The one thing I immediately noticed in Sam Wiebe’s book, Shot in Vancouver: Adventures in Hollywood North, is the lack of an index in the preview copy I received to read. When I’m trying to find out whether a certain movie or television production was filmed in town, at Terminal City, or somewhere else, having an index would come in handy. If that’s intentionally part of this book’s design, I hope the retail copy will be different. That’s because of the way he’s built the chapters, which move back and forth in chronology and purpose.
And along the way, the details he offers can make or break a section. That includes historical anecdotes about when Yvonne De Carlo made this city her home and why some Asian movies were filmed here. When downtown Vancouver was part of the Rumble in the Bronx set and the biggest running joke amongst fans during release was why are there mountains in the background? Even I looked at this chapter rather than to start on page one to see if that concern was ever addressed by the producers. Even today, there’s no official statement. Had this film historian sought an answer, I’d be pleased. But instead, all he wrote about is how this film helped certain talents begin their legacy.