Ghost of Hidden Valley

Buster Crabbe and Al St. John are tasked with putting some grit into Oxford toff John Meredith. Little do they know the abandoned ranch he owns is being used by cattle rustlers, who have promoted a legend about it being haunted -- presumably by the ghosts of cattle, since there are none in sight -- and try to drive him off.

The usual stuff of westerns is handled decently by PRC director Sam Newfield, and Crabbe's line readings are pretty good -- he's a thoughtful, quiet man, ready to shoot it out or get into a fistfight when needed. Writer Ellen Coyle seems to have done her research on how upper-class Brits behave by watching A CHUMP AT OXFORD, and Meredith sounds as English as my aunt Selma. The jokes are weak, despite having some silent comedy pros in the cast: not only St. John, but Jimmy Aubrey as Meredith's valet, and Milburn Morante.

there's about a two-reeler's worth of good movie in this 56-minute B western. That's too thin for anyone except diehard Victor Adamson fans.

Buster and Fuzzy have a lot on the plate trying to fight off the rustlers while trying to protect an Englishman and his butler who are totally out of sorts in the old west. Not much is seen of the ghosts but fright night is well provided by Charles King and Zon Murray. Jean Carlin, one of Old Hollywood's most respected actresses is a delight as the leading lady and Jimmy Aubrey as Tweedle has great comedic timing playing off John Meredith and Fuzzy.

Charged with turning the prissy English son of an old pal into a man, Billy and Fuzzy take him (as the new owner) to the supposedly haunted Hidden Valley Ranch, a move that upsets the cattle rustlers using the ranch as a gang hideout.

Another so-so entry in Producers Releasing Corporation's long-running Billy Carson series, that despite plenty of action, just sort of goes through the motions. It's not too bad if you haven't seen many of these types of westerns.

Fans of the series might not be so hot on it though. Likewise, fans of the haunted ranch sub-genre might be better served watching a few other episodes in the series, like His Brother's Ghost or Wild Horse Phantom.

As far as the cast goes, Buster Crabbe and Al St. John are okay and leading lady Jean Carlin nice to look at. There's also some good villainy from longtime heavy Charles King. However, the "English" lad is terrible, with an embarrassingly phony accent.

Low-Budget film with low thought out plot. Sorry, I like Buster and Fuzzy but this is not up to the usual Hi-Jinks. I reccomend this only if the sleeping pills do not work. This 1946 film lacks any charater definition or any cohesive flow of the plot.