Flicks of Shame: what's a nice actor like you doing in a movie like this?

Haunted Gold (1932)

Although his first screen appearance came in 1926, it wasn’t until the early Thirties that The Duke began to earn speaking roles. Even once he was working as a leading man, it wasn’t unusual for him to appear as an uncredited extra in other movies – such was the treadmill of the studio system.

Wayne spent most of these early years playing either cowboys or football stars, but a notable oddity in his nascent career is Haunted Gold, an oddball horror-western-comedy which not only plays like a prototype for Scooby Doo but is outrageously racist to boot.

Wayne plays John Mason, a typically square-jawed western hero who arrives in a derelict town to claim his father’s share of an abandoned gold mine. He’s accompanied by his trusty steed, Duke the Miracle Horse, and his – ahem – companion, Clarence Washington Brown. The film is predictably coy about the relationship between Wayne and his black sidekick, gingerly skirting around the “slave” word, but lets not pretend that political correctness was high on the agenda.

Quite apart from Clarence’s bug-eyed shucking and jiving, he’s referred to over the course of the film by the villains as “boy”, “smokey” and “darkie”, while they also mock his “watermelon accent”. Wayne himself is a lot more diversity-aware. He is gracious enough to describe Clarence as “sort of a Man Friday”, even going so far as allowing his negro friend to sleep in a derelict shack across the street from the nice white folk. In return, Clarence is unfailing loyal to the man he calls boss (or, on one occasion, “Massa John”), suffering numerous Jar Jar Binks slapstick indignities such as shovels to the face or bone-jarring falls down mineshafts. Oh, those crazy colored folk!

Also in town with designs on the goldmine is Joe Ryan, an outlaw who inherited his half of the deed from his equally criminally minded daddy. The rightful owner of Ryan’s share is Janet Carter and, you guessed it, she’s in town as well. They’ve all been summoned by a mysterious anonymous note – and word soon gets around that the mine is protected by a vengeful spirit known only by the rather unimaginative title of The Phantom.

Anyone with a passing knowledge of the typical Hanna Barbera cartoon plot should already be able to work out not only what the Phantom wants, but who lurks under his hood. To its credit, the movie manages to keep the secret for almost half an hour before revealing the obvious truth in a scene which positively fizzles with dramatic inertia. Once the tediously human identity of the Phantom has been unearthed, things revert to western cliché – Wayne gallops to the rescue, punches the bad guys, rides into the sunset with his sweetheart.

Still, the movie makes a valiant effort to stir up some scares – from cartoon bats over the opening credits, to plentiful shots of spooky eyes peering out of secret passages, malevolent shadows creeping up walls and scurrying robed figures in dark corners. Clocking in at just under one hour, it’s a true product of Hollywood’s early “churn them out” ethos, sporting stiff acting, wobbling sets and plot holes galore.

Need to know: Haunted Gold was written by Adele Buffington, as were many early westerns. She turned out more than a hundred screenplays from 1926 to 1958, sometimes using the more gender ambiguous name Jess Bowers, or - on one occasion - the rather obvious pseudonym “Colt Remington”. Many of the long distance horse riding shots in Haunted Gold were recycled from old silent movies starring Ken Maynard, an early western star who made a career out of playing lots and lots of cowboys called Ken. Movie trivia buffs should also keep their eyes peeled for a familiar statue during the scene in which Joe Ryan sneaks up on Janet as she plays the organ – one of the props used in the scene was recycled by Warner Bros and became the Maltese Falcon in the seminal Bogart noir.

Meanwhile, the toe-curling role of Clarence was played by Blue Washington who followed Haunted Gold with one of the most famous movies of all time – he was one of the native warriors in the original King Kong. Other notable Washington roles include Nubian Slave, Shantytown Man, Native Bearer, Convict Playing Guitar and – somewhat inevitably – Sambo.

Honourable mention: Another curious early Wayne appearance, which required considerably less exertion, came in 1931’s The Deceiver. In this murder mystery, Hollywood’s most legendary tough guy gets to take it easy – he spends all his screentime lying face down as a corpse.

Availability: Haunted Gold is available on both VHS and DVD.

		Haunted Gold (1932) Although his first screen appearance came in 1926, it wasn’t until the early Thirties that The Duke began to earn speaking roles. Even once he was working as a leading man, it wasn’t unusual for him to appear as an uncredited extra in other movies – such was the treadmill of the studio system. Wayne spent most of these early years playing either cowboys or football stars, but a notable oddity in his nascent career is Haunted Gold, an oddball horror-western-comedy which not only plays like a prototype for Scooby Doo but is outrageously racist to boot. Wayne plays John Mason, a typically square-jawed western hero who arrives in a derelict town to claim his father’s share of an abandoned gold mine. He’s accompanied by his trusty steed, Duke the Miracle Horse, and his – ahem – companion, Clarence Washington Brown. The film is predictably coy about the relationship between Wayne and his black sidekick, gingerly skirting around the “slave” word, but lets not pretend that political correctness was high on the agenda. Quite apart from Clarence’s bug-eyed shucking and jiving, he’s referred to over the course of the film by the villains as “boy”, “smokey” and “darkie”, while they also mock his “watermelon accent”. Wayne himself is a lot more diversity-aware. He is gracious enough to describe Clarence as “sort of a Man Friday”, even going so far as allowing his negro friend to sleep in a derelict shack across the street from the nice white folk. In return, Clarence is unfailing loyal to the man he calls boss (or, on one occasion, “Massa John”), suffering numerous Jar Jar Binks slapstick indignities such as shovels to the face or bone-jarring falls down mineshafts. Oh, those crazy colored folk! Also in town with designs on the goldmine is Joe Ryan, an outlaw who inherited his half of the deed from his equally criminally minded daddy. The rightful owner of Ryan’s share is Janet Carter and, you guessed it, she’s in town as well. They’ve all been summoned by a mysterious anonymous note – and word soon gets around that the mine is protected by a vengeful spirit known only by the rather unimaginative title of The Phantom. Anyone with a passing knowledge of the typical Hanna Barbera cartoon plot should already be able to work out not only what the Phantom wants, but who lurks under his hood. To its credit, the movie manages to keep the secret for almost half an hour before revealing the obvious truth in a scene which positively fizzles with dramatic inertia. Once the tediously human identity of the Phantom has been unearthed, things revert to western cliché – Wayne gallops to the rescue, punches the bad guys, rides into the sunset with his sweetheart. Still, the movie makes a valiant effort to stir up some scares – from cartoon bats over the opening credits, to plentiful shots of spooky eyes peering out of secret passages, malevolent shadows creeping up walls and scurrying robed figures in dark corners. Clocking in at just under one hour, it’s a true product of Hollywood’s early “churn them out” ethos, sporting stiff acting, wobbling sets and plot holes galore. Need to know: Haunted Gold was written by Adele Buffington, as were many early westerns. She turned out more than a hundred screenplays from 1926 to 1958, sometimes using the more gender ambiguous name Jess Bowers, or - on one occasion - the rather obvious pseudonym “Colt Remington”. Many of the long distance horse riding shots in Haunted Gold were recycled from old silent movies starring Ken Maynard, an early western star who made a career out of playing lots and lots of cowboys called Ken. Movie trivia buffs should also keep their eyes peeled for a familiar statue during the scene in which Joe Ryan sneaks up on Janet as she plays the organ – one of the props used in the scene was recycled by Warner Bros and became the Maltese Falcon in the seminal Bogart noir. Meanwhile, the toe-curling role of Clarence was played by Blue Washington who followed Haunted Gold with one of the most famous movies of all time – he was one of the native warriors in the original King Kong. Other notable Washington roles include Nubian Slave, Shantytown Man, Native Bearer, Convict Playing Guitar and – somewhat inevitably – Sambo. Honourable mention: Another curious early Wayne appearance, which required considerably less exertion, came in 1931’s The Deceiver. In this murder mystery, Hollywood’s most legendary tough guy gets to take it easy – he spends all his screentime lying face down as a corpse. Availability: Haunted Gold is available on both VHS and DVD.
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