Promo still found for "Storm Over Bengal" — Is this the smoking gun that proves the movie was filmed on the Iverson Movie Ranch?

"Storm Over Bengal" (1938)

I was lucky enough to track down a copy of the promotional still you see above, which is from the Republic production "Storm Over Bengal" — a movie I've found impossible to locate.

"Army Girl" (1938)

I did some comparing between the "Storm Over Bengal" photo and screen shots from "Army Girl," another Republic production from the same year. "Army Girl" was released just three months before "Storm Over Bengal."

I was able to determine that the "Storm Over Bengal" promo shot depicts the same building seen in "Army Girl," which is known to be a part of the Sheep Flats adobes at the Iverson Movie Ranch.

Here's another shot from "Army Girl," showing the side portion of the building that also appears in the "Storm Over Bengal" promo shot, in addition to another angle on the front of the building.

In this version of the shot from "Army Girl" I've marked the sections of the building that are also visible in the "Storm Over Bengal" promo shot.

This shot points out an angular section of wall adjoining the side of the building in "Army Girl." This same section of wall is partially visible in the "Storm Over Bengal" shot, as noted below.

This section of wall, seen both in "Army Girl" and in the "Storm Over Bengal" promo still, is one of the keys to matching up the locations in the two productions. Even though only a tiny portion of the area behind the wall is visible in this "Storm Over Bengal" shot, it's enough to reveal that the structure's irregular shape is a match.

Another key point of comparison is what appears to be a slightly dented area in the front of the building. This area is plainly visible in the "Storm Over Bengal" promo still, at left, and appears to be represented by a slightly shaded area in "Army Girl," at right. (You may not be able to see it without clicking on the photo for a larger view.) This shot also points out the irregularity in the shape of the tapered pillar that forms the corner of the building.

So is the promo still for "Storm Over Bengal" the smoking gun that proves the movie was shot at Iverson? Unfortunately, I would have to say no, only because it can be a mistake to equate where a promotional photo was shot with where a movie actually filmed. The two events often take place in different locations.

However, because the promo shot prominently features the building — implying that the building would have been featured in the movie itself — and with all the actors conveniently on the set in costume, the weight of the evidence points to the still being shot during a timeout from production. So even though the ultimate proof will have to come from the movie itself, if it can be found, the promo still does make a strong case that the movie was filmed at Iverson.

A few notes about the terrific Iverson Movie Ranch production "Army Girl," the Oscars, and legendary Iverson cinematographer Ernest Miller

The 1938 Republic movie "Army Girl," which shot the bulk of its outdoor action on the Iverson Movie Ranch, has a few claims to fame that I want to make sure readers of this blog know about. One of them is the Academy Award nomination it received for cinematography, shared by the two co-DPs on the movie, Harry J. Wild and the great Ernest Miller.

"Army Girl" received three Oscar nominations in all, including nods for best sound recording (Charles L. Lootens) and best original score (Victor Young). While the movie did not win in any of its three nominated categories, the nominations represented unusual recognition for Republic, which built its business model on making movies fast and cheap, not on winning awards.

I'm especially fond of this particular movie poster for "Army Girl," for an obvious reason. The old vertical-format poster — a film poster style known as an "insert" — includes a depiction of one of the most interesting Iverson features to make its way onto a movie poster. In the sort of sepia-tone section near the bottom of the insert we see Iverson's Western Sheep Flats Adobe Complex, in all its circa-1938 glory.

This complex of buildings has a long and intriguing history, albeit one that has been a challenge to document. I've blogged about it before, noting that the set originated with the shoot for John Ford's "Wee Willie Winkie," a Shirley Temple movie released in 1937. You can read more about this important Iverson set in this earlier blog post, and I am sure I will be writing about it again in the future.

"Army Girl" (1938)

Here's another view of the Western Sheep Flats Adobe Complex as it appears in "Army Girl," where it serves as the Cavalry installation "Fort Lawson." This is essentially the opening shot of the movie.

Another shot from "Army Girl" offers a nice look at a couple of the main buildings in the adobe fort complex. The buildings were left over from "Wee Willie Winkie," filmed the previous year, but were given a thorough makeover, including a new white stone finish. When these buildings appeared in "Wee Willie Winkie" they had a much different appearance, closer to a standard adobe look. (As seen in the photo below.)

 

Incidentally, the mini-Army tank seen in the foreground of the "Army Girl" shot above appears throughout the movie and plays a pivotal role in it. The film tackles the ambitious task of telling the story of the arrival of the mechanized Army, the clash between horse and machine, and how the emergence of the battle tank represented the beginning of the end for the venerable equestrian version of the Cavalry.

"Wee Willie Winkie" (1937) — Victor McLaglen and Shirley Temple

This shot from "Wee Willie Winkie" gives an idea of what those same buildings looked like one year earlier. Built specifically as the India outpost for "Wee Willie Winkie," much of the sprawling set remained in place for decades, surviving until Sheep Flats was sold to build a mobile home park in 1963. Please click here to see a detailed analysis of the transition of the set from "Winkie" in 1937 to "Army Girl" in 1938.

"Little Big Horn" (1951) — cinematography by Ernest Miller

"Army Girl" co-DP Ernest Miller is in my pantheon of the top Iverson cinematographers, not only because he may have shot more movies at Iverson than any other DP, but more important, because he seemed to genuinely "get it" as far as what was special about Iverson. Miller had an incredible eye for how to shoot the location ranch's rocks, trees and other features, and showcased them at times in ways that have never been equaled.

"The Devil's Apple Tree" (silent film, 1929) — Ernest Miller, DP (not an Iverson production)

A native of the Los Angeles area who was born in 1885, Miller got an early start in the movie business. He was in his mid-40s by the end of the silent film era and had already amassed a lengthy resume as a DP.

His long list of Iverson showpieces includes the standouts "Come On, Cowboys" (Three Mesquiteers, 1937), "Bordertown Trail" (Sunset Carson, 1944), "Bells of Rosarita" (Roy Rogers, 1945), "Ghost Town Renegades" (Lash LaRue, 1947), "The Bold Frontiersman" (Allan "Rocky" Lane, 1948), "Check Your Guns" (Eddie Dean, 1948), "Dead Man's Gold" (Lash LaRue, 1948), "The Hawk of Powder River" (Eddie Dean, 1948), "Outlaw Country" (Lash LaRue, 1949), "The Longhorn" (Wild Bill Elliott, 1951), "Oklahoma Justice" (Johnny Mack Brown, 1951), "Canyon Raiders" (Whip Wilson, 1951), "Kansas Territory" (Wild Bill Elliott, 1952), and the movie that may be Miller's greatest Iverson achievement, "Little Big Horn" (Lloyd Bridges, 1951).

You can read more about Ernest Miller in this earlier blog entry about him, which I've recently updated. The entry is part of my series on the great Iverson cinematographers.

If anyone reading this happens to have insights into Ernest Miller — maybe a relative has photos of the man, or knows details about his career or his life — I would love to hear from you. I haven't been able to find out much about him, other than his filmography and his great camera work at Iverson. Please comment here or send me an email at iversonfilmranch@aol.com.

Oscar-nominated "Army Girl" co-DP Harry J. Wild went on to his own notable achievements at Iverson, albeit on a much smaller scale than Ernest Miller. Outside of "Army Girl," Wild's best cinematography at Iverson, in my opinion, can be seen in another movie that found its way onto my list of Iverson Movie Ranch greats: the RKO B-Western "The Fargo Kid" (Tim Holt, 1940), which, unfortunately, seems to be a little bit hard to find.