Off the Beaten Path: When the "Bonanza" gang rode into the Bell Location Ranch

One of the most mysterious of the old movie ranches is the Bell Location Ranch, now hidden behind locked gates in the Santa Susana Mountains above Box Canyon, between Chatsworth and Simi Valley, Calif., just a few miles southwest of the Iverson Movie Ranch.

Bell Ranch's old Western town included a white mansion, sometimes seen as a boarding house, at the east end of town. In this vintage shot, you can see the same rock formation in the background that appears in the first photo. 

This distinctive strata formation is one of the keys to navigating the former Bell Location Ranch, as it sits to the east of what was once the Western town. However, no traces of the town remain in place today.

"Screaming Rabbit Rock"

Positioned atop the strata formation is one of my favorite movie rocks, which I call Screaming Rabbit Rock.

The area is all but impossible to access today, carved up into privately owned parcels and fiercely protected by local residents who value their relative seclusion on the outskirts of the L.A. metro area.

Arrival scene from the "Bonanza" episode "The Rattlesnake Brigade" (Dec. 5, 1971)

A portion of the old Bell Ranch was the focus of a recent film history expedition, and I was lucky enough to be a part of it. The trek produced a number of revelations, including identifying shooting sites for the "Bonanza" episode "The Rattlesnake Brigade." In the above screen shot, Ben Cartwright (Lorne Greene) and a couple of his buddies arrive to try to rescue a group of young people being held hostage.

Here's what that same site looks like today — still largely unspoiled, but with a lot more foliage now. You may be able to recognize many of the rocks from the "Bonanza" shot, and the road, despite being lined now with heavy vegetation, also matches. (Click on the photos to enlarge them for a better look.)

Recent shot: The same rocks seen in the "Bonanza" episode

I ran across some controversy online about whether these "Bonanza" scenes were shot at Bell Ranch or on the Spahn Movie Ranch, which was located several miles away. I hope these matching shots will help settle the dispute, as the episode was definitely shot at Bell Ranch and not at Spahn.

The rocks as they appear in "Bonanza"

I understand why some people enjoy believing things were filmed at Spahn Ranch because of the site's mystique and notoriety following the Manson Family murders. But it turns out that the majority of what has been attributed to filming at Spahn was NOT in fact filmed there — including this "Bonanza" episode.

Here's a shot of Lorne Greene arriving at the main shooting area on Bell Ranch's lower plateau, the one relatively small section of Bell where almost all of the location work for the "Bonanza" episode was done.

This scene takes place just a few feet from where the long shot of the arrival was taped. This sequence begins to provide a look at the formidable bluffs that loomed above the Bell Ranch filming areas. The protruding rock toward the right of the shot has been nicknamed both "the Three-Meter Board" and "the Ten-Meter Board" by area film historians. In reality it's much more than 10 meters high, so take your pick.

Here are some of those same rocks today. If the However-Many-Meter Board, in the top right corner, leaves any doubt about the match, you should be able to match up some of the other rocks, including the one near the lower right corner of the above shot, which is partially visible above the mane of the horse at the right in the "Bonanza" shot. The rock closest to the center of the above shot (a little left of center), which has distinctive horizontal markings, also appears near the center of the "Bonanza" shot.

More of Bell Ranch's rugged bluffs are seen in this screen shot from "Rattlesnake Brigade." The shot shows a couple of the bad guys, who at this point had their young hostages inside the wagon.

Here are those same bluffs today — not exactly the same angle, but it should be close enough to make the match.

In this shot from the "Bonanza" episode a sentry is posted atop a huge boulder, near the top center of the shot.

Here's that same rock today. This rock is also partially visible in the shot of the wagon, above, at the left edge of the shot.

By the way, check out this dude in the background. Is that a face only a mother could love, or what? Regardless, it's a good marker rock for figuring out where you are at Bell Ranch. I call it "Bell Boy."

This shot from "The Rattlesnake Brigade" features another section of the Bell Ranch bluffs, along with a cabin that stood at the site at the time of the shoot, in 1971. In this scene the gang, which is now keeping the hostages in the cabin, confronts Ben Cartwright and his colleagues in an attempt to collect a ransom. That's Neville Brand on the left, playing Doyle, leader of the outlaw gang. Brand, who made his last of three "Bonanza" appearances in this episode, is probably best known for his starring role in the 1960s TV series "Laredo."

This shot from the recent Bell Ranch expedition shows that same section of bluffs as it appears today. Needless to say, the cabin is no longer standing.

I couldn't find any definitive trace of the cabin, but these partially burned boards were in the area, and I suppose they could have been a part of the structure.

The hostages are brought out of the cabin to prove they're OK. Do we need a spoiler alert for a TV show that's more than 40 years old? Consider yourself alerted.

Hoss Cartwright got involved in the hostage rescue too, bringing Dan Blocker to Bell Ranch.

Little Joe — Michael Landon, on location at Bell and doing his own stunts — gets the drop on one of the hostage takers.

Happy ending, sort of: The hostages are freed as the bodies pile up.

Here's another view of the area where the drama played out, as it appears today.

Click here to see a blog post about an episode of "Star Trek: The Original Series" that was also shot on Bell Ranch's lower plateau.

Off the Beaten Path is a series of posts that are not specifically focused on the usual subject matter of this blog, the Iverson Movie Ranch. You can go directly to the Off the Beaten Path posts by looking up the term in the long index of labels at the right of the page, or by clicking here.