Listed below are some of the more obscure films that contain footage of the dam and use its symbolism to support the plot.
In the early years, the dam often served to symbolize opportunity or to portray stability and success. It evolved to function as an icon of American ingenuity, and eventually became the target of several sinister movie villains who strove to cause chaos to the American mind-set and to inflict as much damage to the American landscape as possible.
Hoover Dam’s early filmography includes:
I Loved You Wednesday (1933): An engineer parts from his love when she moves to Paris and he takes a job at Hoover Dam.
Boulder Dam (1936): A man accused of murder works at Hoover Dam while hiding out.
The Man from Music Mountain (1938): Starring Gene Autry. A man uses the opening of Hoover Dam to swindle investors into buying property in a Nevada ghost town.
Manpower (1941): A woman falls in love with another man when her husband goes to Hoover Dam to work as an electrician.
711 Ocean Drive (1950): A telephone repair man accumulates a huge gambling debt, finds trouble with a Las Vegas gambling syndicate, and flees town. He and his female companion are found at Hoover Dam where she is killed in a shootout and he is arrested by the Vegas Police Department, which is controlled by the syndicate.
Invasion USA (1952): Early cold-war America comes under attack because an unknown enemy (communists are strongly implied) who perceives American’s aversion to war as a sign of weakness. Several landmark sites come under simultaneous attack, including Hoover Dam.
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