Riders of Death Valley (1941)

Directors:

Ford Beebe
Ray Taylor

Writers:

Basil Dickey (screenplay)
Oliver Drake (story)

Release Date:

1 July 1941 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Tagline:

'DESCENDING DOOM!" - Chapter 8 Of The Million Dollar Serial (chapter 8 original one-sheet poster)

Plot:

Promoted and advertised as "The Million Dollar Serial", most of which appears to have been spent on...

Plot Keywords:

Serial | Horse

Cast

Dick Foran	...	Jim Benton
Leo Carrillo	...	Pancho Lopez
Buck Jones	...	Tombstone
Charles Bickford	...	Wolf Reade
Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams	...	Borax Bill (as 'Big Boy' Williams)
Lon Chaney Jr.	...	Henchman Butch
Noah Beery Jr.	...	Smokey
Jean Brooks	...	Mary Morgan (as Jeanne Kelly)
James Blaine	...	Joseph Kirby
Monte Blue	...	Rance Davis
Glenn Strange	...	Tex, a Benton Rider
Roy Barcroft	...	Henchman Dirk
Jack Rockwell	...	Henchman Trigger
Ethan Laidlaw	...	Henchman Rusty
Richard Alexander	...	Henchman Pete Grump

Runtime:

(15 episodes) | 283 min (15 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved

Filming Locations:

Death Valley National Park, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Chapter Titles: - 1. Death Marks the Trail - 2. Menacing Herd - 3. Plungle of Peril - 4. Flaming Fury - 5. Avalanche of Doom - 6. Blood and Gold - 7. Death Rides the Storm - 8. Descending Doom - 9. Death Holds the Reins - 10. Devouring Flames - 11. Fatal Blast - 12. Thundering Doom - 13. The Bridge of Disaster - 14. A Fight to the Death - 15. The Harvest of Hate

Soundtrack:

Fingal's Cave Overture

One of the dullest serials despite the cast

With a cast of Western B movie royalty this was billed as "The million dollar serial." Its also an hour long programmer stretched to an ungodly length.

Dick Foran, Leo Castillo, Lon Chaney, Noah Beery Jr, Buck Jones and several others are brought together to tell the story of bunch of cowboys fighting to find and maintain a lost gold mine. Its a typical tale thats been told a thousand times before in an hour long movie, only this time its being told in way that lasts five times that. It doesn't need it.

To be honest the cast almost makes this worth watching, however the pacing and story line of the first 8 or 9 chapters is what I call the "40 years in the wilderness". Its a long haul where not much really happens. To be certain watching on a chapter by chapter basis this works better than trying to do it in one sitting, but at the same time the rewards beyond the great cast are minimal. Lets face it its just really dull.

For western fans or fans of the stars only.