We found yet another new Western star last night: Ken Maynard, in "Tombstone Canyon"(1932). As the movie opens, he's being chased through the rocks in Cantil, California (north of Mojave) by the cowhands of the Lazy S Ranch, who accuse him of being The Phantom, a mysterious black-clad killer who's been stalking their men. Maynard only manages to survive after being bailed out by "Jenny Lee" (Cecelia Parker), a sweet young lady whose Dad - "Colonel Lee" (Lafe McKee) - has a rival ranch in the area. She's quite a shot, and she holds off the honchos while Maynard escapes on his well-trained horse "Tarzan", who can also do all kinds of tricks like play dead, and deliver messages like a carrier pigeon.
His character's name is also Ken, but he only only knows his first name and is trying to find out who he is. He's never known his parents, and was raised by various ranchers and citizens in the region, who took him in as they could afford to. Jenny offers to help him discover his true identity, but now that he's inquiring about it, some people aren't happy. "Alf Sykes" (Ken Brownlee), the foreman at the Lazy S, is particularly upset and plans to kill Ken. If he can't, he's going to frame him as The Phantom, a Bela Lugosi-type who clambers around the desert with his cape held across his face and howls like a banshee in the caves and canyons of Cantil. He performs this routine every time before he kills someone, and so far - like Ken - his identity is unknown. The henchmen are superstitious and scared of The Phantom, but Ken wants to uncover him, because he's being framed for The Phantom's crimes. Alf Sykes' frame job is temporarily successful, and the local Sheriff winds up putting Ken in jail, but someone slips him the key to his cell and he escapes. Who could've helped him? Was it the Sheriff himself? Ken ultimately tracks Sykes and his gang back to the caves of Tombstone Canyon, but The Phantom is already there and trying to pick them off one by one. Ken can't trust either side, so he sends Tarzan back to the Lee Ranch with a message that he needs help. Jenny and her Pa the Colonel ride out to assist him, and the finale is filled with amazing cliffside stunts and punchouts, while The Phantom is shooting at everyone from his vantage point in the rocks.
Will Ken discover his identity? Will we find out why The Phantom is seeking vengeance against the men of the Lazy S? As you might've guessed, these two things are related. And of course, Ken and Jenny Lee (a great Western girl's name), are going to fall in love, though it must be said that Ken Maynard is not a romantic hero on the level of Johnny Mack Brown or Tom Tyler. He's a top cowboy with a lot of charisma and a trick horse, but he's too much the tough guy to affect the gals. On a side note, I must say that I was aware of Ken Maynard for a while now, but have avoided him because some commentators at IMDB said he was a jerk in real life and mistreated his fellow actors and animals on the set. I don't know if this is true, but I'll research it, and in his favor a lot of other fans love him. He's good in this movie, no doubt, and he apparently made a shipload of money in his career, maybe more than most of the other movie cowboys, but he squandered it all on booze and fast living, and he died broke in a trailer park. Gene Autry sent him checks to keep him alive. But yeah, he is definitely great in this film and we'll look for more from him. There's a great overview of his career at a site called The Old Corral (www.b-westerns.com). I discovered it after Googling Ken Maynard, and found by reading his bio at the site that he was one of the most popular of all the Western stars. He's worth reading about, and seeing in "Tombstone Canyon", which gets Two Big Thumbs Up and has a razor sharp picture. On a final side note, Sheldon Lewis, who plays The Phantom, is one of our earliest actors, born in 1869. ////
The previous night, we watched Harry Carey again, in "The Last of the Clintons"(1935). Yep, that's the title, and as you can imagine, the commentators at Youtube had a field day with it. As for the movie itself, its a good 'un. Carey plays "Trigger Carson", a government agent hired to stop cattle rustling at the Iverson Ranch in Chatsworth. As the movie opens, he's being chased into the rocks by a bunch of rustlers from the Todd Ranch, who think he's spying on them as they re-brand the cattle they've stolen. They're right of course, Carson is spying, but he talks his way out of it by saying he's a cowhand looking for work. Old "Jed Clinton" (Victor Potel), i.e. The Last of the Clintons, vouches for him after helping him shoot it out with the rustlers during the chase. Jed Clinton knows Carson is a range detective, but he holds his tongue because big "Luke Todd" (Tom London), owner and head rustler of the Todd Ranch, believes Carson's story and hires both men: Carey as a rustler and Clinton as a cook. Old Jed is played for comic relief but he's also very handy with a gun.
Now, there's a vigilante group in town, headed up by "Jim Elkins (Slim Whitaker), a ranch owner who's appointed himself Sheriff in the absence of an actual lawman. Elkins is the foremost victim of the Todd's rustling efforts, and vows to stop them with the help of his fellow cattlemen. But he has a conflict because his daughter "Edith" (Betty Mack) is seeing Luke Todd's younger brother "Marty" (Del Gordon). Marty lives at the Todd Ranch but is clean cut; he's got nothing to do with the cattle rustling, though he is loyal to his crooked brother - to a point. He won't rat Luke out unless Luke forces him to rustle, or to stop seeing Edith, a result her dad Jim Elkins is also trying to achieve. Neither Jim Elkins, nor his nemesis Luke Todd want Marty and Edith seeing each other, because it's a mixing of the factions - one honest, one criminal. What they fail to take into account is that Marty and Edith are removed from the criminal activity. Marty wants nothing to do with rustling, and Edith wants nothing to do with vigilantism. They're in love, which puts them in the pivot as far as the plot goes.
Now, back at the Todd Ranch, old Jed Clinton has taken to his undercover role as the cook, and he asks for a rattlesnake to be caught so he can make rattlesnake stew. Ranchhand "Pete" (Earl Dwire) traps one, but doesn't turn it over to Jed because he doesn't trust him or Trigger Carson. He has a feeling they might be The Law, so he keeps the rattler himself and puts it in a box. Later on, after Luke Todd has arranged for Edith Elkins to be kidnapped, along with Trigger Carson after they find out he's a Fed, Pete the Henchman shows up with his rattler-in-the-box and releases it into the room where Trigger and Edith are being held. Except they aren't there anymore, because a punchout has ensued between Trigger and Luke Todd, and now Luke is the one who's tied up when the rattlesnake is released. Trigger Carson, being a good guy, knocks the door down just in time to shoot the rattlesnake. But in the end, it doesn't help. Luke has already been bitten, and ends up dying, but not before his gives his younger brother Marty a soliloquy about going straight. "You were right, Marty. Rustling is not the way. I'm sorry I disgraced the family name". This is great, great stuff with Harry Carey in the saddle, gruff as always, and dressed in black. There's very little romance and a minimum of comic relief. The Carey movies remind me of the "Durango Kid" series of Charles Starrett that we watched a couple years ago. They're all about action, whereas Johnny Mack Brown and Tom Tyler include many other elements in their plots. Carey just gives you the basics, he strips it down, but he does it to perfection so that there's not only no fat, but what story there is, is highly energized. Two Big Thumbs Up for "The Last of the Clintons". Not only do you get a great movie, with a decent-but-not-razor-sharp picture, but you also get all the Youtube comments, which are funny even if you're a big Clinton fan like myself. It's a riot to see them all so exasperated, haha. Highly recommended, don't miss it. ////
That's all I know for tonight. I've finished the ELP book and am beginning Paul McCartney's "The Lyrics". I just listened to the first Gilgamesh album while I was writing this blog, and now I'm going for my walk.
I hope you had a nice day, and I send you Tons of Love as always.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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