"The Gene Autry Show" in color

Prominent Rock, aka Medicine Rock, at top right, in "The Gene Autry Show"

Over the course of its 86 episodes spanning 1950-1955, the early TV Western "The Gene Autry Show" filmed about one episode in five on the Iverson Movie Ranch. At the end of the run the series was filming in color, leaving us with a few relatively rare color views of some of the ranch's rock features.

"Stage to San Dimas" ("Gene Autry" episode, premiered Oct. 8, 1955)

George J. Lewis appeared in more than 400 features, shorts and TV episodes, from the silent era well into the 1960s, including more than 10 episodes of Gene's TV show. He was a regular in Republic serials, including a starring role opposite Linda Stirling in the 1944 Iverson Movie Ranch showpiece "Zorro's Black Whip." He also appeared as Don Alejandro de la Vega in Disney's "Zorro" TV series.

By the time Gene got around to doing TV he had already made bagloads of money as a cowboy star in the movies, which helped him round up a big enough budget to shoot much of the TV show out of town.

Pioneertown's "Mane Street"

One place he filmed a number of episodes — and it was film in those days — was around Pioneertown, near Palm Springs, Calif. In fact, Gene was one of the key players in setting up a movie town at Pioneertown — a town that still exists, although it's important to keep expectations low if you plan a trip there.

One of the many distinctive rock clumps near Pioneertown

The rocks around Pioneertown have a certain look to them — I call it "desert scrabble." It's similar enough to the look of the distinctive rock formations of the Alabama Hills in Lone Pine, Calif., that many filmmakers — including Autry — would blend the two locations into a single scene.

The Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, Calif.

The "desert scrabble" look of Lone Pine's Alabama Hills, however, is nicely augmented by the often snow-covered peaks of the Eastern Sierra — including Lone Pine Peak, seen here in the background just left of center.

Smiling Lion (at right), a happy rock formation on the Upper Iverson ("The Gene Autry Show")

I want to get back to the Iverson Ranch and show a couple more color shots from "Autry." I've had a hard time finding good prints of the series, so I hope readers will forgive the lower quality of some of these screen shots.

Upper Iverson Movie Ranch in modern times — Smiling Lion, bottom left

Smiling Lion can still be found on the former Upper Iverson, but because of the terrain and the homes that have been built in the area, it's hard to duplicate the angle seen in the "Autry" episode. Above is a recent shot of Smiling Lion from about as close as I could get to the same angle.

Smiling Lion can be seen in the bottom left corner of the photo. Unavoidably, you'll also see, just above Smiling Lion, one of the estate homes that now occupy much of the former Upper Iverson Movie Ranch.

Also visible in this shot are Turtle Rock, at the right, and a couple of the key background hills of the Upper Iverson, Two-Humper at top left and Notch Hill at top center.

"The Gene Autry Show": "The Stage to San Dimas" (1955)

Another screen shot from the "Stage to San Dimas" episode shows a cliff area along the South Rim. I call this the T-Cliff because of the distinguishing capital "T" that seems to be carved into it (along with sort of a cross to its right, creating a square or a tic-tac-toe board).

The markings could be interpreted any number of ways, but T-Cliff works for me as a way of identifying it. This cliff is also sometimes referred to as simply "The Cliff" among Iverson historians — a term that may be a bit too generic considering that the movie ranch features a number of cliffs.

Here's a little bit of that same cliff area, photographed during a recent visit. The tree has grown quite a bit in the half-century-plus since "The Gene Autry Show" taped at Iverson, and much of the cliff is now hidden. But the prominent T-shaped crack still identifies it as the T-Cliff.

Classic Rock: Reflecting on the Iverson Movie Ranch's quirky Wrench Rock

"Annie Oakley" TV series (1956)

Here's a scene starring the always fascinating Wrench Rock — sometimes called Indian Head, Upper Indian Head or Bobby — in a relatively artistic shot from the TV show "Annie Oakley." This scene appears in the 1956 episode "Dilemma at Diablo." I love the full reflection of the rock in the pool of water.

Also visible in the shot are the Aztec and the background hill Two-Humper, an important Iverson marker. The main features seen here are located on the South Rim of the former Upper Iverson Movie Ranch in Chatsworth, Calif.

The same setting in recent times

Here's the same group — Wrench Rock, the Aztec and Two-Humper — in a recent photo taken from close to the same angle. The shot is taken in springtime when California's neon green is in full bloom.

Wrench Rock was apparently originally called "Indian Head" until that name became associated by mistake with another rock, which was originally known as Tower Rock (and sometimes called the Pinnacle), located on the Lower Iverson.
 

"Stagecoach" (1939): Arrival at Apache Wells (Tower Rock at top center)

Tower Rock, often called Indian Head (and often seen paired with another big rock, properly known as Sphinx but often called Eagle Beak), became one of Iverson's most famous rocks, helped by an appearance in John Ford's 1939 epic "Stagecoach."

My guess is that's one reason Wrench Rock ultimately started being called other things, including Upper Indian Head, which isn't exactly elegant. (But then, neither is Wrench Rock.)

"Thunder River Feud" (1942): My first glimpse of Wrench Rock, at the right

I didn't help matters when I came along years later, unaware of any of the rock's existing names, and started calling it Bobby. But I've since come to my senses, and I think Wrench Rock is the least confusing name for it.

"Saddle Tramp" (1950): Joel McCrea with Wrench Rock

If you want to get deeper into the complexity of rock names at Iverson, here's a blog post attempting to sort out the movie ranch's many so-called "Indian Heads."

This post is part of a series on "Classic Rocks" — sandstone giants located on the former Iverson Movie Ranch in Chatsworth, Calif., that became a part of not only America's physical landscape but also its cultural heritage, through featured roles in old movies, cliffhanger serials and early TV shows. Other entries in the series can be seen by clicking here.