The Last Frontier (serial)
Encyclopedia
The Last Frontier is a 12-chapter serial, distributed by RKO Radio Pictures in 1932
. The serial starred Lon Chaney, Jr.
as the zorro-esque hero The Black Ghost. Dorothy Gulliver
was the leading female star. The total running time of the serial is 213 minutes.
The Black Ghost (Lon Chaney Jr) is a Zorro-style character.
Source:
1932 in film
-Events:*Cary Grant's film career begins*Katharine Hepburn's film career begins*Shirley Temple's film career begins*Disney released Flowers and Trees, the first cartoon in three-strip Technicolor film.*Santa, first sound film made in Mexico released....
. The serial starred Lon Chaney, Jr.
Lon Chaney, Jr.
Lon Chaney, Jr. , born Creighton Tull Chaney, was an American character actor. He was best known for his roles in monster movies and as the son of famous silent film actor, Lon Chaney...
as the zorro-esque hero The Black Ghost. Dorothy Gulliver
Dorothy Gulliver
Dorothy Kathleen Gulliver was an early silent film star, and one of the few to make a successful transition with the advent of "talkies", when films began using sound...
was the leading female star. The total running time of the serial is 213 minutes.
Plot
The outlaw "Tiger" Morris attempts to drive setters off their land in order to acquire the local gold deposits. A crusading newspaper editor, Tom Kirby, becomes the masked vigilante, The Black Ghost, to stop him.Cast
- Lon Chaney, Jr.Lon Chaney, Jr.Lon Chaney, Jr. , born Creighton Tull Chaney, was an American character actor. He was best known for his roles in monster movies and as the son of famous silent film actor, Lon Chaney...
as Tom Kirby, the editor of the local newspaper and the masked vigilante The Black Ghost - Dorothy GulliverDorothy GulliverDorothy Kathleen Gulliver was an early silent film star, and one of the few to make a successful transition with the advent of "talkies", when films began using sound...
as Betty Halliday - Ralph BushmanRalph BushmanRalph Everly Bushman , was an American actor. He appeared in fifty-five films between 1920 and 1943.The son of notable silent film star Francis X. Bushman and Josephine Fladine Duval, he was born in Baltimore, Maryland, USA and died in Los Angeles, California. In his early film career, he was often...
as Jeff Maitland - William DesmondWilliam Desmond (actor)William Desmond was an Irish-born American actor. He appeared in 205 films between 1915 and 1948. He was nicknamed "The King of the Silent Serials."...
as General George CusterGeorge Armstrong CusterGeorge Armstrong Custer was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Raised in Michigan and Ohio, Custer was admitted to West Point in 1858, where he graduated last in his class... - Joe BonomoJoe Bonomo (strongman)Joe Bonomo born 25 December 1901 in Coney Island New York died 28 March 1978 in Los Angeles was a famous American weight lifter, strongman, film stunt performer and actor....
as Joe, one of Morris' henchman. Listed as "Kit Gordon" in the credits. - Pete MorrisonPete MorrisonGeorge D. Morrison, nicknamed Pete, was an American silent western film actor born August 8, 1890 in Westminster, Colorado. During his childhood he lived at Morrison, Colorado and Idaho Springs, and got his early tastes of horsemanship riding with his father Thomas during the summer...
as Hank, one of Morris' henchman - LeRoy MasonLeRoy MasonLeRoy Mason was an American film actor. He died on the set of California Firebrand after suffering a heart attack.-Selected filmography:The following were with John Wayne:* Maker of Men...
as Buck, Morris' spearpoint heavy (chief henchman) - Yakima CanuttYakima CanuttYakima Canutt , also known as Yak Canutt, was an American rodeo rider, actor, stuntman and action director.-Biography:...
as Wild Bill HickokWild Bill HickokJames Butler Hickok , better known as Wild Bill Hickok, was a folk hero of the American Old West. His skills as a gunfighter and scout, along with his reputation as a lawman, provided the basis for his fame, although some of his exploits are fictionalized.Hickok came to the West as a stagecoach... - Mary Jo Desmond as Aggie Kirby
- Slim Cole as Uncle Happy
- Richard NeillRichard NeillRichard Neill was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in 130 films between 1911 and 1951.He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and died in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles.-Selected filmography:...
as Leige "Tiger" Morris, outlaw - Judith Barrie as Rose Maitland
- Claude PaytonClaude PaytonClaude Duval Payton was an American actor.-Career:Claude Duval Payton was a tall, bearded supporting actor in many silent films and other films. He toured exclusively with a stock company headed by his 1st cousin, Corse Payton...
as Colonel Halliday - Ben CorbettBen CorbettBen Corbett was an American film actor. He appeared in 283 films between 1915 and 1956.He was born in Hudson, Illinois and died in Hollywood, California.-Selected filmography:* An Eastern Westerner...
as Bad Ben, one of Morris' henchman - Frank LackteenFrank LackteenFrank Lackteen was a Lebanese-born American film actor best known for his antagonistic roles. He appeared in nearly 200 films between 1916 and 1965, including several Three Stooges shorts. He was born in Kubber-Ilias, Lebanon and died in Los Angeles, California...
as Chief Pawnee Blood - Fritzi FernFritzi FernFritzi Fern was a motion picture actress from Akron, Ohio. Her birth name was Fritzi Fern Blower. She was the daughter of Mrs. Hattie R. Blower.-Movie actress:...
as Mariah
Production
The Last Frontier was RKO's only serial.The Black Ghost (Lon Chaney Jr) is a Zorro-style character.
Chapter titles
- The Black Ghost Rides
- The Thundering Herd
- The Black Ghost Strikes
- The Fatal Shot
- Clutching Sands
- The Terror Trail
- Doomed
- Facing Death
- Thundering Doom
- The Life Line
- Driving Danger
- The Black Ghost's Last Ride
Source: