This week’s mystery movie was the 1939 RKO picture “The Marshal of Mesa City,” with George O’Brien, Virginia Vale, Leon Ames, Henry Brandon, Harry Cording, Lloyd Ingraham, Slim Whitaker, Joe McGuinn, Mary Gordon and Frank Ellis.
Screenplay by Jack Lait Jr.
Production executive Lee Marcus, photographed by Harry Wild, art direction by Van Nest Poglase, associate art director Charles F. Pyke, recorded by John C. Grubb, edited by Frederic Knudtson.
Directed by David Howard.
Produced by Bert Gilroy.
“The Marshal of Mesa City” is available from Warner Archive with “Legion of the Lawless” and “Triple Justice.”
I rarely do Westerns as mystery movies, but “The Marshal of Mesa City” has been on my list since the beginning of the year (yes I do plan the mystery movies) and I only have a few weeks left before we roll into 2021. Westerns of the 1930s often had low production values, repetitious plots and survive in murky dupes, but this film has a decent story, moves quickly (it’s only an hour), good acting and it’s a nice, sharp print.
“Marshal of Mesa City” has the stock characters of many Westerns: The lovely schoolteacher, the corrupt powerbroker with an assortment of dimwitted followers. And the hero, of course, who comes to town and cleans up Mesa City. One unusual angle is the “good bad man” (Henry Brandon), a hired gun who comes to down to kill the hero and is charmed into being on the side of the law. George O’Brien is the impossibly perfect hero who always plays fair and doesn’t believe in shooting a man in the back. He also insists on taking away everybody’s guns and I wonder how that plays with the 2nd Amendment crowd. Virginia Vale is the obligatory pretty schoolteacher and love interest. It’s a special treat to see Leon Ames as a villain – he’s a good one.
Showmen’s Trade Review (Oct. 7, 1939) said:
The standard combination of George O’Brien as star, Dave Howard as director and Bert Gilroy as producer has produced here a better than average western action story, which marks Gilroy’s last film before going over to the “A” productions. A good story helps and the addition of such capable players as Brandon and Ames makes for material which is sure to please the George O’Brien and action story fans.
Motion Picture Herald (Oct. 7, 1939) said:
“Marshal of Mesa City” makes able use of the entertainment formula that caused such pictures as “Dodge City” and “Frontier Marshal” to be well regarded by large numbers of exhibitors and theater-goers. Yet is is freshly different and by no means a digest of either. The first George O’Brien show on RKO-Radio’s new season schedule, it should be influential for creating a vogue for its successors.
The Exhibitor (Oct. 18, 1939) said:
While this is formula, as far as western plot is concerned, embracing a combination of numerous outdoor action scenes, it stacks up as one of the better George O’Briens from the viewpoints of production, direction and histrionics…. O’Brien is in top form and Henry Brandon, a professional killer, brought to the city to polish off O’Brien, only to join hands with him through admiration of his bravery, gives a standout performance. Offering is packed with action, thrills and suspense. Audience reaction was good. Top-notch O’Brien.
Film Daily (Jan. 2, 1940) said:
A bang-up western is rousing action thrill for the cowboy fans. One of the best O’Brien starrers to hit the screen in a long time. “The Marshal of Mesa City” is a sure-fire western that will give the action and western fans a big kick. O’Brien has never had a vehicle that gives him more opportunity to play the rugged he-man roles he is suited to and he has been provided with a good supporting case. David Howard directs the picture with a snappy pace and puts plenty of suspense into the gunplay sequences.
Let’s see how much the New York Times hated it – if it even bothered to do a review.
No review, just a Dec. 22, 1941, item that director Dave Howard died at the age of 45.
For Monday, we have a mystery girl. The leading lady has been cropped out due to insufficient mysteriousness and will appear Friday.
Update: For Friday, here’s our mysterious leading lady.
Update: Our mystery girl, alas, remains unidentified. The schoolteacher is Virginia Vale. She co-starred with O’Brien in “Triple Justice,” “Prairie Law,” “Legion of the Lawless” and “Stage to Chino.”
For Tuesday, we have this mystery gent, plus Back of the Head Leading Lady and Back of the Head Bad Guy.
Update: This is Steve Pendleton with Virginia Vale as Back of the Head Leading Lady and Harry Cording as Back of the Head Bad Guy, though I also gave credit Slim Whitaker because he’s BOTH and if you don’t have a print of the movie you can’t tell them apart from the back.
This mystery bad guy isn’t wearing his mask properly.
Update: This is Joe McGuinn.
We also have this mystery gent. The leading lady has been cropped out due to insufficient mysteriousness and will appear Friday.
Update: For Friday, our mystery leading lady joins our mystery stagecoach driver.
Update: This is mystery stagecoach driver Bob Burns (448 credits on IMDB!) and Virginia Vale.
For “Hm Wednesday,” we have these two mystery gents.
Update: This is Edward Peil Sr., left and mystery mayor Lloyd Ingraham.
We also have these mystery musicians.
Update: Our mystery band has an actual killer: Spade Cooley on the fiddle. Also Rudy Sooter on bass.
And this mystery fellow.
Update: This is Henry Brandon who gives an excellent performance as Duke Allison.
Brain Trust roll call: Mike Hawks (mystery movie, Tuesday’s mystery cowpoke and Back of the Head Leading Lady) and Mary Mallory (mystery movie, Monday’s cropped-out leading lady, Tuesday’s mystery cowpoke, Back of the Head Leading Lady, Back of the Head Villain and mystery masked man).
And for “Aha Thursday,” we have this mysterious gent.
Update: This is Leon Ames. So evil.
Brain Trust roll call: Mary Mallory (Wednesday’s mystery mayor, mystery musicians and mysterious good bad man), B.J. Merholz (Wednesday’s mystery fiddle player), Mike Hawks (Wednesday’s mystery guests), Howard Mandelbaum (mystery movie, Tuesdays Back of the Head Persons, mystery masked man, Wednesday’s mystery mayor and mystery good bad man), Benito (Wednesday’s mystery good bad man) and Sheila (Wednesday’s mystery mayor).
For Friday, here’s our mystery leading lady.
Update: This is Virginia Vale.
And finally, our mystery leading man takes control of the situation.
Update: This is George O’Brien. Later to appear in “Fort Apache” and “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon.”
Brain Trust roll call: Mary Mallory (Thursday’s mystery bad guy), Tucson Barbara (mystery movie, Wednesday’s mystery good bad man and Thursday’s mystery bad guy), Sylvia E. (mystery movie, mystery leading man and leading lady, mystery mayor, mystery good bad man, mystery masked man, Tuesday’s Back of the Head Bad Guy, mystery violinist and Thursday’s mystery bad guy), L.C. (mystery movie and mystery cast), Gary (mystery movie, Thursday’s mystery guest and peering into the future to get Friday’s mysterious leading man), Noir Allie (mystery movie, Thursday’s mystery bad guy), Mike Hawks (Thursday’s mystery bad guy), Anne Papineau (mystery movie and Thursday’s mystery bad guy), Sheila (Thursday’s mystery bad guy), Megan and Thom (mystery movie, Monday’s mysterious teacher, Tuesday’s mystery cowpoke, mystery bad guy, Wednesday’s mystery mayor, mystery musicians and mysterious good bad man, and Thursday’s mysterious bad guy) and Blackwing Jenny (mystery movie and Thursday’s mystery bad guy).
ladailymirror.com 
Cropped out Bette Davis in The Corn is Green.
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A good guess! But alas, it’s another decade and another studio.
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Virginia Weidler
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An excellent guess! But, alas, I’m afraid not.
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These Three?
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An interesting guess! Right decade, but another studio.
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No way that 66 x 50 begins with a “4” (It’s 3300.) Maybe we’ll see a more elaborate equation uncropped on Friday. I’ll guess as a title: “The Composite of Miss Jean Brodie.”
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And … never mind. With the uncropping, it’s clear there are two separate calculations.
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Margaret O’brien
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An excellent guess! But alas, she hadn’t made her film debut when our mystery movie was produced.
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Victor Jory with the misaligned mask?
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Victor Jory would be a great mystery bad guy. But he’s not this mysterious bad guy.
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Is our masked cowboy Bob Steele?
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An interesting guess, but alas, I’m afraid not. It’s another mystery studio.
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Steve Pendleton and Virginia Vale in MARSHAL OF MESA CITY 1939.
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MARSHAL OF MESA CITY. Virginia Vale hidden on Monday and as BOTH today, along with Steve Pendleton and Slim Whitaker as BOTH, Joe McGuin, and Jim Mason.
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Obligatory “Who was that masked man?” joke. Tom Tyler?
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I think Tuesday’s masked guy is Victor Jory, but I don’t know what the movie is.
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Victor Jory would be a fine villain, but not in this picture.
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Was going to guess Loretta Young for the leading lady, but after re- reading your ‘list of no no’s’ email about the last movie choices for the end of the year, I think she’s disqualified because of the # of appearances in the game this year. I’ll head back to the ‘schoolmarm blackboard’ and choose another 1930s star.
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Loretta will not be joining us this week. 🙂
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Cactus Mack Tuesday, Harry Tenbrook and Lloyd Ingraham, Spade Cooley and Rudy Sooter, and Henry Brandon today.
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Spoilers of the Range, with Iris Meredith as leading lady?
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Right year, but the wrong studio. Good guess!
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Samuel S. Hinds meeting the stage, and if that’s Spade Cooley on fiddle then this might be The Singing Sheriff.
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Ed Peil, Sr., Lloyd Ingram, with Spade Cooley, Aleth Hansen, Rudy Sooter as musicians and finally the good bad man Henry Brandon.
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The Marshal of Mesa City (1939)
Tuesday: BOH Leading Lady, Virginia Vale; BOH Bad Guy, Slim Whitaker
Semi-Masked Man: Joe McGuinn
Wednesday: Lloyd Ingraham (right); Henry Brandon
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Henry Brandon today, sans warpaint or rayguns
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Lloyd Ingraham for Wednesday?
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Leon Ames today.
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“The Marshal of Mesa City”
Wednesday – Henry Brandon
Thursday – Leon Ames
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My thanks to Leon Ames,
The movie is, Marshal of Mesa City 1939
Virginia Vale, George O’Brien, Lloyd Ingraham, Harry Cording, Henry Brandon, Joe McGuinn, Slim Whitaker, Herman Nowlin and Spade Cooley as the fiddler.
Lots more henchmen working with Leon Ames. Will try to pin more of them down.
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The Marshal of Mesa City (1939) George O’Brien, Virginia Vale, Leon Ames, Joe McGuinn, …
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Douglas Dumbrille on Thursday?
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Well, almost!
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This is Leon Ames in The Marshal of Mesa City. And ,yes, it is Thursday. On Friday we will see George O Brien who was once billed as the worlds most beautiful man…Fox sold nude publicity fotos of him.
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I’ll say that Wednesday’s musicians are the Sons of the Pioneers, and the film is Under Nevada Skies
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Good guess. But alas…
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The Marshal of Mesa City. Leon Ames
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Leon Ames.
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Looks to me like Leon Ames in “Marshal of Mesa City”
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Leon Ames for Thursday.
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The movie is “The Marshall of Mesa City.” The teacher from Monday is Virginia Vale. For Tuesday in scene 1 is Steve Pendleton, in scene 2 is Joe McGuinn, and in scene 3 is Jack Tornek. For Wenesday in the first scene on the right is Lloyd Ingraham. In the second scene are Spade Cooley on fiddle, Rudy Sooter on bass and one of the other musicians is Aleth Hanson. In the third scene is Henry Brandon. For today we have Leon Ames.
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Okay then: Leon Ames in The Marshal of Mesa City.
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Virginis Vale and George O’Brien today.
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Virginia Vale and George O’Brien
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Virginia Vale, George O’Brien.
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Still guessing: Laraine Day and George O’Brien in Arizona Legion?
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Virginia Vale and George O’Brien.
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