The Valley of Vanishing Men

The Bill Eliot Columbia Serials are the best serial westerns. The music itself, stirring and melodramatic, matches the settings, story and cast which, for a serial, have Epic proportions. While Overland With Kit Carson has real West location in desert and mountain forests, "Valley" makes good use of the familiar Iverson Ranch/ Chatsworth CA movie location. Republic serials, Westerns and otherwise, simply did it to death. It is now a high price suburbia. In both "Valley" and "Kit Carson' the bad guys are quite original creations and a convincing atmosphere of meanness and evil pervades throughout. The historical slant of Valleyis a cut above the usual Hollywood western. Slim Summerville's comic relief is also above the usual old codger role and is entertaining. Like Republic's "Painted Stallion" serial, "Valley" is into the struggles and intrigues of the "new" free Meico of Juarez in the new territory of New Mexico. Both Valley and Kit Carson I number in the ten best serials.

Following the Civil War, Wild Bill Tolliver goes in search of his father, a geologist who has gone missing. He discovers that his father's disappearance is tied in with the activities of Jonathan Kincaid, a renegade who is plotting with aides of Emperor Maximillian to overthrow Benito Juarez from power in Mexico. Teaming up with his buddy, Missouri Benson, Tolliver must help friends such as Consuela Ramirez (who is trying to aid Juarez' cause) and stop Kincaid's army from raiding towns and driving out settlers & putting them in slave labor in Kincaid's gold mine. Simple plot but since its a Spencer Bennet serial you know its loaded with action and this serial is no exception but also look for interesting touches by Bennet added on. Rumor had it that Columbia forced Elliott to do this serial (a genre Elliott did not enjoy) due to his signing a new contract w/ Republic, but this does not give off in another solid Elliott performance. MacDonald gives off his best serial performance as the slick and cunning Kincaid using his stoic delivery to great advantage. Some may find Summerville annoying as the generic comic relief, but his antics managed to grow on me. Morales is hardly used to advantage in the serial. The serial does start off slow & generic in my opinion, but the action hardly lets up after chapter 5 and chapter 14 gives a great cliffhanger (with an excellent resolution). Rating, based on serials, 8.5.