67°F
weather icon Clear

Mystery surrounds dam, movie about its construction

In 1936 Warner Bros. was in a race to put out a movie called “Boulder Dam.” The movie company wanted this film to open the same weekend as the completion of Hoover Dam hoping to cash in on the press attention surrounding the massive engineering project. The Six Cos. turned over Hoover Dam to the federal government on March 1, 1936, more than two years ahead of schedule. “Boulder Dam” the movie premiered six days later.

The construction of Hoover Dam involved thousands of workers and resulted in the tragic loss of over 100 lives during a time when work and money were hard to come by. Since its construction, rumors of hauntings, curses, satanic rituals and alien life have added a shroud of mystery to the Hoover Dam.

A Google search of the phrase “Hoover Dam mystery” seems to back up all the peculiar speculation. And I can’t help but feel a chill run down my spine when comparing the tragedies associated with the movie “Boulder Dam” and the place where it was partially filmed — the actual Hoover Dam.

“Boulder Dam” has a simple plot. Rusty Noonan is played by actor Ross Alexander. Noonan kills his boss in Detroit and takes off West. Noonan meets a Las Vegas girl named Ann Vangarick (Patricia Ellis), gets a job at Hoover Dam, and eventually returns home to confess to the murder and seek forgiveness — of course, with the support of his new employer and his new girl.

“Boulder Dam” was co-written by author Sy Bartlett. Bartlett was actually born Sacha Baraniev in Ukraine and, in spite of his literary and movie successes, he was no stranger to scandal and tragedy. His wife, actress Alice White, was at the center of a major Hollywood sex scandal when she left her wedding ceremony with another man. Both Bartlett and White’s careers were impacted by her questionable behavior at her wedding, and the pair continued to run into spells of bad luck throughout the rest of their lives. One such incident involved White falling off of a ladder in her backyard and landing on top of gardening sheers. The actress was blind for months.

Then there is Alexander, the star of “Boulder Dam,” who shot himself less than a year after the movie debuted. Alexander was considered to be extremely charming and incredibly good looking for his era. In fact, he was considered the Keanu Reeves of his time. Alexander killed himself using the same rifle his wife, actress Aleta Freel, used to kill herself with a year earlier in the garden of their Hollywood Hills home. The house is once again for sale; the listing can be viewed on Zillow at 7357 Woodrow Wilson Drive.

Freel’s father felt Alexander actually killed his daughter and he pressed the Los Angeles Police Department to further look into the matter. Paul Donnelly’s book “Fade to Black: A Book of Movie Obituaries” further documents Freel’s alleged suicide, and it is worth a read.

Before his own suicide, Alexander continued to be involved in controversies and tragedies, including a violent fight with Bette Davis’ husband after it was discovered that he was stalking the actress. Alexander also had a bisexual incident with a male hitchhiker that had to be buried by Warner Bros. in an attempt to not overshadow the positive press for “Boulder Dam.”

While all the tragic occurrences related to the movie “Boulder Dam” may just be coincidence, the subject matter of various strange happenings and mysterious energy certainly seem to add to the allure that provokes over a million visitors to tour Hoover Dam every year. And, in my opinion, the suspected strange energy and rumored mysteries surrounding the dam would make for another great Hollywood movie!

The Hoover Dam Visitor Center is open daily except for Thanksgiving and Christmas. There are two different guided tours to choose from and tickets can be purchased online at http://www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam/service/.

Special thanks to my “Hollywood Insider” (who has a home here in Boulder City) for the tip on “Boulder Dam.” You can send your tips and TBT requests to me, via email, by visiting TanyaVece.com.

Tanya Vece is an entertainment and music writer who resides and volunteers in Boulder City. You can follow her adventures on Instagram @hollywoodwriter.

MOST READ
THE LATEST
A graduation gift to remember

Over the last couple of weeks, I twice drove over the Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Bridge, aka the Hoover Dam bypass.

Democracy dies in … Oh, shut up

OK, so, fair warning. I may be a little “spicier” than normal. It’s been a challenging couple of weeks and I’m in a worse mood than usual.

Real ID will help combat terrorism

Most veterans in Nevada are aware that when they obtain a driver’s license or renew their old one, they can ask the DMV to add the word “veteran” on the license. While that won’t give them a get-out-of-jail-free card, it might evoke some sympathy from an officer if a veteran is pulled over for a minor infraction. (No guarantee, but it has happened to me.)

Centenarian Sara, a Boulder City treasure

At 100 years of age, Sara Denton is certainly one of Boulder City’s oldest residents. And if you’ve met her, you’ll likely agree that she’s one of its most cheerful residents as well. Sara loves to laugh and has always lived life with gusto and adventure.

Know what wheels kids can (and can’t) operate

Motorized devices are growing in popularity, especially with teens, but many parents don’t know the legalities or the dangers.

Teamwork resonates in City Hall

Every year, college basketball fans get excited for their team to play in the “Big Dance.” March Madness (women’s and men’s NCAA basketball) is down to the final four teams this weekend. It’s estimated that 34 million brackets were completed this year.

My bighorn buddies

Having grown up in Boulder City, I was always aware of its unofficial mascots …the bighorn sheep.

Can’t we all just disagree?

Once you asked me, “What do you think?”

What if they gave a war and nobody was home?

The subjects in most of the articles and columns I write tend to include positive stories about American veterans and veterans’ organizations. And in fact the pieces are about veterans, not active-duty military.

Gratitude for government

I moved to Boulder City in 1981. Boulder City is blessed to have been a government town. Can we recall the blessings we have received from government?