The opening scene of Damien Chazelle‘s Babylon (Paramount, 12.23) is set in a hilly section of Bel Air circa 1926. Except it doesn’t look right. For 80 or 90 years Bel Air has been a flush and fragrant oasis for the super-wealthy, but in the mid ’20s, according to Babylon, it was fairly dry and barren and desert-like — no trees, no bushes, no grass and definitely no golf course. Almost Lawrence of Bel Air.
I’m no historian but this Palm Desert version of Bel Air struck me as slightly untrustworthy. So I did a little researching last night and found a slightly greener atmosphere. In fact Bel Air of the mid ’20s was starting to come into itself. Photos from that era show the beginnings of paved roads, smallish trees and shrubbery, yucca plants, a few mansions, a reservoir, the east and west gates and a little shade here and there.
