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In use as a film location site for a little over ten years, the Brandeis Ranch sported a ramshackled western town, which usually doubled as a ghost town (nicknamed Hickeyville by local residents), and a couple of ranch houses (the owners and the caretakers). The ranch sat to the west of the Upper Iverson Ranch. More than half of the flat meadow land in the area of the Upper Iverson was owned by the Brandeis Ranch (the long stand of trees seen in the opening credits of The Lone Ranger television show was the dividing line between the Upper Iverson and the Brandeis Ranch).
The area was first homesteaded in the 1870’s by Niles and Ann Johnson and was then known as the Johnson Ranch. After John Brandeis purchased the ranch, he lent his name to it. In the 1930’s, the ranch was known as the Lazy A Ranch.
Filming at the ranch lasted probably less than 10 years, from about 1935 to 1942, when Brandeis closed his ranch to filming.
The western town was located east of Hialeah Springs (which is east of Rocky
Peak) in a canyon which ran westward from the flat land of the ranch. It is not known when or who built this set, nor when it was removed, but it can be seen to good advantage in
Ghost Town Gold (1936), Ghost Town Riders (1938), and
Trail of the Silver Spurs (1941).
Located about a quarter mile west of the Upper Iverson entrance road was the ranch’s caretaker’s home, a bunkhouse, and several other ranch buildings. The caretaker’s home and the bunkhouse (sometimes doubling as another ranch house) were used. The caretaker’s home be seen in
Heroes of the Hills (1938) and West of Tombstone (1942) while the bunkhouse is featured in
Ghost Patrol (1936) and Santa Fe Stampede (1938).
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DIRECTIONS: The Brandeis Ranch site sits in a closed area. The main ranch portion is on the western side of the old Upper Iverson Ranch, all now subdivided into 1 to 4 acres lots with mansions. To reach this general area from Los Angeles, take Interstate 5 north to the 118 freeway west (now called the Ronald Reagan Freeway). Head west to Topanga Canyon Blvd. Exit and turn left. Turn right on Santa Susana Pass Road. Turn right on Iverson Road. A gate will stopped your further progress.
"Cowboy Star" (Columbia 1936) Directed by: David Selman. Cast: Charles Starrett, Iris Meredith, Si Jenks, Marc Lawrence, Edward Piel Sr., Wally Albright, Jack Perrin.
"Ghost Patrol" (Puritan Pictures 1936) Directed by: Sam Newfield. Cast: Tim McCoy, Claudia Dell, Walter Miller, James P. Burtis, Lloyd Ingraham, Wheeler Oakman, Jack Casey, Dick Curtis, Slim Whitaker, Art Dillard, Artie Ortego.
"Ghost Town Gold" (Republic 1936) Directed by: Joseph Kane. Cast: Robert Livingston, Ray Corrigan, Max Terhune, Kay Hughes, Leroy Mason, Burr Caruth, Bob Kortman.
"Gun Grit" (Atlantic 1936) Directed by: William A. Berke. Cast: Jack Perrin, Ethel Beck, Roger Williams, Phil Dunham, Ralph Peters, Oscar Gahan, Ed Cassidy, Earl Dwire, David Sharpe.
"Singing Cowboy" (Republic 1936) Directed by: Mack V. Wright. Cast: Gene Autry, Smiley Burnett, Lois Wilde, Lon Chaney.
"Winds of the Wasteland" (Republic 1936) Directed by: Mack V. Wright. Cast: John Wayne, Phyllis Fraser, Lew Kelly, Douglas Cosgrove, Lane Chandler, Sam Flint, Bob Kortman.
"The Feud of the Trail" (Victory 1937) Directed by: Robert Hill. Cast: Tom Tyler, Harlene Wood, Milburn Morante, Roger Williams, Lafe McKee, Jim Corey, Dick Alexander, Roger Williams, Vane Calvert, Slim Whitaker, Colin Chase, Francis Walker.
"Mystery Range" (Victory 1937) Directed by: Bob Hill. Cast: Tom Tyler, Jerry Bergh, Milburn Morante, Lafe McKee, Roger Williams, Dick Alexander, Jim Corey, Slim Whitaker.
"Silks and Saddles" (Victory 1937) Directed by: Robert F. Hill. Cast: Bruce Bennett, Toby Wing, Fuzzy Knight, Frank Melton, William Buchanan, Bess Flowers, Trixie Friganza.
"Ghost Town Riders" (Universal 1938) Directed by: George Waggner. Cast: Bob Baker, Fay Shannon, George Cleveland, Frank Ellis, Hank Worden, Reed Howes, Jack Kirk.
"Gunsmoke Trail" (Monogram 1938) Directed by: Sam Newfield. Cast: Jack Randall, Louise Stanley, Al St. John, John Merton.
"Heroes of the Hills" (Republic 1938) Directed by: George Sherman. Cast: Robert Livingston, Ray Corrigan, Max Terhune, Priscilla Lawson, Leroy Mason, James Eagles, Roy Barcroft.
"Lightning Carson Rides Again" (Victory 1938) Directed by: Sam Newfield. Cast: Tim McCoy, Ted Adams, Joan Barclay, Ben Corbett, James Flavin, Karl Hackett, Reed Howes, Jane Keckley, Frank La Rue, Forrest Taylor.
"Prairie Moon" (Republic 1938) Directed by: Ralph Staub. Cast: Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Shirley Deane, Tommy Ryan, Tom London, Warner Richmond, William Pawley, Walter Tetley, David Gorcey, Stanley Andrews, Peter Potter, Bud Osborne.
"Santa Fe Stampede" (Republic 1938) Directed by: George Sherman. Cast: John Wayne, Ray Corrigan, Max Terhune, June Martel, William Farnum, Leroy Mason, Martin Spellman, Genee Hall, Walter Wills, Ferris Taylor, Tom London.
"Two Gun Justice" (Monogram 1938) Directed by: Alan James. Cast: Tim McCoy, Betty Compson, John Merton.
"Arizona Gangbusters" (PRC Pictures 1940) Directed by: Sam Newfield. Cast: Tim McCoy, Pauline Haddon, Forrest Taylor, Lou Fulton, Arno Frey, Julian Rivero, Jack Rutherford, Keene Duncan.
"Phantom Rancher" (Colony 1940) Directed by: Harry Fraser. Cast: Ken Maynard, Dorothy Short, Dave O'Brien.
"Law of the Range" (Universal 1941) Directed by: Ray Taylor. Cast: Al Bridge, Johnny Mack Brown, Riley Hill, Fuzzy Knight, Ethan Laidlaw, Nell O'Day, Pat O'Malley, Wally Wales.
"Lone Rider in Ghost Town" (PRC 1941) Directed by: Sam Newfield. Cast: George Houston, Al St. John.
"Trail of the Silver Spurs" (Monogram 1941) Directed by: S. Roy Luby. Cast: Ray Corrigan, John "Dusty" King, Max Terhune, I. Stanford Jolley, Dorothy Short, Milburn Morante, George Chesebro, Eddie Dean.
"West of Tombstone" (Columbia 1942) Directed by: Howard Bretherton. Cast: Lloyd Bridges, Budd Buster, Clancy Cooper, Gordon De Main, Cliff Edwards, Russell Hayden, Jack Kirl, Tom London, Charles Starrett, Marcella Martin.
