Synopsis

When the Boulder Dam project sends Nevada land values soaring, ranchers discover that a crooked lawyer claims ownership of their homes. Wade Benton collects money to secure their titles, but the lawyer destroys the receipt and has him jailed. After escaping, Wade adopts the identity of a masked phantom rider, battling eviction agents, exposing the fraud, and defending the settlers' land.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film was based on Zane Grey's 1921 novel The Mysterious Rider. It was one of several screen adaptations of the story, following silent versions released in 1921 and 1927.

• The release dialogue script reportedly carried the title Zane Grey's Mysterious Rider. The picture was released as The Mysterious Rider on January 20, 1933, and later circulated under the titles Badmen of Nevada and The Fighting Phantom.

• Major Pictures Corporation produced the film for Paramount distribution. Its reported negative cost was $116,591.68.

• The production's pressbook promoted a replica frontier town built by Utah builders Henry Cherry and Ab Strunks.

• More than 53 trick riders were reported to have appeared in the picture, a substantial stunt contingent for a brief Western feature.

• The Boulder Dam project was a topical element when the film was made. The pressbook noted the inclusion of newsreel footage showing President Herbert Hoover authorizing the project; the dam was renamed Hoover Dam in 1947.

• The film's copyright was not renewed by Paramount, causing it to enter the public domain. Many later home-video editions were made from deteriorated or multiple-generation copies.