The Year in Review: Top 10 Iverson Movie Ranch finds of 2016

"Code of the Secret Service" (1939): Iverson Gorge

Here's a Top 10 list counting down the best Iverson Movie Ranch discoveries of the past year ...

No. 10

Joe Iverson's incredible old tractor

 

Joe Iverson rides one of the greatest tractors ever

Joe Iverson, who ran all or part of the Iverson Movie Ranch for 60-plus years, had a lot of cool toys, and his vintage grader/crawler was one of the coolest.

• Click here to see the original post about Joe's tractor, from July 2016.

No. 9

The Roy Rogers rock on top of Cactus Hill

"The Roy Rogers Show" (1952)

An episode of "The Roy Rogers Show" features an unusual rock, which was recently spotted at the east end of Cactus Hill — despite having changed its appearance over the years. The site also has a few things to say about the history of filming in that area.

• Click here to see the original post about Roy's encounter with the rock on Cactus Hill, published in August 2016.

No. 8

The former location of the Hangman's Tree

The Hangman's Tree on the Lower Iverson (from "An Ambush of Ghosts")

While the Hangman's Tree itself did not survive, we were able to determine the exact location where it once stood — and we did find the nearby Hangman's Tree Rock.

• Click here to see the original post about the Hangman's Tree, published in October 2016.

No. 7

Where Jesus walked in Silverland 

 

"The Living Bible" (1952) — Jesus comes to the Iverson Movie Ranch

Jesus and two Lone Rangers — the original, from the 1930s Republic serials, and the more famous one from the 1950s TV series — all made their way to Silverland on the Lower Iverson. But the biggest Silverland find of 2016 may have been the discovery of an important saucer-shaped movie rock.

Saucer, left, and Mushroom Rock in "The Man From Colorado" (1948)

We took a "long, strange trip through Silverland" early in the year and were able to unlock a number of its mysteries by decoding clues contained in its few surviving rocks. One of the biggest surprises was the discovery that the widely filmed rock "Saucer" can still be found.

• Click here to revisit the adventures of Jesus and two Lone Rangers among the fascinating rocks of Silverland — along with the discovery that the Saucer has survived — from April 2016.

No. 6

An amazing Iverson Movie Ranch sequence in "Montana Moon," the first singing cowboy movie 

 

Johnny Mack Brown in "Montana Moon" (1930)

The era of talking in movies had just begun, and when "Montana Moon" came out in 1930, it launched the era of the singing cowboy. The movie includes a great sequence filmed along the western edge of Garden of the Gods overlooking Santa Susana Pass Road — not to mention one of the best buttressing shots ever filmed at Iverson.

• Click here to see the original post about the remarkable Iverson Movie Ranch sequence in "Montana Moon," from October 2016.

No. 5

Joe Iverson's butterfly collection, hunting trophies and other prize possessions are captured on film

Kelly Sullivan in "Death by Dialogue" (1988), with a few of Joe's butterflies

Joe Iverson's museum is on display in the movie "Death by Dialogue." The trophy room alone elevates this low-budget thriller into a unique artifact of movie history.

• Click here to see the original post about "Death by Dialogue" and Joe's vast collections, from June 2016.

No. 4

The "Muffin" rock behind the Grove Cabin has popped its muffin

"Bells of Rosarita" (1945): giant muffin-shaped rock behind cabin

A muffin-shaped rock once stood directly behind the little building known as the Grove Cabin. The rock is still there but it no longer looks like a muffin — and we found out why.

• Click here to see the original post about what became of the giant muffin, from earlier this month — December 2016.

No. 3

The "kill rock" from the Hopalong Cassidy movie "Mystery Man"

"Mystery Man" (1944): Hoppy's gun casts a shadow on the Kill Rock

The Kill Rock in the Hopalong Cassidy movie "Mystery Man" took multiple expeditions to find, encompassing both Lone Pine and the Iverson Ranch. Between me and Don Kelsen, we eventually found the thing hiding in plain sight.

• Click here to see the original post about the "Mystery Man" Kill Rock, from September 2016.

No. 2

A film shoot inside Karl and Augusta Iverson's house in 1935 

"The Outlaw Deputy" (1935) — the view from the Iversons' house on the hill

Film historian Tinsley E. Yarbrough spotted this scene filmed inside the home of Iverson Movie Ranch founders Karl and Augusta Iverson in the Western "The Outlaw Deputy." It may be the only time anyone filmed in the house on the hill.

 • Click here to see the original post about the 1935 shoot inside Karl and Augusta's house, from October 2016.

No. 1

The "grassy knoll" — a mystery from "Little Big Horn" that took 65 years to solve

"Little Big Horn" (1951): Sheb Wooley's sad fate on the grassy knoll

The location where Sheb Wooley's character met his grisly demise in the classic Western "Little Big Horn" has long perplexed movie historians — but a couple of us put our heads together early this year and, thanks to the sharp eye of veteran location researcher Eddie Henn, we finally solved the mystery.

• Click here to see the original post about the discovery of the "grassy knoll" of "Little Big Horn" infamy, from February 2016.

Here are a few finds from the past year that didn't quite make it into the Top 10 — click on the text to be linked to the original blog items ...

• The rediscovery of an old movie road on the north side of Cactus Hill

• Promo stills from the John Wayne movie "The Fighting Seabees" with surprising details hidden way in the background

• The crack where the Japanese sniper was stationed in "The Fighting Seabees"

• Some overlooked rock survivors found in the Iverson Gorge

To catch up on additional discoveries on the Iverson Movie Ranch in recent years, here are links to past "Year in Review" posts ...

Top Iverson Movie Ranch finds of 2015

• Click here to review the major discoveries of 2015, when an Elvis Presley filming location, a fake cave house from the silent era, Burgess Meredith's "Siedry-Bert" inscription, a wonderland of old movie footholds and the location of the Chinese Bridge from the 1926 movie "Tell It to the Marines" all made the list.

Top Iverson Movie Ranch finds of 2014

• Click here for a look back at 2014, a year in which Bear Tree, the Hobbit House, the remains of Freddie Frog, the Charles Bronson Hanging Tree and Tom Mix's bootholes from the 1935 Mascot serial "The Miracle Rider" were among the year's biggest discoveries.

"The Outlaw Deputy": The day Karl and Augusta Iverson invited a movie company to shoot in their house

Karl and Augusta Iverson, ca. early 1940s (Quiet on the Set)

The Iverson Movie Ranch was founded by Karl and Augusta Iverson, who homesteaded in the rocky hills above the northwest San Fernando Valley in the late 19th century.

Iverson family watermelon crop (ca. early 1930s)

Like most of the families that settled the West, the Iversons' original livelihood came from farming. The family grew a variety of crops over the years, including potatoes, figs, grapes and watermelons.

"The Silent Man" (1917), one of the earliest movies filmed on the Iverson Ranch:
The rocks in the background can still be found at the site

After early Hollywood location scouts started sniffing around the couple's hillside property as early as 1912, Karl and Augusta began transitioning from farming to the movie location business.

Karl and Augusta Iverson's "house on the hill" under construction (ca. 1927)

By the late 1920s, their sons Joe and Aaron had taken over much of the day-to-day movie business, and Karl and Augusta moved into their new house overlooking the Valley.

Karl and Augusta's house after the January 1930 snowstorm

Built in about 1927, the house was located near the homes of both Joe and Aaron, but was remote enough to enable the couple to enjoy their golden years in relative privacy.

"The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp" TV series (1960)

The movie business was generally kept a safe distance from the residence, which became known as the "Old Folks' House." It was only on rare occasions that a partial glimpse of the house might slip into the background of a movie or TV episode.

So it was out of character when, in 1935, Augusta and Karl allowed a film crew into their home to shoot a scene for the movie "The Outlaw Deputy."

"The Outlaw Deputy" (1935): Scene filmed in the Iversons' house

The brief scene plays out in a corner of the Iverson house, showcasing some of the building's distinctive arches. The location for this shoot would have been lost to history had it not been for the sharp eye of film historian Tinsley E. Yarbrough.

"The Outlaw Deputy": Nora Lane in the Iverson home

Tinsley noticed the scene in the movie and was able to pinpoint the location as the Old Folks' House — a jaw-dropping bit of location spotting, if you ask me.

"Foyer" area of the house, where the 1935 shoot takes place

The brief movie sequence essentially has two camera setups, one shooting west and one shooting south. Both setups were filmed in what I would call the "foyer" of the house, overlooking the Valley.

"The Outlaw Deputy": Rocky mound to the east of the Iverson Ranch

In a shot taken with the camera shooting to the east, we see a large rocky mound that today is located just east of Topanga Canyon Boulevard. Topanga would not be built through this area until the 1960s.

The same rocky mound, now located east of Topanga Canyon Boulevard

The rocky mound can still be found today, just across Topanga looking east from the former Iverson property.

Markers can be identified today that can also be seen in the movie. I've circled a number of rock clusters in this photo to facilitate matching them up against the background in the movie shot.

The same rock clusters are spotlighted here, with the outlines color-coded to match the recent shot above this one. The comparison is easier if you click on the photos to enlarge them.

Interesting rock seen with the camera shooting south

The property where the house once stood remains private and today is inaccessible. I hope to someday get a chance to track down the rock noted here, which I am almost certain would still be there.

The Old Folks' House in summer 2008

It's unclear whether the Old Folks' House had any full-time residents following the deaths of Karl and Augusta Iverson in the late 1940s. By the time I first came face to face with it in 2008 the place was all boarded up.

The boarded-up garage in 2008

After years of disuse, the Old Folks' House — aka the "House on the Hill" — became a hangout for kids hopping the fence from the nearby mobile home park.

Hangover Rock, which appeared frequently in productions, looms a short distance northwest of the house and garage.

Here's a better look at Hangover Rock in 2008, with a glimpse of the garage in the background. The African hut was a set for the NBC series "Heroes." (Click here to read more about the "Heroes" shoot.)

Remnants of the Old Folks' House after the 2008 Sesnon Fire

The Sesnon Fire, also known as the Porter Ranch Fire, ripped through the former Iverson Movie Ranch in fall 2008, destroying the Old Folks' House. I visited the site within weeks of the destruction and took pictures of the rubble.

After the fire: The "foyer"?

One part of the house that remained upright after the fire bears a resemblance to the "foyer" area used in "The Outlaw Deputy," although it does not appear to be correctly oriented. The design of the house included a number of arched entryways.

It's easy to miss the Chatsworth landmark Stoney Point, even though it looms large in the background. The shot is taken with the camera aimed toward the southeast.

Not surprisingly, the fireplace was also among the last features standing when the house burned down.

The foundation and fireplace in 2009

Not long after the fire the rubble was removed and the area was cleaned up. Even though this photo was taken in 2009, this is essentially what the foundation still looks like today.

Why "The Outlaw Deputy"?

The "Outlaw Deputy" shoot raises its share of questions. I can't help but wonder why, out of the thousands of productions filmed on their ranch, the Iversons opened their doors to an obscure Tim McCoy B-Western and then never repeated the gesture. I'd be interested to hear any theories.

I want to congratulate Tinsley E. Yarbrough on an amazing piece of detective work in spotting the "foyer" shoot, and would like to thank him again for all his great location research. Tinsley recently updated his seminal book "Those Great Western Movie Locations," which can be purchased through this previous blog post or by clicking on the Amazon icon below.

Back in 2008 the NBC series "Heroes" filmed at the Iverson Movie Ranch

This photo of Heroes Tower from 2008, painted up for a shoot for the NBC series "Heroes," ran in a recent post about Wyatt Earp with a Gatling gun, because "The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp" shot in the same location many years earlier. But I wanted to show readers more of the 2008 shoot for "Heroes."

"Heroes" episode "One of Us, One of Them" (premiered Sept. 29, 2008)

This shot from the third episode of season three of "Heroes" gives some idea of what was going on in the area during the shoot for the offbeat NBC superheroes drama series. Heroes Tower appears again here, at top right. In this shot actor Greg Grunberg, who played Matt Parkman on the show, examines a series of unexplained paintings on the rocks. With these wide-format shots, I recommend clicking on the photo to view a larger version.

Another shot from season three, episode three of "Heroes," titled "One of Us, One of Them," offers a better look at Greg Grunberg as Matt Parkman, his face showing the effects of overexposure to the African sun. Behind him at top right is the familiar overhanging portion of Hangover Rock.

This version of the "Heroes" shot identifies Hangover Rock. The Iverson footage ran intermittently throughout season three, with much of the shooting done just below Hangover Rock.

Here's what the "Heroes" set looked like on a site visit in 2008. The African hut in the foreground was built for the TV show.

This version of the 2008 photo pinpoints the portion of Hangover Rock that creates the silhouette behind Greg Grunberg in the "Heroes" shot.

Another version of the 2008 site visit photo identifies a few key features. Built in about 1928, the building known as the Old Folks' House is where Iverson Movie Ranch founders Karl and Augusta Iverson lived out their retirement years. The structure, which was not used as a movie set, stood for some 80 years before being leveled by the Sesnon Fire, also known as the Porter Ranch Fire, in fall 2008.

"Heroes" episode "Eris Quod Sum" (premiered Oct. 27, 2008)

This shot from the seventh episode of season three shifts the angle a bit from the previous shot. Here we can again see the African hut, and above it much of the span of Hangover Rock.

Back to the episode titled "One of Us, One of Them," this shot provides a look at the entrance to the hut. The character in the doorway is the mysterious Usutu, played by Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine.

In this shot from a visit to the site in mid-2008, we get a glimpse of the Old Folks' House a couple of months before it burned down. That's it near the top right corner, partially hidden behind a large boulder.

Here's what the Old Folks' House looked like in the aftermath of the Sesnon Fire. In the background is a portion of the western San Fernando Valley.

Another view of the debris of the Old Folks' House includes Heroes Tower in the background, toward the right. Also visible here is an example of the graffiti that has been a problem in some areas of the former Iverson Movie Ranch.

This version of the previous shot points out Heroes Tower in the background, along with the graffiti.

"Heroes" episode "It's Coming" (premiered Nov. 17, 2008)

Other characters arrive in the "Heroes" area at Iverson during the course of the third season, but for the most part everyone eventually just wants to get out of there. Usutu, meanwhile, meets an unpleasant fate. (His body is seen near the center of the frame.)

"Heroes," which was canceled in 2010 after four seasons, is expected to be revived by NBC in 2015 as a 13-episode miniseries, "Heroes: Reborn." You can click here to read more about the 2008 "Heroes" shoot in a previous post about one of Ray Harryhausen's "dynamation" monsters.

Below are a couple of Amazon links for "Heroes" on DVD and Blu-ray ...