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Riders of Death Valley

1941 Directed by Ford Beebe

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.

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Dick Foran

Dick Foran

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Jim Benton

Leo Carrillo

Leo Carrillo

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Pancho Lopez

Buck Jones

Buck Jones

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Tombstone

Charles Bickford

Charles Bickford

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Wolf Reade

Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams

Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams

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Borax Bill

Lon Chaney Jr.

Lon Chaney Jr.

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Henchman Butch

Noah Beery Jr.

Noah Beery Jr.

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Smokey

283 minutes

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