One of the Iverson Gorge's best-kept secrets is revealed in a low-res screen shot from the 1931 Rin Tin Tin serial "The Lightning Warrior"

 "The Lightning Warrior" (1931)

This shot from the Rin Tin Tin adventure "The Lightning Warrior," one of the earliest "all-talking" serials from Mascot, didn't look like much at first, but like one of those "magic eye" pictures where you have to let your eyes relax and then the hidden image "magically" materializes, this shot eventually revealed some surprises.

Surviving rock features in the "Lightning Warrior" screen shot

The photo contains a number of the features of Iverson's Upper Gorge, and appears to be shot from the flat area where the Gorge Cabin would later be built — and where a row of condos now stands. The rock features I've noted above have all survived, although in some cases they're a little hard to find nowadays.

The Football, with grass insert, in its contemporary setting

The Football, with its distinguishing grass insert, is a well-known feature that survives today as part of the scenery surrounding the Cal West Townhomes. To read more about the Football, please see this previous post.

The Angular Rocks and Split Roof, as they appear today

The Angular Rocks and Split Roof can be found today in the far northeast corner of the Upper Gorge, just below the first row of condos. Split Roof is largely hidden behind foliage now and can be difficult to see, depending on the time of year and the level of growth. Click here to read an earlier blog post with more photos and information about both of these rock features.

Lancer Arch, as seen in "The Lightning Warrior"

Other features seen in the "Lightning Warrior" screen shot did not survive. Lancer Arch, visible near the right edge of the frame, was destroyed to make room for the condos. To read more about Lancer Arch, named for its appearance in "The Lives of a Bengal Lancer," please click here.

"Thundering Trails" (Republic, 1943): No. 48 (!) in the Three Mesquiteers series

The same area is seen several years later in "Thundering Trails," filmed at Iverson in October 1942 for release in January 1943. The rocky area seen in this shot is noted below in the shot from "The Lightning Warrior."

"The Lightning Warrior"

The views of this section of the Upper Gorge that appear in these two productions can be coordinated to gain insights into some of the sets that appeared in the area during the 1940s.

"Thundering Trails" — Gorge Cabin Mine

At the time "Thundering Trails" was filmed, the Gorge Cabin was in place, and although the cabin itself does not appear in the movie, a couple of manmade sets associated with it do appear. The cabin set included a fake mine, visible at the right of the above shot, and a stable, a small portion of which is just visible at the left of the shot.

Here's the shot from "Thundering Trails" with the manmade sets noted.

"The Lightning Warrior"

Putting together the information contained in the two productions, we can pinpoint the elusive location where the Gorge Cabin Mine was situated, as indicated above.

The distinctive cluster of rocks that helps nail down the location where the Gorge Cabin Mine once stood can be thought of as (what else) the Gorge Cabin Mine Rocks. This rock cluster no longer exists, a fact that underscores the value of finding historical markers such as these in the productions filmed decades ago.

"Thundering Trails"

This shot from "Thundering Trails" provides another look at the Gorge Cabin Mine Rocks, along with the Gorge Cabin Stable — another feature that the rocks help pinpoint.

Mascot was understandably proud of its new "all talking" capability at the time it produced "The Lightning Warrior," and the studio made a point of touting the technology in this 1931 poster. The production followed an even earlier Rin Tin Tin talking adventure, Mascot's 1930 serial "The Lone Defender."

As you can see on the poster above, the promotion for "The Lightning Warrior" includes the text: "Hear Rinty — He barks, yelps, howls, shrieks, and cries. Rinty moans, groans, and grunts! Hear him! See him!"

Frankie Darro

Child star Frankie Darro, who was 13 at the time "The Lightning Warrior" came out, had the "human lead" in the serial, opposite Rin Tin Tin. Darro, whose parents were circus performers, was an unusually adept action hero even as a kid. He continued his acting career as an adult, and also became a stuntman, working regularly in productions filmed on the Iverson Movie Ranch.

Rin Tin Tin (aka Rin-Tin-Tin, Rinty)

"The Lightning Warrior" was the last film role for Rin Tin Tin, who died in 1932 after a career primarily in silent movies. A number of other German shepherds later appeared in various productions as "Rin Tin Tin Jr.," and it has been said that at least one of these animals — featured in the Mascot serials "The Law of the Wild" (1934) and "The Adventures of Rex and Rinty" (1935) — was in fact sired by the original Rinty.

Tornado's Mine: A little-known artifact of the filming era on the Lower Iverson

"Zorro's Black Whip" (1944): Tornado's Mine

A movie set on the old Iverson Ranch that has been largely overlooked is an old fake mine entrance that once stood in the Iverson Gorge. I call it Tornado's Mine, because it was built at the southern end of a cave that film historians know as Tornado's Cave. The mine entrance had one of its most high-profile appearances in the Republic serial "Zorro's Black Whip," as seen above.

"Perils of Nyoka" (1942): Tornado's Cave (northern entrance)

The northern entrance to Tornado's Cave is much more widely documented than the southern entrance. I've blogged previously about Tornado's Cave, focusing mainly on its north end — seen above in the Republic serial "Perils of Nyoka." For a detailed look at this screen shot and additional views of Tornado's Cave, please click here to read my earlier blog entry.

The Tornado's Mine location in modern times

The mine entrance is long gone now, along with virtually all of the manmade sets that once proliferated at the Iverson Movie Ranch. That is, most of it is gone — but I'm getting ahead of myself. The above shot taken on a recent visit to the Iverson Gorge shows the mine location as it appears today.

Antonio Banderas as a latter-day Zorro in Columbia's 
"The Legend of Zorro" (2005), riding a latter-day "Tornado"

Tornado's Cave is named after Zorro's horse, Tornado, sometimes called Toronado. By extension, Tornado's Mine also gets its name from the horse. I understand that in real life Tornado was played in Disney's "Zorro" TV series by Diamond Decorator. Whether there's a connection between "Zorro's Black Whip" and the naming of the cave is unclear, but it appears to be purely coincidence that Tornado's Mine makes one of its primary appearances in the Zorro serial.

"Laramie" TV series (1960): Tornado's Mine

One reason the southern entrance to Tornado's Cave didn't appear to get much airtime may have been because, throughout much of the filming era in the Iverson Gorge, the entrance was covered up by the fake mine entrance. In other words, the area may have in fact been filmed, but because of the mine, it wasn't recognizable. In some form, the mine entrance was in place for a couple of decades, if not longer. I've spotted it as far back as the early 1940s, and more recently I found it in a 1960 episode of the TV show "Laramie," as seen above.

"Laramie"

The mine entrance appears to have gone through some remodeling over the years, and it's likely the whole thing was torn down and rebuilt a time or two. The "doorway" in particular looks different in various productions. The "Laramie" shots are from the episode "Saddle and Spur," which premiered March 29, 1960, on NBC.

"Laramie"

One cool thing about the "Laramie" episode is that it includes this wider shot, which really nails down the location of the mine. Tornado's Mine was a close neighbor of Lone Ranger Rock, which can be seen near the bottom left corner of the frame.

Here's the wide shot from "Laramie" again, with some of the features highlighted. I've blogged about most of these features before, and for example, you can find much more about Split Roof by clicking here. This may be the first time I've mentioned Bust of Kennedy, which I tend not to talk about out of respect for the former president. But from certain angles, the rock formation really does look like JFK — to me, at least.

Here's a wide shot of the Nyoka Cliff area from a visit to the site a few years ago that I think shows the resemblance of the formation Bust of Kennedy to an actual bust of JFK. The base of the statue, if you choose to see it as a statue, is incorporated into the mine set in certain configurations.

"Have Gun — Will Travel" (1958)

Tornado's Mine also appears in an episode of "Have Gun — Will Travel" titled "A Snare for Murder," above. The episode aired during season two of the CBS Western, premiering Nov. 22, 1958 — five years, to the day, before the JFK assassination ... coincidence?

The rocks seen in front of the mine in the "Have Gun — Will Travel" screen shot help pinpoint the location of the mine set. These rocks, which I call the Tornado's Mine Rocks, remain in place today in the Gorge, just below Nyoka Cliff.

This shot from "Have Gun — Will Travel" shows a sign that was placed at the mine entrance for the episode. Other than the sign, the appearance of the entrance is similar to how it would look two years later in "Laramie."  Many readers may recognize series star Richard Boone as Paladin just outside the mine.

"Triple Justice" (1940)

Here's another view of the Tornado's Mine Rocks, from the RKO B-Western "Triple Justice," starring George O'Brien and Virginia Vale. The mine itself is not visible here, but Nyoka Cliff can be seen in the background.

This version of the shot identifies the Tornado's Mine Rocks, along with Nyoka Cliff.

The Tornado's Mine Rocks remain in place today, as seen in a recent photo by film historian Jerry Condit. Jerry was the one who pointed me to Tornado's Mine earlier this year.

Another recent view of the Tornado's Mine Rocks approximates the angle seen in "Triple Justice," with Nyoka Cliff again in the background.

A short distance from the Tornado's Mine Rocks, the mine area can be found.

Tornado's Mine: The site as it appears today

Here's a view of the site of Tornado's Mine on a recent visit to the location, and this is where I think it gets really interesting. We don't have to guess where the mine entrance was positioned, because remnants of it remain at the site — still attached to the rocks.

Piece of the mine entrance — still in position and still upright

It seems that whoever's job it was to demolish the set had the foresight — or more likely, was just lazy enough — to leave behind a few scraps so historians could come along decades later and rediscover it. Thank you!

Another piece of the mine entrance can be found a short distance away, also still upright.

I've marked the first two artifacts, because it may be a little hard to see them in the photos.

Pulling back for a wider view, this shot points out where artifacts A and B are positioned in the context of the overall setting for the mine entrance.

This may be the best find of the bunch: a hunk of concrete still attached to a rock, high above ground level, marking the upper reach of the mine entrance.

In the wider view, this is where the third artifact is situated.

Putting all the pieces together, this is where the mine entrance was located.

I hope to come back soon to the subject of Tornado's Mine because there's a little bit more to the story. But that's it for now.

Introducing a new theory of Evolution

Remember when fish sprouted legs and climbed out of the water, setting up housekeeping on dry land? Of course not, and neither do I. No one does. It was a long time ago. But maybe you read about it.

Regardless of whether Darwin got it right, Darwin, too, was a long time ago, and as his critics like to point out, it's "only a theory." At any rate, here's a shot of Charlie out walking his fish.

Nowadays reality depends on one's point of view — and especially on whichever peculiar flavor of ideology ... science, religion, whimsy, whatever ... one has a stake in trying to protect. But on a recent foray into the celluloid fossil record left behind by ancient movie makers, I spotted a rock that reminded me so much of one of those walking fish, I started calling it "Evolution."

"Adventures of Captain Marvel" (1941)

Feast your eyes on Evolution, just above the center of the frame. This beauty turned up in the old Republic serial "Adventures of Captain Marvel," in a sequence set in the Upper Gorge on the old Iverson Movie Ranch in Chatsworth, Calif. Maybe you see it and maybe you don't, but what I see is a fairly literal depiction of Darwin's walking fish, formed out of solid rock.

This is the critter I'm talking about, pretty much staring at you — eyeball to eyeball. Don't blink. Or do — it might help.

"Evolution," as seen in "Adventures of Captain Marvel"

How about a zoomed-in version? I see gills, fins ... maybe even teeth — not to mention an almost fully formed leg. Of course, none of this proves a dagnabbed thing, as an old geezer might say in an old B-Western. So I would hope nobody feels threatened or offended or otherwise violated right about now. To me it's all just a part of the beauty and weirdness that is old movie rocks.

With that in mind, here's a breakdown of the environment in which we find Evolution, the movie rock. The above version of the "Captain Marvel" shot pinpoints a few of its neighbors and some additional features. I'll go into more detail about these features below. In the foreground is the plateau above Iverson Gorge, which today is filled with condos. The shot looks more or less toward the south — you might call it south by southwest — with Elders Peak some distance away, across Santa Susana Pass Road and above Chatsworth Park.

"The Lives of a Bengal Lancer" (1935)

The "Split Roof" feature is hard to see in the "Captain Marvel" shot, but it also turns up in other movies and TV shows. While the feature is part of the larger rock formation Evolution, it's worth identifying separately because it appears in shots where there's no way Evolution itself could be seen. Evolution is one of those rocks that has to be viewed from a precise angle or it doesn't work. In this shot, Split Roof is in the top left corner, immediately to the left of the tower.

Here's the same shot, pinpointing the location of Split Roof. The shot comes from Paramount's Oscar-winning war movie "The Lives of a Bengal Lancer," which starred Gary Cooper and Franchot Tone. A major set was built in Iverson's Upper Gorge for the movie, part of which is seen in this shot.

A couple of other features of the Iverson Gorge are worth pointing out here too, as noted above. Wyatt Earp Rock was the subject of a recent post, which you can read by clicking here. Nyoka Cliff, seen in the background here, is one of the best-known of the Iverson Movie Ranch rock features, and has appeared many times in this blog. You can find it in the long index at the right of this page, or click here to see a compilation of posts about it.

"The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp" (1958)

The above shot from the "Wyatt Earp" TV show provides a better look at the Split Roof rock feature. The shot comes from the episode titled "One," which aired toward the end of season three, premiering April 15, 1958. Split Roof can be seen near the top of the frame, toward the right — directly above the head of the middle rider.

This version of the "Wyatt Earp" shot pinpoints Split Roof.

Split Roof in its contemporary setting

The Split Roof feature can still be found on the former Iverson Movie Ranch. That's it in the above shot from a 2014 visit to the site. The tree that appears near the center of the shot and partially blocks the view of Split Roof can also be seen in the "Wyatt Earp" shot above this one.

In this closer view of Split Roof, you can see that it's above and behind a couple of distinctive angular rocks.

Take another look at those angular rocks.

"Adventures of Captain Marvel" (1941) — Angular rocks noted

Those same angular rocks can be seen in the original "Adventures of Captain Marvel" screen shot. They're hidden in shadows here, but if you look closely you should be able to make them out. The angular rock on the left forms what might be called the "leg" of the walking fish, if you look at it that way.

The rock formation Evolution, now mostly hidden behind foliage

If you're playing along at home, you may have already put this together: If Split Roof is still in place, and Split Roof was a part of the larger rock feature Evolution ... and if the Angular Rocks are still in place, and one of them formed the "leg" of the movie rock Evolution ... then that means Evolution is still in place. And yes, it is, although you would never recognize it. That's it in the above photo. These days it's mostly hidden behind foliage — especially that same tree from the "Wyatt Earp" era. About all that can be seen of Evolution today is the Split Roof part of the rock — along with the Angular Rocks below it.

However, you can also make out two distinctive vertical cracks, which are also seen in the 1941 "Captain Marvel" screen shot. The camera angles make the recent shot of those vertical cracks appear closer to parallel than in the 1941 shot, but it's clearly the same two vertical cracks.

Here are those same vertical cracks as seen in the 1941 screen shot, where the camera position makes them appear as though they're oriented at an angle toward each other rather than close to parallel, as they appear in the recent shots. The crack on the left looks to me like the fish's "gill."

Cal West Townhomes — the Football appears in the background

As for the Football, Evolution's neighbor to the northeast, with its trademark grass insert, it's also alive and well — and much easier to find than Evolution. These days the Football is a part of the backdrop for the Cal West Townhomes condo complex.

This shot pinpoints the current location of the Football.

A closer look at the Football as it appears today shows that the grass insert can still be seen in all its detail.

This shot identifies the grass insert that remains a trademark of the movie rock the Football. The shot also points out another famous movie rock, Hole in the Wall.

"Zane Grey Theatre" (1956)

Here's a shot that includes the Football and the grass insert in the background, taken from an episode of the Western TV series "Zane Grey Theatre" called "Vengeance Canyon," which premiered Nov. 30, 1956 on CBS. That's a blurry Walter Brennan in the middle of the shot, punching some guy.

This version of the "Zane Grey" shot points out the key features. I like how the actors are blurry in the shot but the rock features remain relatively clear — almost as if the director told the camera guy, "Make sure that grass insert stays in focus."

"The Lone Ranger" TV show (1949)

The truth is the grass insert almost always WAS in focus, as another TV shot, this one from "The Lone Ranger," illustrates. The shot comes from the episode "War Horse," which aired early in the show's first season, premiering Oct. 20, 1949. The grass insert is a little harder to find in this shot, but it's there if you know where to look.

It helped that rocks — and patches of grass — don't move much, meaning they stood a better chance of remaining in focus — as long as the camera didn't move. From a research standpoint, it helps that rock features — and in particular, the ever-reliable grass insert — still look about the same many decades later.

"The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp" (1958)

Sometimes the grass insert is the only way to identify the location for a particular shot, as in the above example from an episode of the "Wyatt Earp" TV series called "Two," which first aired April 29, 1958 — part of the same series of shows as the episode "One," which is featured higher up in this post. In this shot the Football and the grass insert can be seen near the right edge of the frame.

Here's the same shot with the grass insert highlighted. This little patch of grass has been a reliable landmark throughout my Iverson Movie Ranch research.

Recent shot of the Football and the grass insert

This shot from recent years offers a good look at the movie rock the Football, along with its distinctive grass insert.

Another shot from a recent visit to Iverson offers a hint as to why Hole in the Wall has that name — and this shot also provides nice detail on the grass insert, seen in the foreground.

Here's that same recent shot with the Hole in the Wall and the grass insert identified.

"Oklahoma Justice" (1951)

This shot from the Monogram B-Western "Oklahoma Justice," starring Johnny Mack Brown, showcases a lost and lamented movie rock known as Overhang Rock, in the foreground at the right. But it also ties together many of the rock features we've been examining in this post — features that remain in place today at the site, including the Football, with its grass insert, Evolution, with its Split Roof, and the Angular Rocks below the Split Roof.

Here's the "Oklahoma Justice" shot with a number of the rock features identified. It's worth noting that while Overhang Rock was a casualty of the development of the Cal West Townhomes, all of the other features noted here — the Football, Evolution and the Angular Rocks — have survived and can still be found at the site today.

So will we ever again see a fish sprout legs and walk? How about this for a new theory of Evolution: If we could strip away that tree that's blocking the view, and if we could get a camera into just the right position, we might be able to re-create this weird view of a "walking fish" from 1941 ... but maybe it's something that's better left to our imaginations.