Simply Perfect

Redundant and unnecessary.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Director: ALAN JAMES. Screenplay: Earle Snell, Ken Maynard. Story: Claude Rister. Photography: Ted McCord. Art director: Dave Berg. Art director: Ralph M. DeLacy. Set decorator: Eddie Boyle. Costumes: Elizabeth Coleman. Music director: Val Burton. Associate producer: Irving Starr. Producer:Ken Maynard. Executive producers: Burt Kelly, Sam Bischoff, William Saal. A KBS Production, filmed at California Tiffany Studios and on locations in Red Rock Canyon in the Mojave Desert. Presented by E. W. Hammons. RCA Sound System.Copyright 25 December 1932 by K.B.S. Productions, Inc. Released through World Wide Pictures. No recorded New York opening. U.S. release: 25 December 1932. U.K. release: 24 March 1934. 62 minutes. SYNOPSIS: The Phantom is a mysterious killer who is bush-whacking anyone with allegiances to the Lazy S Ranch. A stranger is accused, but with the help of a girl he has befriended and her father (the owner of a neighboring ranch), he manages to track down the true culprit.COMMENT: Wonderful atmosphere, a strong, fast-paced story, great photography, vigorous direction and a fascinating cast — Maynard himself, Cecilia Parker, Bob Burns, George Chesebro, Lafe McKee, Sheldon Lewis, and not to forget "Tarzan" — combine to make this entry a stand-out even among the normally superlatively entertaining output of the Ken Maynard unit.Happily, the print under review, whilst slightly track-marked, does full justice to the breathtaking cinematography of Ted McCord. Many other commentators, were likewise impressed by this entry, but let me just say that Ken Maynard is my favorite western hero and that "Tombstone Canyon" is one of his very best films. But even if you don't like Maynard, this one is an absolute "must" for any collection of classic westerns.

I love watching these films from the early thirties. Rarely are they good in the way that I need as a modern viewer. The story is not the one the movie directly delivers, but the larger story of movies finding themselves after the disruptive introduction of sound.They just didn't know what would work, so they tried everything. Sometimes they invented, and that is very cool when you can find the first glimmer of some now mainstream stroke. What we have here is one third mystery of the old school. A man does not know who he is we have to find out after the one who could reveal all is murdered. We have a third that is haunted house. This was already a well established genre. Here we have the phantom. He mysteriously kills and disappears as if a ghost. He has a terrifying call that usually brings death. He is dressed in black, skulks and covers his face with his cape, even — especially — when it is just us about. We find he has a horribly disfigured face... as disfigured as simple makeup could arrange anyway. We see comic fear of this ghost. It has everything a haunted house movie does except the house which is replaced here by the supposedly spooky Tombstone Canyon (where no one goes),And a third is good old western, with good and bad ranchers. The good rancher is Judge Lee with a pretty cowgirl daughter who falls for our cowboy. In what seems like two days, they are engaged. A wise sheriff, rough town. Fights at cliff edge. Lots of galloping. What a hodgepodge. What confusion! It is clear that this was a disposable experiment like hundreds of others, even thousands from the era.

Some elements of melodrama and even Gothic horror are part of this poverty row western starring Ken Maynard entitled Tombstone Canyon.Ken's been sent for by a rancher who knows something of his parentage which Ken is unaware of. Growing up in an orphanage Ken has no clue of his background.There's a fellow who for years has a hideout in Tombstone Canyon where he does a whole Zorro act terrorizing one outfit run by Frank Brownlee and his son George Gerwing. But he's got a hideous look to him, more the Phantom of the Opera unmasked than Zorro. And he's as touched as the Phantom was living down in those catacombs of the Paris sewers.A whole lot of killings, a manhunt for Maynard who is blamed for all of them including a sympathetic sheriff before Ken puts it all together about himself and the Phantom. A bit of an unusual western for the Saturday matinée kid crowd, but entertaining.

Within the context of a B western, Tombstone Canyon is close to perfect. Yes, it looks a lot like every other cheap western of its time, but the early 1930's were a great time for westerns. Ken Maynard never falters for the entire run time of this movie.As the movie starts we are introduced to the place known as Tombstone Canyon. Ken rides in to find himself unwelcome and the desired target of many ill-intended shots. Between the gang of bad guys and the mysterious phantom Ken has his hands full, but fortunately Jenny Lee happens to be riding through and fires a few helpful shots of her own. It is then that Ken learns more about Tombstone Canyon and the mysterious screaming phantom who kills as many of the Lazy S cowboys as possible. The phantom is not Ken's worry, however. He has traveled to meet a friend who has a secret to reveal, but by the time Ken arrives he finds out that his friend is murdered. Alf Sykes, owner of the Lazy S does not want Ken to learn anything, so he does everything he can to destroy Ken. The phantom also confronts Ken and threatens him. It is only at the end that Ken learns the secret someone wanted him to know, and the phantom's identity is revealed.Even if the plot was done hundreds of times over the years, it was done right in this 1932 movie. Most of the credit must go to Ken Maynard for making Tombstone Canyon so much fun to watch. His on screen personality was at its most captivating. Few western heroes looked as good and had the ability to act as well as Ken Maynard.