(photo from "An Ambush of Ghosts," by David Rothel)
I've been obsessing for a while over this photo of what's been called the "Hangman's Tree." And after several months, my obsessing finally paid off.
"Hangman's Tree" location in 2016
On a recent visit to the former Iverson Movie Ranch, I was able to pinpoint the location where the Hangman's Tree once stood. Unfortunately, the tree is long gone.
"Pioneer Justice" (1947): The Hangman's Tree
As is usually the case, it took multiple sources of information to crack the mystery. In this instance, the biggest clue surfaced in the Lash LaRue movie "Pioneer Justice."
Hangman's Tree area, including "Hangman's Tree Rock," in 2016
When I arrived at the target area, everything was right where it was supposed to be — except the tree. "Hangman's Tree Rock" has survived, and still looks exactly as it did in "Pioneer Justice."
The tree and rock in 1981, in "An Ambush of Ghosts" The rock is easy to miss in Rothel's landmark Western locations book, but it's there, hidden in the shadows. As the only surviving feature in the shot, the rock holds the key to locking down the spot.
"Pioneer Justice"
As a bonus, I was able to identify a couple of other rocks seen in "Pioneer Justice," still in place today and further pinpointing the tree's former location.
The same area, photographed in 2016
Those same two rocks can be identified today, still in the same positions.
Hangman's Tree Rock in 2016 (angle approximates the 1981 photo)
The final puzzle piece is to see whether "Hangman's Tree Rock" matches the rock in the 1981 photo when they're shot from approximately the same angle.
Click on the link above to go to Amazon.com to learn more about David Rothel's excellent book on Western movie locations, "An Ambush of Ghosts." You may or may not be able to purchase a copy depending on availability.
3 comments:
Very Good! Thanks
No remnants of the tree at all (and the tree was still alive in 1981)? Seems odd. Tree must have been mechanically removed and stump ground down. But for what reason, unless tree was dead.
That's a really good question, and you're right, it does seem odd. But it's not the only time I've seen something like this.
I assume the tree didn't fit in with the developers' plans for the layout of the Cal West townhomes. Maybe it was too close to the driveway they would be putting in, or to the nearby condo. For whatever reasons, they wanted it outta there.
I'm no expert on tree removal, but it seems that in addition to the traditional method of cutting down the tree and then dealing with the stump, there's a second option: They could emulate what nature sometimes does and knock the tree over, enabling it to gently pull its own roots out of the ground. That's what has been happening in the region over the past several years as the oak trees have been dying off due to years of drought followed by one or two winters with too much rain. We see it at Corriganville too, as in the case of this tree I reported on in 2017:
https://iversonmovieranch.blogspot.com/2017/04/off-beaten-path-corriganvilles-mighty.html
If you go to the url you can see a photo of a huge movie oak tree lying there dead, roots and all, after just keeling over.
I think the same thing probably happened with the "Old Yeller Tree" at Iverson, where the wild pigs sequence was filmed for "Old Yeller." That tree, which was featured prominently in a lot of movies, also disappeared without a trace, and there was no reason for it to be destroyed by the "hand of man," because it was on land that was set aside to become the Garden of the Gods Park.
I took a look at the fate of the "Old Yeller Tree" in November 2019 as part of a post about Elvis Presley, Ronald Reagan and "Old Yeller" all filming near it. You can see that post at the url below:
https://iversonmovieranch.blogspot.com/2019/11/how-single-location-on-iverson-movie.html
Thanks for your comment!
-SN
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