Mystery Mountain (serial)

Mystery Mountain
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Otto Brower B. Reeves Eason
Written by	Bennett Cohen B. Reeves Eason Sherman L. Lowe Barney A. Sarecky Armand Schaefer
Produced by	Nat Levine Armand Schaefer Victor Zobel
Starring	Ken Maynard Verna Hillie Syd Saylor Edward Earle Hooper Atchley
Cinematography	Ernest Miller William Nobles
Edited by	Earl Turner
Music by	Lee Zahler
Distributed by	Mascot Pictures
Release date	December 3, 1934 (1934-12-03) (U.S.)
Running time	223 minutes (12 chapters)
Country	United States
Language	English

Mystery Mountain is a 1934 American Western serial film directed by Otto Brower and B. Reeves Eason and starring Ken Maynard, Verna Hillie, Syd Saylor, Edward Earle, and Hooper Atchley.^[1] Distributed by Mascot Pictures, Mystery Mountain features the second ever film appearance by Gene Autry.^[2]

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Plot

Ken Williams (Ken Maynard) is determined to discover the identity of a mysterious killer who preys upon railroads and transportation companies like the ones owned by Jane Corwin (Verna Hillie). Her railroad worker father (Lafe McKee) 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.^[3]

Cast

Ken Maynard as Ken Williams, railroad detective
Verna Hillie as Jane Corwin
Syd Saylor as Breezy Baker
Edward Earle as Frank Blayden
Hooper Atchley as Dr Edwards
Edward Hearn as Lake
Al Bridge as Tom Henderson
Bob Kortman as Hank, one of The Rattler's henchmen
Lew Meehan as Red, one of The Rattler's henchmen
George Chesebro as Anderson, one of The Rattler's henchmen
Tom London as Morgan, one of The Rattler's henchmen
Lynton Brent as Mathews, the telegrapher
Tarzan as Tarzan (Ken Williams' horse)
Gene Autry as Thomas, Lake Teamster (chapters 6,7,8,12) (uncredited)^[1]^[4]

Production

Filming and budget

Mystery Mountain was filmed in the fall of 1934. The film had an operating budget of $65,000 (equal to $1,421,915 today), and a negative cost of $80,000.^[1]

Filming locations

Bronson Canyon, Griffith Park, Los Angeles, California, USA
Iverson Movie Ranch, Santa Susana Pass, Chatsworth, California, USA^[1]

Stuntwork

Yakima Canutt
Cliff Lyons (Ken Maynard's stunt double)^[4]^[5]

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.^[6] 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.^[7] Maynard's horse, Tarzan, had three doubles, one of which was blind.^[6]

Future serial director William Witney, 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.^[8]

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 Tarzan^[9]

References

Citations

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Magers 2007, p. 19.
^ "Mystery Mountain". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved June 10, 2012.
^ Rovin, Jeff (1987). The Encyclopedia of Supervillains. New York: Facts on File. p. 292. ISBN 0-8160-1356-X.
^ ^a ^b "Full cast and crew for Mystery Mountain". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved June 10, 2012.
^ Magers 2007, p. 20.
^ ^a ^b Harmon 1972, p. 59.
^ Cline 1997, p. 157.
^ Witney 1995, pp. 44–45.
^ Cline 1997, p. 211.

Bibliography

Cline, William C. (1997). In the Nick of Time: Motion Picture Sound Serials. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0786404711.
George-Warren, Holly (2007). Public Cowboy no. 1: The Life and Times of Gene Autry. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195177466.
Green, Douglas B. (2002). Singing in the Saddle: The History of the Singing Cowboy. Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press. ISBN 978-0826514127.
Harmon, Jim; Glut, Donald F. (1972). The Great Movie Serials: Their Sound and Fury. New York: Doubleday. ISBN 978-0385090797.
Witney, William (1995). In a Door, Into a Fight, Out a Door, Into a Chase. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0786433131.