Product Details

• Actors: Randolph Scott, Leslie Carter, Charles Sale, Ann Sheridan
• Directors: Charles Barton
• Format: Black & White, NTSC
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Hollywood Select
• VHS Release Date: December 1, 1987
• Run Time: 63 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00000F91G
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #452,029 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Randy's Rocky Mountain way, January 31, 2012

By 

Annie Van Auken (Planet Earth) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rocky Mountain Mystery [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Adapted from the Zane Grey novel and directed by Charles Barton (he later worked extensively with Abbott & Costello), ROCKY MOUNTAIN MYSTERY (aka "The Fighting Westerner") is a low-budget PARAMOUNT programmer that effectively combines the western and who-dun-it genres and offers a few casting surprises, namely Ann Sheriden and Randolph Scott at the beginning of their careers. Also appearing is 19th Century stage actress Mrs. Leslie Carter as the family matriarch.

THE STORY--
A mining engineer (Scott) investigating the mysterious disappearance of his brother-in-law joins forces with a crusty deputy sheriff (Sale) who is himself looking into the murder of a mine owner. When two more people die, all the suspects have alibis.
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A word about off-brand tapes:
These are usually recorded at slower tape speeds, without a HiFi audio track,
resulting in somewhat degraded picture and lower fidelity sound.

"Rocky Mountain Mystery" is available on DVD under its alternate title: THE FIGHTING WESTERNER.

Also recommended:
In 1936, Randy Scott starred as "Hawkeye" in an excellent version of J.F. Cooper's THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. (VHS only)
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Parenthetical number preceding title is a 1 to 10 IMDb viewer poll rating.

(6.0) Rocky Mountain Mystery (1935) - Charles 'Chic' Sale/Mrs. Leslie Carter/Kathleen Burke/Ann Sheriden/George F. Marion/James Eagles/Howard Wilson/Willie Fung/Florence Roberts/Randolph Scott

3.0 out of 5 stars Murder Mystery in a Mining Mansion, November 7, 2010

By 

Acute Observer (By the Shore NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rocky Mountain Mystery [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Rocky Mountain Mystery, 1935 film

The story begins with a rider who visits a house. Two ham steaks are on the grill in this empty house. Larry Sutton meets an old man, the Deputy Sheriff Tex Murdock. Larry has a letter of introduction (to replace Parsons). Mr. Borg is dead, a mining "accident". Parsons was accused of murder, but he disappeared. "What noise?" Larry wants to learn more about this crime, and visits the Ballard's house. Two huge dogs guard the house. Relatives talk about their presumed inheritance. Larry knows about radium mining, for medical use. One gram of radium sold for $37,000! Mr. Ballard is incapacitated, confined to bed. Larry meets Rita Ballard. How valuable is the mine? Who wrote that warning note? The stamping mill makes a noise; Fritz was murdered! Ballard tells about his will; if an inheritor dies his share will not be divided among the others. We learn about the people there.

Rita dreams of moving to Hawaii to raise cattle. Who shot at John Borg? Who stole Borg's body? Larry advises building a new factory; Ballard disagrees. Will the Black Rider strike again? Is a girl in danger? Will a search of Mrs. Ballard's rooms reveal anything? Is a hoofprint as individual as fingerprints? Was that Jack Parson's horse? What happened to Rita? The former Mrs. Ballard arrives, she wants to see Mr. Ballard. "He's not my husband!" The masquerade is over. A murder for inheritance? Larry figured it all out. Borg makes a deal with Larry - can he be trusted? Larry tries to rescue Rita from Borg. Justice triumphs. Rita and Larry will be sitting on top of the world.

This story was adapted from a Zane Grey novel "Golden Dreams". It is basically a murder mystery set in a mansion, where heirs to a fortune are eliminated so someone will inherit a fortune. Other stories used a similar plot. It could just as well take place in a mining town like Scranton, Penna. Near the end I had a hunch: it reminded me of Dashiell Hammett's earlier short story "Night Shots". "Eyewitness evidence is most credible when it is supported by circumstantial evidence."