Ghost Town Law (1942)

When two of their Marshal friends are killed, the Rough Riders are sent to investigate. They have to find the killers in a ghost town where the houses and an old mine are interconnected by secret passages and tunnels.

Director:

Howard Bretherton (as Howard P. Bretherton)

Writer:

Adele Buffington (original screenplay) (as Jess Bowers)

Stars:

Buck Jones, Tim McCoy, Raymond Hatton

Cast

Cast overview:
Buck Jones	...	Marshal Buck Roberts
Tim McCoy	...	Marshal Tim McCall
Raymond Hatton	...	Marshal Sandy Hopkins - aka Killer
Virginia Carpenter	...	Josie Hall
Murdock MacQuarrie	...	Judge Crail (as Murdock McQuarrie)
Charles King	...	Gus
Tom London	...	Ace
Howard Masters	...	Tom Cook
Ben Corbett	...	Red Larkin
Silver	...	Silver

Storyline

Marshall Tim McCall is called in from Wyoming when two lawmen friends of his are murdered in cold blood. The two marshals were on the trail of a desperado and followed him to a deserted ghost town. Unfortunately the town is inhabited not by supernatural spirits, but by a gang of vicious outlaws headed by a ruthless thug named Ace. McCall is joined by fellow marshals Sandy Hopkins Buck Roberts, who feigns amnesia when he comes to town, but the town has additional visitors: pretty and spunky Josie Hall, who wants to visit her aunt and brother living in an old dark mansion in the area, ranch foreman Tom Cook, who is attracted to Josie but doesn't seem to be foreman of anything, Pawnee, an enigmatic Indian, and Judge Crail,, a larcenous crook who wants to gain control of the deserted gold mine running underneath the property. The grounds of the ramshackle town and the spooky mansion are honeycombed with interconnecting tunnels and passageways, which present the Rogh Riders with one of ...

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Plot Keywords:

b movie | poverty row film | double feature movie | rough riders series | henchman | 

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Taglines:

HAUNTED HORSEMEN! (original ad - all caps)

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Mystery | Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 March 1942 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Lei da Cidade Fantasma

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Great Western Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

62 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Pickwick, the name given to the decaying mansion, is obviously a satiric reference to Pickfair, the vintage mansion then inhabited by long-retired actress Mary Pickford and her husband Buddy Rogers.

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Quotes

Marshal Buck Roberts: [ssrcastically as a backhanded complenent to Pawnee] Must keep you pretty busy keepin' all that stuff polished up!

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Connections

Followed by Down Texas Way (1942)

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Soundtracks

Rough Riders Theme
composed by Edward Kay
heard at end

User Reviews

One of the last Rough Riders pics.

In the 1930s, Buck Jones and Tim McCoy both starred in a variety of low-budget westerns. However, in the late 1930s Monogram Studios had an idea--put both these stars (plus Raymond Hatton) in a series of films to increase their drawing power. Their Rough Rider films are generally quite good for the genre, though they are also rather cheap B-movies nevertheless. The series ended, however, when Jones was tragically killed in a nightclub fire in 1942...making this one of the last entries in the series.

The film begins with two lawmen being murdered while they're on the trail of a crook. Why the two men were killed in this ghost town and why there's a tunnel under the place...these are things the viewer will have to learn through the course of the film.

The two Marshalls happened to be friends with Marshall Tim McCall (McCoy) and he's determined to investigate. Since this IS a Rough Riders film, you know that sooner or later Buck Jones and Raymond Hatton will arrive soon...and they play Marshalls Buck Roberts and Sandy Hopkins. And, as usual, they arrive separately and the pair are in disguise.

The film is pretty much what you'd expect and will see in other Rough Riders films...nothing brilliant but an enjoyable and competent B-movie.