MYSTERY MOUNTAIN

Ken Maynard

MYSTERY MOUNTAIN (12 chapter Mascot serial/1934). Directors: Otto Brower; B. Reeves Eason. 

After her father's death Jane Corwin (Verna Hillie) wants to keep her transportation company going despite the competition from a new railroad that wants to tunnel through the nearby mountain. When a mysterious figure called the Rattler -- who wears a black cloak and glasses with a fake nose and mustache attached! -- begins acts of sabotage against the railroad, supervisor Frank Blayden (Edward Earle of Heartaches) blames Jane. Railroad detective Ken Williams (Ken Maynard) is called in to find out who the Rattler really is, and there are several suspects. The Rattler uses poison darts and other weapons against his enemies and to confound and confuse them puts on realistic masks of various people involved in the story. But can Ken ever unmask the Rattler?

The Rattler sneaks up on Breezy

Mystery Mountain is a fun if minor serial from Mascot, which almost always seems to have the villain using masks of his enemies and associates to cause dissension among the others. (A notion later stolen for the Tom Cruise Mission: Impossible movies.) Maynard, best-known as a big cowboy star (who was reportedly a real son of a bitch in real life), is more than competent as the hero, and Verna Hillie is both attractive and credible as the heroine. There is way too much of Syd Saylor as reporter and comedy relief Breezy Baker, who is as much screw-up as helpmate to Williams. Mystery Mountain can be both exciting and suspenseful, but it cries out for much more music. Another cast member is Ken Maynard's amazing horse Tarzan, who seems to be as smart as Roy Rogers' Trigger. B. Reeves Eason also directed Spy Ship. 

Verdict: Entertaining Mascot serial with good players. ***. 

HEARTACHES (1947)

HEARTACHES (1947). Director: Basil Wrangell.

Obnoxious Vic Morton (Kenneth Farrell) is making his latest romantic movie, "Heartaches," when he gets a death threat in the mail. Vic's publicity agent, Toni (Sheila Ryan of Railroaded), is afraid that her boyfriend, reporter Jimmy McDonald (Edward Norris), will discover that Vic can't actually sing a note, but is dubbed by the un-handsome Bogey (Chill Wills). Lt. Armstrong (James Seay of Beginning of the End) thinks the business with the death threats -- which keep on coming -- is just a publicity stunt, but then a couple of dead bodies turn up. Potential suspects and victims include Mike Connolly (Frank Orth), Vic's agent, and Anatole Hendricks (Edward Earle),. who can't understand why Vic won't sign a very lucrative radio contract. 

Edward Norris, Sheila Ryan, Kenneth Farrell

Heartaches is better than the usual PRC production (which should stand for "Poverty Row Crap" but actually stands for "Producer's Releasing Corporation"), although this is still a minor murder mystery with the denouement practically a foregone conclusion. It has an interesting supporting cast: Keefe Brasselle as a prop boy who is also a suspect; Western star Lash La Rue as an actor in the film-within-a film whose gun somehow has real bullets in it (this is never really explained); Arthur Space of Panther Girl of the Kongo as a postal executive who investigates the threatening letters; Terry Moore as an actress in a coming attraction; and Minerva Urecal as a cleaning lady who discovers two corpses during her rounds. As for the leads, Chill Wills adds the most flavor as the man who was a lead vocalist with a band and is now just singing off-screen. Ken Farrell is suitably bitchy and twitchy, while Ryan and Norris are both adept but not terribly appealing. NOTE: Chill Wills was also lip-syncing -- the actual singer is unknown.

Verdict: Not since milli vanilli! **1/2.