| The Miracle Rider | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | B. Reeves Eason Armand Schaefer |
| Written by | Barney A. Sarecky Wellyn Totman |
| Starring | Tom Mix Charles Middleton |
| Distributed by | Mascot Pictures |
| Release date(s) | 1935 |
| Running time | 15 chapters (306 min) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Miracle Rider is a 1935 Mascot movie serial directed by B. Reeves Eason and Armand Schaefer. The serial stars Tom Mix.
Contents |
Zaroff (Charles Middleton), a rancher and oil company owner, wants to drive the Ravenhead Indians off their reservation so that he can mine the rare element X-94, a super explosive, found there and sell it to the highest bidder. Texas Ranger Tom Morgan tries to stop him and save the tribe.
This was Tom Mix's last film and his only sound serial.[1] Tom Mix was still an A-list star in 1935, along side Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, Sr and Mary Pickford.[1] He was paid $40,000 for four weeks work on The Miracle Rider, which he used as urgent funding to support his circus.[1]
The serial combined the large cast and interlocking plots of a silent serial with the science fiction and cliffhangers of the sound era.[1]
Tom Mix, whose voice was strained and nasal due to a repeatedly broken nose and a bullet through his throat, did a lot of his own stunts, although some were doubled by Cliff Lyons.[1]
Source:[2]
This was Mascot's only 15-chapter serial.
"Zaroff" is obviously inspired by Basil Zaharoff, a notorious early twentieth-century arms merchant, often cited as one of the so-called "merchants of death", who supposedly helped bring on World War I.
| Preceded by The Phantom Empire (1935) |
Mascot Serial The Miracle Rider (1935) |
Succeeded by The Adventures of Rex and Rinty (1935) |
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