Filmmaker shoots western in Bidwell Park

For filmmaker Dillon Tharp, bolo ties, cowboy hats and duels have been part of his day-to-day work for the past year.

He’s spent the last year shooting and editing his film, “Blood On The Northern Ridge,” all while working full-time and attending Butte College to study film.

A significant portion of the film was filmed at Upper Bidwell Park in Chico, California. However, the Park Fire last summer caused delays.

Tharp is no stranger to filmmaking. He got his first video camera and started making simple movies with his family when he was around eight years old. This kickstarted his ongoing interest in telling stories visually.

“I've always been obsessed with film. I have some people in my family who've worked in the industry,” Tharp said.

He estimates that he’s created nearly 100 short films and has maintained a YouTube channel for the past eight years.

“I mostly did acting growing up, like plays and theater,” Tharp said. “But in the last couple of years, I've been more interested in being behind the camera.”

His recent project marks his first film since completing the film program at Butte College, and it represents a more ambitious and significant undertaking for him.

"I’m a little bit of a control freak, I like being in charge of everything,” he said. “I like seeing how everything comes together, all the moving pieces.”

The film's premiere was held at the Pageant Theatre in Chico last week. It was attended by a sold-out crowd that included his friends and family.

“It felt really special. I've never had a whole event where it's all centered around just specifically something I've made,” Tharp said.

Two worlds collide in the film, as a man is forced to rob a bank to help his family, all while a freshly widowed woman takes up a bounty on the lone bank robber to try and save her family home.

“Her husband just died, and left her in a lot of debt, so she takes up a bounty on the bank robber and goes and searches for him, and things get pretty crazy by the end of it,” Tharp said.

Tharp said he was always interested in creating a Western. He is a massive fan of the genre, and his family has a history with it.

The connection is his great-grandfather, Leroy Johnson.

Johnson was a fixture on the western filmmaking frontier. Having worked as an actor and stunt double with various industry figures, including John Wayne and Clint Eastwood, he also landed parts in films and television shows like Monte Walsh, The Alamo, and Bonanza.

“We have a few of his props that we used on the movies too, like an old hat, or we used this metal jewelry box that was given to him by Yul Brynner, which is kind of cool,” Tharp said.

In many ways, the film is an ode to his great-grandfather, and to Tharp’s upbringing.

“Most of my family are like ranchers and cowboys,” he said. “I just love westerns in general. On the other hand, it kind of felt like, I guess I was kind of honoring my family's legacy.”

The road to finishing the movie was no walk in the park. A significant portion was filmed at Upper Bidwell Park in Chico, Calif. But last summer’s Park Fire delayed the process.

“We had to take a break for a couple of months because we couldn’t go up there,” Tharp said.

Although some later scenes could still be filmed in the area with careful navigation around the damage, the location of the film’s final confrontation was supposed to be in a cave that was severely affected by the fire, rendering it inaccessible for an extended period.

As if the wildfire wasn’t trouble enough, Tharp said he and his crew endured various days of blazing weather, including a day that was hotter than 90 degrees where they filmed for nine hours at Monkey Face. It also required hiking with all the equipment.

“We had an ice chest full of water and food and stuff, but the water didn’t last as long as I thought it would,” Tharp said.

Nevertheless, for Tharp, it’s all a part of the process. Filmmaking is his craft.

“I'm really proud of everything that my team and I did, and I think it's the best thing I've ever made,” Tharp said. “And I also think there's a million things wrong with it, and I can't wait to make my next movie, because it will be even better.”