The Valley of Vanishing Men
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Spencer Gordon Bennet
Written by	Harry Fraser Lewis Clay George Gray Original screenplay
Produced by	Larry Darmour
Starring	Bill Elliott Slim Summerville Carmen Morales
Narrated by	Knox Manning
Cinematography	James S. Brown Jr. Black and white
Edited by	Dwight Caldwell Earl Turner
Music by	Lee Zahler
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date	December 12, 1942 (1942-12-12)
Running time	15 episodes 280 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

The Valley of Vanishing Men is a 1942 American Western film serial. It was the 20th of 57 released by Columbia Pictures. Directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet, it stars Bill Elliott, Slim Summerville, and Carmen Morales.

Plot

In this serial, Wild Bill Tolliver and Missouri Benson are a pair of adventurers who ride into the vast New Mexico Territory in search of Bill's father, Henry Tolliver, who mysteriously disappeared while prospecting for gold. They soon discover that a ruthless outlaw leader, Jonathan Kincaid, owns an immense mine of gold in which he uses captured Mexican patriots, among others, to work as slaves in the mine. They also learn that Kincaid has joined forces with Colonel Carl Engler, a renegade eastern European soldier, to carry out his cruel intentions. Then Bill and Missouri meet with Consuelo Ramírez, a diligent Mexican agent, who informs them that Bill's father is among the prisoners in the mine. After that, the heroes find themselves in a conflict with the outlaws in the middle of incessant fights, chases and action.

Cast

• Bill Elliott as Wild Bill Tolliver. Bill Elliott starred in three serials at Columbia Pictures, and The Valley of Vanishing Men was his last cliffhanger at that studio or anywhere else. Shortly after making this chapterplay, Elliott signed with Republic Pictures where his contract excluded him from doing any more serial work.^{[citation needed]}
• Slim Summerville as Missouri Benson
• Carmen Morales as Consuelo Ramírez
• Kenneth MacDonald
• Jack Ingram
• George Chesebro
• John Shay
• Tom London
• Arno Frey
• Julian Rivero^[1]

Production

Writing about the film's atmosphere, Cline says that this serial was a "grim tale...[with a] mood of ominous dread." MissouriBenson was added to the cast because a normal comic relief character would have not have worked.^[2]

Chapter titles

1. Trouble in Canyon City
2. The Mystery of Ghost Town
3. Danger Walks by night
4. Hillside Horror
5. Guns in the Night
6. The Bottomless Well
7. The Man in the Gold Mask
8. When the Devil Drives
9. The Traitor's Shroud
10. Death Strikes at Seven
11. Satan in the Saddle
12. The Mine of Missing Men
13. Danger on Dome Rock
14. The Door that Has No Key
15. Empire's End

_Source:^[3]