Bronson Canyon, only a few acres in size, is the remains of a rock quarry
located at the southern edge of Griffith Park, just above Hollywood and within site of that famous sign. The Union Rock Company operated the quarry from 1903 into the late 1920's. Crushed rock was used on local railways and roads. Once the quarrying ceased it became a favorite location for penny pinching low budget studios as well as a convenient filming place for the major studios. In 1930's and 1940's, Bronson Canyon appeared in several serials and B-westerns. In the 1950's it became a breeding ground for the sci-fi generation flicks of that era. Through the years, even television has used Bronson Canyon on many movies and shows.
Located off Bronson Avenue in Los Angeles, Bronson Canyon is reached by a short walk over a bridge and across a gated driveway up a dirt road which winds up approximately a quarter mile along the east side of Canyon Drive's dead-end. Upon arriving into the Canyon a large opening to a cave can be seen on the side of the hill to the right. This opening is actually a tunnel carved out of the mountain rock and leads approximately fifty yards through the mountain to the other side into a quarry. Half way into the tunnel two other cave openings become visible one on either side of the main tunnel. The main opening into the canyon proper (quarry) is best recognized in the climactic scene of John Ford's The Searchers (1956)
where Ethan Edwards (John Wayne) rides down the hill slope
pursuing niece Little Debbie (Natalie Wood)and dismounting his horse grabs the frightened Wood raises her into his arms and says "Let's go home Debbie". Incidentally, twenty-three years prior, John Wayne rode a stagecoach through the main tunnel in the second of sixteen Lone Star installments, Sagebrush Trail (1933). Also, in a 1930's part of Frank Capra's classic Lost Horizon (1937) was filmed at Bronson Canyon.
For the cliffhanger enthusiasts the cave entrance to the left of main tunnel (looking from within) became the entrance to the 20,000 foot underground city of Murania in Mascot Pictures' 12-chapter serial The Phantom Empire (1935) starring Gene Autry. Other serials to use Bronson Canyon include Republic Pictures' 15-chapter Dick Tracy Returns (1938) and 12-chapter Adventures of Captain Marvel (1941).
In the 1940's the inside of the cave became the hideout for a money counterfeiting ring in the Tim Holt's oater Dude Cowboy (1941) by RKO. 
The climactic shoot out and horse stampede also takes place within the main tunnel of the cave with the entrance to the cave easily recognizable.
Throughout the 50's with the evolution of space exploration Bronson Canyon became a favorite locale for a number outer space landings. Film entries like, Unknown World (1951), Day the World Ended (1956), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), It Conquered the World (1956), I Married a Monster from Outer Space (1958), Earth vs. the Spider (1958) and Invisible Invaders (1959) have become cult favorites of many sorts. In the Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) Dr. Miles Bennell (Kevin McCarthy) and Becky Driscoll (Dana Wynter) hid from the pods underneath wooden beams in a hole dug in the cave floor. It is also here that Miles kisses Becky and with a sudden look of fear realizes that she is no longer human.
With the advent of television, Bronson Canyon has appeared in a variety of program genres but most commonly seen in Sci-Fi and Westerns. 
Most Westerns of the 50's and 60's have been lensed at Bronson at one time or another but in particular The Lone Ranger, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, Gunsmoke, Tales of the Texas Rangers, The Californians, Have Gun, Will Travel, Tombstone Territory, Bat Masterson, The Rough Riders, Bonanza, Rawhide, Shotgun Slade, Outlaws, The Virginian, The Wild Wild West, The Guns of Will Sonnett, The High Chaparral, and Little House on the Prairie. More recently Wonder Woman, Fantasy Island, MacGyver, Starman, The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. and Star Trek: Voyager have also used this location.
In the first Lone Ranger episode - Enter the Lone Ranger (9/15/1949) Bronson Canyon is utilized as Bryant's Gap, the ambush
site of the Texas Rangers by the Butch Cavendish gang. Everyone is killed except for Dan Reid who manages to crawl to one of the cave's opening where he finds a water spring and manages to stay alive long enough to be serendipitously found by childhood acquaintance and friend Tonto who miraculously nurses him back to health to become the Lone Ranger. This is noteworthy because in all likelihood it represents the first time that Bronson Canyon appeared on the miniature screen. In the 1960's, one of the cave's tunnel entrances with the addition of green foliage and short shrubs was also used as the Batcave entrance in the Batman television series starring Adam West and Burt Ward.
Today, the canyon is used by joggers and their pets, hikers, independent film producers, film location buffs, and even homeless transients who use the cave as overnight shelter.
