
I've had this photo for many years. And my notes indicate this was stuntman Cliff Lyons driving a buckboard off a cliff into a lake. But my notes didn't include the title of the feature or serial in which this occurred.
March 6, 2023: and we have a winner of our Name That Photo! Author and movie location wizard Tinsley Yarbrough had the details.
It's from THE PHANTOM RIDER (Universal, 1936) serial and hero Buck Jones and leading lady Marla Shelton take the plunge in the cliffhanger ending of Chapter 3. And same scene opens Chapter 4 ... and Buck and Marla wind up wet but safe. Cliff Lyons doubled Jones and unsure who doubled Marla Shelton (wearing the light colored shirt / blouse). The angle in the screen capture below is slightly different from the photo (no doubt done by the still photographer), but it's clearly from this Buck Jones serial.
More on this photo was found in the October 25, 1937 Life magazine. The article highlighted Cliff Lyons as the stuntman and driver ... and doubling for Marla Shelton was a dummy.
YouTube has a poor quality Chapter 3 for your viewing. This will start at around 18 minutes and you can see the cliffhanger: https://youtu.be/bCilY8NUQsA?t=1073
March 31, 2023 update: once you have some great footage, ol' Hollywood would re-use it. Tinsley e-mailed after watching Johnny Mack Brown's DESPERATE TRAILS (Universal, 1939). Around 17 minutes, Charlie Stevens is wearing a light colored shirt and driving a buck board ... and then comes the footage of the buckboard going over the cliff into Lake Sherwood.
Screen capture from Tinsley Yarbrough.
|