Monday, April 29, 2013

Reel Estates -- Six Degrees of Separation


They claim we are all within Six Degrees of Separation of each other

For over 45 years I made a living building homes in or near the San Fernando Valley.  Now retired, I am a movie historian and author writing about movie locations in the valley.  It recently occurred to me that I have just six degrees of separation from a few movie stars whose former homes -- reel estates -- I helped turn into residential communities for ordinary people.

To understand why movie stars owned large parcels of land in the valley we need to rewind back to the 1930s; America was in the middle of a great depression, but the rich and famous in Hollywood were unaffected.  They lived lavish lifestyles and spent money on pleasurable pursuits such as thoroughbred horse racing and polo playing.

Many celebs purchased valley real estate as an investment and a hedge against losses in the recent Wall Street collapse.  Three Hollywood celebrities whose estates I helped turn into tract housing are director Rowland V. Lee, actress Barbara Stanwyck and actor Clark Gable.  

Rowland V. Lee Ranch, Canoga Park, California

Rowland V. Lee, a film director, owned a 214-acre movie ranch, located in Canoga Park. He purchased the property in 1935, from the Ben Porter Estate.  Lee called it Farm Lake Ranch, but the film industry always knew it as the Rowland V. Lee Ranch.  The property had a natural 4 acre lake that showed up on 1940s maps as Lee Lake.  


In 1946, Republic Pictures constructed a farmhouse and barn set with a stone and wood bridge over the lake.  It would later be seen in dozens of movies --  but its most famous use was as an Indiana Quaker family farm during the Civil War in Friendly Persuasion (1956).

In early 1969, I was the assistant superintendent for Kaufman & Broad when they developed the ranch into a gated community called Hidden Lake Estates.

Films lensed there include Count of Monte Cristo (1935), Our Vines Have Tender Grapes (1945), I've Always Loved You (1946), So Dark the Night (1946), Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948), The Three Musketeers (1948), Strangers on a Train (1951), Yankee Pasha (1954), Jesse James vs. the Daltons (1954), The Night of the Hunter (1955), Friendly Persuasion (1956), The Toy Tiger (1956), Johnny Tremain (1957), Darby O'Gill and the Little People (1959), The Big Fisherman (1959), and Back Street (1961)

Barbara Stanwyck's Marwyck Ranch, Northridge, California


In 1936,  Barbara Stanwyck and her agent Zeppo Marx purchased 127 acres from the Porter Estate in North Los Angeles (now Northridge) to be used as a thoroughbred horse breeding, boarding and training ranch.  They called the ranch Marwyck using a combination of their names.  Just a few years later in 1940 -- after her marriage to Robert Taylor -- Barbara sold her home on 10 acres to actor Jack Oakie.

In late 1969 I was promoted to superintendent by Kaufman & Broad, and began construction of the second phase of housing on their Pepper Tree Farms development which was constructed on the lower Marwyck Ranch.


Marwyck Ranch was not a major filming location, but scenes in The Story of Seabiscuit (1949) were lensed there.

Clark Gable Estates, Encino CA


Shortly after their marriage in 1939, Clark Gable and Carole Lombard purchased a 30-acre ranch with a nine bedroom house, barn and horse stables that had once belonged to director Raoul Walsh.  Sadly, Carole Lombard died in an airplane crash in 1942.  Gable enlisted in the Army, and did not return to the estate until after WWII.  He lived there until his death in 1960.


During the 1970s, the estate was subdivided and sold in smaller lots, as the 'Clark Gable Estates.' The original Gable clapboard house still stands on a 1.17 acre lot in the center of the subdivision at 4543 Tara Drive, Encino.

In 1975, I was doing construction management for SH Bulmer & Associates, a Sherman Oaks Builder, when we constructed three 'for sale' homes on Oak View Drive and Ashley Oaks Drive in the Clark Gable Estates.

Just a few years later when the San Fernando Valley attempted to secede from the grips of the City of Los Angeles I would lament the loss of the many small farms and ranches lost to development in our valley… see Cowboy's Lament http://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2011/10/cowboy-culture-cowboys-lament.html

Oak Park, Ventura County, California



For a brief time during the early 1980s, I was employed by Metropolitan Development Corp. as a land planner working on its Oak Park project in Ventura County.


For more than a half century the site -- which was formerly the Jordan Ranch -- had been used as a filming location for such notable movies as "The Red Pony" (1949), "The Man from the Alamo" (1953), "Texas Across the River" (1966), and "Firecreek" (1968) just to mention a few titles.


Now, in my 70s, it's unlikely I'll be involved in the remaking of any more movie properties, but you never know what destiny lies ahead.

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

"You betchum, Red Ryder"


My earliest cowboy memory -- one of my favorites -- is Red Ryder.  I recall listening to the Red Ryder radio series in the 1940s before we got our first television in 1949.  

One of my favorite activities back then was to listen to the radio show and read the Sunday comic strip at the same time.  It didn't matter that the tales were different.  I could hear Reed Hadley intone the Western drawl of Red Ryder, and visualize what he looked like through Fred Harman's fabulous comic strip characters.


I soon discovered Daisy's Red Ryder BB guns, and like most youngsters of the era my relentless begging eventually won out; allowing our backyard to become a tin can shooting gallery (photo courtesy of Bruce Hickey).


Red Ryder in film...

Fred Harman's 'Red Ryder' character made its debut in 1938, and by 1940, Don 'Red' Barry was the first to portray the Red Ryder comic character on the silver screen in a Republic cliffhanger.


Adventures of Red Ryder (1940) starring Don 'Red' Barry, Noah Beery, Tommy Cook (Burro Flats) (Iverson Ranch) Republic

Between 1944 and 1946, Bill Elliott made 16 Red Ryder films


Tucson Raiders (1944) starring Bill Elliott, George 'Gabby' Hayes and Robert Blake (Iverson Ranch) Republic

Marshal of Reno (1944) starring Bill Elliott, George 'Gabby' Hayes and Robert Blake (Iverson Ranch) Republic

San Antonio Kid, The (1944) starring Bill Elliott, Robert Blake and Alice Fleming (Iverson Ranch) Republic

Cheyenne Wildcat (1944) starring Bill Elliott, Robert Blake and Alice Fleming (Iverson Ranch) Republic

Vigilantes of Dodge City (1944) starring Bill Elliott, Robert Blake and Alice Fleming (Iverson Ranch) Republic

Sheriff of Las Vegas (1944) starring Bill Elliott, Robert Blake and Alice Fleming (Iverson Ranch) Republic


Great Stagecoach Robbery (1945) starring Bill Elliott, Robert Blake and Alice Fleming (Iverson Ranch) Republic

Lone Texas Ranger (1945) starring Bill Elliott, Robert Blake and Alice Fleming (Iverson Ranch) Republic

Phantom of the Plains (1945) starring Bill Elliott, Robert Blake and Alice Fleming (Iverson Ranch) Republic

Marshal of Laredo (1945) starring Bill Elliott, Robert Blake and Alice Fleming (Iverson Ranch) Republic

Colorado Pioneers (1945) starring Bill Elliott, Robert Blake and Alice Fleming (Iverson Ranch) Republic

Wagon Wheels Westward (1945) starring Bill Elliott, Robert Blake and Alice Fleming (Iverson Ranch) Republic

California Gold Rush (1946) starring Bill Elliott, Robert Blake and Alice Fleming (Iverson Ranch) Republic


Sheriff of Redwood Valley (1946) starring Bill Elliott, Robert Blake and Bob Steele (Iverson Ranch) Republic

Sun Valley Cyclone (1946) starring Bill Elliott, Robert Blake and Alice Fleming (Iverson Ranch) Republic

Conquest of Cheyenne (1946) starring Bill Elliott, Robert Blake and Alice Fleming (Iverson Ranch) Republic

Between 1946 and 1947, Allan Lane made 7 Red Ryder films


(Black Jack in the photo above -- was beautiful black stallion -- owned and ridden by Rocky Lane.  According to Bobby Copeland's book "Silent Hoofbeats" Black Jack was a Morgan that Lane bought from Bill Elliott in 1946.  I believe the horse was probably 'Thunder' in both of their respective Red Ryder roles.)

Santa Fe Uprising (1946) starring Allan Lane, Robert Blake and Martha Wentworth (Iverson Ranch) Republic

Stagecoach to Denver (1946) starring Allan Lane, Robert Blake and Martha Wentworth (Iverson Ranch) Republic

Vigilantes of Boomtown (1947) starring Allan Lane, Robert Blake and Martha Wentworth (Iverson Ranch) Republic

Homesteaders of Paradise Valley (1947) starring Allan Lane, Robert Blake and Martha Wentworth (Iverson Ranch) Republic

Oregon Trail Scouts (1947) starring Allan Lane, Robert Blake and Martha Wentworth (NOT CHATSWORTH) Republic

Rustlers of Devil's Canyon (1947) starring Allan Lane, Robert Blake and Martha Wentworth (Iverson Ranch) Republic


Marshal of Cripple Creek (1947) starring Allan Lane, Robert Blake and Martha Wentworth (Iverson Ranch) Republic

Between 1949 and 1950, Jim Bannon made 4  Red Ryder films  


Ride, Ryder, Ride! (1949) starring Jim Bannon, Don Reynolds, Emmett Lynn (Iverson Ranch) Eagle-Lion

Roll, Thunder, Roll! (1949) starring Jim Bannon, Don Reynolds, Emmett Lynn (Iverson Ranch) Eagle-Lion

Fighting Redhead, The (1949) starring Jim Bannon, Don Reynolds, Emmett Lynn (Iverson Ranch) Eagle-Lion

Cowboy and the Prizefighter, The (1950) starring Jim Bannon, Don Reynolds, Emmett Lynn (Iverson Ranch) Eagle-Lion


In addition to the comic strips, radio and film both Jim Bannon and Allan Lane attempted to rework their films into early television roles -- unfortunately neither were successful.

We sure could use a good Red Ryder tale for today's audience.  Hey Mr Spielberg -- if you're listening?

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Reel Cowboys of the Santa Susanas -- Anthony Quinn


Anthony Quinn (1915–2001) was a Mexican American actor, who was also a painter and writer.   He made over 160 films, but only appeared in a handful of Santa Susana locations films.

Anthony Quinn's Santa Susana locations supporting roles:

The Plainsman (1936) starring Gary Cooper, Jean Arthur, James Ellison (Iverson Ranch) Paramount


The Last Train from Madrid (1937) starring Dorothy Lamour, Lew Ayres and Gilbert Roland (Iverson Ranch) Paramount


They Died with Their Boots On (1941) starring Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Arthur Kennedy (Iverson Ranch) Warner Bros.


The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) starring Henry Fonda, Dana Andrews, Mary Beth Hughes (Iverson Ranch) 20th Century-Fox


California (1946) starring Ray Milland, Barbara Stanwyck and Barry Fitzgerald (Burro Flats)(Iverson Ranch) Paramount 

Anthony Quinn's Santa Susana locations starring roles:


Mask of the Avenger (1951) starring John Derek, Anthony Quinn and Jody Lawrance (Iverson Ranch) Columbia


The Guns of Navarone (1961) starring David Niven, Gregory Peck and Anthony Quinn (Iverson Ranch) Columbia

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Newly Discovered Iverson Ranch Western Titles


Big Stakes (1922) starring J.B. Warner, Elinor Fair and Les Bates (Iverson Ranch) Metropolitan Pict., screen capture


Juarez (1939) starring Paul Muni, Bette Davis and Brian Aherne (Iverson Ranch) Warner Bros., photo courtesy of Bruce Hickey


Mark of Zorro, The (1940) starring Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, Basil Rathbone (Iverson Ranch) 20th Century Fox


Great Missouri Raid, The (1951) starring Wendell Corey, Macdonald Carey and Ellen Drew (Iverson Ranch) Paramount, photo courtesy of Bruce Hickey


Adventures of Gallant Bess (1952) starring Cameron Mitchell, Audrey Long and Fuzzy Knight (Iverson Ranch) Crestview Prod.


Canyon River (1956) starring George Montgomery, Marcia Henderson and Peter Graves (Iverson Ranch) Allied Artists


Gun the Man Down (1956) starring James Arness, Angie Dickinson and Emile Meyer (Iverson Ranch) United Artists


He Rides Tall (1964) starring Tony Young, Dan Duryea and Jo Morrow (Iverson Ranch) Universal


Waco (1966) starring Howard Keel, Jane Russell, Brian Donlevy (Iverson Ranch) A.C. Lyles Prod.


Wackiest Wagon Train in the West, The (1976) starring Bob Denver, Forrest Tucker and Ivor Francis (Iverson Ranch) Metromedia Prod.

April 2013 update

Friday, April 5, 2013

Cowboy Collectibles -- National Parks Watch Fobs


Okay, you could argue National Park souvenirs have nothing to do with cowboys, but then when the park in question is on the edge of cow country in Wyoming, Montana, or California's High Sierra's you could be wrong.  In this post I'll share of my few national parks watch fobs from the early part of the 20th century.

About 1915, photographer Frank Jay Haynes captured a marvelous photo of twin black bear cubs standing upright on their hind legs in Yellowstone National Park.  


The image became a Yellowstone icon and was reproduced on postcards and other souvenirs for the next couple of decades.


My Yellowstone National Park watch fob and luggage tag featuring images of the famous Twin Cubs were crafted by the Robbins Company in Attleboro, Mass.  Few of these watch fobs, and even fewer of the luggage tags have survived over the past hundred years, so these have become valuable collectibles.


T. J. Hileman was appointed the official photographer for the Great Northern Railway in 1924, and became well known for his exquisite photos of Glacier National Park in Montana.


Hileman's image of a Rocky Mountain Goat on the postcard (second) above became the iconic image for Glacier National Park, so it is no surprise it has been reproduced on all sorts of souvenirs including the extraordinary watch fob above.


In 1957, my folks moved to a small high sierra hamlet just 13 miles from Yosemite National Park.  It seemed like every summer weekend for the next several years my folks became tour guides for all our relatives, and I became intimately familiar with the extraordinarily beautiful park.  

One of my earliest collectibles is the sterling silver watch fob above which depicts a scene of Overhanging Rock at Glacier Point above Yosemite Valley.


Glacier Point became a famous park location in 1903, when Conservationist John Muir and then President Theodore Roosevelt camped in the area for three days.  The granite outcropping known as 'Overhanging Rock' at Glacier Point has been photographed and reproduced again and again over the past hundred years.


One of the earliest concessions in Yosemite was Camp Curry which was started by David and Jenny Curry in 1899.  Today it is known as Curry Village.  The postcard above is circa 1915.


This Camp Curry watch fob featuring a Yosemite Black Bear was crafted pre-1925.


The Wawona Tree (photo above) -- also known as the Tunnel Tree -- was a famous giant sequoia that stood in the Mariposa Grove.  It was 227 feet tall, and had a circumference of 90 feet.  A tunnel had been cut through the tree in 1881, so it became a popular tourist attraction. The Wawona Tree fell in 1969 under a heavy snow load.  It was believed to have been approximately 2,300 years old.


My Wanona Tree watch fob is from the early 20th century as you can tell from the bas-relief image of a 1920s touring car that graces it.

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Reel Cowboys of the Santa Susanas -- John Derek


John Derek (1926–1998) was an American actor, director and photographer.  He is probably best known for his role in Rogues of Sherwood Forest.  I was always impressed with his riding skills, and he remained a horseman to the end.

Starring Santa Susana locations roles:


Rogues of Sherwood Forest (1950) - John Derek, Diana Lynn and George Macready (Corriganville) Columbia


Mask of the Avenger (1951) - John Derek, Anthony Quinn and Jody Lawrance (Iverson Ranch) Columbia


Ambush at Tomahawk Gap (1953) - John Hodiak, John Derek and David Brian (Corriganville) Columbia (photo courtesy of Bruce Hickey)


"Massacre at Sand Creek" TV movie (1956) - Everett Sloane, John Derek and Gene Evans (Corriganville) CBS


Fury at Showdown (1957) - John Derek, John Smith and Carolyn Craig (Iverson Ranch) United Artists

Starring Santa Susana television roles:

"Zane Grey Theater" (1956) TV Series
episode: Storm Over Eden (1961) as Chet Loring
episode: There Were Four (1957) as Andy Todd


"Frontier Circus" (1961) TV Series starring Chill Wills, John Derek, Richard Jaeckel

Supporting Santa Susana locations roles:

I'll be seeing you (1944) - Ginger Rogers, Joseph Cotten, Shirley Temple (Chatsworth) Dore Schary Prod.