Location verite: You can visit the spot where Ronald Reagan was gunned down

The 1955 RKO Western "Tennessee's Partner," starring Ronald Reagan, John Payne, Rhonda Fleming and Coleen Gray, has one of my favorite Iverson Movie Ranch sequences, shot in Garden of the Gods. It's the climactic sequence of the movie, and it takes place in an area that has been preserved as a park and remains open to the public.

"Tennessee's Partner" (1955): Ronald Reagan at the Miner's Cabin

Reagan plays a character known only as Cowpoke — he's the "Partner" in "Tennessee's Partner." Here's a shot of Cowpoke from early in the movie, at the Miner's Cabin — also known as the Lone Ranger Cabin — which was located on the Upper Iverson. The stone foundation visible at the bottom of the photo is still in place at the site.

Foundation of the Miner's Cabin in recent years

This is what's left of Miner's Cabin today — the stone foundation and front steps. The two largest rocks toward the left of the photo are the same as the two big rocks at the bottom left of the Reagan photo at the cabin, above.

Stop reading here if you don't want to know what happens in the movie, as I have to reveal it to show what happened to Reagan's character and where it all went down. Cowpoke meets his demise toward the end of the movie, setting up the climactic chase and fistfight. He's gunned down in an underhanded way by a sniveling weasel named Turner, played by veteran character actor Anthony Caruso. Cowpoke dies heroically, stepping in front of a bullet from Turner, intended for Cowpoke's friend Tennessee.

The shooting takes place near Grubstake's Claim, which in reality is a shallow cave on the back side of a familiar sandstone giant known as the Phantom. That's the weaselous Turner holding Grubstake's sign as Turner tries to take over the claim. The back side of the Phantom is in the background.

Turner takes cover just inside the entrance to Grubstake's Claim — actually a shallow indentation in the rock and not the full-on mine or cave the filmmakers made it out to be.

The site of Grubstake's Claim in modern times

Here's a shot of Grubstake's Claim as it appears these days. You may be able to match up both the main "mine entrance" at the center of the photo and the small diagonal crack in the rock seen at the left. That smaller crack can also be seen in the screen shot above of Turner holding the sign. The site is a little less accessible today, with some foliage blocking the view.

This is the scene moments before Reagan's character, Cowpoke, takes the fatal bullet. That's Reagan in the light-blue shirt. He and his partner, Tennessee (John Payne, at the right), appear to have captured Turner — but they don't realize that the slippery villain is carrying a concealed handgun.

The sequence is filmed in what I call "location verite," meaning if someone runs off in a certain direction, the next shot really takes place in that direction, not somewhere else that may have been more convenient — or cheaper — to shoot. The characters are in approximately the same position in both of the above two shots — filmed first from the back and then from the front. If you go to the site today you can find all of the rocks in this sequence — although the huge tree in the above shot is not there.

Reagan's character is not aware he's about to die. As he and Tennessee are preoccupied with the sheriff, who came up behind them, Turner, at center, goes for his gun.

In this shot, Reagan has just taken the bullet. Turner's about to make his getaway and Tennessee, at the right, missed the whole thing because he had turned around to face the sheriff. Grubstake's Claim in the background pinpoints the spot.

Reagan's death scene — Cowpoke's last words to his friend Tennessee.

Here's where Cowpoke fell dead, in central Garden of the Gods.

In the movie, Turner makes a run for it ...

The getaway site as it appears today — Getaway Rock on the right

Here's that same spot during a recent visit, including the large boulder on the right, which I call Getaway Rock because of its role in this sequence. I walked the area with screen shots and was able to trace the path of the action and find where every shot was taken — thanks to the movie being shot in location verite.

Tennessee takes off after Turner, catches him, and they launch into an epic fistfight, all of which is captured in a series of lavish shots of rarely filmed rock features on the west side of Garden of the Gods. In the above scrape, Turner starts to get what's coming to him, being flung over a sharp-edged rock by an enraged Tennessee.

The sharp-edged rock today

Here's the same spot in recent times — still easy to get to and easy to find if you follow the action in the movie. Many of the same rocks can be seen in both of the above two shots. The movie shot was taken from a distance with a long lens, which accounts for the rock in the background (behind the dead tree in the movie shot) appearing closer in the movie than in the recent photo. That background rock is one of the highest in Garden of the Gods.

Here's another view of the fight scene today, from a reverse angle. The big rock that dominates this shot — a mighty distinctive critter — appears on the left in the previous shots. The "sharp-edged rock" appears here as the small, triangular one in the foreground, toward the left.

Below is a clip from "Tennessee's Partner" containing the climactic sequence — including most of the rocks mentioned above:



Location verite is a technique that was rarely used in the B-Westerns, where keeping costs to a minimum was the guiding principle. It's refreshing to find it here, and it's an indication the movie probably had a little bigger budget. It's a good technique from the standpoint of realism, and as a bonus it makes it easier to do location research.

Click here for a little more about the "Tennessee's Partner" shoot in a blog post mainly about the Judy Garland movie "The Harvey Girls," which was partially shot in the same area.

Meena's Cabin in "Bonanza": Is this the last set built at Iverson in the filming era?

Here's a cabin that turned up in a "Bonanza" episode called "Meena," which premiered Nov. 9, 1969. The small wooden building, with its unusual roofline, would have been one of the last sets, possibly the very last set, built at the Iverson Movie Ranch while it was still a working filming location.

The surrounding rocks pinpoint the exact location where Meena's Cabin stood, which is on a piece of property that now contains an upscale estate at the end of a cul de sac on the former Upper Iverson. The above shot, taken from the rocks up above and to the east of the cabin — from an area near a familiar movie rock known as Eagle Beak Rock — shows the cabin from the opposite side of the first shot, revealing that it was in fact a full four-sided cabin and not just a "front."

That's the title character, Meena — played by Ann Prentiss — out in front of the cabin with a rifle, and Little Joe, played by Michael Landon, hurrying to try to keep her from killing somebody. (She happened to be taking aim at Candy, a good friend of the Cartwrights.)

Here's a look at Eagle Beak Rock today, at the top of the frame. You may recognize it from its hundreds of appearances in the backgrounds of chase scenes in B-Westerns, early TV shows and other productions, especially from the 1930s through the 1950s. The location of Meena's Cabin was approximately on that patch of grass near the center of the photo. The house partially visible at the far right is part of the property where the cabin stood, while the fence in the lower right corner belongs to a neighboring property.

Eagle Beak Rock turns up over and over again. Here it is at top left in the 1950 Columbia Western "Calamity Jane and the Texan," starring Evelyn Ankers and Jimmy Ellison.

Another appearance by Eagle Beak Rock, this time in an early "Bonanza" episode — "Desert Justice," which aired during the first season, premiering Feb. 20, 1960.

This is a cool shot from that same early Bonanza episode, "Desert Justice." In this view of the South Rim on the Upper Iverson, part of the concrete bridge is visible in the top left corner, and the white area at the top center of the photo is the creekbed for Fern Ann Creek (sometimes called Iverson Creek), which looks as though it was pretty dry at the time. The creek continues to flow these days, although it is usually little more than a trickle. The prominent rock feature at the far right of the photo, directly to the right of the horses, is sometimes called Gold Raiders Rock. It includes a smaller rock that was cemented on top of a larger rock, and this feature remains in place today.

"Bonanza" shot about 40 of its 430 episodes at Iverson during an impressive 14-season run on NBC (1959-1973). In my experience, when the series did shoot at Iverson it made great use of the place. It was one of the most successful of all television Westerns, and one of the most high-profile shows to shoot at Iverson. So if Meena's Cabin was in fact the last set built for filming at Iverson, it provided a fitting final chapter to the movie ranch's filming era.

Pear Rock, a fake mine ... and two Grove Cabins

"Bells of Rosarita" (Roy Rogers, 1945) — Grove Cabin

One of the so-called "permanent" buildings on the old Iverson Movie Ranch was a small cabin located in the Eucalyptus Grove, known as the Grove Cabin.

Pear Rock, next to Grove Cabin ("Bells of Rosarita")

The Grove Cabin was located immediately west of Pear Rock, seen here in the same "Bells of Rosarita" sequence as Roy and the boys sneak up on the cabin.

Pear Rock as it appears today

Pear Rock is still around. The angle isn't exactly the same, but you may be able to spot some of the same markings on the rock in the above two photos.

Here are a few of the puzzle pieces to help you get oriented.

And those same puzzle pieces noted in the "Bells of Rosarita" screen shot.

"Bells of Rosarita" — Pear Rock, left, and Grove Cabin

This shot from the "Bells of Rosarita" sequence shows Pear Rock on the left and Grove Cabin on the right, with a blurry Gabby Hayes in the middle. Note the muffin-shaped rock above the cabin.

"Law of the Canyon" (Charles Starrett, 1947)

For a period of time the Grove Cabin had this odd-looking fake mine next to it. This mine was unusual because the light-colored fake rock material was combined with an actual rock — the darker angular part to the right of the mine entrance — giving the construction a two-tone effect.

The fake mine area as it appears today

The angular rock that was a part of the mine construction is still in place — here's what it looks like today (near the center of the photo). Also visible in this photo is the tall muffin-shaped boulder that looms above Grove Cabin in the movie shots.

"Law of the Canyon"

This blurry shot from "Law of the Canyon" shows the proximity of the fake mine, on the right, to Grove Cabin, on the left.

"Circus Boy" TV show episode "The Masked Marvel" (premiered Dec. 9, 1956)

Grove Cabin stood from about 1939-1958, a long time by movie set standards. Near the end of that run a second cabin was added to the set, immediately west of the original cabin.

The smaller second cabin stood more or less where the fake mine previously stood. (TV trivia time: "Circus Boy" starred a young Micky Dolenz, who would go on to greater fame a decade later as a member of the '60s pop band the Monkees.)

"Gunsmoke" episode "Claustrophobia" (premiered Jan. 25, 1958)

This shot from the TV series "Gunsmoke" again captures the two Grove Cabins, along with some of the Grove's trademark eucalyptus trees.

The tall muffin-shaped boulder continues to loom in the background, directly above the main cabin.

"Bells of Rosarita": Muffin-shaped rock behind the cabin

Another shot from "Bells of Rosarita" highlights the rock's muffin shape.

The Grove Cabin site in 2016

A recent photo of the area where the Grove Cabin once stood shows Pear Rock on the left and the muffin-shaped rock on the right.

A close look at the muffin-shaped rock as it appears today reveals that it's no longer as "muffin-shaped" as it once was.

A large chunk of the once top-heavy rock has fallen off in the years since the area was used for filming, leaving behind a flat, lighter-colored area of unweathered surface along the eastern face of the rock.

Off the Beaten Path: A visit to Pioneertown turns up a clump of famous movie rocks

Pioneertown, Calif.

The Western town at Pioneertown, Calif., built around 1946, is one of only a handful of old Western movie town sets still standing. But in my eyes the most impressive historical artifacts in the Pioneertown area are the magnificent rock formations surrounding the town.

"Silver Canyon" (1951) — rock clump near Pioneertown

Just back from my first visit to Pioneertown, I checked my archives and found this beauty — a screen shot from the Gene Autry B-Western "Silver Canyon." Autry was a key player in the early movie and TV history of the Pioneertown area.

This is a shot of the same rock clump taken during a road trip over the weekend. This spectacular group of rocks and countless similar rock features are spread all around the area, mile after mile — a lot of needles in that haystack and a small miracle to match one up. We happened upon this bad boy after a random right turn on a barely noticeable dirt road. In other instances spectacular rock features can be found right on the highway.

Here's another beauty in the Pioneertown area — this one is next to the highway, probably less than two miles north of the Western town. Have you seen this group of rocks in an old movie or TV show? I haven't spotted it yet, but I have a feeling it will turn up. I'll keep you posted. In the meantime, please leave a comment if you've seen this one or any other noteworthy formations.

Off the Beaten Path is a series of posts that are not specifically focused on the Iverson Movie Ranch. Typically they spotlight another filming location in Southern California. You can go directly to the Off the Beaten Path posts by looking up the term in the long index of labels at the right of the page, or by clicking here (recommended!).

Remarkable shots of a partially dismantled — and flooded — Iverson Western street in 1956, as seen in the TV show "Whirlybirds"

The late-1950s show "Whirlybirds" has been a personal favorite since I watched it on TV as a kid. In those days, the idea of flying around in a helicopter having adventures was a pretty big deal.

"Whirlybirds" episode "Ghost Town Flight" (first aired Feb. 15, 1957)

Now that I'm grown up, I love "Whirlybirds" for different reasons — namely its great location shots of the Iverson Movie Ranch. One of the best examples is the episode "Ghost Town Flight," shot in late 1956. Even in somewhat diminished picture quality, the episode provides clues to the final days of Iverson's Western street.

The Iverson Movie Ranch Western street, flooded and in decline, in 1956

The Western street — or what was left of it in late 1956 — is seen in a partial state of teardown in the episode. The prominent building on the left, with the steep sloped roof, is the Hotel, which apparently outlasted some of the other buildings in town, albeit in deteriorated condition.

"Calamity Jane and the Texan" (1950)

This is what the town looked like in better days. Built by Gary Cooper for the 1945 movie "Along Came Jones," the town became known alternately as El Paso Street (for its appearance in the 1949 movie "El Paso"), Iverson Village or simply Iverson's Western street. Take a look at the row of buildings along the right side and compare them with the photo below, from "Whirlybirds," shot about six years later.

"Ghost Town Flight" ("Whirlybirds")

The town flooded regularly during the 12 years or so that it stood, but the flooding was only caught on film a few times. This shot — probably taken from a helicopter — focuses on the buildings along the east side of the street, where the decay is evident on roofs and other features. The building at the right, with its four vertical windows, is among the most instantly recognizable structures in town.

Here's a slightly closer view of the same general area from the "Whirlybirds" sequence. This shot provides an even better look at the deterioration of some of the roofs and exterior walls.

At the top of the frame is the General Store, which was located near the north end of the street. After appearing as a general store in "Along Came Jones" in 1945, the building had many incarnations over the years, often being converted into a stagecoach stop. At the right of the frame we see what was once the Sheriff's Office — which is now crumbling to the point where it's little more than a pile of lumber.

"Calamity Jane and the Texan"

Here's another look at the General Store in better days, when it appeared as the stage depot in 1950 in "Calamity Jane and the Texan." The building at the right of this shot is the same Sheriff's Office building that looks like a "crumbling pile of lumber" in the shot above this one.

"The Roy Rogers Show": "Ghost Town Gold" (first aired May 25, 1952)

Another example of the flooded town surfaced in "The Roy Rogers Show," in an episode that would have been filmed during the winter of 1951/52. That's Roy Rogers sidekick Pat Brady driving his beloved Jeep, "Nellybelle," through the flood, with the show's co-starring German shepherd, Bullet, in the passenger seat. (You'll have to take my word for it, as it's impossible to make them out in the fuzzy screen shot.)

"Ghost Town Gold" ("The Roy Rogers Show")

Flooded or not, the Iverson Western street often played a ghost town, especially in its waning years. The town was relatively modest as Western town sets go, and this shot appears to show that deterioration was already evident in early 1952. But the town could be spruced up or dressed down depending on the needs of the production.

One more shot of Pat Brady and "Nellybelle" on their joy ride through the flooded street. The story that I've heard about this episode is that the crew showed up for what was supposed to be a regular shoot in the town, and when they found it flooded they wrote the flooding into the script. True or not, I like the story.

You can find other posts about the Iverson Western street by clicking here or looking up "Iverson Village" in the long index found at the right of this page.



This eight-episode "Whirlybirds" DVD being sold by Amazon.com is one of precious few "Whirlybirds" sets commercially available — possibly the only one. Luckily, the set includes the remarkable episode "Ghost Town Flight," featured in this post. Click on the icon above to check it out on Amazon.