"Death Valley Days" (1952) TV series 1952-1975

Directors:

Edward Ludlum
Frank McDonald

Writer:

Robert Sabaroff (writer) (4 episodes)

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18

Release Date:

6 March 1952 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Plot:

Western stories and legends based, and filmed, in and around Death Valley, CA. One of the longest-running Western series...

Plot Keywords:

Borax | Gunfighter | Mule Train | Law And Order | Gunfight

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy. Another 1 win

Cast

Robert Taylor

...

Himself - Host / ... (77 episodes, 1966-1969)

Also Known As:

Call of the West (USA) (syndication title)
The Pioneers (USA) (syndication title)
Trails West (USA) (syndication title)
Western Star Theater (USA) (syndication title)

Runtime:

30 min (532 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Apacheland Movie Ranch, 4369 S. Kings Ranch Road, Gold Canyon, Arizona, USA

Company:

Filmaster Productions

Trivia:

In 1958 past episodes were retitled and released for syndication as a series called "Trails West", hosted by Ray Milland.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Munsters: Big Heap Herman (#2.18)" (1966)

And Now Death Valley Days

One of my favorite shows on early TV was "Death Valley Days" featuring The Old Ranger (Stanley Andrews). Being a child, the only problem was the time schedule. On KARK, Channel 4, out of Little Rock, Akansas, the syndicated "Death Valley Days" came on just before sign-off but at least it was on a weekend night so I didn't have to worry about school the next day.

Sleepy-eyed, I would watch the 20-mule team pull the borax wagons across the sands as Josef Bonime's enchanting "Bugle Theme" sounded me awake. The moving picture of the team transformed into a picture on the wall as the camera panned down to The Old Ranger seated at his desk. He spoke as he slowly rose to greet the viewers:

"Howdy, I'm The Old Ranger and Death Valley is my stamping ground. Many's a tale of adventure I'm going to tell about Death Valley country. True stories, mind you...I can vouch for that...on behalf of these two products, 20-Mule Team Borax and Boraxo. And now here's Rosemary DeCamp to tell you about it."

The stories were good one with many a veteran character actor appearing in various episodes. At times the story would be built around the sponsor's product. One such episode I saw recently was entitled "The Big Team Rolls," starring Judd Holdren of Commando Cody fame. The seasoned character actor, Tom London, was featured as the muleskinner, Sandy McPherson.

Judd Holdren as Dana Emerson plays a tenderfoot from Boston who comes to Death Valley to be near his sweetheart (Lucille Barkley) whose father operates the borax works that transport the borax across the mountains and desert to Mojave, California, twenty miles round trip. Dana is tested by being assigned the swamper job. To complicate the novice's first trip, a disgruntled employee attempts to sabotage the journey and steal the payroll brought back from Mojave. Dana must prove his worth to himself, to his dearly beloved and to her father.

Gene Autry's Flying A Productions produced the program. Many of the actors, including Stanley Andrews (The Old Ranger), were part of Gene's stock company of Thespians. Andrews appeared on several of the Gene Autry Show episodes as did many of the other featured players on Death Valley Days.

As with any anthology-type series, the quality of the shows varied from week to week, but each one was entertaining and at times educational. Fans of TV westerns should enjoy Death Valley Days.