Where Was Night Of The Lepus Filmed? A Classic Sci-Fi Horror Film!

You must have watched many classic films from the 70s, but have you watched the horror movie Night Of The Lepus (1972)? Well, no need to worry if you haven’t. I’m here to give you all the details, and also tell you about its filming locations. The sci-fi horror drama film follows rancher Cole, who is fed up with rabbits destroying his fields. Soon, he calls a zoologist to deal with the problem, but it backfires into something more serious. In this article, I’ll discuss the film and tell you where was Night Of The Lepus filmed.

The Night Of The Lepus features some of the veteran and extremely popular actors of the 70s era, including Stuart Whitman, Janet Leigh, Rory Calhoun, DeForest Kelley, and Paul Fix. All of these actors have lived through the golden age of Hollywood and have been in numerous films and TV shows. We all have seen different types of monsters in sci-fi horror movies, be it a giant spider or a humongous crab, but I can bet you’ve never seen a massive rabbit. So, brace yourself because you are about to witness a bunch of huge, scary, and deadly rabbits.

Now getting back to your main concern regarding where was Night Of The Lepus filmed, the classic sci-fi horror drama movie was filmed in Tucson, Arizona, United States of America.

Night Of The Lepus was an A.C. Lyles production, and it was distributed in the US by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The sci-fi horror drama film was released on 26th July 1972. If you want to binge on other sci-fi horror movies, then I would suggest you check out Underwater, Cube, and The Platform. These movies are going to knock you out of your seat, I can assure you that. However, let’s move forward and find out more about Night Of The Lepus and its filming locations.

Where Was Night Of The Lepus Filmed? Let’s Find Out!

William F. Claxton’s Night Of The Lepus received mixed reviews from critics back in the day. They praised the idea of the movie but criticized Claxton’s direction. The performance of Stuart Whitman and Janet Leigh was applauded. The sci-fi horror drama movie received average ratings on IMDb as well as on Rotten Tomatoes. 

Claxton was a filmmaker who was also an editor and producer. He had also worked in the television industry. If you want to watch his other movies, then you can check out Half Past Midnight, Desire In The Dust, and Rockabilly Babys. However, let’s dig a little deeper and find out more about where was Night Of The Lepus filmed.

Tucson, Arizona, United States Of America

The major portion of the classic sci-fi horror drama film, Night Of The Lepus, was filmed in the city of Tucson in Arizona. The principal photography started in January 1972 and ended in March 1972. The director of the movie, William F. Claxton, deliberately chose to shoot in Tucson because a number of superhit western movies were shot there. The cast and crew shot in multiple locations in and around Tucson.

Some of the major scenes were also filmed in the famous Old Tucson Studio, where numerous superhit movies were shot. The studio was built in 1939 for the movie Arizona, which was directed by Wesley Ruggles. It is one of the famous studios and theme parks in Arizona.

Night Of The Lepus was mostly shot in live locations except for the scenes that were shot in the studio. The evacuation scene in the movie was filmed in Ajo. A few of the other important scenes were shot in the Colossal Cave Mountain Park, the University of Arizona, and the Empire Ranch in Sonoita.

Plot Of Night Of The Lepus (1972) | Humans Vs Mutant Rabbits!

The story of Night Of The Lepus revolves around Cole Hillman, played by Rory Calhoun. Cole is a rancher who lives in Arizona. But lately, he is having difficulty working on his fields which are overpopulated with rabbits. And those rabbits are destroying his fields. After getting fed up, he finally decides to get in touch with one of his friends, Elgin Clark, who is the president of a local college, to help him out.

As unusual as it is, Clark calls up Roy Bennett (played by Stuart Whitman), and Gerry Bennett (played by Janet Leigh), to resolve the matter. Roy and Gerry are Zoologists, and they’re surprised to know about such an issue. As a part of an experiment, they inject some of the rabbits with a chemical without realizing its effects on them.

Soon, as a side effect of the injected chemical, all the rabbits that live in Cole’s fields turn into humongous mutant rabbits. They’re extremely violent in nature and are deadly. When things get out of control, the National Guard is called to deal with the giant rabbits.

Final Words

Classic movies are always fun to watch, especially when it’s about mutant rabbits attacking human beings. Night Of The Lepus is a highly entertaining movie, and you can watch it with your friends and family on a weekend night or on a Sunday afternoon. If you want to read more articles about such interesting filming locations, then keep visiting the Viebly website. And also, if you liked going through the article, then do not forget to let me know.