Tombstone Canyon (1932)

Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Really Surprised!

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

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.

I love watching these films from the early thirties. Rarely are they good in the way that I need as a modern viewer. The story is not the one the movie directly delivers, but the larger story of movies finding themselves after the disruptive introduction of sound.They just didn't know what would work, so they tried everything. Sometimes they invented, and that is very cool when you can find the first glimmer of some now mainstream stroke. What we have here is one third mystery of the old school. A man does not know who he is we have to find out after the one who could reveal all is murdered. We have a third that is haunted house. This was already a well established genre. Here we have the phantom. He mysteriously kills and disappears as if a ghost. He has a terrifying call that usually brings death. He is dressed in black, skulks and covers his face with his cape, even — especially — when it is just us about. We find he has a horribly disfigured face... as disfigured as simple makeup could arrange anyway. We see comic fear of this ghost. It has everything a haunted house movie does except the house which is replaced here by the supposedly spooky Tombstone Canyon (where no one goes),And a third is good old western, with good and bad ranchers. The good rancher is Judge Lee with a pretty cowgirl daughter who falls for our cowboy. In what seems like two days, they are engaged. A wise sheriff, rough town. Fights at cliff edge. Lots of galloping. What a hodgepodge. What confusion! It is clear that this was a disposable experiment like hundreds of others, even thousands from the era.

Although many Ken Maynard features are noted for their lack of believability in the story telling, there was something about his on screen presence that makes us watch him -- he just comes off as the 'real thing.' You could see it in the way he would instinctively pat or interact with his horse(!!) and delivering such dialog to the heroine as, "Miss Jenny, you spill a kinda mean loop yourself. You've got me just as good as throwed and hog tied already." To which Jenny replies, "That makes me awfully happy, Ken." Woo! they don't make movies like this any more!This one is thoroughly enjoyable and has a touch of mysterious creepiness. "The Phantom," dressed all in black with a bat-like cape, inhabits Tombstone Canyon, where he picks off with a shotgun various hands of the Lazy S ranch. Ken shows up there on his way to find out the identity of his father, but gets involved with Jenny Lee (Cecelia Parker) at her father's ranch branding and 'dehorning' cattle. For more of Cecelia before her Andy Hardy movies, check out the serial "The Lost Jungle" (1934) and the John Wayne "Riders of Destiny" (1933).The Western elements all build quickly; in fact, it begins with Ken being ambushed in the Canyon by an unknown gang. Then we swiftly get fist fights, the romance ("Let's go get the ring!"), Ken being framed and jailed for murder, and shoot outs in Tombstone Canyon. There's one too many visits to Tombstone Canyon, and the final hunt down for Ken there goes too slowly. But then we have a great action finale with 'The Phantom,' Alf Sykes, his son and Ken all fighting or hanging off the highest cliff while Jenny and her father's men speed to the rescue with Ken's horse 'Tarzan.'A good 1930s western, mainly because of Ken Maynard.

Within the context of a B western, Tombstone Canyon is close to perfect. Yes, it looks a lot like every other cheap western of its time, but the early 1930's were a great time for westerns. Ken Maynard never falters for the entire run time of this movie.As the movie starts we are introduced to the place known as Tombstone Canyon. Ken rides in to find himself unwelcome and the desired target of many ill-intended shots. Between the gang of bad guys and the mysterious phantom Ken has his hands full, but fortunately Jenny Lee happens to be riding through and fires a few helpful shots of her own. It is then that Ken learns more about Tombstone Canyon and the mysterious screaming phantom who kills as many of the Lazy S cowboys as possible. The phantom is not Ken's worry, however. He has traveled to meet a friend who has a secret to reveal, but by the time Ken arrives he finds out that his friend is murdered. Alf Sykes, owner of the Lazy S does not want Ken to learn anything, so he does everything he can to destroy Ken. The phantom also confronts Ken and threatens him. It is only at the end that Ken learns the secret someone wanted him to know, and the phantom's identity is revealed.Even if the plot was done hundreds of times over the years, it was done right in this 1932 movie. Most of the credit must go to Ken Maynard for making Tombstone Canyon so much fun to watch. His on screen personality was at its most captivating. Few western heroes looked as good and had the ability to act as well as Ken Maynard.