Iverson Movie Ranch: Hills of Utah

Why we love old movie locations — especially the Iverson Movie Ranch

For an introduction to this blog and to the growing interest in historic filming locations such as the Iverson Movie Ranch — the most widely filmed outdoor location in movie and TV history — please read the site's introductory post, found here.

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Showing posts with label Hills of Utah. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

The Iverson Movie Ranch Western street, one building at a time ... Part VII: The Sheriff's Office

"The Hills of Utah" (1951): The Sheriff's Office

This small, square structure on the east side of the Iverson Movie Ranch Western street, seen here in the Gene Autry B-Western "The Hills of Utah," was all about law enforcement, typically appearing in movies and on TV as a Sheriff's Office or County Jail.

"Night Raiders" (1952)

Whip Wilson holds court outside the Bitter Springs County Jail in the Monogram Western "Night Raiders." Once again playing a law enforcement role is the Iverson Movie Ranch's Sheriff's Office.

This shot of Fuzzy Knight outside the building in "Night Raiders" gives the impression that it's evening, but the shadow of the west-facing building hints that it would have been filmed in the morning.

"The Caravan Trail" (1946) — Lash LaRue, left, and Eddie Dean

Lash LaRue and Eddie Dean collaborate in the PRC B-Western "The Caravan Trail" while the Sheriff's Office, in the background, makes one of its earliest color appearances.

"Oklahoma Justice" (1952)

The sign over the door reads "Sheriff's Office" in the Johnny Mack Brown B-Western "Oklahoma Justice," from Monogram. The movie was filmed by master B-movie cinematographer Ernest Miller, who was behind the camera on some of the greatest Iverson Movie Ranch showcases.

"El Paso" (Paramount, 1949)

The Sheriff's Office did assume other roles from time to time, including appearing as "Joe's Cafe" in the Western "El Paso." That's the Sheriff's Office on the left, lined up next to the two distinctive two-story facades that marked the east side of the street. Another name for the Iverson Western street is El Paso Street.

"The Range Rider" (1953)

The Sheriff's Office made a number of appearances in the TV show "The Range Rider." This one comes from the episode "The Black Terror."

"The Cisco Kid" TV series

Another non-law enforcement role came up in the TV show "The Cisco Kid," where the Sheriff's Office plays a mining supply store. The Sheriff's Office can be seen on the left in this behind-the-scenes shot.

"The Lone Ranger" TV series (1954)

The Sheriff's Office wasn't the most interesting building on the Iverson Movie Ranch Western street, but one fun feature it had was this gate area out back that it shared with the Barn. The gate opened into a large corral occupying much of the space to the east of the town set.

This shot comes from an episode of the TV show "The Lone Ranger" called "The Frightened Woman." The episode premiered Sept. 30, 1954, early in season four of the show's five-season run.

"Ghost Town Renegades" (1947)

The gate behind the Sheriff's Office was typically left open, and the gateway at times provided a "window onto the world," looking south and southeast. This shot from the Lash LaRue movie "Ghost Town Renegades" reveals part of the Eucalyptus Grove along with Cooper Rock.

Cooper Rock is named after Gary Cooper, the man responsible for building the town in 1944, for his 1945 Western "Along Came Jones." This shot also highlights the Eucalyptus Grove, or simply "The Grove."

That's Lash LaRue on the right, along with his frequent sidekick Al "Fuzzy" St. John, eyeing the situation in front of Cooper Rock in PRC's "Ghost Town Renegades." You may or may not have noticed that this blog post has now mentioned both of the two main "Fuzzys" of B-Westerns.

"Silver Canyon" (1951)

Here's a shot taken from a similar angle, but from farther back, with the General Store entering the picture on the left. The shot comes from the Gene Autry movie "Silver Canyon."

Cooper Rock can again be seen in the background, with the camera's telephoto effect making it appear larger and closer than it actually is.

"Night Raiders" (1952)

Either that gate was mighty tall, or Whip Wilson was mighty short — a conclusion that's hard to miss based on this shot of Wilson at the gate in "Night Raiders."

"Calamity Jane and the Texan" (1950)

Dominating the frame in this photo from "Calamity Jane and the Texan" is the General Store, on the left. But the shot provides additional context for the gate, which can be seen in the right half of the frame.

The gate was set back from the street as part of a dirt plaza area shared by the General Store, the Barn and the Sheriff's Office. I'm surprised this plaza area didn't get used more than it did, as it would have been a great place to stage a shootout.

"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

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

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.

Friday, January 30, 2015

The Iverson Movie Ranch Western street, one building at a time ... Part III: The Saloon

"Along Came Jones" (1945): First Chance Saloon

Like most of the buildings along the Iverson Movie Ranch Western street, the Saloon adopted a number of identities over the years. When it first appeared in "Along Came Jones" it was the First Chance Saloon.

"Flaming Feather" (1952): Last Chance Saloon

A few years later it would come full circle with a role as the Last Chance Saloon in the Sterling Hayden-Forrest Tucker Western "Flaming Feather" from Paramount.

Note the curved roofline and the painted glass of beer on the front of the building. The giant glass of beer would turn up again in other productions.

"Treasure of Ruby Hills" (1955)

Filmmakers apparently took a liking to the name "Last Chance Saloon," bringing it back — along with a new sign on the front of the building — for the Allied Artists Western "Treasure of Ruby Hills."

The town was "fixed up" to look like a ghost town in the movie, and the Saloon did its part — including the usual tumbleweeds and loose boards, along with a massive crack in the storefront.

"Treasure of Ruby Hills"

The Iverson Western street appeared in "Treasure of Ruby Hills" as the ghost town of "Silvertown" — the same name that has been widely used for the old Western set at Corriganville in Simi Valley.

"The Millerson Case" (1947)

The Saloon originally had a straight roofline on the front of the building, as seen in this shot from the Crime Doctor movie "The Millerson Case."

"Calamity Jane and Sam Bass" (1949)

The building played a bank in "Calamity Jane and Sam Bass," where the action took viewers around back during a bank heist and gave us a look at the rarely seen back end of the building. Also note the side of the bank building, toward the left of the shot, where a staircase would soon be installed.

"Calamity Jane and the Texan" (1950)

The wooden exterior staircase on the north side of the Saloon building first appeared around 1950. The two shots above — from two different Calamity Jane movies — show this side of the building before and after the staircase was installed. This shot, featuring Evelyn Ankers as Calamity, was also part of an earlier post on Casa Grande, which you can read by clicking here.

"The Hills of Utah" (1951)

In a screen shot from the Gene Autry B-Western "The Hills of Utah," a couple of badmen lurk near the Saloon's new wooden staircase.

"The Nevadan" (1950)

The Saloon's original flattop storefront remained in place into the early 1950s, as in this example from Columbia's Cinecolor Western "The Nevadan," starring Randolph Scott.

"Passage West" (1951)

One of the last appearances of the straight roofline is in Paramount's John Payne Western "Passage West," filmed in Technicolor. Oat Mountain looms in the background, at top center.

"Gold Raiders" (1951)

Later that same year, the building's new storefront and curved roofline surface in the Three Stooges movie "Gold Raiders." You may be able to spot the painted beer glass, already in place on the Saloon's new storefront.

Here's the "Gold Raiders" shot again, this time highlighting the Saloon's new curved roofline and the barely visible painted glass of beer. Please click on any of these photos to see a larger version.

"The Hills of Utah": Gene Autry and the new Saloon storefront

The curved roof reappears with Gene Autry in "The Hills of Utah," released just three weeks after "Gold Raiders." With both movies coming out in September 1951, and with a number of early TV Westerns getting up to speed around the same time, the Iverson Western town set would have been in high demand. The set's body of work suggests that it was a busy place in general during its 13-year lifespan (1944-1957).

Once again, the painted beer glass is visible, although we wouldn't tend to notice it if we weren't looking for it.

"Wagon Team" (1952)

In another Gene Autry movie, "Wagon Team," released the following year, the Saloon appears again. This shot looks toward the north end of the street, with the Saloon at far left — again with its curved roof and painted beer.

"Night Raiders" (1952)

The Whip Wilson movie "Night Raiders," from Monogram, provided a good look at the window design in the new storefront. The stem of the beer glass is visible midway between the two windows.

"Cripple Creek" (1952) — More special effects than reality

An unusual treatment of the Saloon and other buildings along the Western street is found in the Columbia Western "Cripple Creek," starring George Montgomery. A painted background and other special effects are used to create a rundown version of the town and place it in a make-believe setting.

Here's my attempt to break down elements of the shot. It appears to me that only the buildings on the right side of the shot are real. It seems that much of the artwork on the left was inspired by the look of the Saloon.

"Son of Paleface" (1952)

A more conventional way to make the town appear to be falling apart was to bring in tumbleweeds and pry loose a few boards, as was done yet again for the Bob Hope Western comedy "Son of Paleface," from Paramount. The Saloon can be seen at the far left of the frame.

"Sky King" TV show (shot in 1957, aired in 1958)

Both the Saloon, on the left, and the Hotel, on the right, show signs of real-world wear-and-tear in this shot from late 1957 for the TV series "Sky King." The end was at hand, as the dismantling of the town set had already begun at the time of this shoot for the episode "Dead Man's Will." The episode premiered Feb. 22, 1958.

In another shot from the "Sky King" episode we can see that much of the roofing on both the Saloon and the Livery Stable across the street has either fallen apart or been removed. Casa Grande, which previously spanned the north end of the street, has already been torn down, and the rest of the town set would soon follow.