Ambush Valley (1936)

When Clay Morgan kills Joel Potter, Marshal Manning has to arrest the brother of the girl he plans to marry. When the Morgans effect Clay's escape, the Potters take Ann Morgan as a hostage.... See full summary »

Director:

Bernard B. Ray (as Franklin Shamray)

Writers:

Bennett Cohen (original story), Forrest Sheldon (dialogue)

Stars:

Bob Custer, Victoria Vinton, Vane Calvert

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Bob Custer	...	Marshal Bruce Manning
Victoria Vinton	...	Ann Morgan
Vane Calvert	...	Ma Potter
Eddie Phillips	...	Clay Morgan
Hal Taliaferro	...	Joel Potter (as Wally Wales)
Oscar Gahan	...	Diggs (as O. Gahan)
Ed Cassidy	...	Nester
Victor Adamson	...	Morgan Rider (as Denver Dickson)
Wally West	...	Nester
Jimmy Aubrey	...	Father (as Jack Anderson)
Jack Gilman	...	Son
Oklahoma Rangers	...	Musicians

Storyline

When Clay Morgan kills Joel Potter, Marshal Manning has to arrest the brother of the girl he plans to marry. When the Morgans effect Clay's escape, the Potters take Ann Morgan as a hostage. Manning is now caught in the middle and the two sides are about to fight it out.

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Taglines:

An Action Drama Of Scheming Snipers And Scorching Six-Gun Justice!

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Genres:

Western

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Did You Know?

Trivia

This film is one of over 200 titles in the list of independent feature films made available for television presentation by Advance Television Pictures announced in Motion Picture Herald 4 April 1942. At this time, television broadcasting was in its infancy, almost totally curtailed by the advent of World War II, and would not continue to develop until 1945-46. Because of poor documentation (feature films were often not identified by title in conventional sources) no record has yet been found of its initial television broadcast. Its earliest documented telecasts took place in Cincinnati, where it was shown in two parts, Wednesday-Thursday 27-28 April 1949 on freshly launched WKRC (Channel 11), in Atlanta Saturday 16 September 1949 on WSB (Channel 8), in Philadelphia Thursday 8 December 1949 on WFIL (Channel 6), in New York City Wednesday 14 December 1949 on WPIX (Channel 11), and in Los Angeles Tuesday 21 March 1950 on KTSL (Channel 2).

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Connections

Remake of The Dawn Trail (1930)

User Reviews

A Reliable Picture!

You get two former silent screen stars for the price of one with this ultra low-budget Reliable Western (three if you count that Jack-of-all-trades Denver Dixon, whose name is misspelled "Dickson" in the credits). But while Wally Wales, here playing a beleaguered nester, went on to become a busy character player under the name of Hal Taliaferro, the overly stoic Bob Custer failed to appeal to sound audiences and his three Reliable Westerns proved the end of a starring career begun back in 1924. Custer is his wooden cigar store Indian self in Ambush Valley but is of course given less than stellar material by director Franklyn Shamray, who is actually producer Bernard B. Ray in disguise. That Ambush Valley remains as entertaining as it is depends solely on the supporting cast, especially mustachioed Eddie Phillips as one of those wastrel sons endemic to melodramas like this, and Vane Calvert as the redoubtable Mr. Wales' vengeful maw. Founded in 1934 by movie pioneers Bernard B. Ray and Harry S. Webb, small-scale Reliable Pictures Corp. issued a total of 45 films during its 3½-year existence, including five 2-reel "Bud'n Ben" Westerns. The studio was located at Sunset Blvd. and Beachwood Dr. in Hollywood and later became home to the Three Stooges and the Columbia short subject department. It remains a rental facility to this day.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 October 1936 (USA)

Also Known As:

O Vale das Sombras

Company Credits

Production Co:

Reliable Pictures Corporation (I)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

57 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1