Major Leigh Hunt French and a friend form a partnership to develop ranches in the Hidden Valley area during the 1920's. The major's wife, Elinore Brown French, recruited locals for extras for films shot in the area. Their own ranch, the French Ranch, was also used for filming.
DIRECTIONS: From Los Angeles, take the 101 Freeway west. Exit at Westlake Blvd and turn left. Turn right onto Potrero Road. Travel past Lake Sherwood until you enter Hidden Valley. Turn left onto HIdden Valley Road and follow it to its end. Turn onto a service road to another ranch and you will find the French Ranch.
Thanks to Tinsley Yarbrough, Ken Stier, and Richard Smith III.
SELECTED FILMOGRAPHY:
"Destry Rides Again" (Universal 1932) Directed by: Alan James & Benjamin Stoloff. Cast: Tom Mix, Claudia Dell, Andy Devine, Earle Foxe, Stanley Fields, Fred Howard, Francis Ford, Edward Piel Sr.
"Come On, Tarzan" (World Wide 1932) Directed by: Alan James. Cast: Ken Maynard.
"Dude Cowboy" (RKO 1941) Directed by: David Howard. Cast: Tim Holt, Marjorie Reynolds, Ray Whitley, Lee "Lasses" White, Louise Currie, Helen Holmes, Eddie Kane, Eddie Dew, Byron Foulger, Tom London, Lloyd Ingraham, Glenn Strange.
"Song of Nevada" (Republic 1944) Directed by: Joseph Kane. Cast: Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Mary Lee, Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers, Lloyd Corrigan, Thurston Hall, John Eldredge, Forrest Taylor, George Meeker, Emmett Vogan, LeRoy Mason, William Davidson, Kenne Duncan, Si Jenks, Frank McCarroll, Henry Wills, Jack O'Shea, Helen Talbot.
"Lights of Old Santa Fe" (Republic 1944) Directed by: Frank McDonald. Cast: Roy Rogers, George Hayes, Dale Evans, Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers, Lloyd Corrigan, Richard Powers, Claire DuBrey, Arthur Loft, Roy Barcroft, Lucien Littlefield, Sam Flint, Jack Kirk.
"Under Nevada Skies" (Republic 1946) Directed by: Frank McDonald. Cast: Roy Rogers, George Hayes, Dale Evans, Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers, Douglass Dumbrille, Leyland Hodgson, Tris Coffin, Rudolph Anders, LeRoy Mason, Peter George Lynn, George J. Lewis, Iron Eyes Cody.
"The Vigilante" (Columbia 1947) Directed by: Wallace Fox. Cast: Ralph Byrd, Ramsay Ames, Lyle Talbot, George Offerman Jr., Robert Barron, Frank Marlo, Hugh Prosser, Jack Ingram, Eddie Parker, George Chesebro.
"Sons of New Mexico" (Columbia 1950) Directed by: John English. Cast: Gene Autry, Gail Davis, Robert Armstrong, Dick Jones, Frankie Darro, Clayton Moore, Irving Bacon, Russell Arms, Marie Blake, Sandy Sanders, Roy Gordon, Frankie Marvin, Paul Raymond, Pierce Lyden, Keene Duncan.
"The Man in the Saddle" (Columbia 1951) Directed by: Andre de Toth. Cast: Randolph Scott, Ellen Drew, Cameron Mitchell.
"Blackhawk" (Columbia 1952) Directed by: Spencer Bennet & Fred F. Sears. Cast: Kirk Alyn, Carol Forman, John Crawford, Michael Fox, Don Harvey, Rick Vallin, Larry Stewart, Weaver Levy, Zon Murray, Nick Stuart, Marshall Reed, Pierce Lyden, William Fawcett, Rory Mallinson, Frank Ellis.
"The Lone Ranger" (Wrather/Warner Bros 1956) Directed by: Stuart Heisler. Cast: Clayton Moore, Jay Silverheels, Lyle Bettger, Bonita Granville, Perry Lopez, Robert Wilke, John Pickard, Beverly Washburn, Michael Ansara, Frank de Kova, Charles Meredith, Mickey Simpson, Zon Murray, Lane Chandler.