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Tombstone Canyon
A range lawman (Ken Maynard) unmasks a black-cloaked phantom killer (Sheldon Lewis).
Release : | 1932 |
Rating : | 5.4 |
Studio : | K.B.S. Productions Inc., |
Crew : | Set Decoration, Director of Photography, |
Cast : | Ken Maynard Cecilia Parker Sheldon Lewis Jack Rube Clifford Lafe McKee |
Genre : | Drama Action Western Mystery Romance |
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Perfect cast and a good story
Fantastic!
The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.
Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.
The opening hook is a real grabber. In fact, the movie's best scenes are the action among the other-worldly rocks and spires. 'Other-worldly' is apt since a caped figure called the Phantom Killer occupies the rocks with a deadly rifle and a shattering scream. So Ken's got a lot to contend with, since he doesn't even know his real identity or why cowboy Sykes and his gang are trying to kill him. Plus, just who's side is the Phantom really on; first it seems one and then the other. Good thing Ken's got Tarzan, the wonder horse, to help. And what matinee hero would be complete without a cute girl helper trailing along (Parker). Oh sure, it's standard matinee fare except for the creepy Phantom angle, and a couple of plot twists. At the same time, credit outstanding cinematographer Ted McCord for many of the complex scenic compositions. He later graduated to a string of A-productions including Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (1948). Unfortunately, my DVD copy had a lot of fuzzy sound, a consequence I guess of the many copies in circulation (IMDB Trivia). Nonetheless, the hour amounts to matinee time well spent and with an unexpected ending.
Director: ALAN JAMES. Screenplay: Earle Snell, Ken Maynard. Story: Claude Rister. Photography: Ted McCord. Art director: Dave Berg. Art director: Ralph M. DeLacy. Set decorator: Eddie Boyle. Costumes: Elizabeth Coleman. Music director: Val Burton. Associate producer: Irving Starr. Producer:Ken Maynard. Executive producers: Burt Kelly, Sam Bischoff, William Saal. A KBS Production, filmed at California Tiffany Studios and on locations in Red Rock Canyon in the Mojave Desert. Presented by E. W. Hammons. RCA Sound System.Copyright 25 December 1932 by K.B.S. Productions, Inc. Released through World Wide Pictures. No recorded New York opening. U.S. release: 25 December 1932. U.K. release: 24 March 1934. 62 minutes. SYNOPSIS: The Phantom is a mysterious killer who is bush-whacking anyone with allegiances to the Lazy S Ranch. A stranger is accused, but with the help of a girl he has befriended and her father (the owner of a neighboring ranch), he manages to track down the true culprit.COMMENT: Wonderful atmosphere, a strong, fast-paced story, great photography, vigorous direction and a fascinating cast — Maynard himself, Cecilia Parker, Bob Burns, George Chesebro, Lafe McKee, Sheldon Lewis, and not to forget "Tarzan" — combine to make this entry a stand-out even among the normally superlatively entertaining output of the Ken Maynard unit.Happily, the print under review, whilst slightly track-marked, does full justice to the breathtaking cinematography of Ted McCord. Many other commentators, were likewise impressed by this entry, but let me just say that Ken Maynard is my favorite western hero and that "Tombstone Canyon" is one of his very best films. But even if you don't like Maynard, this one is an absolute "must" for any collection of classic westerns.
In Tombstone Canyon, orphaned cowboy Ken Maynard comes to town to find out about past and tangles with a nasty group of thug cowboys and the disfigured Phantom, a black robed fiend who scares the hell out of all who enter the canyon, a sort of western version of the Phantom Of The Opera mixed with a bit of Batman, who at that time was still a few years off.This has excellent cinematography, good earthy performances by Maynard and the rest of the cast, and lines like "Turn around hombre! I'm a gonna' drill you right between the eyes!", that are pulp western gold.There's a thrilling climax atop some giant rocks and an ending that appears to have anticipated Return Of The Jedi by fifty years!Great stuff.
Ken Maynard was a champion horse rider and in his early days worked in rodeos. Not for him the effete air-conditioned acting studio but he learned his acting trade the hard practical way by living the life of a real cowboy. He enjoyed the rough and tumble and hard knocks of cowboy life. He would feel the the pain of dare devil horse riding, eating his meals by camp fire and sleeping under the stars in the cold and hot seasons. Therefore we accept the often improbable story plot elements because we believe the people playing the roles are similar to the those who lived in the real Old West. This is a second tier Ken Maynard movie but we treasure the limited hours of being with Ken as he portrays a real cowboy and a real man . Thank you Ken.