By Richard Harland Smith
Death Valley Rangers
Brief Synopsis
Government agents are called in to stop a series of gold shipment robberies.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Robert Tansey
Director
Ken Maynard
Ken Maynard
Hoot Gibson
Hoot Gibson
Bob Steele
Bob Steele
Weldon Heyburn
Linda Brent
Lorna Ainsley
Film Details
Genre
Western
Release Date
Dec
3,
1943
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Monogram Productions, Inc.
Distribution Company
Monogram Pictures Corp.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
59m
Film Length
5,325ft
Synopsis
At Ranger headquarters, Captain Ainsley offers the support of his lawmen to stagecoach owner Edwards, whose Death Valley line is being robbed of gold shipments. Edwards has also called for help from government agents Ken Maynard, Hoot Gibson and Bob Steele, known as the Trail Blazers, who are due to arrive soon. On his way to Death Valley, Bob catches a ride with Edwards' stage after his horse goes lame. When the stage is attacked by bandits and the driver is shot, Bob takes over and tosses the strongbox off, intending to pick it up later. Bob's partners, Ken and Hoot, hear the gunshots and scare off the bandits, who find the strongbox and steal it. At Ranger headquarters, the Trail Blazers learn that the Rangers have been unable to trace the gold. A set-up in which Hoot expects to outwit the bandits with an empty strongbox then fails as the driver signals the bandits not to attack. The driver is arrested but refuses to name his cohorts. Meanwhile, the gang leader, Jim Kirk, who owns the Moranga Mine, reprimands Doc Farn, an escaped convict, for appearing in town when he should be at the mine. Ken recognizes Doc, and Bob pretends that he worked for Doc's former gang in order to gain his trust. While Doc takes Bob to a hiding place, Ken and Hoot learn that the Moranga Mine has been prosperous since Kirk took over. Ken and Hoot discover a chemist's lab inside the mine, but must escape before they can discover the contents of a safe. Kirk enlists Bob to kill Ken and Hoot, and Bob pretends to have done the job. Ken later returns to the mine and discovers the stolen gold in the safe, but he is captured by Doc, who reveals that he discovered a formula for reheating the gold and pouring it back into the rock, where it cannot be distinguished from virgin ore. With Kirk's gang in pursuit, Bob rounds up the Rangers. Kirk attempts to escape by stagecoach with the gold, but Hoot outwits him and replaces the driver. The Rangers and the Trail Blazers capture the gang, and after Bob bids farewell to Ainsley's attractive daughter Lorna, the Trail Blazers ride off for their next adventure.
Director
Robert Tansey
Director
Cast
Ken Maynard
Ken Maynard
Hoot Gibson
Hoot Gibson
Bob Steele
Bob Steele
Weldon Heyburn
Linda Brent
Lorna Ainsley
Bryant Washburn
Glen Strange
Forrest Taylor
Karl Hackett
Lee Roberts
Chas. King
Blackie
George Chesebro
Red
John Bridges
Cal
Al Ferguson
Ross
Steve Clark
Kenneth Harlan
Jim Kirk
Robert Allen
Ranger Michaels
Wally West
Crew
Film Details
Genre
Western
Release Date
Dec
3,
1943
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Monogram Productions, Inc.
Distribution Company
Monogram Pictures Corp.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
59m
Film Length
5,325ft
Articles
Death Valley Rangers -
Monogram Pictures' 1943-44 "Trail Blazers" series of Saturday matinee shoot-em-ups took the novel approach of casting former singing cowboys Ken Maynard and Hoot Gibson as themselves in a run of buddy westerns inspired by Republic Pictures' "The Three Mesquiteers." With Maynard in his late forties and Gibson having already turned fifty, Monogram executives hoped to infuse the franchise with a bit of youthful vigor but the notoriously pugnacious Maynard vetoed several potential series returnees. For the Trail Blazers' fourth saddle-up, Death Valley Rangers (1943), producer-director Robert Tansey secured the services of ex-Mesquiteer Bob Steele, who joined the team as its more spritely third wheel in the tale of bandits plaguing stagecoach business through the California desert. Though Maynard and Gibson were longtime friends, Maynard resented the addition of Steele, whose stature as a B-movie hero rivaled his own. Steele was not to be deterred, however, and it was Maynard who quit the team after the completion of Arizona Whirlwind (1944), to be replaced by Victor Daniels as the Trail Blazers' faithful Indian companion Chief Fire Cloud. The series concluded after its eighth installment, Sonora Stagecoach (1944), though Gibson and Steele stayed on for three more partnerships unrelated to the Trail Blazers series. Appearing in Death Valley Rangers as a henchman is stuntman-actor Glenn Strange, who achieved a measure of cinematic immortality by playing the Frankenstein monster in Universal's House of Frankenstein (1944) the following year.
By Richard Harland Smith
By Richard Harland Smith
Death Valley Rangers -
Monogram Pictures' 1943-44 "Trail Blazers" series of Saturday matinee shoot-em-ups took the novel approach of casting former singing cowboys Ken Maynard and Hoot Gibson as themselves in a run of buddy westerns inspired by Republic Pictures' "The Three Mesquiteers." With Maynard in his late forties and Gibson having already turned fifty, Monogram executives hoped to infuse the franchise with a bit of youthful vigor but the notoriously pugnacious Maynard vetoed several potential series returnees. For the Trail Blazers' fourth saddle-up, Death Valley Rangers (1943), producer-director Robert Tansey secured the services of ex-Mesquiteer Bob Steele, who joined the team as its more spritely third wheel in the tale of bandits plaguing stagecoach business through the California desert. Though Maynard and Gibson were longtime friends, Maynard resented the addition of Steele, whose stature as a B-movie hero rivaled his own. Steele was not to be deterred, however, and it was Maynard who quit the team after the completion of Arizona Whirlwind (1944), to be replaced by Victor Daniels as the Trail Blazers' faithful Indian companion Chief Fire Cloud. The series concluded after its eighth installment, Sonora Stagecoach (1944), though Gibson and Steele stayed on for three more partnerships unrelated to the Trail Blazers series. Appearing in Death Valley Rangers as a henchman is stuntman-actor Glenn Strange, who achieved a measure of cinematic immortality by playing the Frankenstein monster in Universal's House of Frankenstein (1944) the following year.
By Richard Harland Smith
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Actor Weldon Heyburn's surname is incorrectly spelled "Hayburn" in the onscreen credits. Modern sources add Frank Ellis to the cast. This film marked the introduction of Western star Bob Steele to the "The Trail Blazers" series. For additional information on the series, consult the Series Index, and see the entry below for Wild Horse Stampede.
