"Gunsmoke" clip: James Arness as Marshal Matt Dillon and Dennis Weaver as Chester face an evil photographer played by "Family Affair's" Mr. French, Sebastian Cabot

I found this interesting sequence in the "Gunsmoke" episode "The Photographer," which premiered April 6, 1957, during the long-running TV Western's second season. The above clip reveals significant plot details, so watch it and read this post only if you're OK with spoilers. The sequence takes place on the Upper Iverson.

"Gunsmoke"

Many people consider "Gunsmoke" to be the greatest Western TV series of all time, with the show setting a number of longevity records in its 20-season run on CBS, from 1955 to 1975. By the time the dust settled, the series had racked up a whopping total of 635 episodes — and a number of those episodes, especially in the early seasons, were filmed on the Iverson Movie Ranch.

Sebastian Cabot as Professor Jacoby on "Gunsmoke"

Joining the regulars for "The Photographer" was Sebastian Cabot, seen perched in a "Cheyenne burial tree" on the Upper Iverson in the above screen shot from the episode.

Sebastian Cabot as Mr. French on "Family Affair"

Cabot was already an accomplished film and TV actor at the time but still almost a decade away from what turned out to be his signature role as Mr. French, the gentleman's gentleman and reluctant nanny on "Family Affair."

In the Midway Oaks in "The Photographer": Matt and Chester get tied up

Cabot plays Professor Jacoby, an evil frontier photographer, in the "Gunsmoke" episode. In this shot he and his assistant Gart, played by Dean Fredericks, tie up Marshal Dillon and Chester to one of Iverson's Midway Oaks.

As Gart looks on, Jacoby sizes up his photo. Many of the trees that appear in this sequence may not have survived, but the rocks that can be seen in the background in this shot, which were found on the Upper Iverson's North Rim, remain in place today, surrounded by large residential estates.

The timely arrival of a Cheyenne hunting party foils Jacoby's plans — especially with the braves bent on avenging his desecration of their burial tree. In the background are some of the familiar rock features of the South Rim.

A few of the South Rim rocks are noted in this version of the shot, along with a portion of the Midway Oaks. You can read more about the Midway Oaks by clicking here. For background on Gold Raiders Rock, click here, and for Notch Rock, you can use the links in this sentence to see shots of the rock in a Tarzan movie, the TV show "Adventures of Superman" and the 1986 movie "The Tomb."

Still tied up and helpless to do anything about it, Dillon and Chester watch as the Cheyenne attack Jacoby and his assistant.

Jacoby sees he's about to meet his fate — on the receiving end of a Cheyenne tomahawk.

Freed from their bonds by the Cheyenne, Matt and Chester, in the background, set out to survey the carnage. The burial tree is still visible, to the left of Dillon.

The Cheyenne burial tree remains in the picture as Dillon and Chester approach the body of Jacoby.

This version of the shot pinpoints where the skull can be found in the burial tree, although it's difficult to make out in this photo. It's easier to spot in the next screen shot.

With the skull visible in the burial tree between the two men — just to the left of Chester, at eye level — Matt gets ready to wax philosophical, offering a few words of wisdom to bring the episode to its conclusion.

Midway House: One of the Iverson Movie Ranch's best-kept secrets

"Badman's Country" (1958): The Midway House

One set that has been largely overlooked among the many structures that stood during the filming era on the Iverson Movie Ranch in Chatsworth, Calif., is this ranch-style house, which I call the Midway House. Built in 1956, the structure was located in the middle of the Upper Iverson, midway between the North Rim and the South Rim, two of the location ranch's busiest filming areas. The screen shot comes from the Warner Bros. Western "Badman's Country," starring George Montgomery.

"Fury" TV show, circa 1958

This shot puts the Midway House in context, looking at the middle section of the Upper Iverson, as seen from the south. The Fury Barn, the main feature of the Fury Set, appears in the background.

The Fury Barn was built in 1955 for use in the "Fury" TV series, which aired from 1955-1960. Midway House was also built for the show, in summer 1956, and first surfaces as the Newton family home in "Fury" in fall 1956.

"The Gambler Wore a Gun" (1961): The Fury Barn House joins the Fury Set

A later view of the Fury Set, from the United Artists B-Western "The Gambler Wore a Gun," shows that the set eventually included its own house, located adjacent to the barn and known as the Fury Barn House.

Along with the Fury Barn and Fury Barn House, the Fury Set included a cabin and a corral, which are not visible in this shot.

1959 aerial photo of the Fury Set and Midway House area

This aerial photograph of a portion of the Upper Iverson as it appeared in 1959 shows the juxtaposition of the Fury Set and Midway House, along with the Midway Rocks.

The long, rectangular objects that were seen visiting the sets at the time the 1959 aerial photo was taken are probably movie trucks.

"The Gambler Wore a Gun" (1961)

Another shot from "The Gambler Wore a Gun" again has the Fury Set and Midway House in the same shot, but with more of Midway House visible this time, filling up the right half of the frame. Midway House is seen mainly in productions from 1956-1961, but remained standing throughout the 1960s. It is presumed to have burned down in the Newhall-Malibu Fires of 1970, which ravaged much of the Iverson Ranch and the surrounding hills.

"Have Gun — Will Travel" TV series (1958)

Here's a better look at the front of Midway House, as it appears in the episode of the TV show "Have Gun — Will Travel" titled "The Lady," which first aired Nov. 15, 1958.

"Badman's Country" (1958)

The front porch of Midway House offered a great view of the Rocks Across the Way, located a short distance to the northwest, as seen in this shot from "Badman's Country."

"Five Guns to Tombstone" (1960) — the bunkhouse side of Midway House

Like many of the movie sets on the Iverson Ranch, the Midway House served multiple purposes, with its back side designed to look like a bunkhouse. The shot comes from the United Artists Western "Five Guns to Tombstone," starring James Brown and John Wilder.

In this view of the "bunkhouse" side of Midway House from "Five Guns to Tombstone," a portion of Cactus Hill is visible in the top left corner.

I'm including links below to DVDs and streaming videos on Amazon.com in case you're interested in following up on some of the movies or TV shows featured in this post: