The Avenger

Buck Jones plays Joaquin Murietta, the Robin Hood of California. It depends on whose side you come down on whether the real Murietta was a gangster or a patriot to oppressed Mexicans against the evil Anglos. The records indicate he killed more Chinese than Caucasians, so your mileage may vary.

This one comes down squarely on Murietta's side when his brother (played in a very early role by Paul Fix) is lynched and Jones seeks revenge as "The Black Shadow." Although the story and Jones' accent never rise above adequate, there are some pleasures in this Columbia B. Director Roy William Neill is best remembered for directing Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce in several of the pair's later screen Sherlock Holmes movies. Neill had started in the silents and spent most of the 1930s at Columbia, making visually striking films on small budgets. His strong grounding in telling stories visually in evident throughout, particularly about 20 minutes in, where he rescues Miss Revier from a horse stampede.