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The Avenger (1931) Online

The Avenger (1931) Online
Original Title :
The Avenger
Genre :
Movie / Action / Adventure / Drama / Romance / Western
Year :
1931
Directror :
Roy William Neill
Cast :
Buck Jones,Dorothy Revier,Otto Hoffman
Writer :
Jack Townley,George Morgan
Type :
Movie
Time :
1h 12min
Rating :
6.0/10
The Avenger (1931) Online

In 1849, Joaquin Murietta, son of a wealthy Spanish grandee, has a bitter street quarrel with three rough prospectors. He later finds the family home in ruins and his father dying---the result of an attack by the same three men; "Black" Kelly, Ike Mason and Al Goss. Joaquin goes to a mining camp to inform his brother, Juan, of the murder and, on his way, he meets Helen Lake, who has come west to teach in the town school. Determined to get possession of the rich Murietta claim, Kelly, Mason and Goss attack the camp, kill Juan and beat Joaquin into unconsciousness. But even with the Murietta claim in their possession these men do not prosper long. A mysterious bandit, known as "The Black Shadow", continually raids the stage coach which carries shipments of their ore. Captain Lake of the United States Army, who is Helen's father, offers a reward of $5,000 for the capture of "The Black Shadow", but Joaquin's disguise is too effective and he eludes capture. He posts a placard in the local ...
Cast overview:
Buck Jones Buck Jones - Joaquin Murietta aka The Black Shadow
Dorothy Revier Dorothy Revier - Helen Lake
Otto Hoffman Otto Hoffman - Black Kelly
Sidney Bracey Sidney Bracey - Windy
Edward Hearn Edward Hearn - Captain Paul Lake
Walter Percival Walter Percival - Al Goss
Edward Peil Sr. Edward Peil Sr. - Ike Mason

One of over a hundred Columbia features, mostly Westerns, sold to Hygo Television Films in the 1950s, who marketed them under the name of Gail Pictures; opening credits were redesigned, with some titles misspelled, the credit order of the players rearranged, some names misspelled, and new end titles attached, thus eliminating any evidence of their Columbia roots. Apparently, the original material was not retained in most of the cases, and the films have survived, even in the Sony library, only with these haphazardly created replacement opening and end credits.


User reviews

BlackBerry

BlackBerry

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.
Thetalas

Thetalas

Director: ROY WILLIAM NEILL. Screenplay: George Morgan. Story: Jack Townley. Photography: Charles Van Enger, Ted Tetzlaff. (The DVD of the Gail Pictures re-issue print credits Charles Stumar). Film editor: Edward Curtis. (IMDb and AllMovie disagree. They nominate Ray Snyder). Producer: Sol Lesser. (At lest everyone agrees on that one). Beverly Productions.

Copyright 11 March 1931 by Columbia Pictures Corp. U.S. release: 6 March 1931. 62 minutes. (Formerly available on a VCI VHS tape).

NOTES: Re-made in 1942 as Vengeance of the West.

COMMENT: Although some critics panned his performance, I thought Jones made the most of a rare character role. In fact, I found all the acting highly creditable. And as for Neill's wonderfully atmospheric direction with his inspired use of sound effects and overlapping dialogue, plus Stumar's (?) creative camerawork, I can only describe this movie as absolutely brilliant.
Fast Lovebird

Fast Lovebird

The story is loosely based on the legend of the California bandit Joaquin Murrieta, depicting him as a sort of Mexican Robin Hood. Buck plays Joaquin as the brother of a gold mine owner who is murdered by hanging for being falsely accused of horse stealing. The brother is played by a young Paul Fix, who much later plays the North Fork town marshal on The Rifleman. The perpetrators end up owning the mine which they had been after. Joaquin then disguises himself as both a gambler and a bandit named "The Black Shadow". He then proceeds to plan out his revenge against the 3 accusers. The video quality is very good for a 1931 film with some slight fuzziness. There are leftover flavors of silent films, such as some melodramatic acting, and a blackboard to depict time lapse. Romance is included in the film, with a few amusing scenes. The watchability is good for a first viewing.