Tornado's Cave and the "phantom limb"

"Perils of Nyoka" (1942) — Kay Aldridge as Nyoka, at the northern entrance to Tornado's Cave

The landmark Republic serial "Perils of Nyoka," starring Kay Aldridge as "Tarzan" author Edgar Rice Burroughs' heroine Nyoka the Jungle Girl, is featured regularly on this blog and you can read more about it by clicking here. But this time around let me call attention specifically to a short passageway through the rocks below Nyoka Cliff, known to historians and film location buffs as Tornado's Cave.

This highlighted version of the shot may help you see what's going on in the photo. The cave is small, as caves go, but still large enough for a German shepherd to wander around inside. And while getting in and out requires some care, it's even large enough — barely — to accommodate a person riding a horse.

Tornado's Cave as it appears today (southern entrance)

Seen above is the cave's southern entrance, which is almost always overlooked. This is NOT the angle we usually see in movies and TV shows when the cave appears. I think this entrance, which is smaller than the northern entrance, was just too small to be of much use. Even so, you could get in there from this end if you were so inclined. The cave is easy to find at Iverson if you know where to look, and I'll point it out on a map later in the post.

"Cowboy Holiday" (Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, 1934)

The more common northern entrance is just large enough to fit a horse and rider. I have to confess that until recently I had a slightly embarrassing personal misconception about this cave entrance that got in the way of my properly understanding what I was seeing in the movies. I thought the cave had a three-limbed tree in front of it. Maybe you can already see what gave me that impression, but I'll point it out in the next shot.

This shot pinpoints the would-be "three-limbed tree" — a single trunk splitting off into what appears to be three limbs, which turns out to be an illusion. In this shot from the B-Western "Cowboy Holiday," a rider emerges from Tornado's Cave, with the imaginary three-limbed tree seen to the right of the rider (our right, not his).

A more detailed breakdown of the three "limbs" indicates that two of them are real, while the third, the "phantom limb," is not. It turns out the "three-limbed tree" is an illusion created by a two-limbed tree set against some dark weathering on the large rock that forms much of Tornado's Cave.

"Terry and the Pirates" (1940)

This shot from the Columbia serial "Terry and the Pirates" is taken in front of Tornado's Cave and again features the "three-limbed tree" illusion. Incidentally, all of these old movies were filmed decades before historians came along and started calling the rock feature "Tornado's Cave."

Tornado's Cave in recent times — northern entrance

The dark weathering remains evident today, as seen in the above shot from a recent visit to Tornado's Cave. Here it's plain to see that there's no third limb.

The recent shot shows clearly that it's weathering on a rock and not a tree limb.

Zorro's Cave on the Iverson Ranch: Not the same as Tornado's Cave 

The existence of two separate caves on the Iverson Ranch whose names are related to Zorro has caused confusion among some Zorro fans. Zorro's Cave and Tornado's Cave are two different caves.

Stuntman Buddy Van Horn doubles for Guy Williams, posing as Zorro on Tornado

in a publicity shot for the Disney TV series

The name "Tornado's Cave" comes from the name of the horse ridden by Zorro in the Disney TV series and in other Zorro productions, usually known as Tornado — pronounced Tor-NAH-do, using the Spanish pronunciation. The horse on occasion has been called Toronado.

"Zorro Rides Again" (1937): Tornado's Cave with a different Zorro horse, El Rey

Appropriately, Tornado's Cave does appear in at least one Zorro production, even if the horse Tornado is nowhere to be found. In the Republic serial "Zorro Rides Again," John Carroll stars as a descendant of the original Zorro and rides a horse called "El Rey." The "third limb" is also visible again here.

The cave is located on park property in the Iverson Gorge, near Lone Ranger Rock and Nyoka Cliff. The location is east of Redmesa Road, just north of Santa Susana Pass Road and just below the Cal West Townhomes. It's hard to pinpoint on an aerial map, but fairly easy to find once you get close.

Poison oak in Iverson's Upper Gorge, near Tornado's Cave

For anyone who's inclined to go check it out in person, please keep in mind a couple of important warnings: One, the site is crawling with poison oak, so be aware of what you're getting into and try not to touch any plants — especially if they're red. But know that the green poison oak will get you too. Last time I was there the area right in front of Tornado's Cave was crawling with the stuff. And two, be wary of rattlesnakes. I spotted a baby one not far from Tornado's Cave on a recent visit — and I've heard the babies are even more poisonous than the adults.

Face to face with the Head of the Lion — and finally, the truth about the "Dark Side of the Wall"

Head of the Lion, Chatsworth, Calif.

If you have ever been to the Garden of the Gods Park in Chatsworth, Calif., chances are you walked right past the Head of the Lion. It's one of the hundreds of widely filmed movie rocks that still populate the area, from when the site was part of a bustling filming location known as the Iverson Movie Ranch. The face of the rock directly overlooks what is now the main trail into the park.

"Rocky Mountain Rangers" (1940)

The rock's position — and on occasion, its artistic use — can make it easy to miss. An example of the latter is the above shot from a movie that's a full-on Iverson spectacle, Republic's Three Mesquiteers B-Western "Rocky Mountain Rangers." In this shot, you may or may not notice the Head of the Lion at first. Only the snout area is visible, with the rock being used as a framing device for an overview of a portion of the Iverson Gorge. The lion's snout can be seen at the left edge of the frame. I'll highlight it in the next photo.

This is the same shot with Head of the Lion pointed out.

While we're at it, this is the same shot again, with a number of additional features of the Iverson Gorge spotlighted.

Another view of Head of the Lion in modern times

The Head of the Lion looks like this when it's viewed from the west, and if you've been following this blog in recent weeks you may already know where this is headed. This angle does not show the part of the rock that looks like a lion's head, and that fact contributed to some confusion recently in my research. I put up a blog post about seeing this rock in an old movie, the 1934 Beacon Productions B-Western "Cowboy Holiday." But at the time I thought it was something else entirely.

"Cowboy Holiday" (1934)

This is how Head of the Lion Looks in "Cowboy Holiday," and after momentarily losing consciousness because I was so excited over what I thought I was seeing, I wrote a blog entry making a big deal about spotting what I thought was the "Dark Side of The Wall." You can click here to read that post — I'm leaving it up as a reference, but I'm adding a big "mea culpa."

"Cowboy Holiday": Another shot of Head of the Lion

One problem with "Cowboy Holiday" — and one reason I got the sighting wrong — is the movie never does show the face of the lion. The above shot is about as close as it gets, with Head of the Lion being the main rock filling up the middle of the shot. If they would have moved the camera a short distance to the right, they could have captured a much more ... what's the right word, leonine? ... view of the rock.

"Adventures of Captain Marvel" (1941)

Another production in which Head of the Lion makes an appearance is the Republic serial "Adventures of Captain Marvel," as seen above. Here again, the rock is hard to see — and that may be one reason it wasn't filmed more often than it was. I'll highlight it in the next shot.

This is the same shot with the Head of the Lion pointed out. Even though the rock has a tendency to blend in with backgrounds, when you do see it here, its leonine — OK, lionlike — qualities are plainly evident.

"Rogue of the Rio Grande" (1930)

Above is what might be the first featured appearance on film by Head of the Lion, in the early sound B-Western "Rogue of the Rio Grande," from Monogram and Atlantic Pictures. The movie is said to be the first talking role for early cinema icon Myrna Loy. You should be able to spot the lion's face right in the middle of the shot.

"Blazing Across the Pecos" (1948)

Here's a shot from the Durango Kid movie "Blazing Across the Pecos," starring Charles Starrett, that shows not only part of the face of the lion, at far right, but also the rock's non-lion-head-like western profile.

Here's one more look at that western profile, and a last look at the rock in its contemporary setting, with Nyoka Cliff, across Iverson Gorge to the east, visible at far right.