Paradise Canyon (1935)

Paradise Canyon (1935). 52m | Approved

“For fans of Lone Star-Wayne only. Itu0026#39;s a pretty slender installment from our friends at Paul Malvernu0026#39;s production company. Wayneu0026#39;s an undercover G-man on the trail of counterfeiter Yakima Canutt. On the way he hooks up with medicine man Doc Carter (Hodgins) and his sloe- eyed daughter (Burns). We see a lot of the medicine show and some of it is a hoot—The Texas Two whose down-home ditties are memorably corny. But reviewer Chance is right: Hodgins takes up too much screen time for a brief 50-minute feature. Too bad producer Malvern didnu0026#39;t pop for a location shoot at scenic Lone Pine. That would have compensated for a lot. Instead, the boys have to ride around the scrubby un-scenic outskirts of LA. He did however pop for a well-staffed chase scene at the end. Then too, there is the usual hidden hideout that fascinated Front-Row kids like myself, along with a dramatic plunge off a cliff. But the sum-total is rather plodding and not up to the usual high-action standard. (In passing— sorry to say I counted 3 u0026quot;trip-wireu0026quot; induced falls, which make for a dramatic tumble of horse and rider, but is unfortunately often fatal to the horse. Happily, these stunts were eventually banned. On a more upbeat note– for a really entertaining look at how these Saturday afternoon specials were made, catch Hearts of the West {1975}.)”