by Hans J. Wollstein
synopsis
Based by pulp writer James Oliver Curwood's 1909 The Gold Hunters; a Story of Life & Adventure in the Hudson Bay Wilds, this silent Northwest melodrama starred future director David Butler as Roderick Drew, a wolf hunter who comes across a map to a secret gold mine clenched between the fingers of a skeleton. Surviving an avalanche, Roderick finds himself trailed by "Hairy" Grimes (Bull Montana) and his gang of cutthroats. He survives his various scrapes with Grimes only because of help from an unknown ally, who proves to be the grandfather of girlfriend Minnetake (Hedda Nova). Directed by veteran character actor Paul Hurst, the very low-budget The Gold Hunters benefitted from location filming at California's Sequoia National Park.
