A stand-in for the Old West

Nowhere in Hollywood’s Old West did more Texas Rangers get ambushed, more stagecoaches get robbed and more bloodthirsty outlaws get gunned down by hastily appointed sheriffs than in the Alabama Hills. Tom Mix, Hopalong Cassidy, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans also rode through this landscape of weathered rock faces that -- with towering Mt. Whitney amid a row of craggy Sierra peaks above -- even doubled for the Khyber Pass. This weekend, the 14th annual Lone Pine Film Festival toasts the area that played a supporting role in more than 200 films, a place that’s eerily familiar even if you’ve never been there. Consider Lone Ranger Canyon, where the man who rode “a fiery horse with the speed of light” gained his moniker; and the rock where singing cowboy Gene Autry crooned. This year’s fest features a tribute to the western’s women, such as cowgirl Martha Hyer, below, in the 1948 “Gun Smugglers.” Special panels (“How to Get a Hoop Skirt Into an Outhouse”), screenings of TV westerns and films, tours of filming hot spots, a hayride and a Sunday night campfire are part of the mix. Some events are sold out, and getting a room (try a campsite) at this late date could be tough. A $25 souvenir button (which, for the first time, features a woman -- Evans, of course) gains you admission to daytime movie screenings, a movie location bus tour and some panels; tickets also are available for individual events. For a list of events and tickets, go to www.lonepinefilmfestival.org or call (760) 876-9103.