Imaginary Lands of the Movies: Lindero Canyon (Off the Beaten Path)

"Escort West" (1959) — Victor Mature in Lindero Canyon

Here's a shot of Victor Mature with the Simi Ridge in the background — the bluffs above Lindero Canyon in Southern California's Conejo Valley. The shot comes from the MGM-UA Western "Escort West," released in early 1959 but filmed in 1958 and sometimes cited as a 1958 release.

This is the same location, again from "Escort West," minus Victor Mature. We're looking at a part of Lindero Canyon known as North Ranch, which is technically a part of Westlake Village but is considered by some folk to be Oak Park. The area today is a sprawling patchwork of upscale suburban neighborhoods.

Here's the same rocky bluff of the Simi Ridge, photographed on a recent visit to the site. Even though the photo captures what appears in this shot to be a wooded area, the bluff is now surrounded mostly by houses.

An annotated version of the "Escort West" shot highlights the part of the Simi Ridge captured in the recent shot.

The bluffs and other background features that once defined Lindero Canyon as a filming location now define the back yards of suburban homes.

Promo still for "Firecreek," 1968 (Jerry England collection)

The canyon was home to a number of manmade movie sets during its filming days, especially in the late 1960s. In this promo still for the James Stewart-Henry Fonda movie "Firecreek," the same ridge seen behind the suburban house in the previous photo is seen again, this time with a small Western set below it.

The circled part of the ridge is recognizable in the recent "suburban" shot. You may also be able to make out a cemetery in the background, just to the left of the building. (You can click on the photo to enlarge it.)

Here's the shot of the suburban home again, with the same section of ridge highlighted. All of the photos you're seeing are taken in Lindero Canyon, in the North Ranch area.

"Firecreek" (1968)

A widescreen shot from the movie reveals more of the town set that was in place at the time. The movie's first release date was Jan. 24, 1968, and filming would have taken place in 1967.

The "twin peaks" of the Lindero Canyon area, as seen above on the same recent visit to the area, were featured in the movies too. Among the many productions in which these peaks can be found, they appear in "Escort West" — including in a video clip posted below — and in the TV series "The Big Valley."

"The Big Valley" (1967)

The twin peaks above the canyon turn up in this screen shot from the TV series "The Big Valley." The photo comes from the episode "Wagonload of Dreams," which was shot in 1966 and premiered Jan. 2, 1967.

Below is a video of a key scene in "Escort West" shot in Lindero Canyon, below the Simi Ridge ...


I have to admit I've been looking at these photos and clips of Lindero Canyon pretty intently — maybe TOO intently, because after a while my imagination got the better of me and I began thinking something else might be going on in the background. As embarrassing as it is, I'll share with you my flight of fantasy ...

A close examination of the screen shot reveals plenty of material for mind games. This shot highlights features bearing some resemblance to manmade structures. And as we've seen, the canyon did contain a few movie sets during the filming era — including a small Western town.

Specifically, the red rectangle evokes a relay station, while a Western town can be imagined in the yellow outline. How about a large ranch house in the blue area? These vague apparitions might also be interpreted as foretellings of the suburban sprawl that would be arriving soon in the canyon.

I was able to dig up a slightly clearer shot of essentially the same location, from elsewhere in the movie, and it does help shatter the illusions. This one is in full CinemaScope widescreen. With these widescreen shots in particular, you'll probably want to click on the image to see a bigger version.

This shot convinced me that we can rule out the area in the blue rectangle. This is the same area outlined in blue a few shots back, and in this view it's apparent that the area is too high up the hill to be used for a movie set. Besides, the outlined features look more like regular rocks now.

This is a closeup taken from the same shot. Now it just looks like a bunch of rocks.

Here's a closeup of the "relay station" area identified by the red rectangle in the original shot. Oddly enough, I still see something that looks vaguely like a relay station in the red area. But it bears little resemblance to the original "relay station" noted above. And I'm ready to accept that both imaginary relay stations are just that: imaginary.

As for that possible Western town, another closeup from "Escort West" appears to put that idea to rest as well. As Hugh Downs, who hosted the TV game show "Concentration" throughout the 1960s, might have said at the time: "Not a match — the board goes back."

"The Big Valley" (1966)

Please click here to read a recent post with additional details about filming in Lindero Canyon, including more about "Escort West" along with material about area shoots for "Gunsmoke" and "The Big Valley," That post also details the location of the Barkley family mansion in "The Big Valley."

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. Past subjects have included Bell Ranch, Pioneertown, Corriganville and other old filming locations. You can go directly to the Off the Beaten Path posts by looking up the term "Off the Beaten Path" in the long index of labels at the right of the page, or by clicking here.