Sunday, February 19, 2012

Meanwhile back at the ranch -- Iverson's western street


The Iverson Ranch western street was built by Gary Cooper when he produced and starred in Along Came Jones (1945).  After the movie was finished, the set was left in place; subsequently it was added to and used in many more movies and TV shows.


It was located on the Indian Hills plain northwest of Cave Rocks on the lower Iverson Ranch.  Today the area is the Indian Hills Mobile Home Village (private property) just south of the Ronald Reagan Freeway on the west side of Topanga Canyon Boulevard.  In the 1950s aerial photo above the western street can be seen in the upper right center.


The photo above was taken in 2009, in it you can see Church Rock (top left center)--stacked up and sloping--beyond the mobile homes.  I've added an inset from Cheyenne Takes Over (1947) showing a church that existed for just a few years (roughly 1947-1951).  Behind the church (above left) in the inset photo you can see the relationship between Church Rock and the western street.


Here's a screenshot (above) from The Trusted Outlaw (1937) (starring Bob Steele) in it you can see Split Rock (left edge), Hook Rock (right edge), and Church Rock (top left center).  Obviously the screenshot was filmed long before the western street was built, but it gives you an approximate location.

The Iverson Ranch western street can be seen in the following films:


Along Came Jones (1945) starring Gary Cooper and Loretta Young (Iverson Ranch)(photo above-looking north) RKO
Black Hills (1948) starring Eddie Dean (Iverson Street)(Corriganville) PRC


Calamity Jane and the Texan (1950) starring Evelyn Ankers, Lee White and James Ellison (screenshot above-looking north) Columbia


California (1946) starring Ray Milland and Barbara Stanwyck (Burro Flats)(Iverson Ranch)(photo above-looking north) Paramount
Cheyenne Takes Over (1947) starring Lash LaRue (Iverson Ranch) PRC


The Daltons' Women (1950) starring Lash LaRue with Al St. John (photo above-looking north) Realart
Davy Crockett, Indian Scout (1950) starring George Montgomery - United Artists
El Paso (1949) starring John Payne (Iverson Ranch)(Corriganville) Paramount (some researchers refer to it as the El Paso street)


Ghost Town Renegades (1947) starring Lash LaRue with Al St. John (screenshot above-looking north as a ghost town) PRC
Gold Raiders (1951) starring George O'Brien and Three Stooges (Iverson Ranch) United Artists


The Hills of Utah (1951) starring Gene Autry with Pat Buttram (Iverson Ranch)(Corriganville)(screenshot above-looking south-minus church) Columbia
Kansas Territory (1952) starring Bill Elliott with Fuzzy Knight - Monogram


Man from Sonora (1951) starring Johnny Mack Brown (photo above-looking north) Monogram


The Marauders (1947) starring William Boyd with Andy Clyde (Iverson Ranch)(photo above-looking south at the church) United Artists
Ma and Pa Kettle Back on the Farm (1951) starring Marjorie Main, Percy Kilbride and Richard Long (Iverson) Universal
The Millerson Case (1947) starring Warner Baxter, Nancy Saunders and Clem Bevans (Iverson Ranch) Larry Darmour Prod
The Nevadan (1950) starring Randolph Scott (Iverson Ranch) Columbia
Romance of the West (1946) starring Eddie Dean (Iverson Ranch)(Corriganville) PRC


Shadow Valley (1947) starring Eddie Dean (Iverson Ranch)(photo above-looking south at the church)PRC


Silver Canyon (1951)  starring Gene Autry (Iverson Ranch)(photo above)Columbia
Son of Paleface (1952) starring Bob Hope, Jane Russell and Roy Rogers (Iverson Ranch) Paramount


Stagecoach Driver (1951) starring Whip Wilson (Iverson Ranch)(photo above)Monogram


Stage to Blue River (1951) starring Whip Wilson (Iverson Ranch)(photo above-looking south minus the church) Monogram
Stage to Mesa City (1947) starring Lash LaRue/Al St. John (Iverson Ranch) PRC
The Stranger Wore a Gun (1953) starring Randolph Scott (Iverson Ranch) Columbia
Treasure of the Ruby Hills (1955) starring Zachary Scott, Carole Mathews and Barton MacLane (Brandeis Ranch)  Allied Artists Pictures


Waco (1952) starring Bill Elliott (photo above-looking south minus the church) Monogram
Wagon Team (1952) starring Gene Autry (Iverson Ranch) Columbia
West to Glory (1947) starring Eddie Dean (Iverson Ranch) PRC
The Westward Trail (1948) starring Eddie Dean (Iverson Ranch) PRC
Whistling Hills (1951) starring Johnny Mack Brown - Monogram

"Bonanza" (1959) TV Series
"Hopalong Cassidy" (1952) TV Series
"Lone Ranger, The" (1949) TV Series


"Roy Rogers Show, The" TV Series (episode: Ghost Town Gold (1952) (photo above-looking north after a flood) 

1 comment:

  1. Great work on this entry, Jerry -- cool photos. I especially like the one of California with the weird front on the building next to the Livery Stable ... and the colorized Waco shot. Also, the pre-Western street shot from Trusted Outlaw is killer!
    -d

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