''The Rawhide Terror'' 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 ...

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...

directed by

Bruce M. Mitchell Bruce M. Mitchell (November 16, 1883 – September 26, 1952) was an American film director and writer active during the silent film era from 1914 to 1934. With the advent of sound films in the 1930s, Mitchell abandoned directing and became an a ...

and Jack Nelson.

Plot summary

A gang of renegades disguised as Indians murder the parents of two brothers, as a result, the brothers separate. Ten years later, a stranger known as the Rawhide Terror begins murdering the renegades, who have now become citizens of the local town called Red Dog. As the town frantically attempts to track down the killer, the destinies of the two brothers draw closer together and the identity of the killer is soon revealed.

Cast

Art Mix Art Mix (born George Washington Kesterson; June 18, 1896 – December 7, 1972), was an American character actor from the 1920s until the mid-1940s. Biography Prior to becoming an actor, Mix worked as a circus performer and a boxer. He initially ...

as Al, a Blake ranch hand *

Edmund Cobb Edmund Fessenden Cobb (June 23, 1892 – August 15, 1974) was an American actor who appeared in more than 620 films between 1912 and 1966. Biography Cobb was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the son of William Henry Cobb and Eddie (Edmundi ...

as Sheriff * William Desmond as Tom Blake, Betty's older brother * William Barrymore as Brent * Frances Morris as Betty Blake * George Holt as Renegade leader * Bill Patton as Renegade *

Herman Hack Herman H. Hackenjos (June 15, 1899 – October 19, 1967) was an American film and television actor who appeared in over 500 films. Hack was born in Panola, Illinois. His screen debut was in the 1925 film ''The Big Parade'', which starred Joh ...

as Deputy Hack *

Tommy Bupp Tommy may refer to: People * Tommy (given name) * Tommy Atkins, or just Tommy, a slang term for a common soldier in the British Army Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tommy'' (1931 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Tommy'' (1975 fil ...

as Jimmy Brent * Fred Parker as Pappy / Banker

Production

''The Rawhide Terror'' was the final screen collaboration between

Victor Adamson Albert Victor Adamson (January 4, 1890 – November 9, 1972) was a New Zealand director, producer, screenwriter, and actor most famous for directing and starring in B and Z grade westerns in the early days of motion pictures. Adamson often ...

and George Kesterson (under his stage name Art Mix), the latter of whom Adamson's company was named after. Originally envisioned as a

movie serial A serial film, film serial (or just serial), movie serial, or chapter play, is a 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, gene ...

titled ''The Pueblo Terror'', it was later cut from its original 52 minute length and converted into a 46–47 minute

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

when funding for the film fell through. In spite of this, the film has been incorrectly listed under its original 52 minute runtime.

Release

Home media

The film was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

Image Entertainment RLJ Entertainment (formerly Image Entertainment) is an American film production company and home video distributor, distributing film and television productions in North America, with approximately 3,200 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 340 ...

as a part of its "Creepy Cowboys: Four Weird Westerns" film pack on April 25, 2006. It was later released by

Alpha Video Alpha Video (also known as Alpha Home Entertainment) is an entertainment company, based near Philadelphia, that specializes in the manufacturing and marketing of public domain movies and TV shows on DVD. Alpha Video releases approximately 30 ne ...

on January 31, 2011.

Reception

''The Rawhide Terror'' has received no attention from mainstream critics. Reviews that exist on the film have been mostly negative, with many calling the film "sloppy" and "crudely made". Author Michael R. Pitts criticized the film, calling it "a failed experiment in the mixing of two fairly distinct genres", and criticized the film's poor cinematography, and lack of plot continuity. Hans J. Wollstein from

Allmovie AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was founded by popular-cult ...

called it "convincingly eerie, in no small measure due to a potent performance by the mystery killer". Max Sparber from ''Wildest West.com'' awarded the film 1/5 stars, writing, "A Poverty Row Western about a weird, revenging figure with a rawhide strap across his face, made by filmmakers who seemed to understand the pleasures of pulp fiction without having any idea how to put it on the screen."

References

''Bibliography'' * * * * * *

Notes

External links

* * * * * 1934 films 1930s Western (genre) horror films American black-and-white films American Western (genre) horror films 1930s English-language films Films directed by Jack Nelson 1930s American films 1934 horror films {{1930s-Western-film-stub