Search - Haunted Gold on DVD

Haunted Gold

01/01/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a movie that the family will want to gather around the t.v., with popcorn in hand, to watch. From the title page with bats flying towards you, to the eyes mysteriously watching from behind pictures and clocks. John Wayne rides into the "ghost town" to claim his share of a closed gold mine, only to find villians and mysterious characters running around town. Of course there is a female he is sure to fall in love with. With the help of his workhand, Clarence and his horse, Duke, John Wayne rounds up the bad guys and gets the girl. The horse, Duke, does some really impressive stunts. This movie is great for anyone who loves a good movie, one you'll watch over and over."

Average B western

Tuco | Phoenix, Az USA | 07/22/2000

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I found myself bored with this as I do with all of Dukes earlier works. Fun to watch once but I never feel the need to repeat viewings. Haunted Gold is an average B western with the same substandard script and poor acting, but the action is very good. As for the earlier Duke films, if you're looking for quality westerns, I HIGHLY recommend the following: Helltown(Dukes best early performance), The Big Trail(Absolutley a grand spectacle in early filmmaking and the first widescreen movie)and Angel and the Badman(good script)."

Politically Incorrect Western Ghost Movie

Randy Keehn | Williston, ND United States | 11/11/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

""Haunted Gold" gets a 3 star rating in my book because it is rather unique among the pre-"Stagecoach" John Wayne movies. Most of those early movies do well to warrent a 2 star rating and are worth watching solely because Wayne is generally always worth watching. When it comes to plots, however, they all tend to follow a predictable sequence; young woman's family encounters trouble from bad guys, John Wayne emerges to help, bad guys temporarily disgrace, discredit or disempower Wayne's character, young lady and family fall victim (often with the loss of grandfather, father, uncle, or older brother), Wayne returns to action and saves the day, the ranch, and the girl (for himself). All this usually takes about 55 minutes and involves a trusty horse (often Duke), a comical sidekick or two, and the evil nemisis.

In "Haunted Gold" you might say that all the elements are there but give the writer credit for adding a strong element of suspense (at least strong for B movie standards). A group of men are called to an abandoned mine in the Old West. There is a phantom lurking about, peeping through peep holes, and disappearing into nowhere. There is also Blue Washington, a Black actor in "Haunted Gold" whom I didn't recall from any other movies. However, I googled his name and the word actor. Besides being remind by numerous entries about Washington being a politically Blue state, I saw that Blue Washington appeared in a number of movies during the 20's and 30's (including bit parts in "King Kong" and GWTW). I mention this because I thought he was pretty good in his role. Unfortunately, it was difficult to see him in his role as a sort of underpaid Stepin Fetchit. Naturally, he gets scared more than any of the others and there's the scene where he gets covered with dirt and dust and turns "white". Otherwise, the mystery, the exciting fight scenes, the scret entrances and exits, all serve to make this early Wayne movie a cut above the others."