By Frank Miller
Ghost Valley
Brief Synopsis
A cowboy and a beautiful girl inherit a supposedly haunted gold mine.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Fred Allen
Director
Tom Keene
Jerry Long
Merna Kennedy
Jane Worth
Kate Campbell
Miss Trumpet
Mitchell Harris
Judge J. Drake
Ted Adams
Gordon
Film Details
Also Known As
Ghost City, Ghost Town
Genre
Western
Release Date
May
13,
1932
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
RKO Pathé Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
RKO Pathé Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Location
Hornitas, California, United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 1m
Sound
Mono (RCA Photophone System)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
6 reels
Synopsis
Shortly after returning to his Nevada home town following several years' absence, cowboy Jerry Long is approached by crooked Judge J. Drake. Believing Jerry is a penniless drifter, Drake offers him a thousand dollars to impersonate himself and convince his adopted father's niece, Jane Worth, to sell her share of her dead uncle's inheritance, the ghost town of Boom City. Curious about Drake's motives, Jerry accepts the offer and follows Drake to the deserted Boom City Hotel. To help persuade Jane that she should sell Boom City, which includes an abandoned gold mine, Drake also hires a band of desert bandits to scare her and her aunt, Miss Trumpet. After first pretending to be a cowardly city fop in front of Jane, Jerry disguises himself in a black cape and follows one bandit from the hotel to the mine. Unable to catch the bandit, Jerry returns to the ghost town and rescues a terrified Miss Trumpet from the arms of another bandit. Jerry then slips back into his hotel room and feigns ignorance of the night's goings-on, which infuriates the feisty Jane. The next day, Marty, a traveling salesman whom Jerry has hired to be his "valet," spots yet another bandit, and Jerry dons his "mysterious stranger" costume to investigate. After interrupting the bandits' continued attempts at scaring the women, Jerry is chased to the mine, where a furious gunfight ensues. Jerry out-guns and out-rides the bandits and then rescues Jane from their clutches. While pretending to faint, Jane is kissed by Jerry, who finally sheds his fop disguise. Jane, believing that Jerry is actually the bandits' leader, denounces him and says that she is going to sell the mine. Determined to expose Drake, Jerry returns to the mine, which he discovers is laden with hidden gold, and battles further with the bandits. As an unsuspecting Jane leaves Boom City to sign Drake's sales contract, Jerry rides furiously back from the mine to stop her. With moments to spare, Jerry exposes and beats up Drake and is embraced by a loving Jane.
Director
Fred Allen
Director
Cast
Tom Keene
Jerry Long
Merna Kennedy
Jane Worth
Kate Campbell
Miss Trumpet
Mitchell Harris
Judge J. Drake
Ted Adams
Gordon
Harry Bowen
Marty
Harry Semels
Henchman
Billy Franey
Scrubby Watson
Al Taylor
Henchman
Buck Moulton
Henchman
Slim Whitaker
Henchman
Crew
Film Details
Also Known As
Ghost City, Ghost Town
Genre
Western
Release Date
May
13,
1932
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
RKO Pathé Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
RKO Pathé Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Location
Hornitas, California, United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 1m
Sound
Mono (RCA Photophone System)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
6 reels
Articles
Ghost Valley -
Zorro meets the Ghostbusters, sort of, in this low-budget RKO Western starring Tom Keene. For this outing, Keene, who unlike other B Western stars played a different character in each of his films, is a cowboy who stands to inherit half a ghost town. His co-heir is a beautiful cousin by adoption (Merna Kennedy), whom he's never met. The local judge (Mitchell Harris), knowing the town lies atop a gold mine but not knowing Keene, hires him to impersonate himself so he can scare Kennedy into selling. What follows is an intriguing combination of comedy, horror film and Western as Keene pretends to be a city slicker in public, then dons a disguise as he tries to undo Harris's schemes. The film features some fancy riding courtesy of Keene and stuntman Yakima Canutt. It also has some eerie scenes in which Harris's men try to convince Kennedy the ghost town is haunted. Helping tremendously was the film's location, an actual ghost town in Hornitas, CA. Leading lady Kennedy had made her movie debut as Charlie Chaplin's leading lady in The Circus (1928). That glorious start didn't lead very far, and she soon found herself consigned to low-budget films before she retired from acting to marry Busby Berkeley.
By Frank Miller
By Frank Miller
Ghost Valley -
Zorro meets the Ghostbusters, sort of, in this low-budget RKO Western starring Tom Keene. For this outing, Keene, who unlike other B Western stars played a different character in each of his films, is a cowboy who stands to inherit half a ghost town. His co-heir is a beautiful cousin by adoption (Merna Kennedy), whom he's never met. The local judge (Mitchell Harris), knowing the town lies atop a gold mine but not knowing Keene, hires him to impersonate himself so he can scare Kennedy into selling. What follows is an intriguing combination of comedy, horror film and Western as Keene pretends to be a city slicker in public, then dons a disguise as he tries to undo Harris's schemes. The film features some fancy riding courtesy of Keene and stuntman Yakima Canutt. It also has some eerie scenes in which Harris's men try to convince Kennedy the ghost town is haunted. Helping tremendously was the film's location, an actual ghost town in Hornitas, CA. Leading lady Kennedy had made her movie debut as Charlie Chaplin's leading lady in The Circus (1928). That glorious start didn't lead very far, and she soon found herself consigned to low-budget films before she retired from acting to marry Busby Berkeley.
By Frank Miller
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working titles of this film were Ghost City and Ghost Town. According to an October 1931 Hollywood Reporter news item, the production was to be shot in the ghost town of Hornitas, CA, a former gold rush settlement.
