Danger Valley (1937)

Director: Robert N. Bradbury
Writer: Robert Emmett Tansey (Story and Screenplay)
Producer: Robert N. Bradbury
Cinematography: Bert Longenecker
Editor: Howard Dillinger
Art Direction: E.R. Hickson
Assistant Director: Perry Murdock
Sound Recordist: Karl Zint (Credited as Carl Zint)

Stunts: Jim Corey, Helen Gibson, Chick Hannan, Carl Mathews, Tom Steele (Jack Randall's stunt double), Wally West.

Production Company: Monogram Pictures






Cast

Jack Randall as Jack Bruce
Lois Wilde as Mickey Temple
Hal Price as Sidekick Lucky
Charles King as Dana (Credited as Charles King Jr.)
Earl Dwire as Hardrock
Ernie Adams as Soapy
Jimmy Aubrey as Australia
Ed Brady as Jake Reed
Frank LaRue as Pappy Temple
Chick Hannan as Joe (Credited as Chick Hannon)
Helen Gibson as Nana Temple
Merrill McCormick as Henchman

Victor Adamson as Henchman (uncredited)
Barney Beasley as Barfly (uncredited)
Jim Corey as Henchman (uncredited)
Barney Furey as Mack, Claims Recorder (uncredited)
Oscar Gahan as Henchman (uncredited)
Clyde McClary as The Croupier (uncredited)
Buck Morgan as Barfly (uncredited)
George Morrell as Townsman (uncredited)
Tex Palmer as Henchman (uncredited)
Fred Parker as Doctor (uncredited)
Archie Ricks as Henchman (uncredited)
James Sheridan as Henchman (uncredited)
Glenn Strange as Marshal Dale (uncredited)
Wally West as Posse Rider (uncredited)

The Plot

A claim is made for gold prospecting, on an area of land, by the Temple family. When it is registered the villain, Dana, guesses its worth and aims to kill the Temple's representative and make a false claim for himself with the aid of his gang of henchmen. The hero of the film 'Jack Bruce' will try and stop Dana and his gang from not only taking away the Temple family's claim, but also from taking over the whole town, which is booming after the claim is made public.

Review

A low budget Western made by Monogram Pictures, who were known for making low budget films of many genres in what was sometimes referred to as 'Poverty Row'. The plot was simple and the copy of the film I had seemed to either have small segments missing or the story just jumped forward every so often. Who knows why, but it could be that there was not enough footage to fill the storyline or maybe there was a need to edit the film to a shorter length so as to make it more available to show as a double feature with another film. It could be that some footage is just lost and not deemed important enough to bother with.

The acting at this level of film production was good enough for the most part. The leads, Jack Randall and Lois Wilde, made the most of a poor script and both could have been comfortable in a bigger budget film. The supporting cast gave us some familiar faces in familiar roles, most notably Charles King in one of his many Westerns as the villian 'Dana'. Charles King is a much better actor than his legacy has him made out to be. There is the usual band of good guys to support the Temple family and a sidekick for the hero.

Overall not a great film. In fact it is forgettable in the mix of similar plots and levels of production in other films made in the 1930s 'quickie' Western genre. These kinds of films did give actors regular work during a period of history where jobs were notably scarce.

Interesting Additional Information

Jack Randall was a Broadway actor and singer who signed to Monogram Pictures as a singing cowboy, which was all the rage by the end of the 1930s. Unfortunately, Jack's star never shone as brightly as Tex Ritter, Gene Autry or Roy Rogers, owing mainly to the low production values at Monogram. In later films Jack would drop the singing, but still played lead 'hero' roles in B-Westerns. He died in 1945, having a heart attack while he was riding a horse during the shooting of the film serial 'The Royal Mounted Rides Again (1945)'. His parts were re-shot using Milburn Stone.

This was Lois Wilde's last film before breaking her neck, in 1938, whilst travelling as a passenger in car. The car went over a dip in the road in Beverly Hills and the extreme jolt broke Lois' neck and ruined her steady career. She did appear in a few more films in the 1950s as a background extra.

Lois was also seen in the occasional TV commercial.

Chick Hannan (seen here on the left) plays a character called 'Joe' and has to 'age up' for the role. He was about 36 years old when filming this Western, but was playing one of the 'old-timers' dedicated to the Temple family. He is given very little to say and murmurs his way through most of his scenes in the film. Hannan is also listed as performing stunts in this movie, which would probably be the scene late on where many of the 'bad guys' are shot off their horses.

Helen Gibson plays a small role as the sister of the leading female character, who is shot and killed early on the film. This scene is where Helen would perform her one and only stunt, as far as I know, falling off the wagon after being shot. That particular scene was shot at a low angle in a studio and the stunt was very tame compared to other stunts in the movie. However, Helen Gibson was by this time in her forties and a veteran of the classic silent 'cliffhanger' movie serials in which she starred in episodes doing her own stunts not unlike Pearl White in the more famous 'The Perils of Pauline (1914)'.

For a sidekick, Hal Price (with the beard) had very little to do. It seemed that in these quick Westerns that the hero always had to have a companion.

Hal Price was, at this time in his life, a very popular 'go to' actor for small spreaking roles in low-budget films. In 1937 alone, Price appeared in at least 25 films; some in credited roles like this one and some as uncredited background characters. Away from Westerns, Price appeared in the film serial 'Dick Tracy' starring Ralph Byrd. He was also in several 'bigger' movies for Paramount Pictures.

Placing a female extra in a prominent position in the frame (like the actress on the right) is always going to raise the question 'Who is she?'. It seems likely that she would be used in many more films made by Monogram Pictures and is too beautiful to be left in the background. It makes me wonder if she was ever credited in another film. The picture isn't clear enough to identify her properly. There were very few roles for actresses in these cheap Westerns and so there are many instances like this one of ladies being used for background effect in bar-room scenes.









Title Screens

This was only the third film where Jack Randall used this name. His previous credited roles were using his real name Addison Randall. Incidentally, Jack is the uncle of the actor, writer and director Addison Randall who was born four years after Jack's death to his older brother Robert Livingston, who was also an actor.

Goofs

Frank LaRue's character 'Pappy Temple' was referred to as Mickey Temple's father and grandfather at different times in the film. So who is he?