CHiPs - Return Of The Turks (1978) - Filming Locations

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Featured Filming Location Photo

A high speed chase past a legendary movie studio.
The 9300 block of Washington Blvd in Culver City
Speeding down the 9300 block of Washington Blvd in Culver City, right past the historic movie studio founded by Thomas Ince in 1918. This studio was home to many production companies over the last century, including David O. Selznick (who filmed Gone With The Wind here. In the 1960s, the original Star Trek TV series filmed here before moving over to the Paramount lot in Hollywood. Today, the lot is known as The Culver Studios and is leased to Amazon for video production.

Historical Production & Location Reference

Episode Title: Return of the Turks (1978)
TV Series: CHiPs (Season 1)
Studio Origin: MGM Television
Director: Don McDougall
Featured Historical Landmarks:
  • The Culver Hotel: Located at 9400 Culver Blvd, this landmark is captured during a seedy era of its history when it had been converted into low-rent apartments.
  • The Culver Studios: The chase roars past the historic 9300 block of Washington Blvd, showcasing the studio's classic frontage.
  • Media Park: Situated at the intersection of Culver and Venice Boulevards, serving as the eastern terminus of the dramatic pursuit.

Production & Preservation Note: This 1978 sequence documents a noticeable period of urban decline in downtown Culver City before its modern renaissance. The geography of this exact police chase provides a striking visual contrast to the very same streetscapes utilized fifty years earlier during the golden age of silent comedy by icons like Laurel and Hardy (Putting Pants On Philip), Charley Chase (Limousine Love), and Nat Carr (Traffic Tangle).

Two men ram 22(!) cars on the freeway and refuse to stop. This results in a high speed chase when Ponch and Jon chase them off the freeway and through the streets of downtown Culver City, California.

Where exactly was this chase scene from CHiPs filmed? The chase runs past the historic Ince / Pathe / RKO / Desilu movie studio - today known as the Culver Studios - on the 9300 block of Washington Blvd. Then the chase moves on to the Main Street side of the landmark Culver Hotel at 9400 Culver Blvd - by this time converted to low-rent apartments and looking quite seedy. Next it's a right turn onto Culver Blvd, into an alley off Culver Blvd next to the landmark Citizen Building at 9355 Culver Blvd and ending at nearby Media Park.

Comparing Culver City as it looked in this 1978 episode of CHiPs to how the area looked when Charley Chase, Laurel and Hardy and Nat Carr filmed here in the 1920s and 1930s - the decline is very apparent.

Member Exclusive - Full "Then and Now" Filming Locations Documentaries

If you've made a small donation to the site and are a current member, you can view the filming locations then and now photo galleries for these films to see the contrast between the 1920s/1930s and 1978. Just make sure you have logged into the site first before clicking the links below:

Laurel and Hardy - Putting Pants On Philip - Filming Locations Then and Now Photo Gallery

Charley Chase - Limousine Love - Filming Locations Then and Now Photo Gallery

Nat Carr - Traffic Tangle - Filming Locations Then and Now Photo Gallery

View the COMPLETE filming locations video for this episode of CHiPs in the TV Series Filming Locations Videos section of the site by clicking here to Login and then clicking here:

CHiPs - Return of the Turks - Filming Locations Then and Now Documentary Video


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