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Michael Elliott wrote:

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No mention of D.W. Griffith since (I believe) he was the one who started filming there? I think parts of THE BIRTH OF A NATION were filmed there, his two caveman films plus a number of other shorts.

I didn't see any sign of Bronson in BIRTH OF A NATION, but I wasn't looking for it. Remember, the site was an active quarry up until the early 1920s; LIGHTNING BRYCE, a silent serial, used the site--but as a quarry. I've never heard any other claims that Griffith's prehistoric movies were shot in Bronson Canyon. I'm sort of skeptical about these Griffithian claims. Where did you encounter them? According to the IMDb, some of BIRTH OF A NATION was shot up around Big Bear Lake, and the prehistoric scenes in MAN'S GENESIS were shot on the Iverson Ranch. Since, as I say, the area was a very busy quarry for many years, on into the mid-1920s, I believer, I'm pretty skeptical about any movie claimed to have been shot up there before 1929 or so--except for LIGHTNING BRYCE, as it used the site because it was a quarry. I'm sure that Griffith shot in Griffith (no relation) Park, of course--everyone did. But there would be no reason for him to use the quarry area, which is where the caverns now are.

Michael Elliott wrote:

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I could post a question on Google's silent site if you like or could send you copies of the two caveman films (not sure if you've seen them).

Someplace along the line, I saw MAN'S GENESIS, but not the other one. Please ask that question on the silent site. I've sent a note to Leonard Maltin and Harry Medved. Everyone should keep in mind that the Bronson Caverns area has a varied but narrow look--once you've been up there and looked around a little, it's easy to spot films using the location, even those that (like say RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY) don't use the "caverns." If it's piles of rounded rocks, that could be Iverson's Ranch, or Corriganville, or the area between them, or out in Owens Valley, or even east of Victorville, where TARANTULA et al were shot. But not in any part of Griffith Park. The rocks there are not piled-up-looking and/or rounded.
You never know when you'll see an unexpected movie with scenes up there. Eli Roth's CABIN FEVER has some scenes inside the caverns, and in the area behind them--but mostly it was shot back East. DRAGON WARS is a Korean-made movie, but it does have several spectacular shots in the area behind the Caverns (Ro-Man's stomping grounds), though none, as I recall, inside the Caverns themselves.