Scanialara You won't be disappointed!

Solemplex To me, this movie is perfection.

Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

MusicChat It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

pensman The opening credits would have had me scrunched down in my seat; then when a creepy hand appeared my eyes would have closed but I would have opened one eye slightly so I wouldn't miss anything good about to happen. A good thing too because a man was missing and then a picture frame moves revealing a pair of eyes. Then the scene changes as we see John Wayne appearing being followed by Clarence, his ranch cook, who gets to play the same character Mantan Moreland played in the old Sidney Toler Charlie Chan films. In other words, he is there to be the black comic relief who comes close to saying "hooves, don't fail me now." He is a cowboy who rides a horse, but he doesn't want to go to any haunted mine with spooks and all.And back at the haunted ghost town, Joe Ryan and his men start shooting at shadows, or was it the phantom. But Ryan won't be spooked: he has a half interest in the Sally Ann mine. John Mason (Wayne) owns the other half. Janet Taylor had owned the other half but it was lost to Ryan. Regardless, Mason has received a message to show up as his half interest in the mine is in jeopardy. Janet Taylor received a similar message but doesn't know why; she has no ownership rights. Worse, she tells Mason that she feels she is being watched and she is!So, will Mason figure out what's going on? Will he be able to return to Janet her half ownership? Will he convince Clarence there are no ghosts? Will he see that Joe Ryan and his men get what they deserve? Will he find out if Simon really is deaf and dumb? I love the scene when Janet Taylor comes down stairs dressed as if she were going on a fox hunt with knee high riding boots, a shirt and tie, wearing a blazer and topped off with a feathered riding cap. Next Janet learns from Benedict that she was cheated out of her half of the mine by Ryan and that her father was framed and sent to prison. Mason tries to trick Ryan to get Janet's share of the mine back but his plan backfires and the phantom steals the mine ownership. What follows is a mash up of events that would have had kids sitting wide eyed waiting to see what happens next. The thirties were a great time for Western. John Wayne alone was cranking out about five Westerns a year and there was a massive amount of cowboy heroes. This is a fun film and is very entertaining but the PC police wouldn't know where to start as Blue Washington (Clarence) suffers through a long series of indignities. At least in this film he receives credit.

utgard14 Early "B" John Wayne western with Duke playing a cowboy who comes to a ghost town where a bunch of bad hombres are looking for gold. There's a mysterious character named The Phantom trying to scare people away. Duke even rides a horse named Duke! He also has a black sidekick named Clarence that is the stereotypical "afraid of spooks" caricature of the time. So some viewers might take offense to that. It's a mix of genres and since Wayne never did any proper horror films, this is about as close as you're likely to get to seeing him in one. There are some attempts at horror/mystery atmosphere but it's pretty much a routine western of its type. Worth seeing for a baby-faced John Wayne and some good old school stunt work. Erville Alderson is a spooky plus. The original Maltese Falcon statuette from the 1931 film can be seen atop an organ in one scene. Pretty cool!

FightingWesterner Haunted Gold is perhaps the closest John Wayne ever got to making a horror picture. It comes complete with secret passages, a ghostly figure, a graveyard, and a creepy butler.There's great spooky atmosphere in the early scenes but the scary stuff is soon abandoned in favor of a more conventional tale featuring bandits and the theft of a gold mine.The photography and sets are exquisite and the action scenes are top-notch, even if the script is typical. Fans of John Wayne and nineteen-thirties B-westerns will find it interesting if not entirely spectacular.However, Haunted Gold is tainted a bit by the racial stereotypes represented by Wayne's annoying sidekick Clarence, played by Blue Washington. The modern viewer might get a little embarrassed while watching it.

kidboots So says the trailer that I saw before the film - it packed everything into it - even a big wrap up for Duke, the wonder horse!!! Was that how John Wayne got his nickname???John Mason (Wayne) and his partner Clarence (Blue Washington) ride into a "ghost town". Someone called "the Phantom" is trying to keep people away from the Sally Ann Mine. Mason, who is the son of the Sally Ann Mine discoverer, has received a mysterious note to come to town. Janet Carter (Sheila Terry, a regular in these early John Wayne westerns) has also received a note. She is the daughter of Carter, a co-founder of the mine. There is also Joe Ryan (Harry Woods) whose father originally stole the mine from the other two men - needless to say he is the villain!! "The Phantom" is revealed as the letter writer - no spoilers here!!!As with a lot of John Wayne's early westerns there is plenty of action. Fast riding, an exciting fight in a cable car and then the obligatory jump onto Duke, then shenanigans in an abandoned mine.I agree with the other reviewers, the racist humour is hard to take. I also agree, I think Blue Washington looked a very dignified performer ( unlike Mantan Moreland and Willie Best who both sounded and acted like funny men)and it made me quite uncomfortable watching him babble and dressed up like a ghost - they even wheel out the old "turning the black man white" trick. Looking at his long list of films "Haunted Gold" was one of the few films were he actually had a credited performance, also that he specialised in these sort of characterizations, which was very sad.Martha Mattox was the creepy housekeeper, playing the same role that she played to perfection in "The Cat and the Canary" (1927)."Duke - the Wonder Horse" had lots of tricks up his sleeve - he even (singlehandedly) fetches the law at the movie's end. He looked like a beautiful palomino.