Escort West

Escort West is a 1959 Western, first released on Jan. 23, 1959, but sometimes listed as a 1958 release. The movie is set after the U.S. Civil War, when a former Confederate officer, played by Victor Mature, and his daughter help some survivors of an Indian massacre.

It was the second of two co-productions between Batjac and Romina Productions. Their first was China Doll (1957).

The movie was filmed largely on the Iverson Movie Ranch in Chatsworth, Calif., with additional footage shot on the nearby Bell Moving Picture Ranch. The site of the Bell Ranch location shoot remained a mystery for decades until it was discovered on an expedition by film location researchers in early 2015. The researchers found the location by using information from "Escort West" and the first Elvis Presley movie, Love Me Tender, which filmed its climactic sequence at the same site, known as the "Rocky Hill."

Francis Lyon originally bought the story for his own Leo Productions. He eventually set up the movie with Batjac.