Deadwood Dick (1940)

Columbia's 11th serial (between "Terry and the Pirates" and "The Green Archer") and the first western serial that James W. Horne solo-directed. The standard one-man-to-a-hoss and nobody ... See full summary »

Director:

James W. Horne

Writers:

Wyndham Gittens (screenplay), Morgan Cox (screenplay),

Stars:

Donald Douglas, Lorna Gray, Harry Harvey

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Donald Douglas	...	Dick Stanley, aka Deadwood Dick (as Don Douglas)
Lorna Gray	...	Anne Butler
Harry Harvey	...	Dave Miller
Marin Sais	...	Calamity Jane
Lane Chandler	...	Wild Bill Hickok [Ch. 1]
Jack Ingram	...	Chief Henchman Buzz Ricketts
Charles King	...	Henchman Tex [Chs. 1-4, 6-9]
Ed Cassidy	...	Committeeman Tennison Drew
Robert Fiske	...	Committeeman Ashton [Chs.1-6]
Lee Shumway	...	Committeman Bentley

Storyline

Columbia's 11th serial (between "Terry and the Pirates" and "The Green Archer") and the first western serial that James W. Horne solo-directed. The standard one-man-to-a-hoss and nobody walks rule of Westerns tended to cramp Horne's usual style of directing, in that he wasn't able to pour six or seven henchies into a four-door sedan and have them come tumbling out like the clowns at a circus, and the surprise with those familiar with his serials is that he didn't have all the henchmen riding around in a stagecoach or wagon. And, since they usually stayed on their horse, he was unable to have them rounding a corner on foot at an angle, freeze in surprise with their arms thrust over their heads, do a couple of takes and hot-foot it stage left for an alarmed feet-do-your-stuff exit. The character of "Deadwood Dick" in this serial is just a name that had a ring to it, was not intended to be based on the real-life "Deadwood Dick" in any manner, and those who delight in pointing out that ...

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Plot Keywords:

serial | dakota | wild bill hickok | railroad | stagecoach | 

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Taglines:

Most Colorful Character of the Old West! (original poster)

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Genres:

Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 July 1940 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

285 min 285 min (15 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor High Fidelity Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Chapter Titles: (1) A Wild West Empire (2) Who Is the Skull (3) Pirates of the Plains (4) The Skull Baits a Trap (5) Win, Lose or Draw (6) Buried Alive (7) The Chariot of Doom (8) The Secret of Number Ten (9) The Fatal Warning (10) Framed for Murder (11) The Bucket of Death (12) A Race Against Time (13) The Arsenal of Revolt (14) Holding the Fort (15) The Deadwood Express

User Reviews

Whispering Whooppee! it' s Deadwood Dick

Imagine having those two titles on your resume, but the fantastic James M Horne did, and we are all better humans for the result. This is a good serial. I saw it in the 70s screened each Sunday night in a Sydney Suburban cinema at their 6pm session with two whopper features ( eg: GUNS OF NAVARONE + GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER or HELLO DOLLY + CALL ME MADAM etc) and to a usually packed house. Well, if UNDERSEA KINGDOM wasn't enough, the scream of delight when DEADWOOD DICK hit the screen was enough to lift the roof. Inventive and genuinely entertaining, DD has some great set pieces, one especially is that The Mask or whoever bad-dude has a hideout behind a waterfall and the henchmen have to get off their horses, turn off the waterfall and reveal the cave behind....all very clever and silly. And then turn the waterfall back on again. It takes Dick about 3 months of episodes to realize why the hoof prints in the river sand 'disappear' at the waterfall's edge! Geez! Dick would gallop about on his trusty horse and the usual chasings and fights would go on for weeks...actually months, because this thing ran 15 episodes, one a week!! Seasons even changed before this serial was over. Great fun.