4 March, 2025

Cheltenham turns back the clock for Steinbeck classic

Vintage cars, horses and gigs and film extras in early-20th-century costume were part of the action on a gravel-covered Cheltenham Rd from Tuesday to Friday last week, during the filming of a Netflix-series adaptation of John Steinbeck’s East of Eden, which attracted clusters of spectators each day. Location workers on the set told the Flagstaff that locals seemed to have been happy and excited about the production. One interested observer was Northcote resident Mike, who didn’t want his last name to be used, who came to every shoot day, and even on Monday when the gravel was laid on the street. The scale and quality of the production were “really impressive”, he said. Large equipment trucks were parked around the Devonport Domain on Cambridge Tce and Cheltenham Rd, while roads were closed at Oxford Tce, Cheltenham Rd and Tainui Rd. Balmain Reserve was used as a parking space for the vintage cars.

Quick studies… Devonport artist Tony McNeight captured some of the vehicles and people involved in the shoot