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.