The Iverson Movie Ranch Western street, one building at a time ... Part V: The General Store

"Along Came Jones" (1945): The General Store

The General Store was one of the town's fanciest buildings when the Iverson Western street was new, and the structure received a lot of screen time in its movie debut, in Gary Cooper's "Along Came Jones."

"Along Came Jones" — Gary Cooper at the General Store

Cooper produced and starred in the RKO Western — the lone producer credit on his resume. He had the town set built specially for the movie in late 1944, and in keeping with Iverson Ranch policy, the set remained in place after the production shut down. The Iverson family could then make it available for other productions.

"Along Came Jones"

The Western street stood for the next 13 years, undergoing a number of major renovations and becoming one of the location ranch's most widely filmed sets. The General Store, seen at top center in this screen shot, was filmed from a variety of angles for "Along Came Jones."

"Calamity Jane and the Texan" (1950)

Located at the northeast corner of town, the General Store often served as a stage stop over the years, as it did in the Columbia Western "Calamity Jane and the Texan."

"Calamity Jane and the Texan"

The nearby Sheriff's Office can be seen on the right and a little bit of the Barn is visible near the center of the frame in another shot of the General Store from "Calamity Jane and the Texan."

"Montana Incident" (1952): The General Store, with Pond Rock at left

In the Whip Wilson movie "Montana Incident," we get a high-angle view of the General Store, probably from camera scaffolding set up in the middle of the street. This scene was originally filmed day-for-night, and appears to unintentionally feature a well-lit Pond Rock.

Pond Rock was a fixture of the town set, but usually kept a low profile. Not here.

"Along Came Jones"

Pond Rock appears again in this shot from the town's movie debut. The photo features the front of the General Store and part of the neighborhood to the north. Two rarely seen buildings appear in the shot, along with a portion of Center Rock in the background.

Center Rock, Pond Rock, a small adobe on the far left and an odd-shaped building just north of the General Store are noted here. We'll revisit these buildings later in the series.

"El Paso" (Paramount, 1949)

Even caught in a dust storm in the Western "El Paso," the General Store is distinguished by its pale blue paint job. This is another movie where the building plays a stage depot.

Much of the walkway where Gary Cooper was seen walking in an earlier shot, along the south face of the General Store, was later enclosed, as illustrated by these shots comparing "Along Came Jones" in 1945 and "El Paso" four years later. This section of the previously open walkway remained closed in subsequent productions.

"Check Your Guns" (1948)

After a splashy debut in "Along Came Jones," the look of the storefront was toned down. A shot from the Eddie Dean Western "Check Your Guns" offers a view of the General Store's new "no frills" front deck area.

"Calamity Jane and the Texan" — The General Store, right, and Casa Grande

Once Casa Grande surfaced in 1949, redefining the north end of the Iverson town set, the General Store, on the right, often shared the screen with the new building, seen here in 1950.

"Gold Raiders" (The Three Stooges, 1951)

Long shots of the town looking toward the north typically included a view of the front end of the General Store, which jutted out into the street.

Even at this distance, Pond Rock is visible in its familiar post next to the General Store's front walkway.

"Ghost Town Renegades" (1947)

Like the rest of the town, the General Store had to endure a series of "reverse makeovers" to appear in dilapidated condition as part of a ghost town. For "Ghost Town Renegades," a section of the roof was ripped out.

"Ghost Town Renegades" was a Lash LaRue B-Western from Poverty Row studio Producers Releasing Corp., or PRC, which used the Iverson town set extensively in the 1940s.

The "Ghost Town Renegades" shot tracks the fates of two blacksmith shops at the north end of town. The original Blacksmith Shop, now lying in ruins, was in place when the town was built in late 1944, and was one of the first buildings to be demolished. The temporary Blacksmith Shed would soon follow.

"El Paso" (Paramount, 1949)

The town set cleaned up nicely when it served the purpose of the production. As the vibrant title city in "El Paso," the Western street was a hub of activity.

The General Store all but disappears amid a sea of signs and storefronts, but it's back there at the north end of town doing its part as the Stage Depot.

"Son of Paleface" (1952) — Another role as a ghost town

In another example of "reverse engineering," from the Bob Hope comedy "Son of Paleface," the General Store was again dressed down to appear in rundown condition. Cue the tumbleweeds.

"The Ghost Town" ("Adventures of Rin Tin Tin," premiered April 29, 1955)

The General Store was again in ghost town mode when the "Rin Tin Tin" TV series came to town a few years later. Here we see the famous German shepherd — played by a descendant of the original silent film-era Rin Tin Tin — sniffing out danger on the walkway in front of the boarded-up store.

An unusual element of this shot is the enormous presence of Pond Rock looming at the left of the frame.

Rinty and Rusty, played by Lee Aaker, keep a vigil along the south face of the General Store. This is the portion of the building that was originally an open walkway but by this point had been walled off.

Later in the episode, Rin Tin Tin — reportedly played in the TV series mainly by Rin Tin Tin IV — enjoys a treat on the front deck of the General Store.

"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

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.

"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