Riders of Death Valley 83 years old

A MILLION-DOLLAR SUPER SERIAL! With a thousand teeming thrills in 15 exciting chapters!

Riders of Death Valley

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]
Tex Palmer He was 36, 77 years old when he died as Wagon Driver
Frank McCarroll He was 48, 61 years old when he died as Lyncher
Alonzo Price as Mr. Wilson
Al Haskell He was 54, 82 years old when he died as Barfly
Buck Jones He was 49, 50 years old when he died as Tombstone
Ed Payson as Buck Hansen
Bud Osborne He was 56, 79 years old when he died as Stagecoach Driver
Richard Alexander He was 38, 86 years old when he died as Henchman Pete Grump
Jack Rockwell He was 50, 57 years old when he died as Henchman Trigger
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
Jack Perrin He was 44, 71 years old when he died as Stage Guard
Don Rowan He was 36, 61 years old when he died as Blake
Ruth Rickaby as Kate
Art Miles as Green
Frank Austin He was 63, 76 years old when he died as Chuckawalla Charlie Morgan [Ch. 1]
Ted Adams (actor) He was 51, 83 years old when he died as Hank
Lon Chaney (Sr.) He was 58, 47 years old when he died as Henchman Butch

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 poster
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