Why we love old movie locations — especially the Iverson Movie Ranch

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Monday, June 23, 2014

Check out this lineup of Wild West legends on the Iverson Movie Ranch

"The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp" (1957)

A coalition of legendary frontier lawmen and outlaws came together on the Iverson Movie Ranch for the final episode of season two of "The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp," which premiered June 4, 1957. The episode, titled "The Time for All Good Men," played out almost entirely in and around Iverson's Hangover Shack, which appears as the "Stony Wells roadhouse" in the episode.

Standing in front of the Hangover Shack in the screen shot above, left to right, are Mannen Clements (played by Kem Dibbs), Wyatt Earp (Hugh O'Brian), Doc Holliday (Douglas Fowler), John Wesley Hardin (Phillip Pine), Bat Masterson (Mason Alan Dinehart), Clay Allison (Mike Ragan) and Ben Thompson (Denver Pyle).

All of the men depicted in this shot are real figures of the American West. Here's what they looked like in real life:

Mannen Clements

Wyatt Earp, left, and Doc Holliday

John Wesley Hardin, left, and Bat Masterson

Clay Allison, left, and Ben Thompson

"The Time for All Good Men" ("The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp")

In the shootout at the Hangover Shack, the lineup of Wild West legends was pitted against this bunch — along with about 20 other baddies. Before help arrived they had Wyatt pinned down in the shack and it was 30 against 1. But after a number of their cronies were gunned down, this crew decided to give up the fight.

Grant Withers, left, and Richard Devon

The leader of the mob trying to do in Wyatt Earp is played by Richard Devon, seen at the right, lurking behind a rock near the Hangover Shack, along with his second-in-command, played by Grant Withers.

"The Saga of the Viking Women" (1957) — Richard Devon

Devon also played the lead heavy that same year, 1957, in the Roger Corman movie "The Saga of the Viking Women," which filmed extensively on the Lower Iverson. In the above screen shot from the movie he appears just outside the southern entrance to Devil's Doorway.

Hangover Shack — "The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp" (1957)

The Hangover Shack was the single most durable manmade set at Iverson, standing in some form from about 1939 to at least 1996. It began life behind the large rock now known as the Phantom, in Garden of the Gods, before being moved in about 1945 to its more familiar location up behind Nyoka Cliff. It wasn't the fanciest set around, and often appeared as a rundown shack. You can see a brief video clip of the shack in the movie "Cripple Creek" by clicking here.


The TV show "The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp" went on to a six-season run on ABC from 1955-1961, chalking up a number of noteworthy Iverson Movie Ranch location shoots along the way.

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