Title sequence to the movie "Wells Fargo": Check out the credits "painted" on the giant sandstone boulders of the Iverson Movie Ranch (Here's the video)

Here's a video clip of the title sequence for the 1937 Paramount Western "Wells Fargo," starring Joel McCrea. The opening is kind of fun from an Iverson Movie Ranch standpoint — I think it's the only movie I've seen in which the credits are made to appear as though they're painted on rocks. And the rocks are all at Iverson, mainly in the heavily filmed area around Devil's Pass on the Lower Iverson.

"Wells Fargo" (1937) — opening credits "painted" on rocks

This is an example of what the credits look like. While they're meant to appear as though they're painted on the rocks, I don't think anyone is trying to pass them off as in fact being painted on. The effect appears to be the result of adding just the right amount of rippling and transparency to the type face,

This set of credits appears against the eastern side of Hangdog, shot from above Devil's Pass.

In this shot from "Wells Fargo," which appears between the two sets of credits shown above, the stage is traveling west through Devil's Pass, also known as Vultura's Pass. This was the first shot that I was able to positively ID — I recognized part of Bill Rock here, along with a corner of Hangdog.

"Buffalo Bill Rides Again" (1947)

Here's a shot from a different movie, taken from a similar angle. In this shot from the Richard Arlen-Jennifer Holt Western "Buffalo Bill Rides Again," the riders are entering Devil's Pass from the west and are about to head east through the pass. Bill Rock is the feature that definitively links the two shots.

This version of the "Buffalo Bill Rides Again" shot has the main features identified.

Back to "Wells Fargo," and the same features appearing in "Buffalo Bill Rides Again" are highlighted. I've blogged previously about all these features, and you can find them in the long index at the right of the page. For views of the complex rock feature Hangdog from a number of interesting angles, please click here.

You may have already noticed the "creases" that distinguish Bill Rock in both movies, forming a triangular pattern on the rock. You can see additional angles on Bill Rock in this earlier blog item.

This set of credits appears against the western side of Hangdog, and I was able to get a positive ID even though I had to compare shots of the rock from somewhat different angles.

This is what that same side of Hangdog looks like in recent times.

In this shot I've noted approximately where the credits appear in the "Wells Fargo" shot.

Here's a closer view of Hangdog, zeroing in on the area featured in the "Wells Fargo" shot.

Note the two distinctive rock areas, designated "A" and "B."

Here are the same areas as they appear in the credit shot from "Wells Fargo."

Director Frank Lloyd, who also produced "Wells Fargo," gets his own distinctive credit near the end of the title sequence. I have not been able to pinpoint this rock, but I have a feeling it's also somewhere around Devil's Pass.