AllMovie

"Uncle" Carl Laemmle, the founder and proprietor of Universal studios, had long wished to make a movie entitled The Indians Are Coming. But sound basically wiped out outdoor action-adventures and the timing was never quite right. Finally, in early 1930, the studio embarked on what would become the first talkie serial, a sprawling saga purportedly based on William F. Cody's "The Great West That Was." The title of the serial became, of course, Laemmle's favorite and associate producer/director Henry MacRae corralled none other than Tim McCoy, formerly of MGM silent Westerns, to play the male lead. To appear opposite McCoy, Universal hired the last of the great silent serial queens, Allene Ray, and the supporting cast included former stars Edmund Cobb and Francis Ford, the latter playing a dual role as Ray's father and his twin brother. The demonic-looking Wilbur McGaugh was assigned the role of lead heavy (billing himself "Don Francis") for the occasion) and Bud Osborne and Jack Padjan performed double duty as henchmen and stunt doubles. In the opening chapter, Jack Manning (McCoy) promises prospector George Woods (Ford) that he would guide twin brother Tom Woods and Tom's daughter, Mary (Ray), on a trek west. But when Jack arrives in the eastern town of Hillsdale, he finds Mary in the clutches of the villainous Rance Carter (McGaugh), the man who had once staked George Woods and now wants to be repaid in kind.