"The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp" reveals a previously unknown fake cave in Garden of the Gods

"The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp"

The Iverson Movie Ranch was home to a number of well-used fake caves and fake mines during the filming days, but I recently heard about a little-known one that was set up in Central Garden of the Gods in the late 1950s.

"Wyatt Earp" episode "Frontier Surgeon"

Iverson researcher Cliff Roberts noticed the cave in "Frontier Surgeon," an episode of the TV series "The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp." The episode premiered Jan. 19, 1960, and would have been shot in 1959.

Phantom — the north face

The cave entrance appeared over a large crack on the south side of Phantom, one of the most iconic boulders in Garden of the Gods. The above photo from recent years shows the more familiar north side of Phantom.

"Tennessee's Partner" (1955): Anthony Caruso in the crack on the south side of Phantom

The crack on Phantom's south side is famous in its own right, having played a pivotal role in the RKO Western "Tennessee's Partner." Spoiler alert: Skip ahead if you don't want to know that a certain U.S. president gets gunned down near here. As Iverson location shoots go, that "Tennessee's Partner" sequence is a barnburner.

"Frontier Surgeon": Fake cave built over the crack

The crack on the south side of Phantom is right where the fake cave was built that appears in "Wyatt Earp." This area is "Grubstake's Claim," so named after its role in "Tennessee's Partner."

Damian O'Flynn guest stars on the episode as Dr. Goodfellow, the "Frontier Surgeon" of the title. The other two guys are series regulars.

At one point in "Frontier Surgeon," bad guys start pouring out of the fake cave, guns blazing.

This wide shot gives a better idea of where the cave was located. Besides the famous scene in "Tennessee's Partner," the same area in Central Garden of the Gods was where Elvis Presley filmed the original tent scene for "Harum Scarum" in 1965. A few feet away and a few years earlier, wild boars caused trouble in "Old Yeller."

The shot is taken with the camera aimed toward the west, with a hazy view of the Santa Susana Mountains in the distance, to the west of the Iverson Movie Ranch.

This is a shot I took not long ago of that same part of the Santa Susana Mountains. This ridge west of Garden of the Gods, which I call Boat Hill, can be spotted in the background in a lot of old movies and TV shows.

Here's another recent shot that includes Boat Hill. Part of Central Garden of the Gods can also be seen in this photo, including the important marker Getaway Rock.

Getaway Rock turns up again in the "Wyatt Earp" sequence, as noted here. Also note the large bump on the rock on which Wyatt Earp is leaning as he and his associates get the jump on the outlaw gang.

This photo from a recent visit captures the same bump on the rock, near the top left corner, along with a partial view of Getaway Rock, to the left of the bump.

The angle here is different from the one seen in the TV show. You may or may not be able to match up the bumps in the two shots, but other features are readily identifiable.

The horizontal lines can also be seen in the "Wyatt Earp" shots.

This shot from "Wyatt Earp" has it all: the bump, the horizontal lines, a tiny semblance of the diagonal crack where the fake cave entrance construction begins ... and the entrance itself.

The bump, the lines and the cave are all noted here.

A huge diagonal crack appears in the recent shot, near the right end of the horizontal lines, but does not appear in the "Wyatt Earp" shot. That's because in the TV show the crack marks the beginning of the section of the rock that is filled in with material forming the fake cave entrance.

"Tennessee's Partner"

The huge crack is also visible in the shot of Anthony Caruso from "Tennessee's Partner."

In "Tennessee's Partner," we also get a good look at the main cave area, just to the right of the diagonal crack. The cave, which is shallow, appears in its natural state in the movie — in contrast to the "enhanced" artificial cave we see in "Wyatt Earp."

How about a special shoutout to this important little diagonal sliver of shadowy intent — I mean, sliver of a shadowy indent — pointing the way to where the fake cave material begins, to the right.

I'd say roughly this much is fake. I don't know, fake caves can be pretty lame. Speaking from the heart ... I won't come out and say this one is lame, but let's just say it's not the most convincing fake cave ever seen.

Lane Bradford, in "Wyatt Earp"

I'd be remiss not to point out Lane Bradford, one of the most familiar bad guys in the B-Westerns.

He's right here in all those shots of the cave. His character in the "Wyatt Earp" episode is "Swanee." Having a character name can be an upgrade for a TV outlaw. Bradford was often billed generically as "henchman."

Lane Bradford, right, with fellow outlaw Jimmy Noel in the "Wyatt Earp" episode

Bradford never lost his stride when the Westerns shifted to TV in the 1950s. The prolific actor tallied in the ballpark of 250 credits, about evenly distributed between B-Westerns and TV series.

Note the chin on Bradford — his trademark chin signifies both strength and weakness. Mostly strength — he was a formidable thug. On the other hand, as a perennial outlaw, sometimes his job was to make dumb decisions. My guess is Lane Bradford the actor was a man of high intellect who knew how to maximize his assets.

That chin can be hard to miss. In this shot it almost looks as though it's drawn in. Bradford wasn't the only tough outlaw in the Westerns to boast an awe-inspiring chin, but he may have been the most memorable.

Today a tree gets in the way, but this is a look at Grubstake's Claim on the south side of Phantom.

The same diagonal crack and main cave entrance can still be found.

A wider shot shows more of the south side of Phantom, but this is mainly a better look at the tree that makes access to the cave a challenge.

Swanee, played by Lane Bradford, schemes to get the dying man's money

In some "Wyatt Earp" shots we catch glimpses of an indented area on the rock, to the right of the fake cave. In this shot it's near the top left corner.

Take a look at this indented area.

I took this photo of the same indented area on a recent visit to the site.

This is the distinctive indented area on the rock.

Also here we see some worn signs of old graffiti.

Graffiti near entrance to Grubstake's Claim (2011)

The graffiti has been there for some time. It already looked worn-out — and appeared exactly the same as it does now — when I took this photo back in 2011.

One of the many interesting features of the cave area is this hole.

Going back to that original screen shot of Anthony Caruso from "Tennessee's Partner," notice that the same hole is seen in the movie, and it has what appears to be some kind of metal blade sticking out of it.

I have this other angle on the metal blade, but it doesn't add much. The "shiv" and its shadow can be seen in the bottom right corner. The hole's origin story remains untold, although we know it predates the "Wyatt Earp" cave.

"Outlaws of Boulder Pass" (1942): Phantom Shack

It should be noted that the same site was home to the Phantom Shack in the 1940s. If I had to guess I'd say the hole is most likely an artifact of this period and probably originally helped hold the shack in place.

"Six Gun Gospel" (1943): Phantom Shack

But even if the hole originated as part of the support system for the Phantom Shack, it may have been called upon again in 1959 to serve as an anchor point for the fake cave in "Wyatt Earp."

"The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp"

While many of the fake caves and fake mines on the old Iverson Movie Ranch stood for years and were used repeatedly, the fake cave seen in "Wyatt Earp" appears to have been in place for only a short time — possibly for a single production.

"Tennessee's Partner": Anthony Caruso holds Grubstake McNiven's claim sign

In telling the tale of Grubstake's Claim out behind Phantom in "Tennessee's Partner," the movie goes so far as to display the claim sign. In a way, the sign works not only to stake Grubstake's claim in the movie, but also to stamp this historic filming location as "Grubstake's Claim" ... at the risk of over-romanticizing the movies.

Location verite: You can visit the spot where Ronald Reagan was gunned down

The 1955 RKO Western "Tennessee's Partner," starring Ronald Reagan, John Payne, Rhonda Fleming and Coleen Gray, has one of my favorite Iverson Movie Ranch sequences, shot in Garden of the Gods. It's the climactic sequence of the movie, and it takes place in an area that has been preserved as a park and remains open to the public.

"Tennessee's Partner" (1955): Ronald Reagan at the Miner's Cabin

Reagan plays a character known only as Cowpoke — he's the "Partner" in "Tennessee's Partner." Here's a shot of Cowpoke from early in the movie, at the Miner's Cabin — also known as the Lone Ranger Cabin — which was located on the Upper Iverson. The stone foundation visible at the bottom of the photo is still in place at the site.

Foundation of the Miner's Cabin in recent years

This is what's left of Miner's Cabin today — the stone foundation and front steps. The two largest rocks toward the left of the photo are the same as the two big rocks at the bottom left of the Reagan photo at the cabin, above.

Stop reading here if you don't want to know what happens in the movie, as I have to reveal it to show what happened to Reagan's character and where it all went down. Cowpoke meets his demise toward the end of the movie, setting up the climactic chase and fistfight. He's gunned down in an underhanded way by a sniveling weasel named Turner, played by veteran character actor Anthony Caruso. Cowpoke dies heroically, stepping in front of a bullet from Turner, intended for Cowpoke's friend Tennessee.

The shooting takes place near Grubstake's Claim, which in reality is a shallow cave on the back side of a familiar sandstone giant known as the Phantom. That's the weaselous Turner holding Grubstake's sign as Turner tries to take over the claim. The back side of the Phantom is in the background.

Turner takes cover just inside the entrance to Grubstake's Claim — actually a shallow indentation in the rock and not the full-on mine or cave the filmmakers made it out to be.

The site of Grubstake's Claim in modern times

Here's a shot of Grubstake's Claim as it appears these days. You may be able to match up both the main "mine entrance" at the center of the photo and the small diagonal crack in the rock seen at the left. That smaller crack can also be seen in the screen shot above of Turner holding the sign. The site is a little less accessible today, with some foliage blocking the view.

This is the scene moments before Reagan's character, Cowpoke, takes the fatal bullet. That's Reagan in the light-blue shirt. He and his partner, Tennessee (John Payne, at the right), appear to have captured Turner — but they don't realize that the slippery villain is carrying a concealed handgun.

The sequence is filmed in what I call "location verite," meaning if someone runs off in a certain direction, the next shot really takes place in that direction, not somewhere else that may have been more convenient — or cheaper — to shoot. The characters are in approximately the same position in both of the above two shots — filmed first from the back and then from the front. If you go to the site today you can find all of the rocks in this sequence — although the huge tree in the above shot is not there.

Reagan's character is not aware he's about to die. As he and Tennessee are preoccupied with the sheriff, who came up behind them, Turner, at center, goes for his gun.

In this shot, Reagan has just taken the bullet. Turner's about to make his getaway and Tennessee, at the right, missed the whole thing because he had turned around to face the sheriff. Grubstake's Claim in the background pinpoints the spot.

Reagan's death scene — Cowpoke's last words to his friend Tennessee.

Here's where Cowpoke fell dead, in central Garden of the Gods.

In the movie, Turner makes a run for it ...

The getaway site as it appears today — Getaway Rock on the right

Here's that same spot during a recent visit, including the large boulder on the right, which I call Getaway Rock because of its role in this sequence. I walked the area with screen shots and was able to trace the path of the action and find where every shot was taken — thanks to the movie being shot in location verite.

Tennessee takes off after Turner, catches him, and they launch into an epic fistfight, all of which is captured in a series of lavish shots of rarely filmed rock features on the west side of Garden of the Gods. In the above scrape, Turner starts to get what's coming to him, being flung over a sharp-edged rock by an enraged Tennessee.

The sharp-edged rock today

Here's the same spot in recent times — still easy to get to and easy to find if you follow the action in the movie. Many of the same rocks can be seen in both of the above two shots. The movie shot was taken from a distance with a long lens, which accounts for the rock in the background (behind the dead tree in the movie shot) appearing closer in the movie than in the recent photo. That background rock is one of the highest in Garden of the Gods.

Here's another view of the fight scene today, from a reverse angle. The big rock that dominates this shot — a mighty distinctive critter — appears on the left in the previous shots. The "sharp-edged rock" appears here as the small, triangular one in the foreground, toward the left.

Below is a clip from "Tennessee's Partner" containing the climactic sequence — including most of the rocks mentioned above:



Location verite is a technique that was rarely used in the B-Westerns, where keeping costs to a minimum was the guiding principle. It's refreshing to find it here, and it's an indication the movie probably had a little bigger budget. It's a good technique from the standpoint of realism, and as a bonus it makes it easier to do location research.

Click here for a little more about the "Tennessee's Partner" shoot in a blog post mainly about the Judy Garland movie "The Harvey Girls," which was partially shot in the same area.