''The Last Frontier'' is an American

Pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was an era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry that occurred between the widespread adoption of sound in film in the late 1920s and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship gui ...

12-chapter serial, distributed by

RKO Radio Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, is an American film production and distribution company, historically one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Kei ...

in 1932. The story was based on the novel of the same name by Courtney Ryley Cooper. The serial starred

Lon Chaney Jr. Creighton Tull Chaney (February10, 1906 – July12, 1973), known by his stage name Lon Chaney Jr., was an American actor known for playing Larry Talbot in the film '' The Wolf Man'' (1941) and its various crossovers, Count Alucard (Dracula ...

as the

Zorro Zorro ( or , Spanish for "fox") is a fictional character created in 1919 by American Pulp magazine, pulp writer Johnston McCulley, appearing in works set in the Pueblo de Los Ángeles in Alta California. He is typically portrayed as a dashin ...

-esque hero The Black Ghost. Dorothy Gulliver was the leading female star. The total running time of the serial is 213 minutes. This serial was also released theatrically in 1932 as a 70-minute feature version called ''The Black Ghost''.

Plot

The outlaw "Tiger" Morris attempts to drive settlers 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

as Tom Kirby, the editor of the local newspaper and the masked vigilante The Black Ghost * Dorothy Gulliver as Betty Halliday *

Ralph Bushman Ralph Everly Bushman (May 1, 1903 – April 16, 1978) was an American actor who appeared in 55 films between 1920 and 1943. In his early film career, he often was credited as Francis X. Bushman Jr. The son of notable silent film star Francis ...

as Jeff Maitland * William Desmond as General George Custer * Joe Bonomo as Joe, one of Morris' henchman. Listed as "Kit Gordon" in the credits. *

Pete Morrison George D. "Pete" Morrison (August 8, 1890 – February 5, 1973) was an American silent western film actor born in Westminster, Colorado. During his childhood he lived in Morrison, Colorado (named for his grandfather George Morrison) and Idaho ...

as Hank, one of Morris' henchman *

LeRoy Mason LeRoy Franklin Mason (July 2, 1903 – October 13, 1947) was an American film actor who worked primarily in Westerns in both the silent and sound film eras. Mason was born in Larimore, North Dakota, on July 2, 1903. Career 1920s Mason's fi ...

as Buck, Morris' spearpoint heavy (chief henchman) *

Yakima Canutt Enos Edward "Yakima" Canutt (November 29, 1895 – May 24, 1986) was an American champion rodeo rider, actor, stuntman, and action director. He developed many stunts for films and the techniques and technology to protect stuntmen performing them ...

Wild Bill Hickok James Butler Hickok (May 27, 1837August 2, 1876), better known as "Wild Bill" Hickok, was a folk hero of the American Old West known for his life on the frontier as a soldier, reconnaissance, scout, lawman, cattle rustler, gunslinger, gambler, s ...

* Mary Jo Desmond as Aggie Kirby *

Slim Cole Nathan Cole Hebert (born May 6, 1892, date of death unknown), known as Slim Cole and sometimes credited as King Cole, was an American actor and stuntman who appeared in a string of B-movie westerns during Hollywood's silent era. Biography Ea ...

as Uncle Happy *

Richard Neill Richard Renchaw Neill Jr. (November 12, 1875 – April 8, 1970) was an American actor and screenwriter who worked in both the silent and sound eras. He performed in more than 200 films from 1910 to 1959, and during the early part of his lon ...

as Leige "Tiger" Morris, outlaw * Judith Barrie as Rose Maitland *

Claude Payton Claude Duval Payton (March 30, 1882 in Centerville, Iowa – March 1, 1955 in Los Angeles, California) was an American actor in many silent films and other films. On stage, Claude Payton toured with the Spooner Stock Company, which was heade ...

as Colonel Halliday *

Ben Corbett Ben Corbett (February 6, 1892 – May 19, 1961) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 280 films between 1915 and 1956. He was born in Hudson, Illinois and died in Hollywood, California. Corbett was a trophy-winning rodeo part ...

as Bad Ben, one of Morris' henchman *

Frank Lackteen Frank Lackteen (born Mohammed Hassan Lackteen August 29, 1897 – July 8, 1968) was an American film actor best known for his antagonistic roles. He appeared in nearly 200 films between 1915 and 1965, including several Three Stooges shorts. ...

as Chief Pawnee Blood * Fritzi Fern as Mariah

Production

''The Last Frontier'' was RKO's only serial.

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:

References

External links