Rocky Mountain Mystery (1935)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Charles Barton

Writers:

Zane Grey (novel)
Ethel Doherty (adaptation)

Release Date:

1 March 1935 (USA)

Genre:

Western | Mystery

Plot:

A mining engineer teams up with a crusty deputy sheriff to solve the mystery killings at an old mine where the owner's family waits for him to die...

Plot Keywords:

Mine | Mining Engineer | Radium | Sheriff | Deputy Sheriff

Cast

Randolph Scott	...	Larry Sutton
Charles 'Chic' Sale	...	Deputy 'Tex' Murdock
Mrs. Leslie Carter	...	Mrs. Adolph Borg
Kathleen Burke	...	Flora Ballard
Ann Sheridan	...	Rita Ballard
George F. Marion	...	James Ballard (as George Marion Sr.)
James Eagles	...	John Borg (as James C. Eagles)
Howard Wilson	...	Fritz Ballard
Willie Fung	...	Ling Yat
Florence Roberts	...	Mrs. James Ballard

Also Known As:

The Fighting Westerner
The Vanishing Pioneer (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

63 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #476) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Filming Locations:

Big Bear Lake, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Quotes:

Flora Ballard: Well, don't let her pull the wool over your eyes.
Larry Sutton: Maybe I like wool pulled over my eyes.

Movie Connections:

Version of The Vanishing Pioneer (1928)

Fair

Rocky Mountain Mystery (1935)

** (out of 4)

Randolph Scott stars in this "B" picture, which is based on a story by Zane Grey. In the film Scott has to go to a small mining town where murders are taking place for what appears to be a possible future inheritance. Scott must battle the bad guys, find out who the killer is and romance Ann Sheridan. This is a rather strange film that mixed with Western and Mystery genres together but the end result isn't as good as one would hope. The biggest problem are the incredibly low production values, which usually leaves all the action to one small place. There's never any scope to the film and the low budget doesn't leave much that the cast can do. In fact it seems like the budget is so low that they can't really do much of anything except talk. The mystery itself isn't too interesting but Scott does make the film worth watching. He's certainly not his classic self here but he is good enough for the film. Sheridan is decent in her role but still a little rough around the edges. This was director Barton's third film and of course he's go on to do several Abbott and Costello films. He handles the material here pretty well even though he doesn't have too much to work with.