I'm not a fan of movie serials in general. I think it's an art form that has come and thankfully gone. Especially a western serial like this where Universal Pictures got an interesting name cast for Riders Of Death Valley.
The plot is one that could have been used for a good B western. Dick Foran and Buck Jones head the Riders Of Death Valley, a vigilante outfit formed because the law is ineffective against ruthless outlaws like Charles Bickford and Lon Chaney, Jr.
The whole serial is longer than Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments sound version and not nearly as good. The first part is Foran and company battling Bickford to locate a lost mine. The second part is Foran trying to work his mine and at the same time meet his financial obligations.
Through fifteen chapters Foran manages to survive, a landslide, a desert sandstorm, a mine accident, stampeding horses, and a framed murder charge. Just one is enough for any cowboy hero.
Serials were never meant to be viewed as I did on a DVD at home. 20 or so minute chapters every week back in the old days. But even at that I suspect they're no better.
With a length longer than a biblical spectacle, it must have taken Universal a long time and a big budget to film Riders Of Death Valley. It was a waste of time.
The plot is one that could have been used for a good B western. Dick Foran and Buck Jones head the Riders Of Death Valley, a vigilante outfit formed because the law is ineffective against ruthless outlaws like Charles Bickford and Lon Chaney, Jr.
The whole serial is longer than Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments sound version and not nearly as good. The first part is Foran and company battling Bickford to locate a lost mine. The second part is Foran trying to work his mine and at the same time meet his financial obligations.
Through fifteen chapters Foran manages to survive, a landslide, a desert sandstorm, a mine accident, stampeding horses, and a framed murder charge. Just one is enough for any cowboy hero.
Serials were never meant to be viewed as I did on a DVD at home. 20 or so minute chapters every week back in the old days. But even at that I suspect they're no better.
With a length longer than a biblical spectacle, it must have taken Universal a long time and a big budget to film Riders Of Death Valley. It was a waste of time.