Riders of Death Valley 83 years old
A MILLION-DOLLAR SUPER SERIAL! With a thousand teeming thrills in 15 exciting chapters!
The Saturday matinee crowd got two cowboy stars for the price of one in this lavishly budgeted western serial starring former singing cowboy Dick Foran and Buck Jones. The latter contributed deadpan humor to the proceedings, making Jones perhaps the highest paid B-western comedy relief in history. The two heroes defend the Death Valley borax miners from an outlaw gang headed by Wolf Reade. An extraordinarily strong cast -- for a serial, at least -- supported the stars, headed by Charles Bickford as Reade, Leo Carillo, Lon Chaney, Jr., and silent screen star Monte Blue. Leading lady Jeanne Kelly later changed her name to Jean Brooks and starred in the atmospheric RKO thriller The Seventh Victim (1943). Universal claimed to have spent $1 million on this serial and made sure to get their money's worth by endlessly recycling the action footage in serials and B-westerns for years to come.
Credits
Riders of Death Valley Cast
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| Leo Carrillo He was 59, 80 years old when he died | as Pancho Lopez |
| Glenn Strange He was 41, 74 years old when he died | as Tex, a Benton Rider |
| Edmund Cobb He was 49, 82 years old when he died | as Salty |
| Roy Barcroft He was 38, 67 years old when he died | as Henchman Dirk |
| Ernie Adams He was 56, 62 years old when he died | as Cactus Pete, Prospector [Ch.14] |
| Charles Bickford He was 50, 76 years old when he died | as Wolf Reade |
| Guinn Williams He was 70, 76 years old when he died | as Borax Bill |
| Jean Brooks She was 25, 47 years old when she died | as Mary Morgan (as Jeanne Kelly) |
| Dick Foran He was 31, 69 years old when he died | as Jim Benton |
| Monte Blue He was 54, 76 years old when he died | as Rance Davis |
| Noah Beery, Jr. He was 27, 81 years old when he died | as Smokey |
| Jim Farley He was 20, 14 years old when he died | as Graham |
| Slim Whitaker He was 47, 66 years old when he died | as Stable Owner |
| Richard Travis He was 28, 5 years old when he died | as Joe Miller |
| Frank Brownlee He was 66, 73 years old when he died | as Slim |
| Ethan Laidlaw He was 41, 63 years old when he died | as Henchman Rusty |
| Dick Rush He was 57, 72 years old when he died | as Saloon Waiter |
| Art Dillard He was 34, 53 years old when he died | as Miner |
| William Hall | as Dan Gordon [Chs. 1, 8-10] |
| Don Rowan He was 36, 61 years old when he died | as Blake |
| Ed Payson | as Buck Hansen |
| Frank Austin He was 63, 76 years old when he died | as Chuckawalla Charlie Morgan [Ch. 1] |
| Bud Osborne He was 56, 79 years old when he died | as Stagecoach Driver |
| Tex Palmer He was 36, 77 years old when he died | as Wagon Driver |
| Richard Alexander He was 38, 86 years old when he died | as Henchman Pete Grump |
| Bob Burns He was 9, 67 years old when he died | as Miner in Saloon |
| Rod Cameron He was 30, 73 years old when he died | as Rider |
| Frank McCarroll He was 48, 61 years old when he died | as Lyncher |
| Ruth Rickaby | as Kate |
| Art Miles | as Green |
| Buck Jones He was 49, 50 years old when he died | as Tombstone |
| Alonzo Price | as Mr. Wilson |
| Jack Rockwell He was 50, 57 years old when he died | as Henchman Trigger |
| Al Haskell He was 54, 82 years old when he died | as Barfly |
| Jack Perrin He was 44, 71 years old when he died | as Stage Guard |
| Lon Chaney (Sr.) He was 58, 47 years old when he died | as Henchman Butch |
| Ted Adams (actor) He was 51, 83 years old when he died | as Hank |
Riders of Death Valley Crew
| Name | Department |
|---|---|
| Ford Beebe as Director. He was 52 (90) years old when He died | Directing |
| W. Franke Harling as Original Music Composer. He was 54 (71) years old when He died | Sound |
| Jerome Ash as Director of Photography. He was 49 (60) years old when He died | Camera |
| Frank Skinner as Original Music Composer. He was 43 (70) years old when He died | Sound |
| Heinz Roemheld as Original Music Composer. He was 40 (83) years old when He died | Sound |
| Henry MacRae as Associate Producer. He was 64 (68) years old when He died | Production |
| Louis Sackin as Editor. He was 38 (78) years old when He died | Editing |
| George H. Plympton as Screenplay. He was 51 (82) years old when He died | Writing |
| Basil Dickey as Screenplay. He was 60 (77) years old when He died | Writing |
| Ray Taylor as Director. He was 52 (63) years old when He died | Directing |
| William A. Sickner as Director of Photography. He was 50 (76) years old when He died | Camera |
| Sherman L. Lowe as Screenplay. He was 46 (73) years old when He died | Writing |
| Oliver Drake as Story. He was 38 (88) years old when He died | Writing |
| John P. Fulton as Visual Effects. He was 38 (62) years old when He died | Visual Effects |
| Joseph Gluck as Editor. He was 32 (81) years old when He died | Editing |
| Charles Previn as Music Director. He was 53 (85) years old when He died | Sound |
| Charles Previn as Original Music Composer. He was 53 (85) years old when He died | Sound |
| Karl Hajos as Original Music Composer. He was 52 (61) years old when He died | Sound |
| Art Dillard as Stunts. He was 34 (53) years old when He died | Crew |
| Cliff Lyons as Stunts. He was 40 (72) years old when He died | Crew |
| Duke York as Stunts. He was 32 (43) years old when He died | Crew |
| Frank McCarroll as Stunts. He was 48 (61) years old when He died | Crew |
| Jacques Jaccard as Dialogue. He was 54 (73) years old when He died | Writing |
Riders of Death Valley (83 years)
A MILLION-DOLLAR SUPER SERIAL! With a thousand teeming thrills in 15 exciting chapters!
- Release day: Tuesday, July 01, 1941
- Runtime: 283 minutes
- Budget: 1000000.00