The Valley of Vanishing Men

The Valley of Vanishing Men (1942) was the 20th film serial (of 57) released by Columbia Pictures. Directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet, it stars Bill Elliott, Slim Summerville, and Carmen Morales.

The Valley of Vanishing Men
Directed bySpencer Gordon Bennet
Produced byLarry Darmour
Written byHarry Fraser
Lewis Clay
George Gray
Original screenplay
StarringBill Elliott
Slim Summerville
Carmen Morales
Narrated byKnox Manning
Music byLee Zahler
CinematographyJames S. Brown Jr.
Black and white
Edited byDwight Caldwell
Earl Turner
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release date
  • December 12, 1942 (1942-12-12)
Running time
15 episodes
280 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot

In this serial, Wild Bill Tolliver and Missouri Benson are a pair of adventurers who ride into the vast New Mexico Territory in search of Bill's father, Henry Tolliver, who mysteriously disappeared while prospecting for gold. They soon discover that a ruthless outlaw leader, Jonathan Kincaid, owns an immense mine of gold in which he uses captured Mexican patriots, among others, to work as slaves in the mine. They also learn that Kincaid has joined forces with Colonel Carl Engler, a renegade eastern European soldier, to carry out his cruel intentions. Then Bill and Missouri meet with Consuelo Ramírez, a diligent Mexican agent, who informs them that Bill's father is among the prisoners in the mine. After that, the heroes find themselves in a conflict with the outlaws in the middle of incessant fights, chases and action.

Cast
  • Bill Elliott as Wild Bill Tolliver. Bill Elliott starred in three serials at Columbia Pictures, and The Valley of Vanishing Men was his last cliffhanger at that studio or anywhere else. Shortly after making this chapterplay, Elliott signed with Republic Pictures where his contract excluded him from doing any more serial work.
  • Slim Summerville as Missouri Benson
  • Carmen Morales as Consuelo Ramírez

Production

Writing about the film's atmosphere, Cline says that this serial was a "grim tale...[with a] mood of ominous dread." Missouri was added to the cast because a normal comedy relief character would have not have worked.[1]

Chapter titles
  1. Trouble in Canyon City
  2. The Mystery of Ghost Town
  3. Danger Walks by night
  4. Hillside Horror
  5. Guns in the Night
  6. The Bottomless Well
  7. The Man in the Gold Mask
  8. When the Devil Drives
  9. The Traitor's Shroud
  10. Death Strikes at Seven
  11. Satan in the Saddle
  12. The Mine of Missing Men
  13. Danger on Dome Rock
  14. The Door that Has No Key
  15. Empire's End

Source:[2]

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See also

References
  1. Cline, William C. (1984). "6. Guardians of the Sword (The Assistants)". In the Nick of Time. McFarland & Company, Inc. pp. 99. ISBN 0-7864-0471-X.
  2. Cline, William C. (1984). "Filmography". In the Nick of Time. McFarland & Company, Inc. pp. 234–235. ISBN 0-7864-0471-X.
Preceded by
The Secret Code (1942)		 Columbia Serial
The Valley of Vanishing Men (1942)		 Succeeded by
Batman (1943)
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