Reel Indians of the Santa Susanas -- Iron Eyes Cody

Iron Eyes Cody (1907-1999) was an American born son of two italian immigrants.  In 1924 he moved to California, changed his name from "Espera Oscar DeCorti" to Cody, and started working as an actor, presenting himself as a Native American. 

He married an Indian woman, Bertha Parker, and together they adopted two Indian sons, Robert and Arthur.  Iron Eyes Cody lived and worked as an Indian for all his adult life; he labored for decades to promote Native American causes, and was honored by Hollywood's Native American community in 1995 as a "non-Native" for his contribution to film.

Iron Eyes Cody's Santa Susana locations filmography includes:

Fighting with Kit Carson (1933) Johnny Mack Brown, Betsy King Ross, Noah Beery (Iverson Ranch) Mascot

The Miracle Rider (1935) Tom Mix, Charles Middleton, Joan Gale (Iverson Ranch) Mascot

Annie Oakley (1935) Barbara Stanwyck, Preston Foster, Melvyn Douglas (Iverson Ranch) RKO

Custer's Last Stand (1936) starring Rex Lease, Lona Andre, William Farnum (Iverson Ranch) Stage & Screen

Treachery Rides the Range (1936) - Dick Foran, Paula Stone, Craig Reynolds (Iverson Ranch) Warner Bros.

The Bold Caballero (1936) starring Robert Livingston, Heather Angel and Sig Ruman (Iverson Ranch) Republic

Riders of the Whistling Skull (1937) starring Robert Livingston, Ray Corrigan and Max Terhune (Chatsworth) Republic 

Prairie Thunder (1937) - Dick Foran, Janet Shaw, Smoke (Iverson Ranch) Warner Bros.

The Lone Ranger (1938) starring Lee Powell, Chief Thundercloud and Lynne Roberts (Iverson Ranch) Republic

Man of Conquest (1939) starring Richard Dix, Gail Patrick and Edward Ellis (Iverson Ranch) Republic

Pioneers of the West (1940) - Robert Livingston, Raymond Hatton and Duncan Renaldo (Iverson) Republic

Young Buffalo Bill (1940) starring Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes and Pauline Moore (Iverson Ranch) Republic

Kit Carson (1940) - Jon Hall, Lynn Bari, Dana Andrews (Iverson Ranch) United Artists

Pony Post (1940) - Johnny Mack Brown, Fuzzy Knight and Nell O'Day (Iverson Ranch) Universal

In Old Cheyenne (1941) - Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes and Joan Woodbury (Iverson Ranch) Republic

Saddlemates (1941) - Robert Livingston, Bob Steele, Rufe Davis (Iverson Ranch) Republic

King of the Texas Rangers (1941) - Sammy Baugh, Neil Hamilton, Pauline Moore (Chatsworth Trains)(Iverson Ranch)(Corriganville)  Republic

Ride 'Em Cowboy (1942) - Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Dick Foran (Iverson Ranch) Universal

Lawless Plainsmen (1942) - Charles Starrett, Russell Hayden, Luana Walters (Brandeis Ranch) Columbia

The Perils of Nyoka (1942) aka "Nyoka and the Tigermen" - Kay Aldridge, Clayton Moore, Lorna Gray (Iverson Ranch) Republic

The Omaha Trail (1942) - James Craig, Pamela Blake, Dean Jagger (Chatsworth) MGM

The Valley of Vanishing Men (1942) [serial] - Bill Elliott, Slim Summerville, Carmen Morales (Iverson Ranch) Columbia

The Scarlet Horseman (1946) - Peter Cookson, Paul Guilfoyle and Janet Shaw (Iverson Ranch) Universal

Under Nevada Skies (1946) - Roy Rogers, Trigger, George 'Gabby' Hayes (Corriganville) Republic

Plainsman and the Lady (1946) - Bill Elliott, Vera Ralston and Gail Patrick (Iverson Ranch) Republic

The Gallant Legion (1948) - Bill Elliott, Lorna Gray and Joseph Schildkraut (Garden of the Gods) Republic

The Dude Goes West (1948) - Eddie Albert, Gale Storm, James Gleason (Iverson Ranch) Allied Artists

Blood on the Moon (1948) - Robert Mitchum, Barbara Bel Geddes and Robert Preston (Iverson Ranch) RKO

Massacre River (1949) - Guy Madison, Rory Calhoun, Carole Mathews (Iverson Ranch) Allied Artists

Davy Crockett, Indian Scout (1950) starring George Montgomery, Ellen Drew and Phillip Reed (Iverson Ranch) United Artists

Broken Arrow (1950) - James Stewart, Jeff Chandler, Debra Paget (Iverson Ranch) 20th Century-Fox

Cherokee Uprising (1950) - Whip Wilson, Andy Clyde, Lois Hall (Iverson Ranch)(Garden of the Gods) Monogram

California Passage (1950) - Forrest Tucker, Adele Mara and Estelita Rodriguez (Iverson Ranch) Republic

Red Mountain (1951) - Alan Ladd, Lizabeth Scott, Arthur Kennedy, John Ireland (Iverson Ranch) Paramount

Night Raiders (1952) - Whip Wilson, Fuzzy Knight, Lois Hall (Iverson Ranch) Monogram

Fort Osage (1952) - Rod Cameron, Jane Nigh, Morris Ankrum (Corriganville) Monogram

Apache Country (1952) - Gene Autry, Champion, Carolina Cotton (Iverson Ranch) Columbia

Son of Paleface (1952) - Bob Hope, Jane Russell, Roy Rogers (Iverson Ranch) Paramount

Apache War Smoke (1952) - Gilbert Roland, Glenda Farrell, Robert Horton (Iverson Ranch) MGM

Arrow in the Dust (1954) - Sterling Hayden, Coleen Gray, Keith Larsen (Burro Flats)(Iverson Ranch) Allied Artists

Sitting Bull (1954) - Dale Robertson, Mary Murphy, J. Carrol Naish (Iverson Ranch) United Artists

Apache Ambush (1955) - Bill Williams, Richard Jaeckel, Alex Montoya (Iverson Ranch) Columbia

The Wild Dakotas (1956) starring Bill Williams, Coleen Gray and Jim Davis (Iverson Ranch) Associated

Alias Jesse James (1959) starring Bob Hope, Rhonda Fleming and Wendell Corey (Iverson Ranch) United Artists

"The Cisco Kid" (TV Series) 

- episode: Indian Uprising (1953)

- episode: The Gramophone (1953)

"Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok" (TV Series) 

- episode: The Bold Raven Rodeo (1956) ... Chief Storm Cloud

- episode: Buckshot Comes Home (1955)

"The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp" (TV Series) 

- episode: Wyatt and the Captain (1957)

"The Restless Gun" (TV Series)

- episode: A Pressing Engagement (1958) 

and a plethora of other TV Westerns and episodes filmed at Santa Susana locations.

Meanwhile back at the ranch -- Oat Mountain

Oat Mountain with its summit at 3747 feet is the tallest mountain in the Santa Susana Mountain Range.  The Santa Susana range skirts the northern edges of both the San Fernando Valley and Simi Valley.  

Oat Mountain was visible from most filming locations on the Iverson and Brandeis Movie Ranches when the camera was facing North, and was an easy way to verify their location in films lensed there.

As you will see in the following collection of movie stills the summit of Oat Mountain sits atop a collection of ridges that join near the mountain top, and it is framed with similar but shorter mountains on both the East and West sides.

The mountain gets its name because it is covered with wild oats giving a emerald green appearance in the spring and a golden hue during the remainder of the year.

Prairie Moon (1938) - Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Shirley Deane (Brandeis Ranch) (Iverson Ranch) Republic

Boss of Bullion City (1940) - Johnny Mack Brown, Fuzzy Knight, Nell O'Day (Iverson Ranch) Universal

Valley of Hunted Men (1942) - Bob Steele, Tom Tyler, Jimmie Dodd (Iverson Ranch) Republic

Buffalo Bill Rides Again (1947) - Richard Arlen, Jennifer Holt, Lee Shumway (Iverson Ranch) Jack Schwarz

Law of the Canyon (1947) - Charles Starrett, Nancy Saunders, Robert 'Buzz' Henry (Iverson Ranch) Columbia

Partners of the Sunset (1948) - Jimmy Wakely, Dub Taylor and Christine Larsen (Iverson Ranch) Monogram

King of the Rocket Men (1949) - Tristram Coffin, Mae Clarke, Don Haggerty (Iverson Ranch) Republic

Nevada Badmen (1951) - Whip Wilson, Fuzzy Knight and Jim Bannon (Iverson Ranch) Monogram

Rodeo King and the Senorita (1951) - Rex Allen, Koko, Mary Ellen Kay (Iverson Ranch) Republic

Rough Riders of Durango (1951) - Allan Lane, Black Jack, Walter Baldwin (Iverson Ranch) Republic

Spoilers of the Plains (1951) - Roy Rogers, Trigger, Penny Edwards (Iverson Ranch) Republic

"Hopalong Cassidy" TV Series (1952–1954) - William Boyd, Topper the Horse, Edgar Buchanan (Iverson Ranch) Hopalong Cassidy Prod.

Radar Men from the Moon (1952) - George Wallace, Aline Towne, Roy Barcroft (Iverson Ranch) Republic

Stranger Wore a Gun, The (1953) - Randolph Scott, Claire Trevor, Joan Weldon, George Macready (Iverson Ranch) Columbia

Rawhide Trail, The (1958) - Rex Reason, Nancy Gates, Richard Erdman, Ann Doran (Iverson Ranch) Universal

Reel Indians of the Santa Susanas -- Chief Thundercloud

Chief Thundercloud -- born Victor Daniels (1899–1955) was a Cherokee Native American Indian actor who had been given the honorary title of Chief.  He worked as a mining foreman, boxer and guide and as a laborer on cattle ranches and rodeos before going to Hollywood in the late 1920s. 

He is best known for his role of faithful sidekick "Tonto" in the serial The Lone Ranger (1938) and its sequel The Lone Ranger Rides Again (1939). 

He also played the title role of Paramount Pictures' Geronimo (1939). 

His Santa Susana locations filmography includes:

Saddle Aces (1935) starring Rex Bell, Ruth Mix and Buzz Barton (Chatsworth Train Tunnel) Resolute

Custer's Last Stand (1936) [serial] starring Rex Lease, Lona Andre, William Farnum (Iverson Ranch) Stage & Screen

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

The Bold Caballero (1936) starring Robert Livingston, Heather Angel and Sig Ruman (Iverson Ranch) Republic

Riders of the Whistling Skull (1937) starring Robert Livingston, Ray Corrigan and Max Terhune - Republic 

The Lone Ranger (1938) [serial] starring Lee Powell, Chief Thundercloud and Lynne Roberts (Iverson Ranch) Republic

Lone Ranger Rides Again (1939) [serial] starring Robert Livingston, Chief Thundercloud and Duncan Renaldo (Iverson Ranch) Republic

Man of Conquest (1939) starring Richard Dix, Gail Patrick and Edward Ellis (Iverson Ranch) Republic

Geronimo (1939) starring Preston Foster, Ellen Drew and Andy Devine (Iverson Ranch) Paramount

Young Buffalo Bill (1940) starring Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes and Pauline Moore (Iverson Ranch) Republic

Shut My Big Mouth (1942) starring Joe E. Brown, Adele Mara and Victor Jory (Iverson Ranch) Columbia

The Valley of Vanishing Men (1942) [serial] starring Bill Elliott, Slim Summerville, Carmen Morales (Iverson Ranch) Columbia

Daredevils of the West (1943) [serial] starring Allan Lane, Kay Aldridge and Eddie Acuff (Iverson Ranch) Republic

The Law Rides Again (1943) starring Ken Maynard, Hoot Gibson and Jack La Rue (Corriganville) Monogram

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

Outlaw Trail (1944) starring Hoot Gibson, Bob Steele and Chief Thundercloud (Corriganville) Monogram

Sonora Stagecoach (1944) starring Hoot Gibson, Bob Steele and Chief Thundercloud (Corriganville) Monogram

Raiders of Ghost City (1944) [serial] starring Dennis Moore, Wanda McKay and Lionel Atwill (Iverson Ranch) Universal

Black Arrow (1944) [serial] starring Mark Roberts, Adele Jergens and Robert Williams (Iverson Ranch) Columbia

The Phantom Rider (1946) [serial] [aka Ghost Riders of the West] starring Robert Kent, Peggy Stewart and LeRoy Mason (Iverson Ranch) Republic

Romance of the West (1946) starring Eddie Dean, Emmett Lynn and Joan Barton (Iverson Ranch)(Corriganville) PRC

Renegade Girl (1946) starring Ann Savage, Alan Curtis and Edward Brophy (Iverson Ranch) Screen Guild  

Blazing Across the Pecos (1948) starring Charles Starrett, Patricia Barry and Paul Campbell (Iverson Ranch) Columbia

The Traveling Saleswoman (1950) starring Joan Davis, Andy Devine and Adele Jergens (Iverson) Columbia

Davy Crockett, Indian Scout (1950) starring George Montgomery, Ellen Drew and Phillip Reed (Iverson Ranch) United Artists

Ambush (1950) starring Robert Taylor, John Hodiak and Arlene Dahl (Corriganville) MGM

Colt .45 (1950) starring Randolph Scott, Ruth Roman and Zachary Scott (Iverson Ranch) Warner Bros.

Indian Territory (1950) starring Gene Autry, Champion and Gail Davis (Corriganville) Columbia

"The Gene Autry Show" (TV Series) starring episode: The Poisoned Waterhole (1950)

Last of the Buccaneers (1950) starring Paul Henreid, Jack Oakie and Karin Booth (Corriganville) Columbia

Santa Fe (1951) starring Randolph Scott, Janis Carter and Jerome Courtland (Iverson Ranch) Columbia

Buffalo Bill in Tomahawk Territory (1952) starring Clayton Moore, Slim Andrews, Charles Harvey and Rodd Redwing (Corriganville) United Artists

"Death Valley Days" (TV Series) starring episode: The Saint's Portrait (1954)

"Buffalo Bill, Jr." (TV Series) starring episode: Fight for Geronimo (1955)

Billy The Kid in the Santa Susanas

William H. McCarty (1859-1881), also known as  William H. Bonney or "Billy the Kid" was a 19th-century Irish American gunman who participated in the Lincoln County War and became a frontier outlaw.  

Historians agree that Billy was a ruthless murderer, but he was loved by the citizens of the towns of Lincoln and Fort Sumner, New Mexico, so over time his story has become an American legend.

The legend of "Billy the Kid" has been further glorified and glamorized by Hollywood movies and television.  

Two dozen "Billy the Kid" titles -- featuring six-gun heroes like Johnny Mack Brown, Tom Mix, Roy Rogers, Bob Steele, Buster Crabbe, Rocky Lane and others -- were lensed in Chatsworth.

The following is a filmography of "Billy the Kid" tales lensed at Santa Susana locations:

Billy the Kid (1930) starring Johnny Mack Brown, Wallace Beery, Kay Johnson (Porter Ranch) MGM

The Fourth Horseman (1932) starring Tom Mix, Margaret Lindsay, Fred Kohler (Iverson Ranch) Universal

Billy the Kid Returns (1938) starring Roy Rogers, Smiley Burnette, Lynne Roberts (Iverson Ranch) Republic

Billy the Kid Outlawed (1940) starring Bob Steele, Louise Currie and Al St. John starring (Brandeis Ranch) PRC

Billy the Kid in Texas (1940) starring Bob Steele, Terry Walker, Al St. John (Iverson Ranch) PRC

Billy the Kid's Gun Justice (1940) starring Bob Steele, Al St. John, Louise Currie (Brandeis Ranch) PRC

Billy the Kid's Range War (1941) starring Bob Steele, Al St. John, Joan Barclay (Iverson Ranch) PRC

Billy the Kid's Fighting Pals (1941) starring Bob Steele, Al St. John, Phyllis Adair (Iverson Ranch) PRC

Billy the Kid Wanted (1941) starring Buster Crabbe, Al St. John, Dave O'Brien (Iverson Ranch) PRC

Law and Order (1942) starring Buster Crabbe, Al St. John, Dave O'Brien (Corriganville) PRC

The Mysterious Rider (1942) starring Buster Crabbe, Al St. John, Caroline Burke (Iverson Ranch) PRC

The Kid Rides Again (1943) starring Buster Crabbe, Al St. John, Iris Meredith (Corriganville) PRC

Fugitive of the Plains (1943) starring Buster Crabbe, Al St. John, Maxine Leslie (Corriganville) PRC

Western Cyclone (1943) starring Buster Crabbe, Al St. John, Marjorie Manners (Iverson Ranch) PRC

Cattle Stampede (1943) starring Buster Crabbe, Al St. John, Frances Gladwin (Corriganville) PRC

Blazing Frontier (1943) starring Buster Crabbe, Al St. John, Marjorie Manners (Corriganville) PRC

Alias Billy the Kid (1946) starring Sunset Carson, Peggy Stewart, Tom London (Iverson Ranch) Republic

Return of the Bad Men (1947) starring Randolph Scott, Robert Ryan, Anne Jeffreys (Iverson Ranch) RKO

Son of Billy the Kid (1949) starring Lash La Rue, Al St. John, June Carr (Iverson Ranch) Screen Guild

I Shot Billy the Kid (1950) starring Don 'Red' Barry, Robert Lowery, Wally Vernon (Corriganville) Lippert

Captive of Billy the Kid (1952) starring Allan Lane, Black Jack, Penny Edwards (Corriganville) Republic

Billy the Kid versus Dracula (1966) starring John Carradine, Chuck Courtney, Melinda Plowman (Corriganville) Embassy Pictures