"Ghost Town Gold" was the second film in the Three Mesquiteers series from Republic Films, but if you're keeping score, it was the first to feature Max Terhune in the role of Lullaby Joslin. The simply titled "The Three Mesquiteers" appeared earlier the same year and was the only 3M story to use Syd Saylor (as Lullaby). The Livingston-Corrigan-Terhune team would make a total of fourteen films together before the group would start trading off partners for an eventual string of fifty one oaters.
Right out of the box, it was in this story that Lullaby picks up his ventriloquist dummy Elmer by virtue of hoodwinking a three card monte scammer. It's a funny scene, right after we're introduced to Lullaby as a card sharp trickster and sleight of hand artist.
The 'ghost town gold' connection at the center of the story employs an old timer named Jake (Milburn Morante) who 'finds' some sacks of gold stolen from Prospect, the next town over from Nemesis. In an unbelievable set of circumstances that probably wouldn't have worked in any other picture (except maybe for the Bowery Boys), old Jake uses an eerie sounding bullhorn and a set of levers rigged to make the rest of Nemesis fall apart as both the good guys and the villains attempt to recover the stolen gold. By the way, I should also mention that Jake rides the sorriest excuse for a horse you'll ever see, first appearing on screen as he trots out of the Nemesis town council meeting.
Robert Livingston got top billing in the 3M films, but Ray 'Crash' Corrigan had more screen time in this episode, and he actually looks more like the guy who should have been the lead player. Taller and more ruggedly handsome than Livingston, he also got the choice role of opposing boxer Wild Man Kamatski in the saloon ring. Not quite sure how the whole boxing motif fit in with the rest of the story other than to provide some more offbeat action in the fisticuffs department. For some reason, the main event between Kamatski and champion Thunderbolt O'Brien never played out. Maybe a good thing, I think the champ might have had his phony mustache knocked off.
Oh yeah, there's also a pretty female lead in the story, Kay Hughes as the daughter of the bank president who's safe was robbed. Still a mystery to me how the money was stolen unless the safe was left unlocked, but audiences of the Thirties didn't seem to require much in the way of a believable story line. Anyway, Sabina (Hughes) helps make the save in the finale by leading the good guys to Uncle Jake's Mine #6.
'B' Western fans will also spot a lot of the familiar character actors of the era here, chief among them LeRoy Mason as fight promoter Barrington, Yakima Canutt as his main henchman Buck, and Earle Hodgins as the ring announcer and referee. The uncredited cast list contains just about every other Western character actor you'd ever hope to see all in one place, the trick being not to blink too often, or you might miss one of them.
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