The
Painted Stallion
Republic
1937 / 12 Chapters
Directed by: William Witney, Alan James, Ray
Taylor
Starring
Ray "Crash" Corrigan
as Clark Stuart
Hoot
Gibson
as Walter Jamison
Sammy
McKim
as Kit Carson
LeRoy
Mason
as Dupray
Jack
Perrin
as Davy Crockett
Hal
Taliaferro
as Jim Bowie
Julia
Thayer
(Jean Carmen)
Duncan
Renaldo
as Zamoro
Oscar
and Elmer
Yakima
Canutt
as Tom
Scout
Clark Stuart, sent to Santa Fe to negotiate a treaty with
the newly established Mexican government, finds strong
allies. In the wagon train of Walter Jamison, with which
Stuart is traveling, are Jim Bowie and, later, Davy
Crockett, not to mention a youthful Kit Carson.
Ordinarily that would be sufficient to ensure the
completion of his mission, but opposing Stuart is a large
and powerful band of scoundrels headed by deposed Spanish
governor Escobedo Dupray, who hopes to regain dictatorial
powers in the new Mexican territory by scuttling the
treaty and destroying the wagon train. Dupray has
imposing lieutenants in Zamorro and Macklin. Neither
Stuart nor the pioneers could survive the treachery were
it not for the repeated intervention of a mysterious,
war-bonneted warrior astride a painted stallion. Time
after time the Rider's whistling arrows give warning of
impending disaster until the final spectacular
confrontation at a caverned escarpment near Santa
Fe.
Best
of the wagons westward serials, with a strong cast,
dramatically photographed action, a fine score, and, in
the Rider, an element of mystery seldom found in
Westerns. Ray Corrigan, in buckskins and above-the-knee
boots, is a noble and good-natured Clark Stuart. His
breathtaking gallops across arresting landscapes are
striking even on a small screen (as are those of the
Rider). And if one hero is not enough, this serial has a
mature, yet nonetheless dauntless, wagon boss, Hoot
Gibson and, for good measure, not only the Rider, but
also Jack Perrin. of silent days, as Davy Crockett, and
the versatile Hal Taliaferro as Jim Bowie. (Sammy McKim
is a spunky Kit Carson, who saves Stuart's life more than
once.) As Dupray, LeRoy Mason is at his villainous best.
He has to be to keep ahead of the fiery Duncan Renaldo
and the surly Maston Williams, whose Macklin is as mean a
henchman as the serial screen ever displayed. Leading
lady Julia Thayer, also known as Jean Carmen, makes a
noteworthy contribution to the adventure, her role being
etched into the memory of original viewers, young fellers
particularly. Oscar and Elmer, rube comics--and the only
exceptions to the general excellence--contribute
generally embarrassing bits, but they do so
enthusiastically, at least.
William
Nobles and Edgar Lyons deserve special mention for their
outstanding camera work, which frequently emphasizes
vertical perpectives, from canyon floor or clifftop. The
shots of the Rider outlined on a distant elevation stay
in memory, as does the sequence in which the camera tilts
downward to capture the Rider, trapped in a small canyon
and urging the Painted Stallion to the left, then the
right, in a futile effort to break free. The scene
generates the same kind of desperation viewers would
encounter five decades later when the Pawnee raider is
encircled in shallow water during Kevin Costner's
Dances with Wolves.
Accenting
the cinematography, which sometimes suggests still
landscapes, is the balanced musical collage of Raoul
Kraushaar. Representing a transitional span between the
canned accompaniments of earlier days and the creative
scoring of subsequent Republic efforts, it aptly
incorporates screen composer Hugo Riesenfeld's "Pinto,"
as well as an affecting theme associated with the Rider.
With this film William Witney advanced to directing
status. Yakima Canutt both set up and participated in the
stunt work.
2-DVD
set
digitally remasterered, with tons of extras and options,
including:
• Illustrated menus with chapter
indexes
• Scene markers within chapters
• Great contrast and picture quality, in original
black & white
• Restored (hiss-free) and amplified sound (yes,
just like
Zorro Rides Again)
• Option to view
chapter 1 color-toned
• Option to view chapter 1 Oscar-and-Elmer
free!
•
Option to view entire content of each disk as a seamless
90-minute feature version!
• Western soundie: "Git Along Little Pony"
featuring the Wakely Trio
•
The Masked Rider
trailer
• Chapter 2 of the restored
King of the Mounties
Released
Fall 2004
List
price $14.95
Special
Sale Price $9.95
Movie
description by R W Stedman
