Where did Fuzzy Knight place the dynamite in "Boss of Bullion City" ... and how much damage did he do?

Fuzzy Knight, left, Johnny Mack Brown and Maria Montez in "Boss of Bullion City" (1940)

Veteran B-Western sidekick Fuzzy Knight has a scene in the Universal picture "Boss of Bullion City" where he places some dynamite in a rock, and in the process he appears to use an ax to chip away at the rock. I wanted to see whether I could find the exact spot, and whether any actual damage was done to the rock.

"Boss of Bullion City" — Fuzzy Knight at work on the South Rim

Here's a shot of Fuzzy at work on the rock. Finding the spot was easy, as it's in a widely filmed part of the Upper Iverson and the instantly recognizable Wrench Rock appears at the left of the shot. The area where Fuzzy is working is part of the T-Cliff, also known simply as the Cliff, one of the largest rock features on the South Rim.

In this shot Fuzzy is swinging the ax right into the hole as he tries to make the hole large enough to fit the dynamite. Some of the screen shots I was able to get off my DVD version of the movie are a bit ... well, fuzzy. But the shot pinpoints where the ax came in contact with the rock.

Fuzzy checks his work, and we get a look at the hole in the rock.

Even in a wider shot, the hole is plainly visible. One thing that makes this spot relatively easy to locate is a missing piece of rock surface right near the dynamite hole. This section where the surface has fallen off can be seen in other productions and can be easily found at the site.

This version of the shot points out two key elements in finding the dynamite hole: the hole itself, and the nearby area where the surface material has fallen off the rock. I have pondered the question of whether the missing hunk of surface material has anything to do with the production of this sequence for "Boss of Bullion City."

A closeup shows Fuzzy placing the dynamite in the hole he has apparently created in the rock. The question of whether the antics of Fuzzy and the rest of the "Boss of Bullion City" crew may have helped pry loose the nearby surface material is probably unanswerable — but that doesn't prevent us from contemplating it.

Is Fuzzy contemplating the damage to the rock?

Production on the movie would have taken place in 1939, which was still early in the use of the Upper Iverson as a filming location. I have yet to run across any earlier movie shots of this area, which could help determine whether the damage to the rock was fresh at the time "Bullion City" was in production. In the absence of such evidence, I'm willing to assume the slab fell off as part of the natural erosion process.

It may be worth pointing out that I'm not investigating any damage from the dynamite itself, as any explosions would have been handled by special effects. The possible damage I'm tracking involves the creation of the hole in the rock where the dynamite was placed and any collateral damage to nearby rock surfaces.

"Teenage Caveman" (1958): Robert Vaughn, the dynamite hole and the missing slab

Here's the same spot as it appears almost two decades later in Roger Corman's cult film "Teenage Caveman." That's future "Man From U.N.C.L.E." Robert Vaughn in the title role of the Teenage Caveman. I may be stating the obvious, but Vaughn was no teenager at the time — he was about 25 when the movie was made.

The pertinent features seen in "Boss of Bullion City" are easy to spot again here, but to avoid ambiguity, here's a labeled version of the photo.

This is what the rock looks like today, with Fuzzy's handiwork still easy to spot. The site retains both its presumed natural scars — notably the missing slab of surface material — and its movie scars, such as the dynamite hole.

The dynamite hole and missing surface hunk are marked again here. One thing you may have already noticed is that a bigger, better hole for setting up dynamite appears to already be in place at the base of the rock — seemingly a more logical place to do meaningful dynamite work.

The obvious question comes to mind: Why would the filmmakers want to bash a hole into the rock in the first place — especially in such a silly spot, and especially when a better hole was already available directly below that spot. Of course, we're beating our heads against a rock wall if we're looking for logic in a B-Western.

Field operative Cliff Roberts snapped this closeup of Fuzzy's dynamite hole on a recent visit to the site. My faith in human nature tells me to assume the hole occurred naturally, rather than being created by Fuzzy or a crew member swinging an ax into the rock. But it does have the appearance of something that was created intentionally, and I'm probably giving the film crew too much credit.

A reflection on Steve McQueen at the Iverson Movie Ranch, in "Wanted: Dead or Alive"

"Wanted: Dead or Alive" (1958) — Steve McQueen and Wrench Rock

I'm a fan of Steve McQueen and a fan of Wrench Rock, so seeing the two of them "work together" in an episode of "Wanted: Dead or Alive" is a treat. The episode, "The Favor," premiered Nov. 15, 1958, during the first season of the CBS Western series. "The Favor" featured an extensive shoot on the South Rim of the Upper Iverson.

On the unlikely chance that you're planning to watch this episode of the show anytime soon, I will warn you now that this blog post WILL give away key plot points.

It goes without saying that Steve McQueen was cool. But as if he needed to prove the point, here he is, rolling a cigarette on the South Rim. McQueen starred as bounty hunter Josh Randall in the series.

Steve McQueen and his trademark "Mare's Leg" repeating rifle make a point 
to Skip Homeier in "The Favor" — the scene is shot on Iverson's South Rim

The plot has McQueen trying to bring in a wrongly accused guy played by veteran character actor Skip Homeier. For the shoot, both Homeier and McQueen romped all over the rocky South Rim and up onto Cactus Hill, with the episode offering nice views in particular of Bobby's Bend, the section of the South Rim where most of the photos in this post were shot.

Steve McQueen on the South Rim

The episode is directed by B-Western veteran Thomas Carr, who was a regular at Iverson throughout his long career in feature films and TV. Carr may be best known for his directing on the TV shows "Adventures of Superman" and "Rawhide," in additon to many episodes of "Wanted: Dead or Alive."

Even though Homeier's character is McQueen's quarry, some bonding occurs between the two men, and they form the beginnings of a friendship.

McQueen and Wrench Rock again — because, why not?

McQueen casts an eye toward the clifftop above Wrench Rock, where Homeier is hiding out after escaping. The scene is shot in "location verite" style, to some extent, meaning that in the real world of the filming location, the clifftop area above Wrench Rock is where Homeier was in fact located as he was being filmed.

Skip Homeier makes a run for it across Rooster Foot Gulley

Rooster Foot Gulley is located on top of the T-Cliff on the northern edge of Cactus Hill, overlooking the South Rim. You may recognize a number of background features in this shot, which looks toward the east.

While Rooster Foot Gulley itself is relatively rare, the other features noted here are commonly seen in productions filmed on the Upper Iverson. Please click on the links in this sentence to see previous posts about Rooster Foot Gulley, Two-Humper and Turtle Rock.

Dummy drop in "The Favor" — unintentionally funny

One of the pivotal sequences in "The Favor" includes an obvious "dummy drop." Not to disparage the show, but dummy drops are almost never convincing, and this one did elicit a spontaneous chuckle. Still, the scene provides a nice look at the Reflecting Pool, as seen from the top of the T-Cliff above the South Rim.

Splash! — The dummy lands in the Reflecting Pool.

Following the dummy drop, the body of Homeier's character lies in the Reflecting Pool below the T-Cliff.

A contemplative McQueen ponders the death of a man he had come to like.

In his moment of reflection, McQueen happens to be standing next to the Reflecting Pool, which is kind of a nice touch. (Even though that name for the pool would not have been in use yet at that time.)

In an unusual effect, rays of sunlight dance up and down over McQueen, reflected onto him by the ripples in the Reflecting Pool caused by Homeier's plunge.

For more of what the Reflecting Pool is all about — and yet another use of "reflecting" as a pun — please click here.

Look who dropped in on the Iverson Ranch: It's a bird, it's a plane, it's ... George Reeves in the 1950s TV series "Adventures of Superman"

The iconic 1950s TV series "Adventures of Superman" is widely thought to be shot in part at the Iverson Movie Ranch, but until recently a confirmed sighting had eluded me. Then Superman aficionado Dave Spiceland tipped me off that the episode "Panic in the Sky," which first aired Dec. 5, 1953, as part of the show's second season, contains some stuff that looks a lot like Iverson. Sure enough, it turns out the episode has a couple of scenes shot on the old Upper Iverson.

I understand the episode is a fan favorite, with an unusual storyline that has the entire planet in peril and sends Superman into space — twice. When an asteroid threatens to destroy Earth, Superman flies up there to face it head-on and initially manages to divert the thing and send it into orbit. But the effort leaves him in bad shape, suffering from a concussion and amnesia. (What's worse, he later has to go back up and tussle with the big brute again.) In the above shot, a woozy Superman has just landed back on Earth, too disoriented to know where he is. But we know he's on the South Rim of the old Upper Iverson, as the next few shots will reveal.

Once Superman stands up we see a familiar rock behind him. I call this one Notch Rock — part of a distinctive set of rock towers that have been called Easter Island or the Totem Rocks.

Here's a shot of the Totem Rocks/Easter Island in modern times, with Notch Rock hard to miss near the center of the shot.

Superman manages to get changed into his Clark Kent outfit — where he stashed the gear while he was off wrangling the asteroid seems like a plot hole, but no need to nitpick. That's the legendary Wrench Rock filling up much of the right half of the shot. (Update: It's not a plot hole after all. Thanks to "Superman" fan Steve Brant, who explained how it works. See comments.)

This is what the rest of Wrench Rock — aka Indian Head, aka Upper Indian Head, aka Bobby — looks like these days. Another shot of it, from the other side, appears at the top of this blog.

Another glimpse of Wrench Rock, on the left, with an askew George Reeves as Clark Kent.

A woman in an old jalopy turns up just in time to rescue Clark and give him a lift to town. That's part of a rock feature I call the Tomb on the left and a portion of the Slates on the right.

In the background is the Cliff, also known as the T-Cliff. The whole Iverson sequence is shot in one small area.

Off they go. I believe the actress is Jane Frazee.

The final Iverson shot in the sequence includes Gold Raiders Rock, top right. The small rock was cemented onto the top of the larger rock around 1950, and it remains in place today.

Gold Raiders Rock today, from the other side.



I have yet to become an expert on "The Adventures of Superman," but I've heard season two is the best for Iverson content. Above are some Amazon links (updated in late 2018), where you can find a complete DVD set of all six seasons of the show (the first link) along with various Amazon rental and digital purchase options.

More Iverson Movie Ranch videos: "Cripple Creek"

Below are a couple more Iverson videos posted by film historian Bill Sasser — both from the 1952 Columbia Western "Cripple Creek." You can see some of Bill's other clips in a recent post found here.


This brief clip offers a look at Hangover Shack on the Lower Iverson. The shack was named after Hangover Rock, which can be seen in the bottom photo in an earlier post, found here. That photo, part of the introductory post for this blog, shows Hangover Rock in 2008, with an African hut featured in the NBC TV series "Heroes." The hut was set up in the same general area where Hangover Shack was previously located — the shack would have been to the left of the hut in the photo, if it were still around. Hangover Shack was one of the longest-surviving buildings at Iverson, seen in productions as late as 1996 — although it was in tumble-down condition in later appearances.


Another short clip from "Cripple Creek," this one shifts to the Upper Iverson and focuses on a water feature that appears to have been created just for this movie — a waterfall trickling down the f-clef section of the "T-Cliff," aka "The Cliff." Waterfalls were set up in the same spot for other productions, but as soon as the production moves on, the waterfall goes away. In the "Cripple Creek" clip, the waterfall tumbles into a small manmade pond directly in front of Wrench Rock. This pond appears to be an expanded version of a more common water feature I call the Reflecting Pool, which is below the Cliff and is set off by a concrete berm. The main part of the Reflecting Pool is still in place on the South Rim — usually just as a concrete berm, although it does become a pool again when it gets enough rain.

Wrench Rock does not appear in the clip, but you can see it here.

The more accepted name for the cliff, albeit admittedly obvious, is ... "The Cliff." My alternate name the "T-Cliff" refers to a distinctive T-shaped marking near the cliff's western end. You can see other posts about it here. The f-clef designation for the area where the waterfall trickles down in the above clip stems from the feature's resemblance to the shape of the f-clef musical notation and the f-shaped sound hole found in some guitars and mandolins.

My guess is the waterfall is a low-end special effect along the lines of someone standing at the top of the cliff emptying buckets, as the filming areas at Iverson generally didn't include running water.

Bill Sasser's YouTube channel can be seen here.

"The Gene Autry Show" in color

Prominent Rock, aka Medicine Rock, at top right, in "The Gene Autry Show"

Over the course of its 86 episodes spanning 1950-1955, the early TV Western "The Gene Autry Show" filmed about one episode in five on the Iverson Movie Ranch. At the end of the run the series was filming in color, leaving us with a few relatively rare color views of some of the ranch's rock features.

"Stage to San Dimas" ("Gene Autry" episode, premiered Oct. 8, 1955)

George J. Lewis appeared in more than 400 features, shorts and TV episodes, from the silent era well into the 1960s, including more than 10 episodes of Gene's TV show. He was a regular in Republic serials, including a starring role opposite Linda Stirling in the 1944 Iverson Movie Ranch showpiece "Zorro's Black Whip." He also appeared as Don Alejandro de la Vega in Disney's "Zorro" TV series.

By the time Gene got around to doing TV he had already made bagloads of money as a cowboy star in the movies, which helped him round up a big enough budget to shoot much of the TV show out of town.

Pioneertown's "Mane Street"

One place he filmed a number of episodes — and it was film in those days — was around Pioneertown, near Palm Springs, Calif. In fact, Gene was one of the key players in setting up a movie town at Pioneertown — a town that still exists, although it's important to keep expectations low if you plan a trip there.

One of the many distinctive rock clumps near Pioneertown

The rocks around Pioneertown have a certain look to them — I call it "desert scrabble." It's similar enough to the look of the distinctive rock formations of the Alabama Hills in Lone Pine, Calif., that many filmmakers — including Autry — would blend the two locations into a single scene.

The Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, Calif.

The "desert scrabble" look of Lone Pine's Alabama Hills, however, is nicely augmented by the often snow-covered peaks of the Eastern Sierra — including Lone Pine Peak, seen here in the background just left of center.

Smiling Lion (at right), a happy rock formation on the Upper Iverson ("The Gene Autry Show")

I want to get back to the Iverson Ranch and show a couple more color shots from "Autry." I've had a hard time finding good prints of the series, so I hope readers will forgive the lower quality of some of these screen shots.

Upper Iverson Movie Ranch in modern times — Smiling Lion, bottom left

Smiling Lion can still be found on the former Upper Iverson, but because of the terrain and the homes that have been built in the area, it's hard to duplicate the angle seen in the "Autry" episode. Above is a recent shot of Smiling Lion from about as close as I could get to the same angle.

Smiling Lion can be seen in the bottom left corner of the photo. Unavoidably, you'll also see, just above Smiling Lion, one of the estate homes that now occupy much of the former Upper Iverson Movie Ranch.

Also visible in this shot are Turtle Rock, at the right, and a couple of the key background hills of the Upper Iverson, Two-Humper at top left and Notch Hill at top center.

"The Gene Autry Show": "The Stage to San Dimas" (1955)

Another screen shot from the "Stage to San Dimas" episode shows a cliff area along the South Rim. I call this the T-Cliff because of the distinguishing capital "T" that seems to be carved into it (along with sort of a cross to its right, creating a square or a tic-tac-toe board).

The markings could be interpreted any number of ways, but T-Cliff works for me as a way of identifying it. This cliff is also sometimes referred to as simply "The Cliff" among Iverson historians — a term that may be a bit too generic considering that the movie ranch features a number of cliffs.

Here's a little bit of that same cliff area, photographed during a recent visit. The tree has grown quite a bit in the half-century-plus since "The Gene Autry Show" taped at Iverson, and much of the cliff is now hidden. But the prominent T-shaped crack still identifies it as the T-Cliff.