux completed his early work “The Homesteader” southeast of the Badlands near Winner. The Black Hills Feature Film Company also released “In the Days of ‘75 and ‘76” in 1915.
In 1968, the Walt Disney Company released a period musical movie based on the Bower Family Band – “The One and Only Genuine Original Family Band.” The family lived and performed in the Hermosa and Rapid City areas from the 1880s through the early 1900s, with descendants living in Rapid City today.
While it is impossible to get into the plots, stars, and storylines of all of these cinematic ventures, the following is a listing of movies, television shows, and cable releases that have been filmed in the Black Hills region since the 1940s. Some of the westerns have been filmed in the area of Custer State Park.
Badlands of Dakota – Universal
Tomahawk – Universal
Chief Crazy Horse – Universal
Beast from the Haunted Cave – Gene Corman Productions
Ski Troop Attack – Gene Corman Productions
The Last Hunt – MGM
North By Northwest – MGM
How The West Was Won – MGM
Deadwood ’76 – Fairway International
Gunsmoke – CBS TV
Scandalous John – Walt Disney
Journey Through Rosebud – GSF, Inc.
Orphan Train – CBS TV
A Man Called Horse – United Artists
Return of a Man Called Horse – United Artists
Triumph of a Man Called Horse – United Artists
General Hospital – ABC TV
From Hollywood to Deadwood – Island Pictures
PowWow Highway – Warner Brothers
Dances With Wolves – Orion
Son of the Morning Star – ABC TV
Thunderheart – TriStar
North – Castle Rock Productions
Wyatt Earp – Warner Brothers
Lakota Woman – Turner Productions
Starship Troopers – TriStar
Crazy Horse – Turner Productions
Armageddon – Disney/Touchstone
Mercury Rising – Universal
Sturgis: Born to be Wild – Imagine/USA Network
Skins – First Look Productions
Hidalgo – Disney/Touchstone
Live Broadcasts of:
The Today Show – NBC TV
Good Morning America – ABC TV
Live With Regis and Kathy Lee – ABC TV