Donald "Red" Barry's wonder horse Banner hides in the bushes near a rock with an L-shaped crack

L-R: Wild Bill Elliott, Bob Livingston, Don Barry, Roy Rogers,

Allan "Rocky" Lane, Sunset Carson

Donald "Red" Barry may have been one of the shortest cowboy heroes of the B-Western era, but I also think he may have been the best actor in the bunch.

"Ghost Valley Raiders" (Republic, 1940): Lobby card shot at Iverson's Grove Cabin

Barry shot most of his Republic pictures on the Iverson Ranch, and they're some of the best showcases for the ranch if you can find them. I recently scanned "Ghost Valley Raiders" and it's a rocktacular — I want to thank Western movie location historian Tinsley Yarbrough for pointing me to the movie.

Donald Barry and "Banner" at the Grove Cabin on the Lower Iverson

Barry rode a cool movie horse in the 1940s — Banner. The word is that Banner, a big bay, later did movie work with John Wayne, Rocky Lane and Andy Devine. Ouch!

Donald Barry and Banner in "Ghost Valley Raiders"

Banner was presented as one of those super-smart movie horses, and in "Ghost Valley Raiders" he was given a number of "wonder horse"-type stunts to do to help Barry fight bad guys.

Banner hides in the bushes — positioned conveniently next to a distinctive rock

In one of those stunts, all Banner had to do was go hide in the bushes. As it turns out, he hid right next to a rock with a distinctive curved, or L-shaped, crack running through it.

I was able to find that same rock on a recent visit to the former movie ranch.

The rock is kind of hidden among the condos just east of Redmesa Road.

"The Roy Rogers Show" (1957): Roy and Trigger at the L-shaped crack

Banner wasn't the only famous movie horse to be filmed at the L-shaped crack. In this shot from an episode of "The Roy Rogers Show," Roy works with Trigger near the same cracked rock.

The shot comes from the episode "End of the Trail," which premiered Jan. 27, 1957, during the show's sixth and final season. The episode would have been filmed in 1956.

This Google aerial shows where the cracked rock can be found. It's in a private community, but in my experience the residents have been cool about visitors who are there for thoughtful rock gawking.

The "Hangman's Tree" on the Lower Iverson ("Ghost Valley Raiders")

The cracked rock sequence in "Ghost Valley Raiders" also features the so-called "Hangman's Tree," which was located nearby but did not survive condo development. Click here to read a detailed post about the tree.

Another view of the Hangman's Tree in "Ghost Valley Raiders"

Oddly enough, no one seems to recall an instance where the "Hangman's Tree" was used for a hanging. If you know of one, I'd like to hear about it. Please comment or send a note.

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.

An Iverson Movie Ranch mystery solved: Here's what happened to the "Hangman's Tree"

"Hangman's Tree" on the Lower Iverson Movie Ranch in 1981 
(photo from "An Ambush of Ghosts," by David Rothel)

I've been obsessing for a while over this photo of what's been called the "Hangman's Tree." And after several months, my obsessing finally paid off.

"Hangman's Tree" location in 2016

On a recent visit to the former Iverson Movie Ranch, I was able to pinpoint the location where the Hangman's Tree once stood. Unfortunately, the tree is long gone.

"Pioneer Justice" (1947): The Hangman's Tree

As is usually the case, it took multiple sources of information to crack the mystery. In this instance, the biggest clue surfaced in the Lash LaRue movie "Pioneer Justice."

I couldn't match the tree in "Pioneer Justice" directly with the tree in Rothel's book, but it has all the hallmarks of a good hanging tree. And it's right next to a rock that looks like it might be easy to find.

Another great clue lurks in the background of the "Pioneer Justice" shot — something that looks suspiciously like Zorro's Cave. That would be the first place I'd look.

Hangman's Tree area, including "Hangman's Tree Rock," in 2016

When I arrived at the target area, everything was right where it was supposed to be — except the tree. "Hangman's Tree Rock" has survived, and still looks exactly as it did in "Pioneer Justice."

The tree and rock in 1981, in "An Ambush of Ghosts"

The rock is easy to miss in Rothel's landmark Western locations book, but it's there, hidden in the shadows. As the only surviving feature in the shot, the rock holds the key to locking down the spot.

"Pioneer Justice"

As a bonus, I was able to identify a couple of other rocks seen in "Pioneer Justice," still in place today and further pinpointing the tree's former location.

The same area, photographed in 2016

Those same two rocks can be identified today, still in the same positions.

It's no longer possible to see Zorro's Cave from this vantage point, but it's back there and can be seen from other angles.

Hangman's Tree Rock in 2016 (angle approximates the 1981 photo)

The final puzzle piece is to see whether "Hangman's Tree Rock" matches the rock in the 1981 photo when they're shot from approximately the same angle.

It does. The key markers are noted here in the 1981 photo, with the rock's vertical face and its sloping profile being especially important.

While I couldn't match the high angle of the 1981 shot, all of the same markers can be found on the rock today even from ground level.

If the Hangman's Tree were still in place, this is about where it would be standing. The tree apparently did not fit in with the landscapers' vision for the Cal West Townhomes.

Nearby Zorro's Cave can still be found, but today it has a metal gate blocking the west entrance and is situated on private property adjacent to the condos.

The former Hangman's Tree area also stands on private property, at an intersection of driveways among the condos on the former Lower Iverson.



Click on the link above to go to Amazon.com to learn more about David Rothel's excellent book on Western movie locations, "An Ambush of Ghosts." You may or may not be able to purchase a copy depending on availability.