The Rawhide Terror

The Rawhide Terror is a 1934 American Western horror film directed by Bruce M. Mitchell and Jack Nelson.

The Rawhide Terror
Theatrical release poster
Directed byBruce M. Mitchell
Jack Nelson
Screenplay byJack Nelson
Story byVictor Adamson
Produced byVictor Adamson
StarringArt Mix
Edmund Cobb
William Desmond
William Barrymore
Frances Morris
CinematographyA.J. Fitzpatrick
Bert Longenecker
Edited byFrances Burroughs
Production
company
Victor Adamson Productions
Distributed bySuperior Talking Pictures (United States)
Equity British Films (United Kingdom)
Release dates
  • 2 December 1934 (1934-12-02) (United States)

  • 22 October 1936 (1936-10-22) (London)
Running time
47 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot summary

A gang of renegades disguised as Indians murder the parents of two brothers, as a result, the brothers separate. Ten years later, a stranger known as the Rawhide Terror begins murdering the renegades, who have now become citizens of the local town called Red Dog. As the town frantically attempts to track down the killer, the destinies of the two brothers draw closer together and the identity of the killer is soon revealed.

Cast

Production

The Rawhide Terror was the final screen collaboration between Victor Adamson and George Kesterson (under his stage name Art Mix), the latter of whom Adamson's company was named after.[2] Originally envisioned as a movie serial titled The Pueblo Terror,[3] it was later cut from its original 52 minute length and converted into a 46–47 minute feature film when funding for the film fell through.[4] In spite of this, the film has been incorrectly listed under its original 52 minute runtime.[5][6][7][8]

Release

Home media

The film was released on DVD by Image Entertainment as a part of its "Creepy Cowboys: Four Weird Westerns" film pack on April 25, 2006. It was later released by Alpha Video on January 31, 2011.[9]

Reception

The Rawhide Terror has received no attention from mainstream critics. Reviews that exist on the film have been mostly negative, with many calling the film "sloppy" and "crudely made".[10] Author Michael R. Pitts criticized the film, calling it "a failed experiment in the mixing of two fairly distinct genres", and criticized the film's poor cinematography, and lack of plot continuity.[2] Hans J. Wollstein from Allmovie called it "convincingly eerie, in no small measure due to a potent performance by the mystery killer".[11] Max Sparber from Wildest West.com awarded the film 1/5 stars, writing, "A Poverty Row Western about a weird, revenging figure with a rawhide strap across his face, made by filmmakers who seemed to understand the pleasures of pulp fiction without having any idea how to put it on the screen."[12]

References

Bibliography

  • Hardy, Phil (1983). The Western. W. Morrow. ISBN 978-0-688-00946-5.
  • Katchmer, George A. (1991). Eighty Silent Film Stars: Biographies and Filmographies of the Obscure to the Well Known. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-89950-494-0.
  • Pitts, Michael R. (September 17, 2015). Poverty Row Studios, 1929-1940: An Illustrated History of 55 Independent Film Companies, with a Filmography for Each. McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-1036-8.
  • Price, Michael H. (2003). Forgotten Horrors 3: Dr. Turner's House of Horrors. Midnight Marquee & BearManor Media. GGKEY:7KKCHSZ7TSQ.
  • Rainey, Buck (2004). The Strong, Silent Type: Over 100 Screen Cowboys, 1903–1930. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-1286-0.
  • Sykes, Brad (April 4, 2018). Terror in the Desert: Dark Cinema of the American Southwest. McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-3132-5.

Notes
  1. "Catalog – The Rawhide Terror". AFI.com. American Film Institute. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  2. Pitts 2015, pp. 12–13.
  3. Price 2003, pp. 28.
  4. Eaker, Alfred (September 18, 2014). "CREEPY COWBOYS: 4 WEIRD WESTERNS". 366WeirdMovies.com. Alfred Eaker. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  5. Katchmer 1991, pp. 242.
  6. Rainey 2004, pp. 32.
  7. "The Rawhide Terror (1934) – Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes.com. Flixer. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  8. Hardy 1983, pp. 388.
  9. "The Rawhide Terror (1934) – Bruce Mitchell, Jack Nelson". Allmovie.com. AllMovie. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  10. Sykes 2018, pp. 9.
  11. Wollstein, Hans. "The Rawhide Terror (1934) – Bruce Mitchell, Jack Nelson". Allmovie.com. Hans J. Wollstein. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  12. Sparber, Max. "Weird Westerns: The Rawhide Terror (1934)". Wildest West.com. Max Sparber. Retrieved June 14, 2018.


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