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The Valley of Vanishing Men

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

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

Plot

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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

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  • Bill Elliott as Wild Bill Tolliver
  • Slim Summerville as Missouri Benson
  • Carmen Morales as Consuelo Ramírez
  • Kenneth MacDonald
  • Jack Ingram
  • George Chesebro
  • John Shay
  • Tom London
  • Arno Frey
  • Julian Rivero[1]

Production

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Writing about the film's atmosphere, Cline says that this serial was a "grim tale...[with a] mood of ominous dread." MissouriBenson was added to the cast because a normal comic relief character would have not have worked.[2]

Chapter titles

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  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:[3]

See also

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References

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