Photos: Movies filmed in Sonoma County

You’ll find Sonoma County locations scattered in movies throughout the ages.

There’s Santa Rosa’s McDonald Mansion in the 1960 Disney film “Pollyanna.” Bodega Bay in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1963 film “The Birds.” Santa Rosa High School in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1986 film “Peggy Sue Got Married.” The Sonoma Coast in a pivotal scene of the 1997 horror/slasher film “I Know What You Did Last Summer.”

Given the local scenery — majestic coastal cliffs, idyllic small towns, vineyards, farms, rolling hills, mountains, Russian River — it’s not surprising that Sonoma County has been a filming location since the early days of motion pictures.

“Filmmakers are drawn here for the beautiful scenery, and proximity to the Bay Area in general makes it not such a haul to go on location,” said Joe Kaminiski, owner of Joe Video in Santa Rosa.

Even back in the era of silent films, Sonoma County was used as a filming location. During the 1910s, there were a few silent films shot in the area, including an adaptation of Jack London’s “The Valley of the Moon” in 1914. And there was the silent film “Braveheart” produced by Cecil B. DeMille in 1925 and partially shot along the Russian River. “Braveheart” depicts the story of Chief Standing Rock’s son, Braveheart, who studies law in order to defend their tribe’s fishing rights.

The benefits of being an attractive filming location aren’t just cultural, but also economic. Photos from the 1930s show a delegation of Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce members and actors gathered at a Los Angeles movie studio — perhaps for a tour or to strengthen ties with the entertainment industry, or both.

“When a movie or television show shoots on location, it brings jobs, revenue, and related infrastructure development, providing an immediate boost to the local economy,” according to the Motion Picture Association.

A decade later, director Alfred Hitchcock came to Santa Rosa to film “Shadow of a Doubt.” The 1943 suspense thriller, preserved by the Library of Congress, starred Teresa Wright and Joseph Cotten.

It wouldn’t be Cotten’s only experience filming in Sonoma County. He came back, this time to Petaluma, to shoot the 1947 comedy “The Farmer’s Daughter.”

Hitchcock came back, too, this time to Bodega Bay for his 1963 classic “The Birds.”

See the gallery above for photos of old movies filmed in Sonoma County.