Customer Reviews

Ghost Town Law

5 star:		(4)
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VCI Entertainment and Monogram Pictures present "Ghost Town Law" (1942) (digitally remastered), although The Rough Riders had a short run, they turned out some of the best B-Westerns ever to grace the Saturday Matinee screen...our story is the fifth of eight in the Rough Riders series is a better than average oater...three U.S. Marshals are working undercover Buck, Tim and Sandy looking for the culprits who killed two U.S. Marshals...the scenes takes place in the ghost town of Pickwick, Nevada filled with old haunted houses and mines...are there secret passages that have Tom London and Charlie King in control of the gold mine...the Rough Riders can only get close if they pose to be outlaws and lure the desperadoes out in the open...this will all take place when director Howard Bretherton gives Buck, Tim and Hatton the green light for action and the final scene brings it all to a climatic conclusion...just remember double thrills, chills, mystery and suspense...hitting the bull's eye with excitement...don't miss any of the Rough Riders features loaded with action that will leave you wanting more of his B-Western adventures

Under director Howard P. Bretherton, producer Scott R. Dunlap, original story by Jess Bowers ...the cast include Buck Jones (Marshal Buck Roberts), Tim McCoy (Marshal Tim McCall), Raymond Hatton (Sandy Hopkins), Virginia Carpenter (Josie Hall), Murdock MacQuarrie (Judge Crail), Charles King (Gus/badman), Tom London (Ace/big boss), Howard Masters ( Tom Cook), Ben Corbett (Red Larkin), Jack Baxley (Marshal Bat Madison ), Jack Ingam (Marshal), Frank Lackteen (Pawnee), Milburn Morante (Luke Martin), Artie Ortego (badman), Robert Walker (Marshal O'Neill/who was murdered), Silver (Buck Jones, wonder horse). . . . . . . . .special footnote, actor /producer Buck Jones made over 164 feature films beginning with "Western Blood" (1918/Silent) with a bit part...Jones final film was "Dawn on the Great Divide" (1942)...with his famed horse "Silver:, Jones was one of the most successful and popular B-Western actors of the '20s, '30s and '40s, at one time receiving more fan mail than any actor in the world...was inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1973. . . . . . . . . .second special footnote actor Tim McCoy in real life was a sharpshooter and famed for his fast draw...was an expert on the Old West also an authority on Indian folklore could converse in Indian sign language...McCoy was inducted into the "Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum" in 1973, also inducted into "The Cowboy Hall of Fame" in 1974.. . . . . . . . final special footnote, one of my favorite character actors was Johnny Mack's sidekick Raymond Hatton (1887-1971) as Marshall Sandy Hopkins who appeared from 1943 and made 45 films for Monogram Pictures...Hatton who first appeared on film in "Tragic Love" (1909-Silent/unconfirmed), "Oliver Twist" (1917), "The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923), "The Squaw Man" (1931), "Law and Order" (1932)...during the '30s & '40s he played the comical sidekick for Johnny Mack Brown and Bob Livingston...went on to join Buck Jones and Tim McCoy in the "Rough Riders" series...Hatton worked right up to his last film "In Cold Blood" (1967). . . . . .meanwhile this is an exciting Rough Riders western provided by Monogram Pictures during their heyday of the early '40s.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
BIOS:
1. Buck Jones (aka: Charles Frederick Gebhart)
Birth Date: 12/04/1889 - Vincennes, Indiana
Died: 11/30/1942 - Boston, MA (fire)
2. Tim McCoy (aka: Timothy John Fitzgerald McCoy)
Birth Date: 4/10/1891 - Saginaw, Michigan
Died: 1/29/1978 - Nogales, Arizona
3. Raymond Hatton (aka: Raymond William Hatton)
Birth Date: 7/07/1887 - Red Oak, Iowa
Died: 10/21/1971 - Palmdale, California

Check out other Buck Jones titles available on VHS from VCI:
1. Black Aces (1937)
2. Dawn on the Great Divide (1942)
3. Down Texas Way (1942)
4. Gunman from Bodie (1941)
5. Renfrew of the Royal Mounted (1937)
6. Riders of Death Valley (1941)
7. Silver Spurs (1936)
8. Six Gun Man (1946)
9. South of the Rio Grande (1932)

If you crave action, drama and plenty of adventure check out other western double features with Buck Jones:

ROUGH RIDERS WESTERN DOUBLE FEATURES:
1. Vol. 1 - Arizona Bound/Gunman from Bodie (VCI #7241) (DVD)
2. Vol. 2 - Ghost Town Law/Below the Border (VCI #7264) (DVD)
3. Vol. 3 - Forbidden Trails/Down Texas Way (VCI #7274) (DVD)
4. Dawn on the Great Divide (VCI #7219) (DVD)

Ask Amazon.Com to carry the above titles if they are not available as of yet...you can order and pick up your copy now from VCI Entertainment...if you enjoyed "Ghost Town Law" (1942), why not pick up other copies of Buck Jones features.

In 1941 the "Rough Riders" series began with Buck as Marshal Buck Roberts, Tim McCoy was Marshal Tim McCall and Raymond Hatton was Marshal Sandy Hopkins for Monogram Pictures:

1. ARIZONA BOUND (Monogram, 1941)
2. THE GUNMAN FROM BODIE (Monogram, 1941)
3. FORBIDDEN TRAILS (Monogram, 1941)
4. BELOW THE BORDER (Monogram, 1942)
5. GHOST TOWN LAW (Monogram, 1942)
6. DOWN TEXAS WAY (Monogram, 1942)
7. RIDERS OF THE WEST (Monogram, 1942)
8. WEST OF THE LAW (Monogram, 1942)

Great job by VCI Entertainment for releasing "Ghost Town Law" (1942),
the digital transfere with a clean, clear and crisp print...looking forward
to more high quality releases from the vintage serial era of the '20s, '30s
& '40s...order your copy now from Amazon or VCI Entertainment where there
are plenty of copies available on VHS, stay tuned once again for top notch
action mixed with deadly adventure from the "King of Serials" VCI...just
the way we like 'em

Total Time: 57 min on DVD/VHS ~ VCI Entertainment #7264 ~ (11/20/1997)

It would be hard for me to write an objective review of any Buck Jones movie because he is in my eyes a real life American hero. This was for my father who used to walk, as a boy, into town to the theater to see Buck on the silver screen. Based on my father's reaction to getting this movie I have to assume it is a five star video. Hope you enjoy watching Buck as much as my dad.

This is probably the best, or at least the fan favorite ROUGH RIDERS entry of the series. We have Buck Roberts, Tim McCall and Sandy Hopkins ( our heroes ) drift into town seperately, as usual, to interact with the other cast members in order to solve the mystery killings and goings-on at the ghost town/ abandoned mine. Lots of cobwebs, hidden passages and a spooky old gothic mansion highlight the proceedings. It really has the feel of a 1940's Monogram horror film and one half expects either George Zucco or Bela Lugosi to be the mastermind behind it all. Lots of old time movie fun here with action-packed gunfights and fistfights as well. A great way to spend a Saturday afternoon. And the ALPHA dvd is one of the best I've seen for a ROUGH RIDERS feature, nice and clear, easy to watch......major bad guys to watch for include Tom London, Ben Corbett and of course, everybody's favorite, Charlie King, who gets whupped on good by Buck!

Loved this movie from the Rough Riders Buck Jones, Tim McCoy and Raymond Hatton, the interaction between the stars are what makes this and the other Rough Rider movies great