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
