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Produced by small-time Arrow Pictures, this silent Western melodrama starred lower-echelon screen cowboy Dick Hatton as a cattle rancher. Investigating a cloud of black smoke eminating from the hills, Dick discovers an unwatched moonshine still about to explode. He also finds a trickle of oil escaping from the earth, indicating that the land -- belonging to Judge Markham, the father of his fiancée (Marilyn Mills) -- has a rich deposit of oil. Returning to town with the news, Dick is arrested by the sheriff and charged with being a moonshiner. The owner of the illegal still, Alex Carr, attempts to buy the land, and Judge Markham is agreeable. Released from jail, Dick hurries to stop the sale. He is successful and is soon able to hand over the villain to the sheriff. Produced by Benjamin F. Wilson, The Secret of Black Canyon was penned by character actors Merrill McCormick and Philip Sleeman.