Orange has “appeared” in a number of movies and commercials over the years, from silent films to the present. The Plaza has been used as a location, although it’s movie identity changes with each production. It has been a Plaza in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Pasadena, and the South, as well as Orange. Storefronts and sidewalks have been altered, and leaves attached to the trees. Some of the films that used the Plaza are:
1917 - Movie to publicize Orange Day
Provided publicity for Orange’s Orange Industry (previous year’s effort moved $2.3 million worth of Valencia in a single day).
July, 1919 - Smiles
Business Men’s Clubs of Orange sponsored town promotional documentary. The Plaza was used as a backdrop.
1945 - Fallen Angel
“House at 409 N Shaffer Street.... was used as a location for the filming of a 1945 movie called Fallen Angel. Clair Trevor. Otto Preminger directed the film, and rumor has it that Preminger was traveling through Orange one summer day when he was struck by the beauty of the home,” Orange County Register, October 6, 1988. Cast included Alice Faye, John Carradine, Linda Darnell, Dana Andrews, and Hal Taliaferro.
1979 - Gumball Rally
Part of this coast-to-coast illegal auto race was through the Orange Plaza, filming involved removing a plate glass window from NW corner store and replacing it with “candy glass” for a crash.