In this aerial photo taken by Life magazine, we get to see what a chunk of the Universal Studios backlot looked like in 1963. If you’ve not been to a movie studio backlot before, the castle in the bottom right corner gives you a pretty good idea. Impressive from the front, but at the back? Just wooden scaffolding and some ladders. Those two Navy boats moored in the lake on the left, I’m fairly sure they were there for “McHale’s Navy” which filmed at Universal in from ’62 to ’66.

Here’s a comment from a Twitter user: “Depending on the photo year, the studio backlot was not part of Universal;it was MCA-owned Revue studios. MCA, a major TV producer, bought the backlot & leased space back to Universal in the ’50s. In 62’ they bought the whole company. McHale’s Navy was produced during that time. Between 1962 and 1964, the backlot tour was called the ‘Revue Studios Tour’ conducted by Tanner Gray Line Motor Tours Company. It included a commissary lunch (Dine with the Stars) and a bus excursion through the backlot.”

A second commenter on Twitters said: “The boat was made for Mississippi Gambler. (1953) Before this time, the show boat was a front section with matte painting or model. The lake was built around 1951.”