Overland Mail (1942)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Directors:

Ford Beebe
John Rawlins

Writers:

Johnston McCulley (story)
Paul Huston (screenplay)

Release Date:

27 September 1942 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Tagline:

THEY BLAZED THE MAIL TRAIL...to the West! (original ad -several caps)

Plot:

Government agents Jim Lane (Lon Chaney Jr.) and Sierra Pete (Noah Beery Jr.) are sent to investigate the breakdown of the U.S...

Plot Keywords:

Stampede | Tied To Chair | Sabotage | Kidnapping | Booby Trap

Cast

Lon Chaney Jr.	...	Jim Lane
Helen Parrish	...	Barbara Gilbert
Noah Beery Jr.	...	Sierra Pete
Don Terry	...	Buckskin Billy Burke
Bob Baker	...	Bill Cody [Chs.1,14]
Noah Beery	...	Frank Chadwick (as Noah Beery, Sr.)
Tom Chatterton	...	Tom Gilbert
Charles Stevens	...	Henchman Puma
Robert Barron	...	Charles Darson
Harry Cording	...	Sam Gregg, Henchman
Marguerite De La Motte	...	Rose, the Waitress [Chs. 1, 8]
Ben Taggart	...	Lamont [Chs. 7-8]
Jack Rockwell	...	Slade, hired gun [Chs. 8-9]
Riley Hill	...	Mack, phoney Indian (as Roy Harris)
Carleton Young	...	Lem, phoney Indian

Runtime:

279 min (15 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved (Certificate #7607-7621)

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Chapter 1: A Race With Disaster (#7607), Chapter 2: Flaming Havoc (#7608), Chapter 3: The Menacing Hero (#7609), Chapter 4: The Bridge Of Disaster (#7610), Chapter 5: Hurling To The Depths (#7611), Chapter 6: Death At The Stake (#7612), Chapter 7: The Path Of Peril (#7613), Chapter 8: Imprisoned In Flames (#7614), Chapter 9: HIdden Danger (#7615), Chapter 10: Blazing Wagons (#7616), Chapter 11: The Trail Of Terror (#7617), Chapter 12: In The Claws Of The Cougar (#7618), Chapter 13: The Frenzied Mob (#7619), The Toll Of Treachery (#7620), Chapter 15: The Mail Goes Through (#7621)

Movie Connections:

Edited into The Indian Raiders (1956)

Solid western serial hits all the right notes

Solid western serial stars Lon Chaney and Noah Beery Jr as trouble shooters hired by the military to find out who is trying to stop the mail from going through. Filled with breezy action and good characters this is everything you typically think of as a serial, actually to the point that it seems formulaic. Don't let that fool you this is a nifty little action film (granted an almost five hour one). There are all the usual cliffhangers and for the most part it plays pretty fair with its resolutions. This is one of the rare Universal serials thats 15 chapters (Universal tended to release chapter plays that ran 13 episodes, I'm guessing so that it could release four a year and have one new chapter for every week of the year). Despite being longer than normal the film feels to be the right length (many 15 chapter stories tend to be bloated). Definitely worth a look especially if you like good western action. (An interesting note is that Noah Beery Sr plays one of the key bad guys while his son is the hero's sidekick)