Rocky Mountain Mystery (1935)

When a ranch hand is murdered, the chief suspect is a missing engineer. The engineer's brother in law (Randolph Scott) joins forces with the deputy sheriff (Charles Chic Sale) to solve the murder but meanwhile residents of the ranch start getting bumped off! Based on the novel GOLDEN DREAMS by Zane Grey, this is nominally a western (it was re-released several years later under a new title, THE FIGHTING WESTERNER). It's really a murder mystery, sort of an Agatha Christie out West so western fans may find it slow paced. But for mystery fans, it's fun trying to guess who the murderer is as with each new victim, the list of suspects dwindles. This effort was part of Paramount's "B" unit and right after this, Scott would sign up with RKO and get into "A" features. It would take a few more years before his leading lady, Ann Sheridan, found stardom at Warner Brothers. The film also contains one of the few film appearances by the renowned stage actress Mrs. Leslie Carter as the housekeeper, she died 2 years later but 3 years after her death, a movie was made on her life with Miriam Hopkins playing her. Directed by Charles Barton (ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN). With Kathleen Burke, George F. Marion, Florence Roberts and Willie Fung.