The movie was first planned as a serial, but after a couple of chapters was finished as a feature. Therefore, while the first half 'stars' Art Mix, he mysteriously vanishes in the second half.
In his opening scene, the sheriff, Edmund Cobb, says, "I'll catch The Rawhide Killer in my own way!" Then, as if by magic, in the second half of the movie he becomes the hero, defeats the villain (who turns out be his long lost brother) and kisses and wins Art Mix's girl (if she's still the same one from the first half of the movie)!
This movie would get the Ed Wood Jr. absurdity award (the "Woodie"!) if it weren't so boring. Woods' 'best' films, 'Plan 9 From Outer Space' (1959) and 'Glen or Glenda' (1953) were anything but boring! This one is shot mostly outdoors with almost nothing but chase after chase after chase, retaining one actual chapter ending cliff hanger (the clichéd knocked out in the back of a horse drawn wagon going over a cliff trick) and apparently another (the dynamited cliff avalanche trick) which is cut up, as is this film.
It features what was an early clichéd premise: a lone family traveling west in a covered wagon is ambushed, the parents killed, and the two young boys separated. The best of this type, in the thirties, was 'Calvacade of the West' (1936) starring Hoot Gibson and Rex Lease as the two brothers. In 'The Rawhide Terror,' however, both sons bear identifying marks on their arms so they can recognize each other "if separated." After renegades kill his parents, the older brother wanders off crazed, becoming the Rawhide Killer who seeks vengeance as an adult on the entire gang who killed his mother and father. In the final scene, Edmund Cobb discovers the mark on the Rawhide Killer as he defeats him, and we discover that Cobb is the younger son, not Art Mix.
Edmund Cobb, veteran of over 625 TV shows, movies and serials -- he was the mine owner and an evil council member in 'Zorro's Fighting Legion' (1939) -- appeared mostly in small, bit parts as a sheriff, guard, henchman or uncredited walk on. The only interesting part of 'The Rawhide Terror' is in getting to see this perennial heavy become the action hero and romantic lead (probably his only 'starring' role!). Otherwise, it's a confusing, jumbled mess. So it gets a two and a half.
In his opening scene, the sheriff, Edmund Cobb, says, "I'll catch The Rawhide Killer in my own way!" Then, as if by magic, in the second half of the movie he becomes the hero, defeats the villain (who turns out be his long lost brother) and kisses and wins Art Mix's girl (if she's still the same one from the first half of the movie)!
This movie would get the Ed Wood Jr. absurdity award (the "Woodie"!) if it weren't so boring. Woods' 'best' films, 'Plan 9 From Outer Space' (1959) and 'Glen or Glenda' (1953) were anything but boring! This one is shot mostly outdoors with almost nothing but chase after chase after chase, retaining one actual chapter ending cliff hanger (the clichéd knocked out in the back of a horse drawn wagon going over a cliff trick) and apparently another (the dynamited cliff avalanche trick) which is cut up, as is this film.
It features what was an early clichéd premise: a lone family traveling west in a covered wagon is ambushed, the parents killed, and the two young boys separated. The best of this type, in the thirties, was 'Calvacade of the West' (1936) starring Hoot Gibson and Rex Lease as the two brothers. In 'The Rawhide Terror,' however, both sons bear identifying marks on their arms so they can recognize each other "if separated." After renegades kill his parents, the older brother wanders off crazed, becoming the Rawhide Killer who seeks vengeance as an adult on the entire gang who killed his mother and father. In the final scene, Edmund Cobb discovers the mark on the Rawhide Killer as he defeats him, and we discover that Cobb is the younger son, not Art Mix.
Edmund Cobb, veteran of over 625 TV shows, movies and serials -- he was the mine owner and an evil council member in 'Zorro's Fighting Legion' (1939) -- appeared mostly in small, bit parts as a sheriff, guard, henchman or uncredited walk on. The only interesting part of 'The Rawhide Terror' is in getting to see this perennial heavy become the action hero and romantic lead (probably his only 'starring' role!). Otherwise, it's a confusing, jumbled mess. So it gets a two and a half.