1500 Head of Horned Cattle

When exploring Disney’s Hollywood Studios for hints, clues, and props that tell the story of Hollywood, it is easy to ignore some of the little things. Take this Paramount Pictures memo taped to the inside of an office window at Backlot Express. With the print facing the opposite direction it doesn’t seem to be worth exploring any further does it? Well, let’s give it a read (the right way around this time), and see what it can tell us.

Mr. Stewart Hunt

B and P Palace

Douglas, Arizona

Dear Mr. Hunt:

Perhaps you will recall several years ago, while our company was on location in Douglas, meeting one of our men by the name of Bill Hurley.

Mr. Hurley tells me that you owned a large ranch south of the border and were running, at that time, about 3000 head of longhorn cattle.

We are tentatively planning a picture for the first part of next year that will require about 1500 head of horned cattle. We understand that the border will be open for cattle importation on December 31, 1954.

Would you be interested in quoting a price, delivered in Douglas or at the nearest port of entry, on 1500 head of cattle? If so will you also advise the approximate weight of these cattle, whether or not they all have horns and are the horns nubbed. If you have any general photographs of cattle taken on your ranch that you can forward, they will materially assist us.

Thank you for any assistance, and I hope we will hear from you at your earliest convenience.

Yours very truly,

GORDON O. COLE, JR.
PROPERTY DEPARTMENT HEAD

Not too terribly exciting, is it? Well, perhaps a bit more when you consider the cattle Cole was looking for in 1955 would be for the picture, The Ten Commandments.