A few more thoughts after yesterdays post: http://cablecarguy.blogspot.com/2011/10/dvd-miracle-rider-october-10-2011.html
One of Zaroff's henchmen was played by Tom London, who may have appeared in more movies than anyone else, from the mid-Teens to the early 1960s. Another was Charles "Blackie" King, who was always worth watching.
I enjoyed the credits and introduction for each episode. There was a stirring classical theme, whose name I can never remember. There was a tracking shot of Tom and Tony Jr riding hell for leather, followed by a tracking shot along a rocky hillside that underlay most of the credits. Underneath the cast of characters, there was a Native American crouching, then standing and scanning the horizon, then invoking the gods, then squatting, then standing.
The general treatment of Native Americans? So-so. Bob Kortman, whom I loved in Laurel and Hardy movies, played Long Boat, who wanted to be chief. He worked secretly for Zaroff. Tom Morgan was his great rival. I liked the way Long Boat kept calling Tom "My brother" with a great sneer.
I lost count of how many times Zaroff said he was going to be "the most powerful man in the world." I liked the wireless telephones he used to communicate with Long Boat and his cowboy henchmen. He used what looked like a text terminal to communicate wirelessly with a buyer in Europe.
I first saw this serial on Channel 20's Old Sourdough or Worst of Hollywood. I managed to stay awake late enough each Friday night to see all 15 chapters. I had read William K Everson's disparaging comments on the movie. I didn't agree with him.
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