AllMovie

Handsome Lester Cuneo, formerly of the Tom Mix stock company, advertised himself as "The Smiling Daredevil" in the hopes of becoming a viable rival to his former employer, Mix. He never came close, but some of the Cuneo westerns did have some merits, especially The Masked Avenger. Cuneo plays a carefree rancher who's suddenly faced with a series of cattle rustlings. To catch the rustlers, the rancher dons the disguise of a masked avenger, foraging into the moonlit prairie nights in search of his prey. Cuneo -- or screenwriters Henry McCarty and Leo Meehan -- had undoubtedly the Zorro legend in mind when they assembled this western. The film did benefit from an above-average supporting cast that included Mrs. Wallace Reid (AKA Dorothy Davenport), the wife and soon-to-be widow of one of the era's great matinee-idols. Reid's son, Billy, had a supporting role.