The Iverson Movie Ranch Western street, one building at a time ... Part IV: The Hotel

"The Hills of Utah" (1951): The Hotel

One of the largest structures in the Iverson town set was the Hotel, situated right in the middle of town on the western side of the street.

"Along Came Jones" (1945): The Hotel, right, and the Saloon

Located just north of the Saloon, the Hotel was part of the original town set built in 1944 for "Along Came Jones." In its first incarnation it had a balcony and railing running around the outside of the building's second story.

The original small gable and windowless second story on the front of the building are noted here, along with the original balcony.

"The Caravan Trail" (1946): Eddie Dean on the Hotel

A shot from the PRC B-Western "The Caravan Trail" has singing cowboy Eddie Dean using the second story of the Hotel as a vantage point for a shootout — and offers a rare look at the building's original railing in color.

"Ghost Town Renegades" (1947): The Hotel, on the left, and the South Adobe

By the time the Hotel appeared a couple of years later in "Ghost Town Renegades" — where the town received a "reverse makeover" to fit the title role — the balcony was gone and the Hotel was looking ragged.

"The Millerson Case" (1947)

The place cleaned up OK. The Crime Doctor movie "The Millerson Case" was one of only a handful of productions in which the Hotel played anything but a hotel, appearing in the movie as the Brook Falls General Store.

"The Doolins of Oklahoma" (Columbia, 1949)

The Hotel retained a more sparse appearance for a period of time after the removal of the balcony, as in the Randolph Scott Western "The Doolins of Oklahoma." A new balcony and new second story would soon be installed as part of a major renovation.

"Calamity Jane and the Texan" (1950)

The spruced-up Hotel played another hotel in "Calamity Jane and the Texan" — the Deadwood, this time.

"Flaming Feather" (1952)

Throughout the first half of the 1950s the hotel stood tall, thanks to what was now a fully formed second story — complete with a new balcony and new railing. The place was in top shape for the movie "Flaming Feather," filmed in 1951 and released the following year.

A number of the modifications made to the Hotel in its 1950 remodeling are noted here.

"Son of Paleface" (1952)

It wasn't long before the building had to take more abuse, being turned into a well-past-its-prime hotel called the Harvard House for the Bob Hope Western "Son of Paleface."

Tumbleweeds accounted for much of the makeover for "Son of Paleface."

Boarded windows did the rest. The Hotel played a pivotal role in an Indian attack in the Bob Hope comedy.

"The Adventures of Rin-Tin-Tin" (1955)

A shot of the Hotel for the "Rin-Tin-Tin" TV series shows the place seemingly still in one piece circa 1955, albeit a little dilapidated. In the town set's latter days it was hard to tell how much of its ramshackle appearance was manufactured for its frequent roles as a ghost town and how much was due to actual deterioration.

Later in the same episode we get this remarkable shot, revealing a partially dismantled roof on the Hotel. The "Rin-Tin-Tin" episode, titled (what else) "The Ghost Town," premiered April 22, 1955.

"Sky King" TV show (1958)

Even as the town set was being torn down in late 1957, production continued. This shot from the "Sky King" episode "Dead Man's Will" catches a glimpse of the Hotel with its roof now mostly gone. The balcony railing, too, has been partially dismantled. The episode premiered Feb. 22, 1958.

"The Iverson Movie Ranch Western street, one building at a time" is a series of posts on the movie and TV history of each of the major structures making up Iverson's town set, which stood from 1944 to 1957 and appeared in hundreds of productions.


To see all of the posts in the series on the Iverson Western street, please click on the following links:

Part I: Casa Grande
Part II: The Livery Stable
Part III: The Saloon
Part IV: The Hotel
Part V: The General Store 
Part VI: The Barn
Part VII: The Sheriff's Office
Part VIII: The North and South Adobes
Part IX: The Lost Dutchman
Part X: The original north end of town
Part XI: The North and South Towers
Part XII: The Harness Maker
Part XIII: Rainbow Mine Co. 
Part XIV: The Church/Schoolhouse  
Part XV: The Corral Rocks Shack
Part XVI: The decline and fall of the Western street