Dinosaur Claw found in Chatsworth, Calif. — with dead guys all over the place

"Wagon Team" (Columbia, 1952)

I've been intrigued by a rock formation that reminds me of a giant dinosaur claw since I first spotted it a few years ago in the Gene Autry movie "Wagon Team."

It's in a heavily filmed area, but the formation itself is not commonly seen in productions. Maybe filmmakers thought it looked too much like a dinosaur part to be believable as a background rock in the Westerns.

"Fast on the Draw" (Lippert, 1950): The front "toe" of "Dinosaur Claw"

It did pop up in a promo shot for "Fast on the Draw," one of the "Lippert Six" Westerns discussed in a recent blog post. The angle is rotated about 90 degrees from the "Wagon Team" shot, with the camera aimed west here.

They ran a color version of the same shot as part of a lobby card for "Fast on the Draw," only they cut the dead guy out of the picture.

Well, I should say they "kind of" cut the dead guy out. You can still see part of him.

"Dinosaur Claw" in 2018 — minus the dead guy

The giant claw turned out to be pretty easy to find in the real world. However, it's hard to get a decent photo of it because these days a tree is blocking a lot of its light.

But even in the shade, a couple of the rock's markings, along with its overall shape, make it easy to recognize.

The same round hole and diagonal gash noted in the 2018 photo above can also be found in the promo still for "Fast on the Draw."

Dinosaur Claw in 2018: Letdown-osaurus

This is probably the formation's most "Dinosaur Claw-like" angle. I was disappointed when I finally saw it because the feature doesn't look nearly as much like a dinosaur claw in person as it did in the movies.

Hidden Valley — on the former Upper Iverson's South Rim

The rock formation is located on the former Upper Iverson Movie Ranch in Chatsworth, Calif., in an area known as Hidden Valley, on private property in the fringes of a gated community of high-end estates.

"West of the Brazos" (Lippert, 1950): Tom Tyler with a fallen "co-henchman"

Those Lippert Westerns tend to have a lot of dead guys lying around among the rocks. This shot was taken not far from the Dinosaur Claw dead guy, about a stone's throw to the west down a dusty old movie road.

Here we find the same rocks on a recent visit — and wouldn't you know it, there's yet another dead guy draped over the rock. No wait, it's just Iverson researcher Cliff Roberts taking a break from our strenuous hike.

Here again, the promo shot can also be found as part of a color lobby card.

"West of the Brazos": Tom Tyler and his ill-fated co-star

Another shot from the movie offers a slightly different angle on these rarely filmed rocks. In the background we get a glimpse of the much more prominent Totem Rocks or Totem Pole Rocks.

Here's another look at the same rocks from our recent expedition.

To point out something that's probably kind of obvious, the rock in the back has a distinctive hole in it.

The same hole keeps turning up in the "West of the Brazos" shots.

The Totem Rocks, or Totem Pole Rocks

Pulling back for a wider shot from an expedition a few years ago, we get a better look at the Totem Rocks. I've also referred to these rocks in the past as Easter Island or the Easter Island Committee.

The rocks in "West of the Brazos" are located near the base of the stone pillars that form the Totem Rocks.

"The Tomb" (1986): Camels on the Upper Iverson, below the Totem Rocks

The Totem Rocks turn up all the time in movies and TV shows. Here's a shot of them in "The Tomb," one of the later movies to film on the Upper Iverson — and quite possibly the last time anyone brought camels there.

Joe Iverson rides a camel in the Iverson Gorge in 1934

There's a long tradition of camels on the Iverson Movie Ranch, something we touched on last month in a post about Colonial India movies and "The Lives of a Bengal Lancer." (Click here to see that post.)
 

It can be weird seeing Iverson rocks in later movies where they're not only in color but also extremely clear. Good thing the actors and camels are there or this might look just like a photo someone took on a visit to the site.

Here's a shot I took of the same rocks just a few years ago. It's not that much different from the camel shot ... other than not having any camels in it. It also looks as though someone might have mowed the lawn.

I suppose eons ago — and this is one time we can use the term "eons" literally — some of those rocks strewn about on the ground might have been hanging around up here. Be glad you weren't there when this thing fell apart, because it probably would have woken you up.

"Tarzan and the Slave Girl" (1950): Lex Barker on Notch Rock

You may have seen this shot on the blog before. It's Tarzan — played in this case by Lex Barker — not fooling anyone into thinking he's in Africa as he stands on top of Notch Rock.

"Seminole Uprising" (1955): Hard to miss Notch Rock

Notch Rock may be TOO instantly recognizable. Almost anytime it's in the picture, the eye is drawn to it.

"Cripple Creek" (1952): The Reflecting Pool, Wrench Rock ... and oh yeah, Notch Rock

Even with a lot of other interesting stuff in the shot, Notch Rock commands attention.

All of these "attractions" have been featured previously on the blog. You can look them up in the long index on the right of the page, or click here to see a really old and confusing post about Wrench Rock and the Reflecting Pool.

"Wild Horse Ambush" (Republic, 1952)

Even from halfway across the Upper Iverson, we can still pick out Notch Rock. This shot provides a look at the rocks of "Bobby's Bend" from the north.

Take a bow, Notch Rock ... and no, I don't mean that literally.

A salute to the crew on a 1972 "Alias Smith and Jones" episode, shot on the Upper Iverson and directed by sci-fi legend Jack Arnold

"Alias Smith and Jones," Season 3: Roger Davis and Ben Murphy on the Upper Iverson

The early '70s TV Western "Alias Smith and Jones" still has a dedicated following today, and one of the show's many loyal fans got in touch recently to point me to an unusual Iverson Movie Ranch shoot for the series.

The boys ride past Gold Raiders Rock on the Upper Iverson's South Rim

A few things set this shoot apart from most. For one thing, it was the 1970s and filming on the Iverson Ranch had largely shut down. Production on the ranch during the '70s was relatively rare.

The concrete bridge lurks in the background as Smith and Jones ride past, but the bridge, which would have been out of place in the Old West, is disguised by a row of foliage that has been added to hide the structure.

"Border Feud" (Lash LaRue Western, 1947): The concrete bridge, unadorned

This is what the bridge looked like when it wasn't hidden behind foliage. Plenty of Westerns opted to just leave it there and not worry about whether someone might be bothered by seeing a modern bridge in the background.

"Superman" (Columbia serial, 1948)

The "Superman" serial in 1948 decided to go ahead and put the bridge to use — that's Clark Kent ducking under it to change his outfit. The big valve to his right could be used to cut off the flow of water through the bridge, turning the concrete structure into a dam and creating a reservoir behind it.

When Clark comes back out a moment later, he's Superman. That's "a moment later" in movie time — the shadows have shifted, revealing that even though it was morning when Clark went under the bridge, by the time Superman came out it was getting close to dusk.

If you're interested in learning more about the Superman shoot at the bridge, please click here to read a previous post examining the sequence. The post includes photos of what the bridge looks like today.

Catering for the crew on the Upper Iverson in 1972 (Posted on the IATSE Local 728 website)

Getting back to the "Alias Smith and Jones" shoot, the trade union IATSE — the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees — posted a set of behind-the-scenes photos from the shoot.

At mealtime on location, one of the Iverson Ranch's most familiar chase rocks contributes to the ambiance as the mostly anonymous crew members chow down.

Gaffer Ron McLeish checks his light against a backdrop that includes "Ol' Roundtop"

The unusual IATSE photos give us a chance to salute some of those anonymous crew members — and we can still give shout-outs to a few famous rocks.

"Ol' Roundtop," or just "Roundtop," is part of an especially rocky area on the South Rim of the Upper Iverson.

"Calamity Jane and the Texan" (1950): Wild Bill Hickok's grave

Here's one of Roundtop's movie appearances, in a scene featuring Wild Bill Hickok's grave — with Hickok's name spelled wrong on the grave marker. (Click here to read more about this sequence.)

Wardrobe man Jack Takeuchi may have just used that broom on Ben Murphy, who has his back to the camera. I wonder whether the broom was used to keep the dust off or to put it on.

With or without the broom, Takeuchi sticks close by as Ben Murphy and Roger Davis work on a scene.

The IATSE site identifies this camera guy as "Bill Sweringer," but I had a feeling they had his name wrong, and I was able to track down who he really was: Bill Swearingen, who helped found the Society of Operating Cameramen in the late 1970s and had a long career in camera work, mainly in television.

Bill Swearingen

Sadly, Bill died in February 2017 at age 79. At the time of the "Alias Smith and Jones" shoot in 1972, he was uncredited, working as a camera assistant. Over the course of his career he worked his way up from loader to second assistant to first assistant and finally camera operator. Bill's TV work included long runs on "Happy Days," "Falcon Crest," "The Guns of Will Sonnett," "Peyton Place" and other shows.

On the left is John Gaudioso, assistant director on the "Alias Smith and Jones" episode and one of the few people in these photos who received an actual credit. The guy on the right is identified as best boy J. King.

Laurie Lynn: Where are you now?

Laurie Lynn took part in the 1972 shoot as a stand-in. I wasn't able to find out anything else about her, in part because it turns out a number of women identified as "Laurie Lynn" have tried to break into the movies over the years. Let's hope she's one of the ones who made it.

Have you seen this man? (The answer is probably "Yes!")

Cecil Combs, another stand-in on "Alias Smith and Jones," was one of those "face in the crowd" actors who turned up in the background in a lot of movies and TV shows. He was in at least 200 productions going back to the 1940s — always uncredited. Cecil did more than his share of TV Westerns: 20 or more "Wagon Trains," close to 50 episodes of "The Virginian," at least 14 "Tales of Wells Fargos" ... here's to all the Cecil Combses out there!

Speaking of faces in the crowd, Eddie Rochelle is listed by IATSE as an extra on "Alias Smith and Jones." He's one of a number of people in the IATSE photos I couldn't find anything else on, even though, like Cecil Combs, he looks as though he could have blended easily into just about any Western setting.

Script supervisor Della Ross helps Roger Davis work on his lines while other members of the crew do what production crews do best: stand around killing time.

Lou Perna seems to be enjoying himself on the set, and why not — he's in craft services. Talk about a dream job ... my guess is Lou's workday was improved by access to unlimited quantities of fermented day-old jumbo shrimp!

Assistant director Charles Dismukes "rests his eyes" during his ample free time on the set

Charles Dismukes worked steadily behind the TV cameras throughout the '70s in a variety of roles — unit manager, assistant director, associate producer and producer, among others. He had long runs on "Baretta" and "Quincy M.E.," sharing in "Baretta's" Emmy nomination in 1977 for Outstanding Drama Series.

Don B. Courtney: Special effects

Don Courtney was a special effects man who worked at least into the 1980s, both on TV and in features. He kept busy on the TV series version of "Logan's Run" in the late '70s and on "Vega$" in 1980-1981.

Norm Lincoln was in the electrical department, according to IATSE. Beyond that, he remains a mystery.

Another mystery is this guy identified as Ronny Collins, who was an uncredited sound man on the "Alias Smith and Jones" shoot. There's a Ron Collins who operated the boom on "The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training" in 1977 — just a guess, but my hunch is he's the same person.

Glenn Corbett was the main guest star on the "Bushwack!" episode. For an actor, he doesn't seem to like having his picture taken — maybe he's insecure about his purple shirt.

Crew members cling to a rocky slope during shooting on the episode's climactic sequence

"Bushwack!" builds up to a bullet-riddled denouement that plays out on this rocky slope on the South Rim.

Another behind-the-scenes shot depicting the rocky slope from a different angle enables us to match up some of the rocks seen in the "Alias Smith and Jones" episode.

"Alias Smith and Jones": Just before the final shootout

This scene leading up to the final shootout shows the rocky slope in the background.

Notice the rocks labeled here as "A" through "G."

The same rocks can be identified in the behind-the-scenes photo.

In this screen shot from the big shootout, Ben Murphy's character, Kid Curry — aka Thaddeus Jones — dives for cover behind Rock A.

The behind-the-scenes photo includes some landmark rocks near the rocky slope. I call them the Pixies — click here to see an old blog post about them.

"Zorro" TV episode "Zorro's Romance" (premiered Nov. 7, 1957): The Pixies

The enigmatic Pixies pop up in productions from time to time, although they tend to be camera-shy. That's them in the background of Disney's "Zorro" TV series.

The Pixies in recent times

On a visit to the Upper Iverson earlier this year, photographer and movie location researcher Jerry Condit snapped this photo of the Pixies from the same angle seen in the "Zorro" episode.

Director Jack Arnold offers instructions to his stars

Jack Arnold, who directed "Bushwack!" and four other "Alias Smith and Jones" episodes, was already an icon among science-fiction fans thanks to a certain creature feature he directed almost 20 years earlier.

"Creature From the Black Lagoon" (1954)

Even if all he had done was direct "Creature From the Black Lagoon," Jack Arnold would be a sci-fi legend. As monster movies go, it's a classic.

"Creature From the Black Lagoon"

For kids who watched it on TV back in The Day, including me — it was a staple on the "Chiller" movie series on Channel 11 in L.A. — "Creature From the Black Lagoon" was too close to our watery nightmares. You know, the old, "Help, I'm stuck to the bottom of the swimming pool!" Anyone else have those, or is it just me?

"Creature From the Black Lagoon": Accident on the set

The movie was also a bit of a headache for its star Julie Adams, who was reportedly almost knocked out in an accident on the set. Here director Arnold, at top left, is a concerned observer as a nurse administers first aid.

Note that one of the enraptured spectators is the "Gill Man" himself, played by Ben Chapman.

Part of the complex love story running through "Creature From the Black Lagoon"

In the widely reported on-set mishap, the adorable Adams, the object of the title Creature's procreation interests, bonked her head during the endless sequences when Chapman was hauling her around.

I love some of the expressions on the Gill Man's face ... but really I'm just coming up with excuses to run more pictures of Julie in her bathing suit.

Here's another one, because ... why not?

The head-banging incident reportedly took place when Ben Chapman was swinging Julie around in a fake cave — maybe it was about to happen right here!

Ben Chapman gets fitted for his Gill Man suit

Chapman didn't actually look like a fish-lizard monster in real life. Julie could do worse.

Here's a weird artifact from the movie's marketing material, in which the Gill Man takes the form of a map.

How about an unusually creepy poster for "Creature"? This must be what the Gill Man looked like first thing in the morning — before he had a chance to put on his red lipstick.

There are so many great posters for the movie it's hard to know when to stop — this is another awesome one. In keeping with the space age technology of the mid-1950s, the movie was released in 3-D and 2-D versions.

"It Came From Outer Space" (1953): Another Jack Arnold sci-fi classic

Jack Arnold's legend status was cemented by "Creature," but he also directed a couple of other genre classics: "It Came From Outer Space" and "The Incredible Shrinking Man."

"Tarantula" (1955) — directed by Jack Arnold

Then there was "Tarantula." Sure, an oversized bug superimposed over a normal-sized background is a yawner by today's standards. But it's a cool movie for locations, filmed largely in the Southern California desert.

Born Betty May Adams in Iowa, Julie Adams has gone by "Julie" for most of her career even though she was billed as "Julia" early on, including on "Creature From the Black Lagoon."

Julie Adams in an interview a few years ago

Adams, who has given many interviews over the years, explained that she never warmed up to "Julia," a name that was given to her by the studio — and the studio was generous enough to let her change it. By the way, Julie just turned 91 last October and is still going strong.

Julie Adams on the Middle Iverson Ranch Set in Lippert's "Crooked River" (1950)

Adams holds an interesting place in the history of the Iverson Movie Ranch. Back when she was getting her acting career started in 1950, she landed the female lead in not one but six B-Westerns made by the small outfit Lippert Pictures. Lippert made all six movies in a span of five weeks, filming extensively all over the Iverson Ranch.

Promo still for "Marshal of Heldorado" (Lippert, 1950): Gorge Arch at right

All six Lippert Westerns were directed by Thomas Carr and filmed by master Iverson cinematographer Ernest Miller — possibly the greatest director and DP team in the history of the Iverson Movie Ranch, at least when it comes to appreciating the rocks and understanding how to showcase them.

Julie fights off a different monster: John L. Cason, in "Crooked River"

The movies starred Jimmy Ellison and Russell Hayden, with support from B-Western stalwarts including Raymond Hatton, Fuzzy Knight, John L. Cason and Tom Tyler — and Julie held her own with the baddest of the bad.

Promo still for "Colorado Ranger" (Lippert, 1950): Julie in control

Since I first published this post, I completed a follow-up post about those six Lippert Westerns filmed on the Iverson Movie Ranch, and Julie's role in them. If you like what you've seen so far of Julie — and if you like a lot of Iverson rocks — please click here to see the post about the "Lippert Six."

Home page of the official Ben Murphy website (benmurphyfans.com)

A big shout-out to Marion Veal, who runs the official Ben Murphy website at benmurphyfans.com and is keeping the lamp lit for Ben and "Alias Smith and Jones." Marion was the one who found the terrific IATSE photos.