Meanwhile back at the ranch -- Cave Rocks (Indian Hills)

Meanwhile back at the ranch is a continuing series about "rock stars" (landscape features) on the old Iverson Movie Location Ranch in Chatsworth, California.  For more information see: http://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2011/10/iverson-movie-location-ranch-chatsworth.html

The tomb in Perils of Nyoka (1942) is a false front across Cave Rocks

About 1965, construction began the Ronald Reagan Freeway (118), and the Iversons sold 17.5 acres for the development of a mobile home village (photo below).  Today the Indian Hills Mobile Home Village sits immediately south of the freeway on the west side of Topanga Canyon Boulevard.

The area known as Indian Hills had been one of the busiest filming locations on the lower ranch and included such well-known rock formations as Split Rock, Hook Rock, Cave rocks, and Lash's Archway (photo below - clockwise from top left).  It also had been the location of the Iverson Ranch Western Street.  

I'm going to describe the aforementioned formations located around the Indian Hills Mobile Home Village pool area in a series of posts beginning with Cave Rocks in this post.

Cave Rocks (above as they appear today) are actually two boulders with a separation between them.  Film companies built a false front between them enabling the formation to appear as a cave, tomb, or even a Western mine.

Cave Rocks with a false front creating a mine (above) in Riding with Buffalo Bill (1954).  Look at the top left of the rock formation and you'll see a hook shaped rock which we'll discuss in another post.

The screenshot above is from Adventures of Captain Marvel (1941), and gives you a wider view of Cave Rocks and surrounding formations.

In the screenshot above from White Eagle (1941) the bad guys use Cave Rocks as a hideout mine.

This screenshot (above) from Three Ages (1923) is the earliest use of Cave Rocks that I've found so far.

Movies with Cave Rocks scenes include:

Adventures of Captain Marvel (1941) starring Tom Tyler and Frank Coghlan Jr. - Republic [serial]

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

King Of The Rocket Men (1949)(Ch 9) starring Tristram Coffin, Mae Clarke and Don Haggerty (Imdb Iverson) Republic [serial]

Perils of Nyoka, The (1942)(Ch 4) starring Kay Aldridge, Clayton Moore and Lorna Gray (Iverson) Republic [serial]

Return of Wild Bill, The (1940) starring Bill Elliott - Columbia

Riding with Buffalo Bill (1954) starring Marshall Reed - Columbia [serial]

Three Ages (1923) starring Buster Keaton, Margaret Leahy and Wallace Beery

Valley of Vanishing Men, The (1942) starring Bill Elliott - Columbia [serial]

White Eagle (1941) - Buck Jones (Iverson) Columbia [serial]