# Fighting Shadows

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{{short description|1935 film by David Selman}}
{{for|the song by Jane Zhang|Fighting Shadows (song)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{Use American English|date=October 2021}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Fighting Shadows
| image          = File:Fighting Shadows.jpg
| alt            = 
| caption        = 
| director       = [David Selman](/source/David_Selman)
| producer       = [Harry Decker](/source/Harry_Decker_(producer))
| writer         = [Ford Beebe](/source/Ford_Beebe)
| screenplay     = 
| story          = 
| based_on       = 
| starring       = [Tim McCoy](/source/Tim_McCoy)<br />[Robert Allen](/source/Robert_Allen_(actor))<br />[Geneva Mitchell](/source/Geneva_Mitchell)<br />[Ward Bond](/source/Ward_Bond)
| narrator       = 
| music          = 
| cinematography = [George Meehan](/source/George_Meehan)
| editing        = [Al Clark](/source/Al_Clark_(film_editor))
| studio         = [Columbia Pictures](/source/Columbia_Pictures)
| released       = {{Film date|1935|4|18|''US''|ref1=<ref name=AFI>{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=6469 | title=Fighting Shadows: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate=September 7, 2017 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170907215239/http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=6469 | archivedate=September 7, 2017 | url-status=dead }}</ref>}}
| runtime        = 58 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = English
}}

'''''Fighting Shadows''''' is a 1935 American [Western film](/source/Western_film) directed by [David Selman](/source/David_Selman) from a screenplay by [Ford Beebe](/source/Ford_Beebe), which stars [Tim McCoy](/source/Tim_McCoy), [Robert Allen](/source/Robert_Allen_(actor)), [Geneva Mitchell](/source/Geneva_Mitchell), and [Ward Bond](/source/Ward_Bond).  It was McCoy's sixth film in a series of pictures for Columbia Pictures.

==Plot==
Tim O'Hara is a [Canadian Mountie](/source/Canadian_Mountie) who has been sent into the Indian Territory to investigate claims of a gang of bandits who are terrorizing the local trappers.  Being from the area, he looks up an old friend, Hank Bascom, who tells him that a local merchant, Stalkey, has been acting as a middleman for the bandits.  When he goes to talk with Stalkey, O'Hara finds his old nemesis, Brad Harrison, already at the store trying to get Stalkey to talk.  O'Hara had been in love with Harrison's sister, Martha, but had left the area when he and Harrison had gotten into a heated argument after Harrison had falsely accused O'Hara of stealing from him.

Now, O'Hara tells Harrison to stay out of his way, and as he is beginning to arrest Stalkey, O'Hara is shot at by Randall, a member of the bandit gang.  O'Hara pursues Randall, but the bandit escapes.  Later, Randall's body is discovered, and Harrison accuses O'Hara of murdering him.  To gain the trust of Stalkey, Harrison tells him to go to his cabin to hide out.  O'Hara asks Harrison for his help in tracking the gang down, but he refuses.  Leaving Harrison, O'Hara goes back to Stalkey's store, where he discovers a cache of stolen furs.  Harrison arrives shortly after, and the two men get into a fight, resulting in O'Hara being knocked unconscious.  Harrison takes the furs and hides them.  Then goes to Stalkey and tells him that O'Hara found them and took them.

Another Mountie, Bob Rutledge, arrives to relieve O'Hara of his duties.  After O'Hara refuses to arrest Harrison, who evidence is now pointing to as the gang's leader, Rutledge has O'Hara locked up.  When Rutledge goes after Harrison, he is knocked out by Stalkey, but Harrison intervenes and takes the Mountie back to town, rather than letting Stalkey have him killed.

Back in town, Hascom has helped O'Hara to escape, and when Harrison arrives the two men fight.  The fight is stopped, however, when Stalkey and the rest of his gang show up and demand that O'Hara turn over the stolen furs.  It is revealed that Harrison was not a member of the gang, instead he was trying to get into Stalkey's good graces in order to uncover their identities.  O'Hara and Harrison team up, and with several others apprehend the gang.

==Cast==
* [Tim McCoy](/source/Tim_McCoy) as Tim O'Hara
* [Robert Allen](/source/Robert_Allen_(actor)) as Bob Rutledge
* [Geneva Mitchell](/source/Geneva_Mitchell) as Martha Harrison
* [Ward Bond](/source/Ward_Bond) as Brad Harrison
* [Si Jenks](/source/Si_Jenks) as Hank Bascom
* [Otto Hoffman](/source/Otto_Hoffman) as Stalkey
* [James Mason](/source/James_Mason) as Horn
* [Bud Osborne](/source/Bud_Osborne) as Randall
* [Edward LeSaint](/source/Edward_LeSaint) as Duncan (as Edward Le Saint)
* [Richard Alexander](/source/Richard_Alexander_(actor)) as Maddigan
* [Allan Sears](/source/Allan_Sears) as Gavin
* [Walter Shumway](/source/Walter_Shumway) as Jones
* Jess Caven as Hawkins
* [Fred Malatesta](/source/Fred_Malatesta) as Dusquesne
* [Ethan Laidlaw](/source/Ethan_Laidlaw) as Brannon
* [Howard C. Hickman](/source/Howard_C._Hickman) as Inspector Rutledge
* [George C. Pearce](/source/George_C._Pearce) as Father O'Donovan
* [Charles E. Brinley](/source/Charles_E._Brinley) as Lakue
* [Jack Mower](/source/Jack_Mower) as Orderly
* [Rhody Hathaway](/source/Rhody_Hathaway) as Woodsman
* Steve Clark as Woodsman
* Monte Carter as Trapper
* Robert Wilber as Trapper

(Cast list as per [AFI](/source/American_Film_Institute) database)<ref name=AFI/>

==Production==
The film was originally titled ''Guns of the Law'', but the title was changed in February 1935.<ref>{{cite news|title=Columbia Shifts Titles |url=https://mediahistoryproject.org/reader.php?id=motionpicturedai37unse |newspaper=[Motion Picture Daily](/source/Motion_Picture_Daily) |date=February 28, 1935 |pages=4 |accessdate = August 5, 2023}}</ref>  The [Legion of Decency](/source/Legion_of_Decency) gave the picture a Class A rating, meaning that the picture was suitable for the entire family.<ref>{{cite news|title=Classification of Pictures |url=https://mediahistoryproject.org/reader.php?id=harrisonsreports17harr |newspaper=[Harrison's Reports](/source/Harrison's_Reports) |date=May 11, 1935 |pages=76 |accessdate = August 5, 2023}}</ref>  It was the sixth picture in a series of films which McCoy was making for [Columbia Pictures](/source/Columbia_Pictures).<ref>{{cite news|title=Screen Notes |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/129496417/ |newspaper=[Times Union](/source/Brooklyn_Times-Union) |date=April 1, 1935 |pages=6 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)|accessdate = July 15, 2023}}</ref>  The picture wrapped production the final week of March 1935.<ref>{{cite news|title=Screen Notes |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/129496417/ |newspaper=[Times Union](/source/Brooklyn_Times-Union) |date=April 3, 1935 |pages=17 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)|accessdate = August 5, 2023}}</ref>

==Reception==
''[The Film Daily](/source/The_Film_Daily)'' gave the film a positive review, "Corking Western provides lots of sock action in suspenseful yarn."  The felt the film was excellently acted, directed, produced and filmed.<ref>{{cite news|title=Tim McCoy in "Fighting Shadows" |url=https://mediahistoryproject.org/reader.php?id=filmdail67wids |newspaper=[The Film Daily](/source/The_Film_Daily) |date=May 17, 1935 |pages=10 |accessdate = August 5, 2023}}</ref>  ''[Motion Picture Daily](/source/Motion_Picture_Daily)'' also gave the film a good review.  While they felt the plot was a bit worn, they felt it was suspenseful, holding the audience's attention.  They especially complimented the cinematography of George Meehan.<ref>{{cite news|title="Fighting Shadows" |pages=6 |url=https://mediahistoryproject.org/reader.php?id=motionpicturedai37unse_0 |newspaper=[Motion Picture Daily](/source/Motion_Picture_Daily) |date=May 27, 1935 |accessdate = August 5, 2023}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|0026355}}
* {{TCMDb title|74854}}
* {{AFI film|6469}}
{{David Selman}}

Category:1935 Western (genre) films
Category:1935 films
Category:American Western (genre) films
Category:Films directed by David Selman
Category:Columbia Pictures films
Category:American black-and-white films
Category:Films about the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Category:1935 English-language films
Category:1935 American films
Category:English-language Western (genre) films

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Fighting Shadows](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fighting_Shadows) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fighting_Shadows?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.