The Valley of Vanishing Men

Last updated

The Valley of Vanishing Men
The Valley of Vanishing Men.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet
Written by Harry Fraser
Lewis Clay
George Gray
Original screenplay
Produced by Larry Darmour
Starring Bill Elliott
Slim Summerville
Carmen Morales
Narrated by Knox Manning
Cinematography James S. Brown Jr.
Black and white
Edited by Dwight Caldwell
Earl Turner
Music by Lee Zahler
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date
  • December 12, 1942 (1942-12-12)
Running time
15 episodes
280 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Valley of Vanishing Men is a 1942 American Western film serial. It was the 20th of 57 released by Columbia Pictures. Directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet, it stars Bill Elliott, Slim Summerville, and Carmen Morales.

Contents

Plot

In this serial, Wild Bill Tolliver and Missouri Benson are a pair of adventurers who ride into the vast New Mexico Territory in search of Bill's father, Henry Tolliver, who mysteriously disappeared while prospecting for gold. They soon discover that a ruthless outlaw leader, Jonathan Kincaid, owns an immense mine of gold in which he uses captured Mexican patriots, among others, to work as slaves in the mine. They also learn that Kincaid has joined forces with Colonel Carl Engler, a renegade eastern European soldier, to carry out his cruel intentions. Then Bill and Missouri meet with Consuelo Ramírez, a diligent Mexican agent, who informs them that Bill's father is among the prisoners in the mine. After that, the heroes find themselves in a conflict with the outlaws in the middle of incessant fights, chases and action.

Cast

Production

Writing about the film's atmosphere, Cline says that this serial was a "grim tale...[with a] mood of ominous dread." MissouriBenson was added to the cast because a normal comic relief character would have not have worked. [2]

Chapter titles

  1. Trouble in Canyon City
  2. The Mystery of Ghost Town
  3. Danger Walks by night
  4. Hillside Horror
  5. Guns in the Night
  6. The Bottomless Well
  7. The Man in the Gold Mask
  8. When the Devil Drives
  9. The Traitor's Shroud
  10. Death Strikes at Seven
  11. Satan in the Saddle
  12. The Mine of Missing Men
  13. Danger on Dome Rock
  14. The Door that Has No Key
  15. Empire's End

Source: [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>King of the Royal Mounted</i> (serial) 1940 film by John English, William Witney

King of the Royal Mounted (1940) is a Republic Pictures northern serial based on the King of the Royal Mounted comic strip directed by William Witney and John English.

<i>Darkest Africa</i> 1936 American film

Darkest Africa (1936) is a Republic movie serial. This was the first serial produced by Republic Pictures and was a loose sequel to a Mascot Pictures serial called The Lost Jungle, also starring Clyde Beatty. Mascot, and other companies, had been taken over in 1935 by Consolidated Film Laboratories and merged to become Republic. Producer Nat Levine was formerly the owner of Mascot Pictures.

<i>Dick Tracy vs. Crime, Inc.</i> 1941 film by John English, William Witney

Dick Tracy vs. Crime, Inc. (1941) is a Republic Movie serial based on the Dick Tracy comic strip. It was directed by the team of William Witney and John English with Ralph Byrd reprising his role from the earlier serials. It was the last of the four Dick Tracy serials produced by Republic, although Ralph Byrd went on to portray the character again in two features and on television.

<i>Haunted Harbor</i> 1944 film by Wallace Grissell, Spencer Gordon Bennet

Haunted Harbor (1944) is a Republic serial, based on the novel by Ewart Adamson.

<i>G–Men Never Forget</i> 1948 film by Fred C. Brannon, Yakima Canutt

G-Men Never Forget is a 1948 American movie serial from Republic Pictures. The serial was condensed into a 100-minute feature film in 1966 under the title Code 645.

<i>The James Brothers of Missouri</i> 1946 film by Fred C. Brannon

The James Brothers of Missouri is a 1949 American Republic Western film serial.

<i>The Devil Horse</i> (1932 serial) 1932 film

The Devil Horse is a 1932 American Pre-Code movie serial starring Harry Carey, Frankie Darro and Noah Beery, Sr. that was distributed by Mascot Pictures. This is regarded as the best of the three serials Harry Carey made in the early 1930s, the other two being Last of the Mohicans and The Vanishing Legion. Frankie Darro had co-starred with Carey previously in The Vanishing Legion. Lane Chandler played the murdered ranger Elliott Norton, uncredited.

<i>The Mystery Squadron</i> 1933 American film

The Mystery Squadron is a 1933 American pre-Code 12-chapter Mascot film serial, directed by Colbert Clark and David Howard. The film was produced by Nat Levine, and stars Western star Bob Steele, Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, Lucile Browne, Purnell Pratt and Jack Mulhall. The Mystery Squadron made an impressive use of a great deal of aerial footage to enliven the action.

The Lightning Express is a 1930 American pre-Code Universal film serial, featuring the adventures of "Whispering Smith". This serial is considered a lost film.

<i>Battling with Buffalo Bill</i> 1931 film

Battling with Buffalo Bill is a 1931 American pre-Code Western serial film directed by Ray Taylor and starring Tom Tyler, Lucile Browne, William Desmond, Rex Bell, and Francis Ford.

<i>Rustlers of Red Dog</i> 1935 film

Rustlers of Red Dog is a 1935 American Western film serial from Universal Pictures based on the book The Great West That Was by William "Buffalo Bill" Cody. It was a remake of the earlier, 1930 serial The Indians are Coming.

Riders of Death Valley is a 1941 American Western film serial from Universal Pictures. It was a high budget serial with an all-star cast led by Dick Foran and Buck Jones. Ford Beebe and Ray Taylor directed. It also features Lon Chaney Jr. in a supporting role as a villainous henchman as well as Noah Beery Jr., Charles Bickford, Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, Monte Blue, Roy Barcroft, Richard Alexander and Glenn Strange.

<i>The Royal Mounted Rides Again</i> 1945 film by Ray Taylor, Lewis D. Collins

The Royal Mounted Rides Again is a 1945 Universal Pictures film serial. Actor and popular singing cowboy of the day Jack Randall died during the making of this serial.

<i>Bruce Gentry – Daredevil of the Skies</i> 1949 film by Spencer Gordon Bennet, Thomas Carr

Bruce Gentry – Daredevil of the Skies (1949) is a 15-episode Columbia Pictures movie serial based on the Bruce Gentry comic strip created by Ray Bailey. It features the first cinematic appearance of a flying saucer, as the secret weapon of the villainous Recorder.

<i>The Green Archer</i> (1940 serial) 1940 film by James W. Horne

The Green Archer is the 12th serial released by Columbia Pictures. It was based on Edgar Wallace's 1923 novel The Green Archer, which had previously been adapted into the silent serial of the same name in 1925 by Pathé Exchange.

<i>Son of the Guardsman</i> 1946 American film

Son of the Guardsman is an American film serial released in 1946 by Columbia Pictures. It was the 31st of the 57 serials produced by that studio.

<i>Roar of the Iron Horse</i> 1951 film by Spencer Gordon Bennet, Thomas Carr

Roar of the Iron Horse is a 1951 American Western Serial film directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet and Thomas Carr and starring Jock Mahoney and Virginia Herrick.

<i>The Great Adventures of Captain Kidd</i> 1953 film by Derwin Abrahams

The Great Adventures of Captain Kidd (1953) was the 52nd serial released by Columbia Pictures. It is based in the historical figure of Captain William Kidd.

<i>Riding with Buffalo Bill</i> 1954 American film

Riding with Buffalo Bill is a 1954 American Western Serial film directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet and starring Marshall Reed.

References

  1. ↑ Cline, William C. (1984). "Filmography". In the Nick of Time. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 0-7864-0471-X.
  2. ↑ Cline, William C. (1984). "6. Guardians of the Sword (The Assistants)". In the Nick of Time . McFarland & Company, Inc. pp.  99. ISBN   0-7864-0471-X.
  3. ↑ Cline, William C. (1984). "Filmography". In the Nick of Time . McFarland & Company, Inc. pp.  234–235. ISBN   0-7864-0471-X.
Preceded by Columbia Serial
The Valley of Vanishing Men (1942)		Succeeded by
Batman (1943)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.