The western genre touched on ideals of honor, conquest, and freedom of spirit, and its stories packed cinemas of the early sound era. This volume covers 30 western film series produced from the mid 1930s to the early 1950s. Included are such long-running series as Hopalong Cassidy, The Durango Kid and The Three Mesquiteers as well as those that had moderate or brief runs like The Singing Cowgirl and The Texas Rangers. Major genre stars like John Wayne, Ken Maynard, Tim McCoy, Buck Jones and Johnny Mack Brown headlined the popular Saturday matinee fare. The book contains a plot synopsis and analysis of each series’ place in cinema history, many photographs and illustrations and a detailed filmography.

Michael R. Pitts has written more than 40 books on motion picture history and entertainment and has also compiled more than three dozen volumes of local history and genealogy. He lives in Chesterfield, Indiana.

Michael R. Pitts
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 480
Bibliographic Info: 137 photos, filmographies, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2018 [2009]
pISBN: 978-1-4766-7237-3
eISBN: 978-0-7864-5259-0
Imprint: McFarland

Preface      1

BILLY CARSON      3

BILLY THE KID      21

CHEYENNE HARRY      34

THE CISCO KID      43

DR. MONROE      64

THE DURANGO KID      68

FRONTIER MARSHALS      113

HOPALONG CASSIDY      118

THE IRISH COWBOYS      175

JOHN PAUL REVERE      180

LIGHTNING BILL CARSON      183

THE LONE RANGER      190

THE LONE RIDER      208

NEVADA JACK MCKENZIE      219

THE RANGE BUSTERS      232

RANGER BOB ALLEN      254

RED RYDER      259

RENFREW OF THE ROYAL MOUNTED      284

THE ROUGH RIDERS      290

ROUGH RIDIN’ KIDS      300

ROYAL CANADIAN MOUNTED POLICE      303

THE SINGING COWGIRL      320

THE TEXAS RANGERS      322

THE THREE MESQUITEERS      340

THE TRAIL BLAZERS      384

WILD BILL ELLIOTT      391

WILD BILL HICKOK      399

WILD BILL SAUNDERS      412

WINNETOU      415

ZORRO      429

Bibliography      457

Index      459

“Author Pitts captures the mood of the 1930s, 1940s, and the early 1950s as he describes popular series and explains how stars emerged. Although it was designed to be a ready-reference volume, its narrative strength makes it a good addition to a circulating collection”—Booklist; “profusely illustrated…a welcome and highly prized addition”—Midwest Book Review; “an impressive reference work”—Examiner.com; “a worthy addition to your western bookshelf…excellent writing”—Western Clippings.