Many of the locals of Hurricane were used as extras and other cast members.
Filmed East of Hurricane, Utah, at an abandoned, (State designated park), 1900 ghost-town sight which had been flooded out. A river flows adjacent to the abandoned town. A few relic buildings remain standing, including a Church, a few houses, and a few farm or barn buildings. A "movie constructed set-house" was built for the film "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid". This set piece remains located at the corner of the town's main street crossroad. Upon inspection, one can spot the framed "wild away" walls constructed for the camera to film inside the set-house interior. This house was built and used for Butch Cassidy's hideout, with the front dirt street used for the bicycle riding scene. Short Creek production repaired the town buildings, re-painting exterior buildings, to emphasize dilapidated conditions. Additional picket fences were placed around the houses for a lived in atmosphere. Additional shacks, and leaning shelters were built to fill out the town spaces. The construction coordinator (Jerry Esposito) and the Production Designer scouted-shopped the Hurricane township for out-houses that local Property owners would part with. Offering $25 to $50 dollars, Esposito was able to snag three wood out-house buildings. The "hero" outhouse was purchased from the Hurricain "DeMille" family - whose descendants were related to Cecil B. DeMille. Threafter, this hero outhouse was nicknamed "the DeMille Outhouse"...
Producers Laurence Schiller and Paul Monash with the Art Director Hub Braden scouted the ghost town location in the Spring of 1981, deciding to film the NBC-TV MOW in Utah. The actual Short Creek was located Southeast of Hurricane approximately 22 miles. Art Director and Construction Coordinator Jerry Esposito established their base in the only motel in Hurricane six weeks prior to photography. Esposito hired construction carpenters and painters at the St George Unemployment office for his crew. They established Short Creek Productions with a local bank, with a sizable account for credit purposes, for purchasing lumber and materials prior to construction. The producers, cast and production department followed establishing their group in several motels in St. George Utah for the filming and wrap. The distance from St. George to the ghost town location was about 30 miles. The construction coordinator built a foot bridge over the shallow creek bed adjacent the ghost town and main road. Otherwise the travel time to reach the town was an additional 20 miles; ten miles to reach a creek crossing bridge, and another ten miles back to the ghost town. The actual Shortcreek Mormon-Polygamist group in Colorado City and Hilldale township had knowledge of the intended filming. The production was advised that a rumored possible raid of the filming location by the Polygamist male leadership might occur. The local Sheriff, Glennwood Humphries, became a major contact for the construction department, making his presence established prior to and during filming. Filming was neither delayed nor prevented during the production schedule. Two brothers, from Tooele, Utah, were hired to live in their parents house trailer located adjacent the creek, the bridge, and the location, acting as security both during the day and night from first day of construction, till end of filming. The two boys also became town extras during their security detail.
TV movie that originally aired on NBC.
Prologue: "In 1953 the small town of Short Creek became the target of an investigation by the state of Arizona. It was widely believed that the members of the community practice polygamy, with some men having as many as three or four wives and families. This is a dramatization based on actual events."