What's up with all those 1930s movies about Colonial India— and why were so many of them filmed in the Iverson Gorge?

"The Lives of a Bengal Lancer" (Paramount, 1935)

Back in the 1930s Hollywood became obsessed with big productions about the British occupation of India. Gary Cooper helped get the ball rolling with "The Lives of a Bengal Lancer," filmed largely on the Iverson Ranch.

The "Mogala" set, built atop the Iverson Gorge in 1934 for "The Lives of a Bengal Lancer"

(promo still from the Jerry England collection)

The movie was filmed in 1934 and released on Jan. 11, 1935. A sprawling set was built at the north end of the Iverson Gorge to depict "Mogala," the mountain stronghold of rebel leader Mohammed Khan.

Gary Cooper mans the big gun at "Mogala" — really the Iverson Gorge in Chatsworth, Calif.

The Mogala set was the focal point for much of the action in the movie, with Cooper, Franchot Tone, Richard Cromwell, Colin Tapley and the film's other key players seeing action in Chatsworth during the shoot.

The same promo shot was featured in a lobby card for "The Lives of a Bengal Lancer," but the marketing department saw fit to flip the photo horizontally.

"The Lives of a Bengal Lancer": On location in Lone Pine, Calif.

Even though the Mogala set stood on the Iverson Ranch in Chatsworth, some of the outdoor footage in "The Lives of a Bengal Lancer" was filmed about 200 miles to the north, in Lone Pine, Calif.

The Lone Pine footage, too, fell prey to some horizontal flipping when it came time to put together lobby cards.

In another bit of movie magic, when Mogala is introduced in "The Lives of a Bengal Lancer," Khan's stronghold in the Khyber appears to be located somewhere that looks a lot like Lone Pine.

Matte painting representing Mogala, set in Lone Pine

A fake version of Mogala, anchored by the familiar tall white tower — similar to the "real" Mogala in the Iverson Gorge, but not an exact duplicate — is seen against a backdrop of Lone Pine landmarks.

While the shot is composed primarily of actual Lone Pine features, including Lone Pine Peak, the Mogala set itself is added using special effects — presumably a matte painting. No actual Mogala set was built in Lone Pine.

The "Mogala" location in Lone Pine, in 2018

Lone Pine location expert Don Kelsen was able to find the exact location that was used for the Lone Pine "Mogala" shot. Until I saw Don's photo, I assumed that at least the rocks at the bottom of the movie frame were painted — they're almost too good a match for the rocks that frame the actual Mogala set at Iverson.

The gate to the Mogala set in the Iverson Gorge

Here's a look at the gate to Mogala — the "real" gate, built in the Iverson Gorge, spanning a channel between two rock walls that bear a resemblance to the rocks seen in the foreground of the Lone Pine photo.

Zoomed-in view of the fake gate in the matte painting

Even though the gate in the matte painting is darker, it appears to be an attempt to replicate the Iverson gate: The designs on the doors are similar, and both gates span the gap between two rock walls.

Similar set built two years later for "Wee Willie Winkie" (20th Century-Fox, 1937)

Adding to the intrigue, the Mogala set looks a lot like another mountain stronghold — the set built in 1937 for "Wee Willie Winkie," director John Ford's contribution to Hollywood's Colonial India mania of the Thirties.

"Wee Willie Winkie": Cesar Romero and Shirley Temple talk peace in the Iverson Gorge

The "Wee Willie Winkie" set in the Iverson Gorge — one of two major sets built on the Iverson Ranch for the movie — is where Shirley Temple tried to convince Cesar Romero's Khoda Khan that peace is better than war.

Khoda Khan's mountain stronghold in "Wee Willie Winkie"

The mountain stronghold sets for "Wee Willie Winkie" and "Lives of a Bengal Lancer" have plenty of similarities: They were built in almost exactly the same place, both sets feature tapered cylindrical towers ... and both served as home base to rebel leaders named "Khan."

"The Charge of the Light Brigade" (Warner Bros., 1936)

The same flurry of Colonial India movies from the major studios that produced "The Lives of a Bengal Lancer" and "Wee Willie Winkie" also yielded Errol Flynn's "Charge of the Light Brigade."

"The Charge of the Light Brigade": Three Ages Rock in the Iverson Gorge

(Promo still from the Jerry England collection)

Like "The Lives of a Bengal Lancer" before it, and "Wee Willie Winkie" after it, "The Charge of the Light Brigade" also filmed in the Iverson Gorge. However, no major set was built at the site for the movie.

Promo still for "The Charge of the Light Brigade": Fort built on Lasky Mesa

Instead, "The Charge of the Light Brigade" featured an impressive fort built a few miles to the south of Iverson, on Lasky Mesa. This important filming area has been preserved as public land and is accessible at the west end of Victory Boulevard in the San Fernando Valley.

"The Lives of a Bengal Lancer": Camels in the Gorge

A fun sidenote to the Colonial India movies of the 1930s involves the camels that began showing up on the Iverson Movie Ranch in connection with the often desert-themed productions.

Joe Iverson rides a camel on the "Lives of a Bengal Lancer" set in late 1934

Sometime after the first camels began arriving for "Bengal Lancer," the adventurous Joe Iverson — the man who ran the movie ranch for more than 50 years — seized on the opportunity to take one out for a spin.

Joe and his dog on the set of "The Lives of a Bengal Lancer" in 1934

Joe also tried out some of the accommodations of "Bengal Lancer's" impressive Mogala set. The set's construction helped usher in a fruitful period for the Iverson Ranch that would see important productions including "Wee Willie Winkie," "Stagecoach" and "Fighting Seabees" build major sets on the ranch during the next decade.

Here's a wider view of that part of the "Bengal Lancer" Mogala set, taken with the camera looking north. You should be able to spot the doorway where Joe and his dog were sitting in the previous photo.

The main rock formations that provided the foundation for that part of the set remain in place today, among the Cal West Townhomes off Redmesa Road in Chatsworth, Calif.

Recent Google aerial showing the same rocks in their current environment

This Google bird's-eye view indicates where those rocks are situated today. If you plan to visit the site, keep in mind that the condos are in a private residential area.

"The Lives of a Bengal Lancer": Mogala's main tower

A screen shot from the movie provides a good look at the Mogala set's main tower. One of the best ways to tell apart the sets for "Bengal Lancer" and "Wee Willie Winkie" is simply that the "Lancer" buildings are much whiter.

Wide shot of the Mogala set looking south, from the movie

SPOILER ALERT!! In case you're planning to watch "The Lives of a Bengal Lancer" sometime soon, you may want to stop reading here because I'm about to give away an important plot point.

Promo still showing battle scene from "Bengal Lancer," with Mogala partially destroyed

That beautiful white tower we've been seeing from "Lives of a Bengal Lancer" ends up getting blown up in the movie. I want to believe they blew it up in real life and filmed it for the movie, even though I know it's not true.

By the time this shot was taken, the tower was nowhere to be found. But as realistic as the smoking ruins may be, the actual destruction of the tower shown in the movie is done with a model.

It's OK — it's just a model

Here's what it looks like when they blow up the tower. They "kind of" re-created the look of the background rocks, but they can't fool location aficionados from the future who have harnessed the power of freeze-frame.

While "Lives of a Bengal Lancer" helped jump-start a productive period for the Iverson Movie Ranch, it would be "Wee Willie Winkie" a couple of years later that would put Iverson over the top as an "A-list" location.

"Wee Willie Winkie": The mountain stronghold in the Iverson Gorge

The "Wee Willie Winkie" mountain stronghold deserves its own deep dive, which is coming up soon. I've been putting the finishing touches on a post about it, and am hoping it blows everyone's minds as much as it has mine.



The links above will take you to DVD versions of the movies discussed above, which can be ordered from Amazon.com. All of the Colonial India movies contain Iverson Movie Ranch footage. There's also a link to a Gary Cooper set that includes both "Bengal Lancer" and "Peter Ibbetson," another movie filmed on the Iverson Ranch.

"The Lives of a Bengal Lancer": Major 1930s production made a lasting impression on the Iverson Ranch

"The Lives of a Bengal Lancer" (1935) — Iverson Gorge

Paramount built a major set in the Iverson Movie Ranch's Upper Gorge for "The Lives of a Bengal Lancer," part of which can be seen in the screen shot above. The movie, starring Gary Cooper and Franchot Tone, filmed at Iverson in 1934 and had its New York premiere on Jan. 11, 1935. The movie is widely considered one of the most important of the early sound productions filmed on the movie ranch.

Here I've identified some of the Iverson rock features surrounding the "Mogala" set in "Bengal Lancer." I'll highlight these and others in more detail below, and you can click on the following links to see previous blog posts about Nyoka Cliff, Three Ages Rock and Wyatt Earp Rock.

Director Henry Hathaway

"The Lives of a Bengal Lancer" was nominated for eight Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director, for Henry Hathaway. Two assistant directors, Clem Beauchamp and Paul Wing, both won Academy Awards for their work on the film.

Henry Hathaway and Marilyn Monroe on the set of "Niagara"

Even though Hathaway went on to direct acclaimed movies including "True Grit" with John Wayne, "Call Northside 777" with James Stewart and "Niagara" with Marilyn Monroe, "The Lives of a Bengal Lancer" produced his only Oscar nomination.

When we are introduced to Mogala — the mountain fortress where the final battle will play out in "The Lives of a Bengal Lancer" — it is late in the movie and much of the preceding action has been filmed in the Alabama Hills outside Lone Pine, Calif. Because of this, the producers of "Bengal Lancer" took steps to create the illusion that Mogala was set in Lone Pine.

Fake "Mogala" — matte painting, set in Lone Pine, Calif.

A fake version of Mogala, consisting of a matte painting, was placed against the backdrop of Lone Pine, with its rocky landscape in the foreground and the Eastern Sierra in the background. The tallest peak, near the center of the shot, is Lone Pine Peak, which is often mistakenly referred to as Mount Whitney. This version of Mogala never existed in the real world — it's the figment of an artist's imagination. But it does bear some resemblance to the real set for Mogala, built in the Iverson Gorge.

Mogala set, in Iverson's Upper Gorge, for "The Lives of a Bengal Lancer"

The "real" Mogala, seen here, stood in Iverson's Upper Gorge and included two main towers, a main lookout canopy, an impressive gate (see below) and various minor structures, many of them built onto the revered and long-lost Iverson rock feature known as The Wall.

Here's the same shot with some of the key features noted. The Wall and Potato Rock, which sat atop The Wall, are incorporated into the Mogala set, while Garden of the Gods is seen in the background and Elders Peak is also part of the background, being located a short distance southwest of the Iverson Gorge.

The main gate into the fortress city of Mogala spanned the gap between Three Ages Rock, on the right, and Wyatt Earp Rock, on the left.

Here's the same screen shot with some of the features noted. "The Lives of a Bengal Lancer" was one of the first productions to bring camels to the Iverson Movie Ranch.

Another view of Mogala's formidable entry gate — camels and all — provides a better look at Three Ages Rock, with the lookout canopy built onto it. Most of the rock features visible in this photo remain in place today.

This is the same shot, with a number of notations related to Three Ages Rock. The name "Three Ages Rock" comes from the 1923 Buster Keaton silent feature "Three Ages," which filmed heavily in the Gorge and in Garden of the Gods, including a key sequence using the rock we now call Three Ages Rock. The name refers to the full span of the rock, which is mostly still in place in the Gorge, but the name has also been used to refer specifically to the distinctive boulder that sits atop the rock feature.

This screen shot offers an even better look at the oval or rectangular boulder that is the defining feature of Three Ages Rock. To my eye it resembles one of those aerodynamic luggage carriers that can be affixed to the roof of a car — and I sometimes refer to the rock in my research as "the Luggage Carrier."

The camels get their closeup below Three Ages Rock in "Lives of a Bengal Lancer." Camels have appeared at Iverson on a number of occasions, including in the 1950s for the Bible series "The Old Testament Scriptures," and again in the waning days of Iverson's run as a movie location, for the 1986 release "The Tomb."

Inevitably, the gate to Mogala was breached, and when it was the camera pulled back enough to expose the rounded northern tip of Three Ages Rock, visible at the far right in this shot, about two-thirds of the way up. I call this part of the rock the D-Train, and you can find previous blog entries about it by looking it up in the long index at the right of this page, or read about the D-Train's appearance in a Tarzan movie by clicking here.

Much of the portion of Three Ages Rock I call the D-Train was destroyed to make way for condo development. You can read about the demise of the D-Train by clicking here.

The Iverson Gorge, as the fortress city of Mogala, played host to a large cast for the final battle sequence in "The Lives of a Bengal Lancer."

Something that would be easy to miss in the movie is the presence of a small rock feature consisting of three main boulders. This rock arch lurks in the shadows for much of the movie. You can barely make it out in the shot above, just to the left of the tower. I call this feature "Lancer Arch," in honor of "The Lives of a Bengal Lancer."

Lancer Arch should not be confused with the larger and much more prominent feature Gorge Arch, which was located nearby.

A wider shot from "The Lives of a Bengal Lancer" again has Lancer Arch hidden behind the tower, with other features of the Gorge also visible — including Nyoka Cliff in the background, Wyatt Earp Rock and Evolution.

Here's the same shot with Lancer Arch noted, along with other rock features. I recently blogged about the rock I call Evolution, and you can read that entry by clicking here. Another recent blog entry focuses on Wyatt Earp Rock.

"The Saga of the Viking Women" (1957)

Lancer Arch also turns up in other productions, with one of its most visible appearances captured in Roger Corman's cult film "The Saga of the Viking Women and Their Voyage to the Waters of the Great Sea Serpent."

Here's another look at the "Viking Women" shot, with Lancer Arch and other features identified.

"One Foot in Hell" (1960)

Lancer Arch makes another appearance in the widescreen Alan Ladd Western "One Foot in Hell," from 20th Century Fox, which built a temporary set for the movie that included a small stable. In the above screen shot the arch can be seen at the left, partially blocked by the horse in the stable. The rock feature that dominates the center of the shot is Wyatt Earp Rock.

This version of the "One Foot in Hell" shot points out the juxtaposition of the Upper Gorge features Lancer Arch, Wyatt Earp Rock and Three Ages Rock. In the Mogala set for "The Lives of a Bengal Lancer," the gate to Mogala spanned the gap between Three Ages Rock and Wyatt Earp Rock, and would have been behind the rider in the above shot.

"Zane Grey Theatre" TV series (1959)

One more appearance by Lancer Arch takes place in an episode of the Western anthology TV series "Zane Grey Theatre." In the episode, "The Law and the Gun," which premiered June 4, 1959, a small water feature was created on the plateau above Iverson Gorge.

I've highlighted Lancer Arch and Wyatt Earp Rock here, but the feature that dominates the shot is that small manmade pond in the foreground. This plateau just above the Iverson Gorge is now occupied by the Cal West Townhomes — and both Lancer Arch and Wyatt Earp Rock were destroyed during construction of that project.

French lobby card for "The Real Glory" (1939)

"Bengal Lancer" director Henry Hathaway also directed a number of Westerns, especially early in his career, and worked frequently at Iverson. His Iverson movies include "Law of Vengeance" (1933) with Randolph Scott; "The Trail of the Lonesome Pine" (1936), starring Fred MacMurray, Sylvia Sidney and Henry Fonda; and "The Real Glory" (1939), a war movie that again paired Hathaway with Gary Cooper.

The links below will take you to DVD versions of "The Lives of a Bengal Lancer" on Amazon.com: