''Mystery Mountain'' is a 1934 American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

serial film A serial film, film serial (or just serial), movie serial, or chapter play, is a film, motion picture form popular during the first half of the 20th century, consisting of a series of short subjects exhibited in consecutive order at one theater ...

directed by

Otto Brower Otto Brower (December 2, 1890 – January 25, 1946) was an American film director. He directed more than 40 films between 1928 and 1946. He was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and died in Hollywood, California, from a myocardial infarction, ...

and

B. Reeves Eason William Reeves Eason (October 2, 1886 – June 9, 1956), known as B. Reeves Eason, was an American film director, actor and screenwriter. His directorial output was limited mainly to low-budget westerns and action pictures, but it was as a secon ...

and starring

Ken Maynard Kenneth Olin Maynard (July 21, 1895 – March 23, 1973) was an American actor and producer. He was mostly active from the 1920s to the 1940s and considered one of the biggest Western stars in Hollywood. Maynard was also an occasional screenwrit ...

Verna Hillie Verna or Virna may refer to: People * Verna Aardema (1911–2000), American author of children's books * Verna Bloom (1939–2019), American actress * Virna De Angeli (born 1976), Italian former sprinter * Virna Dias (born 1971), Brazilian retire ...

Syd Saylor Syd or SYD may refer to: * Syd (name), including a list of people with the name * ''Syd.'', taxonomic author abbreviation of Hans Sydow (1879–1946), German mycologist * Sydney, New South Wales, Australia ** IATA code for Sydney Airport, New Sout ...

Edward Earle Edward Earle (16 July 1882 – 15 December 1972) was a Canadian-American stage, film and television actor. In a career which lasted from the 1910s to 1966, he appeared in almost 400 films between 1914 and 1956. He was born in Toronto and died ...

, and

Hooper Atchley Lemuel Hooper Atchley (April 30, 1887 – November 17, 1943) was an American film actor. Atchley was the son of Mr. and Mrs. P. S. Atchley. He was a 1908 graduate of the Knoxville, Tennessee, school system. Atchley's first professional ac ...

.Magers 2007, p. 19. Distributed by

Mascot Pictures Mascot Pictures Corporation was an American film company of the 1920s and 1930s best known for producing and distributing film serials and B-westerns. Mascot was formed in 1927 by film producer Nat Levine. In 1936 it merged with several other ...

, ''Mystery Mountain'' features the second ever film appearance by

Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, musician, rodeo performer, and baseball owner who gained fame largely by singing in a crooning s ...

Plot

Ken Williams (

) is determined to discover the identity of a mysterious killer who preys upon railroads and transportation companies like the ones owned by Jane Corwin (

). Her railroad worker father (

Lafe McKee Lafayette S. "Lafe" McKee (January 23, 1872 – August 10, 1959) was an American actor who appeared in more than 400 films from 1912 to 1948. Part of his career was spent with Art Mix Productions. McKee also worked as a stage actor from 19 ...

) was the first victim of the murderous fiend known as the Rattler, who is especially difficult to catch because he makes himself appear as other people with a collection of masks, or he effects a strange disguise with eyeglasses, a fake nose, and a crepe-hair mustache. The Rattler — also known as "the Menace of the Mountain" — attempts to control the mountain and its hidden gold from his secret cave filled with strange electronic gadgets.

Cast

as Ken Williams, railroad detective *

as Jane Corwin *

as Breezy Baker *

as Frank Blayden *

as Dr Edwards * Edward Hearn as Lake *

Al Bridge Alfred Morton Bridge (February 26, 1891 – December 27, 1957) was an American character actor who played mostly small roles in over 270 films between 1931 and 1954. Bridge's persona was an unpleasant, gravel-voiced man with an untidy mous ...

as Tom Henderson *

Bob Kortman Robert F. Kortman (December 24, 1887 – March 13, 1967) was an American film actor mostly associated with westerns, though he also appeared in a number of Laurel and Hardy comedies. He appeared in more than 260 films between 1914 and 1952. ...

as Hank, one of The Rattler's henchmen *

Lew Meehan James Lew Meehan (September 7, 1890 – August 10, 1951) was an American film actor. Meehan appeared in more than 200 films between 1921 and 1947. He was often the main villain in silent Westerns, but in sound films he was usually an "anon ...

as Red, one of The Rattler's henchmen *

George Chesebro George Newell Chesebro (July 29, 1888 – May 28, 1959) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 400 films between 1915 and 1954. He was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota and died in Los Angeles, California. Partial filmography * ''Mi ...

as Anderson, one of The Rattler's henchmen *

Tom London Tom London (born Leonard T. Clapman; August 24, 1889 – December 5, 1963) was an American actor who played frequently in B-Westerns. According to ''The Guinness Book of Movie Records'', London is credited with appearing in the most films in ...

as Morgan, one of The Rattler's henchmen *

Lynton Brent Lynton Wright Brent (August 2, 1897 – July 2, 1981) was an American film actor and a writer. He appeared in over 240 films between 1930 and 1950. Brent is best known for his prolific work with Columbia Pictures in the Three Stooges shor ...

as Mathews, the

telegrapher A telegraphist (British English), telegrapher (American English), or telegraph operator is an operator who uses a telegraph key to send and receive the Morse code in order to communicate by land lines or radio. During the Great War the Roya ...

* Tarzan as Tarzan (Ken Williams' horse) *

as Thomas, Lake Teamster (chapters 6,7,8,12) (uncredited)

Production

Filming and budget

''Mystery Mountain'' was filmed in the fall of 1934. The film had an operating budget of $65,000 (equal to $ today), and a

negative cost Negative cost is the net expense to produce and shoot a film, excluding such expenditures as distribution and promotion. Low-budget movies, for example ''The Blair Witch Project ''The Blair Witch Project'' is a 1999 American supernatural h ...

of $80,000.

Filming locations

Bronson Canyon Bronson Canyon, or Bronson Caves, is a section of Griffith Park in Los Angeles that has become known as a filming location for many films and television series, especially Westerns and science fiction, from the early days of motion pictures to th ...

, Griffith Park, Los Angeles, California, USA *

Iverson Movie Ranch Iverson may refer to: Computing * Iverson Award, an ACM honour for APL contributions * Iverson bracket, a mathematical notation * Iverson Notation, the syntactic basis of APL (programming language) Other uses * Iverson Movie Ranch, Chatsworth, Ca ...

, Santa Susana Pass, Chatsworth, California, USA

Stuntwork

Yakima Canutt Enos Edward "Yakima" Canutt (November 29, 1895 – May 24, 1986) was an American champion rodeo rider, actor, stuntman, and action director. He developed many stunts for films and the techniques and technology to protect stuntmen in performing t ...

Cliff Lyons Cliff Lyons (born 19 October 1961) is an indigenous Australian former international rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. A Clive Churchill Medalllist and two-time Dally M Medallist, he made 309 first-grade appearances wit ...

(Ken Maynard's stunt double)Magers 2007, p. 20. According to the book ''The Great Movie Serials: Their Sound and Fury'', Ken Maynard was doubled by Cliff Lyons in some scenes but performed many of his own stunts, especially riding, in others.Harmon 1972, p. 59. However, the later book ''In the Nick of Time'' states that Ken Maynard was doubled by his brother Kermit Maynard. The physical similarities between the two makes it difficult to spot the difference on screen between actor and stuntman.Cline 1997, p. 157. Maynard's horse, Tarzan, had three doubles, one of which was blind. Future serial director

William Witney William Nuelsen Witney (May 15, 1915 – March 17, 2002) was an American film and television director. He is best remembered for the action films he made for Republic Pictures, particularly serials: ''Dick Tracy Returns'', ''G-Men vs. the Black ...

, working as an assistant director, performed one stunt during this serial when the stuntman failed to show up to the location shoot. He rode a horse at speed across a bridge over a ravine with a moving train behind him.Witney 1995, pp. 44–45.

Special effects

Special effects were provided by J. Laurence Wickland.

Chapter titles

# The Rattler # The Man Nobody Knows # The Eye That Never Sleeps # The Human Target # Phantom Outlaws # The Perfect Crime # Tarzan the Cunning # The Enemy's Stronghold # The Fatal Warning # The Secret of the Mountain # Behind the Mask # The Judgment of TarzanCline 1997, p. 211.

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * * * * *

External links

* * * {{B. Reeves Eason 1934 films 1930s English-language films 1934 Western (genre) films American black-and-white films Mascot Pictures film serials Films directed by B. Reeves Eason Films directed by Otto Brower Films produced by Nat Levine American Western (genre) films 1930s American films