A tale of two ranches: How movie stars Joel McCrea and Frances Dee found love, survived Hollywood and lived their cowboy dream

"Wells Fargo" (1937), starring Joel McCrea and Frances Dee — filmed on the Iverson Movie Ranch

Actors Joel McCrea and Frances Dee were that rare exception in Hollywood: a marriage that lasted. One of the secrets to their success may have been their decision to live outside the glare of Hollywood stardom.

Frances Dee and Joel McCrea on their Thousand Oaks ranch

McCrea was a cowboy and a rancher at heart, and never quite warmed up to being a movie star. In 1933 the couple bought a ranch in Thousand Oaks, Calif. — just 40 minutes west of Hollywood, but a world apart.

The McCrea Ranch in modern times

They lived on the Ventura County ranch throughout their 57-year marriage, and Dee continued to live there after McCrea's death in 1990. Today their former ranch remains a Thousand Oaks landmark.

The McCrea Ranch will host a presentation March 3 on the history of the Iverson Movie Ranch and the many connections between the McCreas and the Iverson Ranch.

If you can find this spot, you're there — but it's a small room, and advance reservations are recommended. They can apparently be made through the Conejo Recreation and Park District. (See the flier above.)

Frances Dee in 1933 with "another man" — Buster Crabbe, aka "The Lion Man"

The couple's history with the Iverson Movie Ranch goes back at least as far as 1933, when Frances Dee starred alongside Buster Crabbe in Paramount's "King of the Jungle," filmed in part on the Iverson Ranch.

It was still fairly early in the sound era when "King of the Jungle" was in production in 1932. The movie would be released to a warm reception in March 1933.

Some of the marketing for "King of the Jungle," while artistic, was primitive by later Hollywood standards. I have to wonder whether expressions like "charging hell of wild beasts" really brought people into the theaters.

Buster Crabbe and Frances Dee — promo still for "King of the Jungle"

More likely, what brought a lot of them in was the beautiful Frances Dee, who couldn't help being glamorous even in a faux-tattered jungle dress.

The producers made the most of Dee — her face lit up a series of promotional shots for "King of the Jungle."

Buster Crabbe stands on the Gorge Arch on the Lower Iverson

Also receiving plenty of exposure in the movie's marketing was the athletic Buster Crabbe. Here he monitors the action from a perch on the late, lamented Lower Iverson rock feature known as the Gorge Arch.

Buster Crabbe and a young cast member — promo still for "King of the Jungle"

Crabbe's "Lion Man" character was briefly a rival for MGM's megahit "Tarzan" series, which had just introduced Johnny Weissmuller in 1932's "Tarzan the Ape Man" — also filmed on the Iverson Ranch.

Behind-the-scenes photo of lions assembled on the Iverson Ranch for "King of the Jungle"

A large group of lions was brought to the Iverson Ranch for the "King of the Jungle" shoot. In this behind-the-scenes photo, I count at least 15 lions gathered just outside Zorro's Cave on the Lower Iverson.

To make sure I don't give readers the wrong impression, I've identified Zorro's Cave here, along with a small prop "lions' den" that was installed for the production.

This is the same area where the lions were filmed for "King of the Jungle," as it appears in 2018.

More than 85 years after the "King of the Jungle" shoot, we can still find artifacts from the filming, although they're not easy to spot. Note the area highlighted by the red circle.

I believe these recessions in the rock mark one of the spots where fencing was attached to keep the lions from going rogue. This area would have been just out of view of the camera in the shot of the lions.

Bits of wire can also still be found in the area. We have no way of knowing for sure, but I would be willing to bet that this was also part of the fencing used for the "King of the Jungle" shoot.

Frances Dee and Joel McCrea

The year "King of the Jungle" was released, 1933, was a big year for Joel McCrea and Frances Dee. It was the same year they met, had a whirlwind romance, got married and bought their ranch in Thousand Oaks.

Promotional photo for "One Man's Journey" (1933): Dee and McCrea

They were co-starring in movies from the beginning — in fact, they met on the set of a movie, "The Silver Cord," released in May 1933. That same year they worked together again in "One Man's Journey."

"Wells Fargo" (1937)

In 1937 Dee and McCrea co-starred in the Paramount Western "Wells Fargo," a movie that once again connected them with the Iverson Movie Ranch.

"Wells Fargo's" unusual opening credits

"Wells Fargo" deserves a place of honor among Iverson Ranch aficionados for its unique title sequence, in which the opening credits are made to appear as though they're painted on the rocks of the Lower Iverson.



The above clip shows "Wells Fargo's" title sequence, filmed entirely on the Iverson Ranch. I discussed this sequence in detail in a blog post a few years ago, which you can read by clicking here.

Lobby card for "The Virginian" (1946): Brian Donlevy, Barbara Britton and Joel McCrea

Joel McCrea was back on the Iverson Ranch in 1946 to film Paramount's Technicolor Western "The Virginian" — one of many film and TV adaptations of the 1902 Owen Wister novel "The Virginian — A Horseman of the Plains."

"The Virginian": Joel McCrea and Barbara Britton ride off into the sunset on the Iverson Ranch 

The closing sequence from "The Virginian" features a classic "riding off into the sunset" shot in which Joel and his leading lady set out to begin their new life together. The scene takes place on the Iverson Ranch.

The same sunset location in 2016

The same location continues to yield spectacular sunsets today. This is a photo I took on the ranch in 2016.

Notice the rocky flat-top profile of the hill near the right of the shot.

Sunset sequence in "The Virginian"

The same hill can be seen in the closing shot from "The Virginian" — with the sun setting right behind it.

This hill can also be seen in the daytime, when it's easily spotted as one leaves the San Fernando Valley headed west on the 118 Freeway toward Simi Valley and Ventura County — the same direction Joel and his real-life leading lady headed when they left Hollywood back in '33 to start their new life together on the ranch.

"Three Ages" (Buster Keaton/Metro Pictures, 1923)

Like almost everything on and around the Iverson Ranch, that hill to the west has a long history in the movies. Here it sneaks into the background in the silent Buster Keaton comedy "Three Ages" in 1923.

"The Grapes of Wrath" (1940)

The same hill appears next to Jane Darwell's head in 1940 in "The Grapes of Wrath," just as she's about to tell the family some bad news about Grandma. Darwell won an Oscar for her performance as Ma Joad in the film.

"Ghost Valley Raiders" (Republic, 1940)

Not all of the hill's appearances are in Oscar winners — it turns up in its share of B-Westerns too. The same year the hill appeared in "The Grapes of Wrath" it was also seen in the Iverson showpiece "Ghost Valley Raiders."

"Wanted: Dead or Alive" (1958)

The flat-top hill's work as a background feature continued into the TV era. Here it turns up in an episode of the Steve McQueen series "Wanted: Dead or Alive" called "Die by the Gun," which premiered on Dec. 6, 1958.

"The Jungle Book: Mowgli's Story" (Disney, 1998)

As recently as the late 1990s, the hill continued to do background work in Hollywood productions. Here it can be seen in a sequence featuring wolves howling in Disney's "Jungle Book" sequel "Mowgli's Story."

"Mowgli's Story": The same shot as it appeared in the movie

The sequence was shot "day for night," appearing much darker in the actual movie. The wolf is seen in silhouette and the background is obscured, making the point that the wolf is howling as night falls.

As a footnote to Joel McCrea's "The Virginian," it's worth noting that another famous film version of the story, an early talkie from 1929, starred Gary Cooper and was also filmed on the Iverson Ranch.

James Drury as "The Virginian," near the Iverson Ranch's Hangover Shack in the NBC TV series (1963)

Modern audiences know the story of the Virginian mainly through the TV series, which ran for nine seasons on NBC, from 1962-1971. In its early seasons the TV series also filmed regularly on the Iverson Ranch.

Joel McCrea had another interesting sojourn to the Iverson Ranch, for his 1950 Western "Saddle Tramp."

Joel McCrea rides past Wrench Rock on the Upper Iverson in "Saddle Tramp"

The movie features a lavish six-minute opening segment filmed on the Upper Iverson, loaded with nice Technicolor shots of the ranch in spring. "Saddle Tramp's" opening shot is this striking portrait of Wrench Rock.

Wrench Rock in recent times — toward the right of the frame

An attempt to match the shot in modern times runs into a common obstacle: Today a tree has attached itself to the eastern profile of Wrench Rock, effectively blotting out this view of the the rock.

"Saddle Tramp" opening sequence

McCrea whistles as he rides the ranch in the "Saddle Tramp" sequence, and appears to be taking in the scenery.

Notice the rock at the left of the frame, which would later come to be known as "Gold Raiders Rock." This is one of the last times we see this rock in its natural configuration.

"Gold Raiders" (Three Stooges, 1951)

When the same rock appears the following year in the Three Stooges movie "Gold Raiders," it has a smaller rock cemented on top of it. "Stacked rocks" like this one can be found in several places on the former movie ranch, and are among the more intriguing artifacts of the site's filming legacy.

The creation of stacked rocks on the Iverson Ranch is known to have taken place as early as the 1920s, but we see signs of a flurry of this type of cement work around 1950 to 1951.

Gold Raiders Rock in modern times

The rock remains intact today — including the smaller rock on top, still cemented in place.

I believe the surge in rock stacking in the early 1950s was part of an effort by the Iverson family to spruce up the location ranch for the increased business that was starting to come in from the new medium of television.

Frances Dee and Joel McCrea

For readers who are intrigued by the exploits of Joel McCrea and Frances Dee, or the history of the Iverson Ranch — or if you just want to say howdy — I hope you can make it to the presentation March 3 at the McCrea Ranch.

Wyatt McCrea — Joel McCrea and Frances Dee's grandson

I understand the McCreas' grandson Wyatt McCrea, who still lives on the McCrea Ranch, will also be on hand to answer questions about his famous grandparents.

Full disclosure: I didn't have any luck when I tried the website listed on the flier. You might want to try the phone number, or poke around the Conejo Rec & Parks website to find other ways to sign up. Good luck!

A ton of fun with a gun: Frontier lawman Wyatt Earp hauls a state-of-the-art weapon of war all over the Lower Iverson

"The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp" (1958)

Hugh O'Brian appeared as Wild West lawman Wyatt Earp for six seasons on the ABC series "The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp," from 1955-1961. Early in season four, he got a chance to play with a Gatling gun — the closest thing they had to the "nuclear option" back in the Old West days — during what I'm sure was a memorable shoot on the Iverson Movie Ranch.

Apparently the bone-jarring weapon raised such a ruckus that even a he-man like the legendary Wyatt Earp had to close his eyes when he was mowing people down with it. Still, O'Brian — or should I say Earp — seemed to have a ton of fun with the gun. But best of all, he got to show it off with a series of Lower Iverson landmarks in the background. These first two shots, which appear toward the end of the episode, are taken just off the Garden of the Gods Trail.

The episode, appropriately titled "The Gatling Gun," premiered Oct. 21, 1958, and was shot mainly in or near the Iverson Gorge. When the gun first surfaces, it's hidden in Zorro's Cave, where it's being stored on a wagon and kept under a tarp by a group of Native Americans. In a common theme for the "Wyatt Earp" TV series, the Indians in this episode are more reasonable than the white settlers or the U.S. military, and even though a group of Native warriors originally stole the Gatling gun from the Cavalry, Earp is able to talk them into giving it back.

As the wraps come off, Wyatt and his odd alliance of Native American pacifists look on. The shot includes a portion of a distinctive diagonal rock found at the back entrance to Zorro's Cave, seen here in the top left corner of the frame.

This shot points out the diagonal rock, along with the direction to nearby Zorro's Cave. The diagonal rock can also be seen with a Ray Harryhausen monster next to it in this earlier blog post — scroll down to the 10th and 11th photos in the entry (but feel free to read the rest of it too, especially if you like monsters).

A wider shot of the area includes Heroes Tower at top center, along with more of that diagonal rock behind Zorro's Cave. With Earp are Chief Joseph, left, played by Richard Garland, and Earp's Indian adviser Mr. Cousin, right, played by Rico Alaniz.

This annotated version of the shot pinpoints Heroes Tower and the distinctive diagonal rock. I came up with the name Heroes Tower after I first discovered this area in 2008 while a shoot for the NBC series "Heroes" was under way.

Here's a photo of the same area from 2008, taken during the period when "Heroes" was taping, with Heroes Tower painted up for the occasion. The videographer in the photo is standing on that same diagonal rock behind Zorro's Cave. You can click here to read more about the "Heroes" shoot in the Ray Harryhausen post mentioned above.

And what a fine killing machine it is. The actor playing the Indian in this shot from "The Gatling Gun" is uncredited. In the background is Zorro's Cave.

The old-fashioned machine gun next surfaces near Overhang Rock, where Mr. Gatling's pride and joy gets a chance to show off its firepower. In this shot Mr. Cousin gets a crack at it while Wyatt observes and theoretically provides backup. That's Overhang Rock at the top left with a guy on top of it.

The view from the business end offers another look at Overhang Rock, on the right this time. Overhang Rock no longer exists, having become one of the casualties of condo development in the Upper Gorge in the late 1980s. But a number of its neighboring rocks, which also appear in the episode, did survive, as I will point out below.

As the camera pulls back — and the smoke clears — we get another look at Overhang Rock on the right (it should be clear how it got that name), along with some of its neighbors. One of those neighbors, the round boulder in the top left corner, is Cagney Rock — named after James Cagney.

This version of the shot identifies both Cagney Rock and Overhang Rock. While Overhang Rock was destroyed by development, Cagney Rock has survived and can still be found among the condos along Redmesa Road.

"The Oklahoma Kid" (1939)

Cagney Rock got that name largely because of this famous promotional still featuring Jimmy Cagney in front of the rock. Cagney rarely did Westerns, but when he did "The Oklahoma Kid" for Warner Bros., he shot it at the Iverson Movie Ranch.

Here's the same promo still with the key players identified. I go into detail about Cagney Rock and Overhang Rock — including photos of Cagney Rock as it appears today — in this blog post from earlier this year.

Here's an interesting shot that takes place just after the Gatling gun leaves the Overhang Rock/Cagney Rock area. It would be easy to miss, but Iverson's famous Saddlehorn Rock can be seen in the background. I've highlighted it in the next shot.

This is the same shot with Saddlehorn Rock pointed out.

Here's Saddlehorn Rock as it appears today, up close — although not from exactly the same angle. It has survived, and now lives among the condos on the west side of Redmesa Road.

The Gatling gun moves past the Three Kings, in the top left corner, a group that includes, left to right, the Pharaoh, an unnamed rock that could be referred to as "King 2," and Tower Rock. Also visible is a portion of the Sphinx, but it is NOT one of the Three Kings.

This labeled version of the previous photo differentiates the Three Kings from the Sphinx. The road seen here, Garden of the Gods Trail, is still in place as a foot trail, and is the main entrance route into Garden of the Gods Park.

"Zane Grey Theatre" (1958): "The Freighter"

This shot from a 1958 episode of the Western anthology TV series "Zane Grey Theatre" offers a relatively common view of the Three Kings, shot from the eastern side of the Gorge with the camera facing generally toward the west. The episode, "The Freighter," first aired on Jan. 17, 1958, and would have been filmed in 1957.

This version of the "Zane Grey" shot identifies the Three Kings, along with an often filmed background hill farther west, which I call Boat Hill.

This view of Garden of the Gods from the eastern side of the Gorge includes the Three Kings as they appear today.

Here's the same recent shot with a number of features noted, including the Three Kings and Boat Hill.

A closer view of the Three Kings from a recent visit gives a better idea of what these imposing rock figures look like today.

In this shot I've identified each of the Three Kings. I've mentioned the Pharaoh before, in a post you can find by clicking here. Tower Rock, besides being one of the Three Kings, is a famous rock in its own right, often seen paired with the Sphinx. For more about Tower Rock, which has also been called Indian Head, please click here.

"The Gatling Gun": This scene takes place in the Arena

In the "Wyatt Earp" episode the gun continues down Garden of the Gods Trail, where Wyatt takes it over and there ensues a massive confrontation with substantial bloodshed. Suffice to say the guys who get mowed down are mostly not nice people. But more important, the rocks: Those seen during this sequence are located in an area off to the side of Garden of the Gods Trail that was rarely filmed, which I call the Arena.

The same part of the Arena as it appears today

The Arena remains intact today, and is seen here on a visit to the site a couple of months ago. You may be able to match up the rocks in the above two photos. The rock at the center of this shot is the same rock that fills the top left corner in the "Wyatt Earp" shot above this one. The well-lit rock in the foreground in the recent shot is also partially visible in the "Wyatt Earp" shot, through the spokes of the Gatling gun's wheels.

This comparison of the two shots — the "Wyatt Earp" shot from 1958 on the left, and the recent shot from a site visit on the right — should help you match up the rocks of the Arena as they appear in the two shots.

Is this not a Wonderland of Rock? The episode makes great use of the Iverson Gorge's rocky terrain.

Here's another unusual shot from the climactic sequence in "The Gatling Gun." How great is this episode? Some readers will probably recognize Doglips at top right.

"The Gatling Gun" — the rock is Bald Knob

The episode also pays a meaningful visit to Bald Knob, the rock featured prominently in the center of the shot above. I talked about this "Battle of Bald Knob" sequence — and about some of Bald Knob's other screen appearances — in a recent post, which you can read by clicking here. A follow-up post, about whether Bald Knob is real or fake, can be found here.

I would be negligent if I didn't point out a hidden delight in the above photo of Bald Knob: Parts of the vegetation along the left edge of the frame are unusually intriguing, especially the top half. If you're the type who sees faces, I recommend you look there for some.