Rocky Mountain Mystery

Plot synopsis:
Mining engineer Larry Sutton (Randolph Scott) arrives at the Ballard radium mine to take over as chief engineer from his missing brother-in-law Jack Parson, who is a suspect in the murder of ranch caretaker Adolph Borg. Sutton teams up with deputy sheriff Tex Murdock (Chic Sale) who is investigating the murder. Staying at the ranch with the ailing owner, Jim Ballard (George F. Marion), are his niece Flora (Kathleen Burke) and nephew Fritz (Howard Wilson) who've been notified of their uncle's failing health now wait to inherit his legacy. Also staying at the ranch is a mysterious Chinaman Ling Yat (Willie Fung), the housekeeper Mrs. Borg (Leslie Carter), her son John (James Eagles), and the beautiful and spirited Rita Ballard (Ann Sheridan), another niece, who quickly earns Sutton's trust and romantic interest.
Shortly after Sutton arrives, Ballard's nephew Fritz is murdered by a mysterious cloaked figure in the same manner that Adolph was killed—crushed beneath the massive weight of a stamp mill, a huge apparatus used to pulverize rock to unearth valuable ore. Sutton and Tex find that the ranch guests all have alibis. Soon the mysterious cloaked figure strikes again, shooting young John, attacking Sutton, and slashing Flora's throat. While the investigation continues, Jim, who is apparently an invalid, takes a turn for the worse, prompting Sutton to contact his ex-wife who hasn't been to the ranch in thirty years.
Mrs. Ballard arrives at the ranch, Mrs. Borg tries to prevent her from seeing her ailing ex-husband. Sutton arrives and helps her upstairs where she discover that "Jim" is actually Adolph Borg, and that he and his wife had killed the real Jim Ballard sometime earlier during a takeover attempt by the Borg family. Adolph then tricks Sutton and escapes, taking Rita as a hostage. Sutton follows them to the mine where he fights with Adolph and John, nearly being crushed by the stamp mill. After Adolph falls to his death, Sutton rescues Rita. Afterwards, Mrs. Borg, her son John, and their Chinese servant Ling Yat are sentenced to twenty years in prison, and Tex is made sheriff. Larry and Rita get married and buy a ranch in Hawaii.

Tags: mystery

Review:
Randolph Scott at this point in his career when he wasn't doing other films was learning the western genre in a series of films that Paramount's B unit was doing from Zane Grey novels.
In this particular one, Rocky Mountain Mystery, Grey tried his hand at a detective story and skilfully combined the genres.Randy's a mining engineer, but he's turning amateur sleuth to find out what's happened to his brother-in-law, who no one has heard from.
Upon arriving at the scene he meets deputy sheriff Chic Sale who's investigating the murder of the owner of a mine.
The two of them decide to join forces.The film is set in the contemporary west, at least the contemporary west of when Zane Grey wrote the story.
There's reference to Chic Sale's son killed in the Great War and how Scott reminds him of his late son.
When these two arrive at the mine, there's a lot of interesting people living there.As it turns out there's quite an intricate scheme working there of which the homicide is only one aspect.
I wish this film had been given a bigger budget and the A treatment because the film had potential.Young Ann Sheridan is the female lead, this is probably one of her first films in that regard, she'd be signed by Warner Brothers next year.However the important reason to see the film is the appearance of one of the great stage stars of the last centuries and notorious personalities.
Mrs. Leslie Carter (and that's how she was billed) has the role of family matriarch of the clan at the mine and even in her old age you can tell what a beauty she was back then.
Her acting is also decent, no exaggerated stage mannerisms from back in her day when she learned her craft from David Belasco.Her divorce from her husband was one of the great scandals of the day.
You can see her story in the film, The Lady With Red Hair starring Miriam Hopkins and Claude Rains.By the way she was billed under her former married name to take advantage of the fact that was how the public knew her and to stick it to her ex.Even without Mrs. Leslie Carter, Rocky Mountain Mystery is a decent film, I wish had been given better production values by Paramount..
Early Ann Sheridan.
My primary interest in seeing this movie was to catch an early appearance by 'Sheridan, Ann' (qv) where she actually appears in a few scenes and not just in a bit part.
I'd dare any actress to make this dialog come alive, never mind one who is just starting out.Aside from Miss Sheridan, Randolph Scott is good as the lead but he is also a victim of a story, and script, that doesn't have much to offer.
But at a running time of only an hour and combined with an early glimpse of a future star, there are worse ways you could spend an hour..
Slightly Better Than Average 30s Western.
This is definitely a "B" type western, but Randolph Scott does his normal star role as Randolph Scott.
"Chic" Sale's performance as the "old timer" is very entertaining, the plot is decent, and everything moves along.
Some interesting little add ins, like the two dogs.
You can also see Ann Sheridan before she learned to act.All in all a little better than average for this era..
Great Early Randolph Scott.
Rocky Mountain Mystery exists in that parallel universe where the old west never really ended but continued on well into the nineteen-thirties and forties, usually inhabited by Gene Autry, Roy Rodgers, Tex Ritter, and sometimes even a very young John Wayne.The characters ride horses, use oil lamps to light their way, and seemingly live a frontier existence under territorial law, all with six-guns on their hips.
I sometimes wonder if the depression era children who were the films' main audience actually believed the west was really like this.This is an above average B-western and a great example of what modern experts are calling "horror western" due to their odd plots and sadistic mystery villains.
I prefer to call them mystery or suspense westerns.Rocky Mountain Mystery effectively mixes an Old Dark House plot with frontier themes.
It's not as chilling as I'd like but it does have a creepy fiend dressed in black complete with gloves, hat, and cape; a killer that prefers to crush heads in a hydraulic press but isn't afraid to menace a pretty girl with a straight razor either!
mystery/western.
this is a pretty good western.but it's not just a western.it's also a mystery.actually it's probably more of a mystery than a western.it's short clocking in at around 65 minutes,but it's a pretty good movie.it stars Randolph Scott,Anne Sheridan,Kathleen Burke,Florence Roberts,Howard Wilson,Charles 'Chic' Sale,Mrs.Leslie carter,George F.
Marion,among others.i thought it was well done.it had a nice atmosphere,and wasn't wholly predictable.the acting was good by all concerned,and the story was interesting,but similar to another western i remember seeing.though i can't recall weather this movie came out before that one or not.by similar story,i don't mean the general outline and formula that most westerns follow.i mean that some of the story details and specifics are similar.regardless,i liked it.for me,The Fighting Westerner is a 6/10.
Rocky Mountain Mystery (1935) ** (out of 4) Randolph Scott stars in this "B" picture, which is based on a story by Zane Grey.
In the film Scott has to go to a small mining town where murders are taking place for what appears to be a possible future inheritance.
Scott must battle the bad guys, find out who the killer is and romance Ann Sheridan.
This is a rather strange film that mixed with Western and Mystery genres together but the end result isn't as good as one would hope.
The biggest problem are the incredibly low production values, which usually leaves all the action to one small place.
There's never any scope to the film and the low budget doesn't leave much that the cast can do.
In fact it seems like the budget is so low that they can't really do much of anything except talk.
The mystery itself isn't too interesting but Scott does make the film worth watching.
He's certainly not his classic self here but he is good enough for the film.
Sheridan is decent in her role but still a little rough around the edges.
Aloha to Randy and Ann. This story much reminds me of the later John Wayne-starring western murder mystery "Tall in the Saddle" Like Wayne, Randy shows up unexpectedly from far away, with an oblique interest in the case, but becomes the main driving force in pursuing the identity of the killer.
Like Wayne, Randy has two beautiful young women indirectly involved in the case, and we assume that he will wind up with one of them.
See the movie to discover the meaning of my title.Interesting that a rare radium mine, rather than the usual gold or silver mine, was chosen as the story location and property of interest for the heirs to fight over.
Less than a pound of radium/year was mined in the US at this time.
As indicated in the film, it did fetch top dollar, being a transient radioactive breakdown product of uranium, and thus being extra hazardous to mine, as well as present in only minute amounts in the ore.Unless you are paying close attention, the identity of all the relations of the two old owner partners of the mine can be confusing.
Also present are Mrs. Borg and her son John, as well as the Chinaman servant of Ballard:Ling Yat. Randy is present as the newly hired mining engineer for the mine, replacing his brother in law, Jack Parsons.
Also present is Tex Murdock, the newly appointed deputy sheriff of this region: an eccentric old coot, who joins Randy in trying to solve the case.
Mrs. Ballard doesn't show up until rather late in the story, and only at Randy's request.
The body, kept under a sheet in a back room of Borg's cottage, vanishes.(No one present, except presumably those who lived on the property prior to the murder, has seen the body).
Flora and Fritz are found murdered in separate incidents, with Fritz's head crushed by the ore stamping machine, similar to the death of Adolf.
Would have been poetic justice if the guilty had been also crushed by that ore stamper but he/she meets another fate.Kathleen Burke, who played the murdered Flora Ballard, was a striking exotic beauty, especially her eyes.
Her main claim to fame in Hollywood was as the cat woman in the dark science fiction film of 1933 :"Island of Lost Souls".
'Chic' Sale, who played the old coot Tex Murdock, was a noted ex-vaudevillian comedian and current film character actor, specializing in tottering old men 20-40 years older than his 45-50 years.
Unfortunately, he would die of pneumonia only a year or two after this film was made.
Otherwise, I'm sure we would have seen him in many more films of the late '30s and '40s.Willie Fung, who played the Chinaman, had a 20 year Hollywood career.
Handsome Howard Wilson, who played the murdered Fritz, had a very short Hollywood career.
Mrs. Lesie Carter was mainly a stage actress, with only a few film roles.
She would be the subject of a film a few years later: "The Lady with the Red Hair", based on her biography.
Of course, Ann Sheridan, would go on to have a substantial film career.This film is currently available on DVD as part of a very cheap package of some of Scott's lesser known westerns..
"The Old Dark House" has moved from Wales to the west coast of the United States, and Randolph Scott shows up in the middle of a murder investigation.
It seems that the relatives of a dying patriarch (who hires Scott to work in his laboratory) have gathered around, waiting for the old coot to die.
As always happens in these films, the hero (Scott) falls in love with one of the more innocent members of the family, and in this case, that heroine is none other than Ann Sheridan, the future "Oomph Girl" in one of her first major roles.
Several years off from beginning to shine as one of Warner Brothers' top actresses of the late 1930's and 40's, Sheridan had yet to show her potential, but what made her movie star material is evident.
Scott, seen the same year in the Astaire/Rogers musical "Roberta", moved between "A" films and low-grade western/action films.
Even though he's seen through most of the films in chaps, this isn't really a western, in spite of its setting.In the supporting cast, "Chic" Sale adds some amusement as the self-sworn in sheriff, while stage actress Mrs. Leslie Carter makes a rare screen appearance as the family matriarch.
Coming off like Eva Moore in "The Old Dark House", Carter would be much better off five years later when Miriam Hopkins played her in Warner's biopic "The Lady With Red Hair".
Otherwise, the film is entirely forgettable, and strictly for fans of the "Z" budget bottom of the bill programmers or for fans who want to see Scott and Sheridan early in their career..
Excellent Mystery set in the West.
Randoph Scott was quite good as the agent sent to investigate things (I can understand how Cary Grant was supposed to be smitten by him at the time).
I liked the production values for this 1935 film, it helped me know more about 1935.
I enjoyed the story and was mildly taken by surprise as to the "who done-it".
The old lady was a "hoot", I understand she was quite an actress in her day and quite a personality also: a movie was made about her and her husband, for some unusual reason.
Loved watching Ann Sheridan and all the other actors (seemed like a stage play) who all seemed to have long and interesting careers.
I also prefer the "Rocky Mountain Mystery" title as opposed to "The Fighting Westerner" title that I bought..
I would never have figured Randolph Scott and Ann Sheridan in a picture together, much less a Western.
At least it's nominally a Western, with it's fair share of mystery elements as hero Larry Sutton (Scott) arrives on the scene as a mining engineer with a penchant for detective work.I saw this picture under the title "The Fighting Westerner", packaged as part of a two hundred fifty film Western collection by Mill Creek Entertainment.
The surprise of the movie in retrospect was the actor Chic Sale portraying Deputy Sheriff Tex Murdock, who I would have sworn was in his Seventies, but a quick check of his bio revealed he was only fifty at the time he made this picture.
He died the year after this film's release of pneumonia and something tells me he would have been a cool character to know personally.If you think about it, the way the villain dispatched his victims here was pretty gruesome.
At one point, our hero is knocked out and placed strategically under the press to become it's next victim, but if you're attentive, you'll see the 'unconscious' Randolph Scott move his left arm across his chest.
Fortunately, he wakes up just in the nick of time to solve the murder mystery and hook up with Ann Sheridan by the end of the story.
As you see in Fightingwesterner's review, this is one of those weird western B-movies in which you see all kinds of contemporary items yet the film is set in what seems like the old west!
This was actually pretty common back in the 30s and 40s, as Gene Autry, Roy Rogers and many of the other stars of the day made such anachronistic films.
My favorite was an Autry film where you see Gene chasing baddies on his horse--and they were driving in a pickup truck!
Oddly, audiences of the time loved the films and seemed to look past this weirdness.
And, despite "Rocky Mountain Mystery" being another one of these strange films, it was enjoyable.The film begins with Randolph Scott arriving at the scene of a murder.
It seems that a man has been assumed guilty and Scott knows this other man is not the culprit.
Along with the goofy Deputy (Chic Sale--who is even more of a crusty old character than the great Gabby Hayes).
Together the two work on uncovering the mystery--and it leads to a surprising discovery that it's not one person they are looking for but a group of them!
The film is enjoyable--mostly due to Sale's enjoyable over-the-top performance.
Yes, he chews the scenery but you can't help but like him.
Aside from this, look for a younger and less glamorous Ann Sheridan--before Warner Brothers changed her appearance and style.
Worth seeing--particularly if you like B-westerns or mysteries..
Charles Barton directs a muse-see movie!.
Randolph Scott (Larry Sutton), Ann Sheridan (Rita Ballard), Charles "Chic" Sale (Deputy Tex Murdock), George F.
Marion (James Ballard), Mrs Leslie Carter (Mrs Borg), James C.
Eagles (John Borg), Willie Fung (Ling Yat), Kathleen Burke (Flora Ballard), Howard Wilson (Fritz Ballard), Florence Roberts (Mrs Ballard).Director: CHARLES BARTON.
Re-released in 1950 by Favorite Films as The Fighting Westerner.
NOTES: The first of only two talkies made by the distinguished stage actress, Mrs Leslie Carter ("The American Sarah Bernhardt"), who is the subject of the 1940 movie, "Lady With Red Hair".
COMMENT: This "B" western is a must-see if only for the presence of Mrs Leslie Carter who has a major role which she plays with unforgettable (if somewhat theatrical) gusto.
Director Charles Barton was wise enough to indulge her with many close-ups.
We wonder if the celebrated red hair is actually a wig, but the important thing is that we see her and hear her.
However, "Rocky Mountain Mystery" has many other features of interest as well.
Just take the rest of the cast: George Marion, who starred opposite Garbo in her first talkie, Anna Christie (1930), is great as the crippled mine-owner.
Randolph Scott is at his personable best as the hero, playing opposite here the lovely Ann Sheridan.
Charles "Chic" Sale, a very popular artist in his day, displays plenty of fire in the serio-comic role of a none too-bright old codger who has been roped in as a deputy sheriff.
Kathleen Burke elicits plenty of sympathy as a brittle but imperiled heiress, while Florence Roberts makes the most of a stand-out scene in she confronts both Mrs. Leslie Carter and then George Marion.
Director Charles Barton not only deftly underscores all the various plot surprises but invests the movie with an overall atmosphere that is truly chilling, assisted here by marvelous art direction, spooky photography, disorienting sound effects, and production values that can only be described as staggering..
Much of the effort that went into screen writing in the thirties had to do with exploring the role of the detective.
Most of that was playing with the detective story.
Watching many films from this era is fun just from the experimental nature of the narrative.This is nominally a western.
Our hero struts like all the other cowboys busy in other films establishing that genre.
Otherwise, this is a standard detective story.
Because it wants to make the case clear, it features a radium mine, something about as alien from the old west as possible.
Judged as a detective story, it is slightly more complex than the ordinary.
There is misdirection of a kind that seems predicable today but was likely a surprise then.
(The murdered man had his face crushed in a mining press, so you know the body is not who it is claimed to be.) There is a surprise conspiracy.The version I saw had the title "The Fighting Westerner," and I suppose they tried to market this both as a western and a mystery.Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.