The Iverson Movie Ranch Western street, one building at a time ... Part VIII: The North and South Adobes

"Ghost Town Renegades" (PRC, 1947) — The South Adobe

The South Adobe was one of the original buildings on the Iverson Western street when the town set was built in 1944 for "Along Came Jones." While it wasn't exactly an architectural wonder — it's the plain white building in the center of this group of three buildings — it proved to be among the town's most durable structures.

In "Ghost Town Renegades, filmed about two years after the town was built, the South Adobe is part of a sparse northwest corner of town, tucked in between the Hotel, on the left, and a temporary shed on the right that served mainly as a blacksmith shop. Dominating the background are Smooth Hill and Oat Mountain.

"The Millerson Case" (1947)

The building's simple but functional cube design with two distinguishing raised horizontal bars near the top remained consistent throughout the lifespan of the town set, even as adjacent buildings on both sides of the South Adobe underwent a series of renovations.

"El Paso" (1949) — west side of El Paso Street

By 1949 the South Adobe had a new partner, the North Adobe — seen directly above the gent in the top hat in this shot from the Paramount Western "El Paso." The Iverson Ranch town set is sometimes called El Paso Street because of its prominent role in this movie.

The North Adobe and South Adobe typically appear to be right next to each other, as they do in the "El Paso" shot. But in reality they had quite a bit of space between them, as I'll point out below.

"Calamity Jane and the Texan" (1950): closeup of the North Adobe

The North Adobe was even more plain-looking than the South Adobe, often appearing to be little more than a blank cube. But first impressions can be deceiving, and the North Adobe was more complex than it appeared.

"The Hills of Utah" (1951) — The North Adobe

Shots like this one, from the Gene Autry Western "The Hills of Utah," reinforced the impression that the North Adobe was a simple cube. That's longtime Autry sidekick Pat Buttram at the reins.

Pat Buttram, right, with Eddie Albert in "Green Acres"

Many readers will recall that Buttram, who was a regular in B-Westerns in the late 1940s and early 1950s, went on to play quirky country rube Mr. Haney on "Green Acres," appearing in 142 episodes of the popular CBS sitcom from 1965-1971.

"Calamity Jane and the Texan" (1950) — The North Adobe

The North Adobe had a staggered front profile, as you may be able to tell from this shot. Notice the notch in the building's top right corner, formed by its two staggered faces.

"Montana Incident" (1952): North and South Adobes

This view of the adobes from the Whip Wilson movie "Montana Incident" gives a better idea of the wide gap between the two buildings — the South Adobe on the left and North Adobe on the right.

"Calamity Jand and the Texan" — The South Adobe as the "Mine Office"

Here's a fun shot of the South Adobe from "Calamity Jane and the Texan." That's Evelyn Ankers, as Calamity, walking past the South Adobe, which plays the Mine Office in the movie.

Notice the owner's name on the sign: "J. Iverson." Joe Iverson, the son of Iverson Movie Ranch founders Karl and Augusta Iverson, oversaw the movie ranch for decades, including the site of the Western town. This is the only time I know of that a reference to the Iverson family made it into the movies.

"Man From Sonora" (1951): Adobe village at the north end of town

With the addition of the North Adobe in 1949 — along with the construction of Casa Grande around the same time — a new look was taking shape for the north end of town, which now had the appearance of a small adobe village.

"Night Raiders" (1952) — The North Adobe, with a missile base in the background

It's appropriate that this shot of the North Adobe is dark, given the movie's title. But this photo from the Monogram B-Western "Night Raiders" is interesting for its context. Oat Mountain, located north of the Iverson Ranch, can be seen in the top right corner. Notice the small white dot at the very top of Oat Mountain.

That small dot was in reality a huge radar dish, part of the Nike missile installation that was located atop Oat Mountain during the Cold War. The missile base, known as LA-88, was one of 16 Nike Ajax sites positioned strategically around the L.A. area. Please click here to read about its appearance in "Panic in Year Zero" — a movie about the bomb scare, filmed on the Iverson Ranch.

"Montana Incident" (1952) — The North Adobe

The North Adobe's strategic position at the north end of the street made it a part of some unusual shots. From this angle, with the camera shooting toward the west, the North Adobe has the appearance of a false front. But make a note of the awning around the right side of the building, which was featured in its own movie moments.

One of the most interesting elements of the "Montana Incident" shot is the presence of a building to the west of the town set, noted in yellow above. This structure was part of the India Fort set that was left over from the filming of "Wee Willie Winkie" in 1937.

"Oklahoma Justice" (Monogram, 1951)

The North Adobe does double duty in the Johnny Mack Brown Western "Oklahoma Justice." In the above shot we see the usual east face of the building as the Lynwood Bank, which has just been held up.

Just around the corner, the rarely seen north face of the North Adobe appears as a cafe. As we did in "Montana Incident," we again get a peek at the remaining structures from "Wee Willie Winkie," near the center of the frame.

"Oklahoma Justice" — cross street, lined with adobes

With the camera pulling back for a wider view of the area, we see something extremely rare: A cross street runs east and west at the north end of the main town set. This second street is lined mainly with adobe structures.

Helping to create the effect of the second street are the North Adobe, the storefront to Casa Grande — as the Lynwood Stage Line — the familiar adobe wall adjacent to Casa Grande, and even, to some extent, the "Wee Willie Winkie" buildings in the background.

"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 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