Meanwhile back at the ranch -- Garden of the Gods

All of my meanwhile-back-at-the-ranch blogs are stories about movie location ranches that once existed in Chatsworth, California, my hometown.

See the earlier post about the Iverson Movie Ranch history http://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2011/10/iverson-movie-location-ranch-chatsworth.html

An introduction to my books about Chatsworth filming locations can be found at http://www.cowboyup.com/

Some researchers might argue that the most famous rocks on the Iverson Movie Ranch were the formations collectively known as Garden of the Gods. 

The photo above was taken in the Garden of the Gods during the filming of a ReelzChannel Dailies show titled "Hollywood was Here -- The Iverson Ranch" (produced by Chris Meagher and filmed Tracy Birdsell).  

Scott Conley, actor and host of the episode, is sitting on my horse Cash (right) and I'm on Kasidy (left).  Perhaps we are the last two horseback cowboys ever to be filmed on the Iverson Movie Ranch. 

The rock pinnacle on the left is known as Indianhead rock; the one on the right, Sphinx rock.

The movie still above is from a scene in The Man from Colorado (1948), starring Glen Ford and William Holden.  When you compare the two photos of the same location, you can see how much the trees have grown; today they nearly obscure the view of Indianhead rock.

This photo taken in the Garden of the God (above) is a Columbia publicity still of Charles Starrett on his horse Raider.

One of the most dramatic film uses of Garden of the Gods (screenshot above) was in John Ford's classic Western Stagecoach (1939), starring John Wayne.

The movie still above is a scene from Old Los Angeles (1948), starring Bill Elliott, John Carroll and Catherine McLeod.

One of the most interesting stills in my collection is from Shut My Big Mouth (1942), starring Joe E. Brown, Adele Mara and Victor Jory (above).  The photo was taken in front of the Sphinx rock pinnacle.  I think it is great fun to see the film crew and their equipment on the set in the Garden of the Gods.

Another movie still taken in front of Sphinx rock (above) is from Underground Rustlers (1941), starring Ray "Crash" Corrigan, John "Dusty" King  and Max Terhune.

Some (but not all) of the films with scenes in the Garden of the Gods include:

Arizona Cowboy (1950) starring Rex Allen

Belle Starr (1941) starring  Randolph Scott, Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews

Bengal Brigade (1954) starring Rock Hudson, Arlene Dahl and Ursula Thiess

Big Steal, The (1949) starring  Robert Mitchum and Jane Greer

Black Bart (1948) starring Dan Duryea

China (1943) starring Loretta Young, Alan Ladd and William Bendix

Dallas (1950) starring Gary Cooper and Ruth Roman

Dead Man's Gold (1948) starring Lash LaRue and Al St. John

Desert Gold (1936) starring Buster Crabbe

Desert of Lost Men (1951) starring Allan Lane

Don Daredevil Rides Again (1951) a Republic serial starring Ken Curtis

Escort West (1958) starring Victor Mature

Fighting Seabees, The (1944) starring John Wayne, Susan Hayward and Dennis O'Keefe

Fighting Sheriff, The (1931) starring Buck Jones

Fighting with Kit Carson (1933) a Mascot serial starring Johnny Mack Brown, Betsy King Ross and Noah Beery

Flying Deuces, The (1939) starring Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy and Jean Parker

Follow Me Boys (1966) starring Fred MacMurray, Vera Miles and Lillian Gish

Gallant Legion, The (1948) starring Bill Elliott

Gay Amigo, The (1949) starring Duncan Renaldo and Leo Carrillo

Hands Across the Rockies (1941) starring Bill Elliott and Dub Taylor

Harvey Girls, The (1946) starring Judy Garland and John Hodiak

Heldorado (1946) starring Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes and Dale Evans

Hidden Valley (1932) starring Bob Steele

King Richard And The Crusaders (1954) starring Rex Harrison, Virginia Mayo and George Sanders

Law of the Canyon (1947) starring Charles Starrett 

Little Big Horn (1951) starring Lloyd Bridges and John Ireland

Lucky Cisco Kid (1940) starring Cesar Romero

Lumberjack (1944) starring William Boyd and Andy Clyde

Man from Colorado, The (1948) starring Glen Ford and William Holden

Miracle Rider, The (1935) a Mascot serial starring Tom Mix

Mountain Rhythm (1939) starring Gene Autry and Smiley Burnette

My Pal Trigger (1946) starring Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes and Dale Evans

Old Los Angeles (1948) starring Bill Elliott

Paleface, The (1922) starring Buster Keaton

Pals of the Saddle (1938) starring John Wayne, Ray 'Crash' Corrigan and Max Terhune

Perils of Nyoka, The (1942) a Republic serial also known as "Nyoka and the Tigermen" starring Kay Aldridge, Clayton Moore and Lorna Gray

Phantom Plainsmen, The (1942) starring Bob Steele, Tom Tyler, and Rufe Davis

Phantom Valley (1948) starring Charles Starrett

Renegade Ranger, The (1938) starring George O’Brien, Rita Hayworth and Tim Holt

Return of the Badmen (1947) starring Randolph Scott, Robert Ryan and Anne Jeffreys

Riders of Death Valley (1941) a Universal serial starring Dick Foran, Leo Carrillo and Buck Jones.

Riders of the Rio Grande (1943) starring Bob Steele, Tom Tyler and Jimmie Dodd

Rimfire (1949) starring James Millican

Rio Grande Patrol (1950) starring Tim Holt and Richard Martin

Rocky Mountain Rangers (1940) starring Robert Livingston, Raymond Hatton and Duncan Renaldo

Romance of the West (1946) starring Eddie Dean

Rough Riders of Cheyenne (1945) starring Sunset Carson

San Antonio Kid, The (1944) starring Bill Elliott

Silver Treasure, The (1926) starring George O'Brien, Jack Rollens and Helena D'Algy

Son of a Badman (1949) starring Lash LaRue

South of the Rio Grande (1932) starring Buck Jones

Snake River Desperadoes (1951) starring Charles Starrett

Spoilers of the Plains (1951) starring Roy Rogers

Stagecoach (1939) starring John Wayne

Sun Valley Cyclone (1946) starring Bill Elliott 

Taming of the West, The (1939) starring Bill Elliott

Tell It To The Marines (1926) starring Lon Chaney, William Haines and Eleanor Boardman

Tennessee's Partner (1955) starring Ronald Reagan and John Payne

Terror of Tiny Town, The (1938) starring Billy Curtis, Yvonne Moray and 'Little Billy' Rhodes

They Died with Their Boots On (1941) starring Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland and Arthur Kennedy

Three Stooges Meet Hercules, The (1962) starring Larry Fine, Moe Howard and Joe DeRita

Trailin' West (1936) starring Dick Foran 

Trusted Outlaw, The (1937) starring Bob Steele

Unknown Valley (1933) starring Buck Jones

Utah (1945) starring Roy Rogers

Valley of Vanishing Men, The (1942) a  Columbia serial starring Bill Elliott

Wagon Wheels Westward (1945) starring Bill Elliott

Wall Street Cowboy (1939) starring Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes and Raymond Hatton

Wee Willie Winkie (1937) starring Shirley Temple, Victor McLaglen and C. Aubrey Smith 

Whistling Hills (1951) starring Johnny Mack Brown

White Eagle (1941) a  Columbia serial starring  Buck Jones

Zorro Rides Again (1937) a Republic serial James Vega

Zorro's Black Whip (1944) a Republic serial starring Linda Stirling 

Zorro's Fighting Legion (1939) a Republic serial starring Reed Hadley

The Garden of the Gods also showed up in many TV shows including scenes in "Have Gun - Will Travel," "Bonanza," "Hopalong Cassidy TV Show," "Lone Ranger TV Show," and Disney's "Zorro." 

To learn more about my research, and the books I've written about the Iverson Movie Location Ranch, and other Chatsworth, California filming locations see http://www.cowboyup.com/