The Year in Review: Top 10 Iverson Movie Ranch finds of 2014

2014 was a busy year in Iverson Movie Ranch research. As I was looking back over the year's blog posts to help put together a Top 10 list of the most significant finds of the year, I realized it would be difficult to narrow it down to just 10. So in addition to the Top 10 Countdown that follows, you'll find a "Next 10" list at the bottom of this post, highlighting the discoveries that didn't quite make the Top 10.

Here's a countdown of the Top 10 Iverson Movie Ranch finds of 2014:

No. 10: Proof that Elvis Presley filmed on the Iverson Movie Ranch

Promotional still for "Harum Scarum" (1965)

It has been known for some time that Elvis Presley's 1965 Movie "Harum Scarum" was filmed in part on the Iverson Movie Ranch, but I had to put together a few puzzle pieces to prove that the King himself was captured on film at the ranch. The above promotional still played a key role in proving it.

Click here to read the blog post from October all about what Elvis was up to while he was at Iverson.

No. 9: The Forsythe Oak

The Forsythe Oak, located on the former Upper Iverson Movie Ranch

2014 was the Year of the Tree in Iverson research, with the Forsythe Oak being one of three trees to make the Top 10. Named after actor John Forsythe ("Bachelor Father"), the tree was spotted in an episode of the Western anthology series "Zane Grey Theatre" and helped unlock a broader discovery, the Midway Oaks — a small grove of trees that appeared in many productions, with quite a few of the trees still in place on the former Upper Iverson.

Click here to read the blog post from August about the Forsythe Oak.

No. 8: Evidence that Bald Knob was manmade

"The Virginian" (1963) — a bolt found in the rock known as Bald Knob

The secret behind the gravity-defying rock Bald Knob, a frequently filmed feature of the Iverson Gorge, appears to have been inadvertently revealed in an episode of "The Virginian," where a bolt can be seen presumably helping to keep the rock from tipping over.

I did an in-depth examination of Bald Knob in two posts back in August, starting with this one, which examines a number of appearances by Bald Knob, including in an episode of "The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp" that contains a sequence I call the Battle of Bald Knob. The Bald Knob series continues with this post exposing the bolt and other possible enhancements that were made to the rock feature.

No. 7: The Charles Bronson Hanging Tree

"Bonanza" (1964) — Charles Bronson hanging from the Charles Bronson Hanging Tree

The tree from which Charles Bronson was apparently hanged during his guest appearance on "Bonanza" in 1964, in the episode "The Underdog," was found to still be in place on the former Upper Iverson. I blogged about the tree and the Bronson appearance back in September, and you can read that blog entry by clicking here.

No. 6: Tornado's Mine

"Zorro's Black Whip" (1944) — Tornado's Mine

Fellow film historians and location experts, including a number of readers of this blog, collaborated with me on my personal Iverson Movie Ranch research in 2014 more than ever before, with one example being the discovery of Tornado's Mine by Jerry Condit. Thanks to Jerry I found not only the exact location of the mine, but even some remaining pieces of the old movie set that are still in place.

I detailed the discovery of Tornado's Mine in a blog post in November that you can read by clicking here.

No. 5: Stone buttressing near Garden of the Gods

"Adventures of Captain Marvel" (1941)

Another collaborative effort went into the discovery near Garden of the Gods of the stone buttressing noted above that appeared in the Republic serial "Adventures of Captain Marvel." A sighting by "Spin and Marty" webmaster Kurt Spitzner launched the search, but it was intrepid Iverson explorer Cliff Roberts who found the structure.

You can read a post from November all about the buttressing, its location and its discovery by clicking here.

No. 4: Tom Mix bootholes from 1935

"The Miracle Rider" (1935) — Tom Mix contemplates his bootholes

I blogged in October about the discovery of the Tom Mix bootholes from the Mascot serial "The Miracle Rider" in a rock now known as Tom Mix Rock, which remains in place near the Garden of the Gods. The holes were spotted in the serial by a reader of this blog, Scotty, and I was able to track them down at the location and match them up with the holes as they remain in place today.

You can read my blog post about the bootholes by clicking here.

No. 3: The remains of Freddie Frog

"Range Beyond the Blue" (1947) — Freddie Frog

Freddie Frog was one of those rock formations at Iverson that I thought must just be my imagination — especially after trying in vain for years to find it. When I finally managed, back in February, not only to determine the location where the rock once stood, but also to find the busted-up pieces of what was once Freddie Frog, I realized I wasn't crazy.

I blogged about the Freddie Frog discovery in February, and you can read that post by clicking here.

No. 2: Bear Tree

"The Adventures of Spin and Marty" (1955)

Bear Tree was one of the first big Iverson Movie Ranch finds of 2014, and like many of the year's top discoveries, it was the result of a collaborative effort. "Spin and Marty" expert Kurt Spitzner tipped me off to the possibility that this scene from the Disney series might be filmed at Iverson, and some heads-up work by field operative Cliff Roberts produced the first confirmed contemporary photographs of the tree.

Bear Tree today

The discovery of Bear Tree helped open up a whole new "branch" of Iverson research, as it soon became apparent that in many cases a tree can be just as much help as a rock in telling a story about movie history. Following the discovery of Bear Tree, other secrets have begun to surface about the Oak Flats area, where Bear Tree is located, as well as the Midway Oaks and other tree-filled sections of the former Iverson Ranch.

To read the blog entry from back in March about Bear Tree then and now, please click here.

No. 1 — the Top Iverson Movie Ranch find of 2014: Hobbit House

Hobbit House, hidden among the condos on the former Lower Iverson

The discovery of Hobbit House early in the year helped tie up a number of loose ends about the movie history of the Upper Gorge, on the Lower Iverson. Hobbit House connects many of the dots among the Angry Cardinal, Plaza Rock, the Gorge Cabin and other features, while also revealing just how much history has been lost to the "fill dirt" used in construction of a condo community on the site.

"Stagecoach Express" (1942)

This photo of Hobbit House from 1942 gives some idea of the grandeur of the rock feature when it stood tall — before about three-quarters of it was buried. Click here to read the original blog post from March about the discovery of Hobbit House, including additional movie appearances by the rock feature. A follow-up post, which can be found by clicking here, goes into detail about Angry Cardinal, a larger rock feature of which Hobbit House forms the "top lip."

Here are some noteworthy Iverson Movie Ranch discoveries of 2014 that didn't quite make the Top 10 list — you can click on any entry to see the original blog post about the item; in no particular order:

• The site of the Snakeskin Mine Shack in "Gun Belt"

• Bigfoot Subdues Dracula

• Buster Keaton's "armory" in the towers of Rock Island

• Evolution

• Carey's Cabin on the Upper Iverson

• Lancer Arch, named for "The Lives of a Bengal Lancer"

• A new view of the Sheep Flats adobes, as seen in "The Light of Western Stars" (1940)

• Iverson after the brutal Southern California fires of fall 1970, as seen in "Cade's County"

• Crouching Cat, disguised by fake plaster rock material in "The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp"

• Saddlehorn Village in widescreen CinemaScope in "Escort West"

It's Now or Never: Time to find out whether Elvis Presley ever worked the Iverson Movie Ranch

The King of Rock 'n' Roll — in costume for "Harum Scarum" (1965)

I've been trying for some time now to nail down a definitive answer to the question of whether Elvis Presley ever appeared in movie footage shot at the Iverson Movie Ranch. That answer was surprisingly elusive, but I believe I finally have it — and the answer is ... Yes!

It happened in the 1965 MGM musical "Harum Scarum." It's widely known that a number of the outdoor scenes for the movie were shot at Iverson, but I had to put together a few separate pieces of evidence to determine whether Elvis himself took part in filming at the movie ranch. Finally, I can confirm that Elvis not only showed up at Iverson, but also ran around among its famous rocks.

"Harum Scarum" — Is that Elvis running around in the North Cluster?

This shot features Elvis' character, at the center of the frame, running near an Iverson rock that can be recognized from its appearances in other movies, as noted below. The shot does not provide a clear look at Elvis, but it's about as good as it gets as far as actually seeing the King at Iverson in the movie. (You may want to click on the photo to see a larger version.)

The rock seen just to the right of Elvis in the shot is one that appears frequently in old Westerns, which I call E.T. I've been aware of this shot for a few years, but I didn't consider it proof that Elvis was at Iverson because it could be that a stand-in was used in the shot. In those days big stars were routinely spared from having to do actual location work for long shots, especially in a harsh locale such as the Iverson Ranch. Until recently I remained skeptical about the actual presence of Elvis — Then I saw the promo still.

Promo still for "Harum Scarum" (1965) — shot on the Lower Iverson 

The promotional still, from the collection of film historian Jerry England, makes it clear that Elvis was indeed at Iverson. Whether the action here was a special setup for the photo or was a part of the actual filming doesn't matter. Clearly, the actors are all in costume for the movie, positioned in their same spots from the movie, and they're running through the same sequence that appears in the movie. Add it all up, and it means that's indeed Elvis in the scene in the movie.

The action in both the promo still and the movie scene takes place in a section of the former location ranch just north of Garden of the Gods known as the North Cluster. In this version of the shot I've identified the rock I call E.T.

"Come On, Cowboys" (1937)

This shot from the Three Mesquiteers movie "Come On, Cowboys" might help explain the origin of the name "E.T." The rock appears from a different angle here than in the Elvis movie, but is once again at the right of the frame.

This shot pinpoints E.T., as I want to make sure readers are certain which rock I'm talking about.

"E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" (1982)

I find the shape of the rock to be strongly reminiscent of the title character in the Steven Spielberg movie. This shot also features a young Drew Barrymore.

"Stagecoach" (1939) — the stage arrives at Apache Wells

E.T. — the rock — appears in a minor role during an iconic sequence in one of the most high-profile movies filmed at Iverson, John Ford's Great American Western, "Stagecoach." The sequence in which the stagecoach arrives at the Apache Wells outpost, with the Garden of the Gods rock behemoths in the background, also includes the much smaller E.T. — although it would be easy to miss.

This version of the "Stagecoach" shot points out E.T. As I mentioned, it would be easy to miss the rock in this shot if you didn't know exactly where to look.

Here's a more widely recognized shot from the sequence, in which the giant Garden of the Gods towers are prominently featured in the background. From this angle, E.T. is blocked out by the wall and cannot be seen.

The best shot of E.T. in "Stagecoach" is probably this one, which appears as the stage pulls out of Apache Wells.

Pointing out E.T. one final time. In these shots we can begin to see that the rock was sort of out by itself, in a flat area where it was distanced from the other rocks. Its solitude and distance ultimately proved fatal, as E.T. was removed when the flat area was prepped for condo development in the 1980s.

"Harum Scarum": Is that Elvis, or a stand-in?

Getting back to "Harum Scarum," I wanted to point out a couple of other shots. The above scene is filmed at Iverson, with Cactus Hill in the background. But as with some of the other shots, it's unclear whether it's Elvis in the scene. His character is riding the second horse in the group, but here again, it could be a stand-in — and in this sequence, where only distant shots are included, my hunch is that this is not Elvis.

The situation is similar with this sequence of shots taken in the Iverson Gorge. Elvis is again supposedly a part of the group of riders, but it's impossible to be sure in the long shots. This shot includes the rock feature Bald Knob, directly above the riders. I talked about this shoot in a post about Bald Knob a couple of months back, which you can see by clicking here.

Below are some links to DVD versions of "Harum Scarum" and "Stagecoach," along with a link to a streaming version of "Come On, Cowboys," for those who are interested in seeing more of the Iverson Movie Ranch in these movies — or maybe just seeing the movies themselves.