The Phantom of the West

The Phantom of the West
The Phantom of the West
	Film poster
Directed by	D. Ross Lederman; Theodore Joos
Written by	Wyndham Gittens; Ford Beebe; Ben Cohen
Produced by	Nat Levine
Starring	Tom Tyler; William Desmond; Tom Santschi; Dorothy Gulliver; Philo McCullough; Frank Lanning
Cinematography	M. A. Anderson; Ben Kline; Joseph Novak
Edited by	Wyndham Gittens
Music by	Lee Zahler
Distributed by	Mascot Pictures
Release date	January 1, 1931;
Running time	10 chapters (172 minutes)
Country	United States
Language	English

The Phantom of the West is a 1931 American pre-Code Western film serial and was the second all-talking serial produced by Mascot Pictures. Tom Tyler stars as Jim Lester, trying to prove that Francisco Cortez (Frank Lanning) is innocent of killing Lester's father years before. The real villain is the mysterious Phantom and his League of the Lawless.

Plot summary

Francisco Cortez escapes prison after serving fifteen years for the murder of Jim Lester's father. Hunted by a posse, the escaped convict takes refuge in Jim Lester's house. When Lester discovers him, Cortez proclaims his innocence. He lists the names of seven men, one of which is the real killer, the murderer calling himself "The Phantom".^[1]

Cast

Tom Tyler as Jim Lester
William Desmond as Martin Blaine
Tom Santschi as Bud Landers
Dorothy Gulliver as Mona Cortez, Francisco Cortez's daughter
Philo McCullough as Royce Macklin
Frank Lanning as Francisco Cortez, escaped convict falsely accused of murdering Jim Lester's father
Tom Dugan as Oscar, Sheriff's deputy and comic relief
Joe Bonomo as Keno, a gunman
Frank Hagney as Sheriff Jim H. Ryan
Hallie Sullivan as Ruby Blair
Kermit Maynard as Peter Drake
Dick Dickinson as Harvey Stewart

Production

Stunts

Chapter titles

The Ghost Rides
Stairway of Doom
Horror in the Dark
Battle of the Strong
League of the Lawless
Canyon of Calamity
Price of Silence
House of Hate
Fatal Secret
Rogue's Roundup

_Source:^[2]

References

^ Rovin, Jeff (1987). The Encyclopedia of Supervillains. New York: Facts on File. p. 262. ISBN 0-8160-1356-X.
^ Cline, William C. (1984). "Filmography". In the Nick of Time. McFarland & Company, Inc. pp. 203. ISBN 0-7864-0471-X.

External links

Preceded by The Lone Defender (1930)	Mascot Serial The Phantom of the West (1931)	Succeeded by King of the Wild (1931)

[1] Rovin, Jeff (1987). The Encyclopedia of Supervillains. New York: Facts on File. p. 262. ISBN 0-8160-1356-X.

[2] Cline, William C. (1984). "Filmography". In the Nick of Time. McFarland & Company, Inc. pp. 203. ISBN 0-7864-0471-X.

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