''The Avenger'' is a 1931 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorshi ...

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 ...

film directed by

Roy William Neill Roy William Neill (4 September 1887 – 14 December 1946) was an Irish-born American film director best known for directing the last eleven of the fourteen Sherlock Holmes films starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, made between 1943 and 19 ...

and starring

Buck Jones Buck Jones (born Charles Frederick Gebhart; December 12, 1891 – November 30, 1942) was an American actor, known for his work in many popular Western movies. In his early film appearances, he was credited as Charles Jones. Early life, milita ...

and

Dorothy Revier Dorothy Revier (born Doris Valerga; April 18, 1904 – November 19, 1993) was an American actress. Early years Born as Doris Valerga in San Francisco on April 18, 1904, Revier was one of five siblings of the famous Valerga performing fami ...

. The film is loosely based on the exploits of legendary Mexican bandit

Joaquin Murrieta Joaquin Murrieta Carrillo (sometimes spelled Murieta or Murietta) (1829 – July 25, 1853), also called the Robin Hood of the West or the Robin Hood of El Dorado, was a Mexican-American figure of disputed historicity. The novel '' The Life and A ...

, who, in the mid-19th century, went to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and, according to the legend, swore vengeance against Americans and began of a series of robberies in the mining country after being discriminated against by white men. The film was remade in 1942 as ''

Vengeance of the West ''Vengeance of the West'' is a 1942 American Western film directed by Lambert Hillyer and written by Luci Ward. The film stars Wild Bill Elliott, Tex Ritter, Frank Mitchell, Adele Mara, Dick Curtis and Robert Fiske. The film was released on ...

'', directed by

Lambert Hillyer Lambert Harwood Hillyer (July 8, 1893 – July 5, 1969) was an American film director and screenwriter. Biography Lambert Harwood Hillyer was born July 8, 1893, in Tyner, Indiana. His mother was character actress Lydia Knott. A graduate of ...

and starring Bill Elliott and

Tex Ritter Woodward Maurice Ritter (January 12, 1905 – January 2, 1974) was a pioneer of American country music, a popular singer and actor from the mid-1930s into the 1960s, and the patriarch of the Ritter acting family (son John, grandsons Jason and ...

Premise

In 1849, Joaquin Murietta (

) is determined to track down the three men, Black Kelly (

Otto Hoffman Otto F. Hoffman (May 2, 1879 – June 23, 1944) was an American film actor. He appeared in almost 200 films between 1915 and 1944. He was born in New York City and died in Los Angeles, California, from lung cancer. Hoffman's Broadway credit ...

), Ike Mason ( Edward Peil Sr.) and Al Goss (Walter Percival), who lynched his brother. As "The Black Shadow," he robs the rich, gives to the poor, and romances the new school teacher Helen Lake (

Cast

References

External links

* * * * 1931 films American black-and-white films American Western (genre) films 1931 Western (genre) films Columbia Pictures films Films directed by Roy William Neill 1930s English-language films 1930s American films {{1930s-Western-film-stub