Tombstone Canyon (DVD)

A masked fiend terrorizes Tombstone Canyon! Known only as "The Phantom," his blood-curdling screams echo off the cliff walls as he wages a relentless war on rancher Alf Sykes and his men, raining sniper fire from above. Into this ongoing nightmare rides cowboy Ken Mason, who has been summoned to the area by an anonymous letter promising to reveal the facts behind his orphan childhood. Instead of finding answers, he becomes involved in a vicious dispute over land rights, with Sykes at the center. This leads to a final bloody showdown on the dangerous rock faces of the canyon walls, where Ken comes face to face with the shocking truth of the Phantom's identity.

Tombstone Canyon is one of a handful of Ken Maynard westerns produced by the short-lived K.B.S. Film Company, which was created in 1932 with the express purpose of producing Maynard's pictures. Although beloved by fans, Maynard's difficult temperament made him a Hollywood hot potato, bouncing from contract to contract. Once one of the highest paid movie cowboys, Maynard ended his days virtually penniless and dependent on the care of his younger brother and fellow western star, Kermit Maynard.

• western