Riders of Death Valley
“A MILLION-DOLLAR SUPER SERIAL! With a thousand teeming thrills in 15 exciting chapters!”
Synopsis
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.
Top Cast
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Dick Foran
Jim Benton
Leo Carrillo
Pancho Lopez
Buck Jones
Tombstone
Charles Bickford
Wolf Reade
Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams
Borax Bill
Lon Chaney Jr.
Henchman Butch
Noah Beery Jr.
Smokey
Jean Brooks
Mary Morgan (as Jeanne Kelly)
James Blaine
Joseph Kirby
Monte Blue
Rance Davis
Glenn Strange
Tex, a Benton Rider
Roy Barcroft
Henchman Dirk
Jack Rockwell
Henchman Trigger
Ethan Laidlaw
Henchman Rusty
Richard Alexander
Henchman Pete Grump
Frank Austin
Chuckawalla Charlie Morgan [Ch. 1]
Charles Thomas
Rimrock [Ch. 4]
William Hall
Dan Gordon [Chs. 1, 8-10]
Release History & Theatrical Window
July 1, 1941
Wide Cinema Exhibition
Financials & Box Office Performance
Production Budget
$1M
Filming & production cost
Worldwide Gross
Pending
Total global ticket sales
Key Information & Fast Facts
- Director
- Ray Taylor, Ford Beebe
- Screenplay & Story
- Jack O'Donnell, George H. Plympton, Basil Dickey, Sherman L. Lowe
- Original Score
- Heinz Roemheld, Karl Hajos, W. Franke Harling, Charles Previn, Ralph Freed, Frank Skinner
- Original Title
- Riders of Death Valley
- Country of Origin
- United States of America
- Spoken Languages
- English
- Runtime
- 4h 43m
- Production Budget
- $1M
- Production Studios
- Universal Pictures
Creative Leadership & Key Crew
Ray Taylor, Ford Beebe
Jack O'Donnell, George H. Plympton, Basil Dickey, Sherman L. Lowe, Jacques Jaccard, Oliver Drake
Heinz Roemheld, Karl Hajos, W. Franke Harling, Charles Previn, Ralph Freed, Frank Skinner
Jerome Ash, William A. Sickner
Alvin Todd, Joseph Gluck, Louis Sackin
Department Leadership Roster
Ray Taylor
Director
Jack O'Donnell
Screenplay
George H. Plympton
Screenplay
Alvin Todd
Editor
Basil Dickey
Screenplay
Joseph Gluck
Editor
Ford Beebe
Director
Sherman L. Lowe
Screenplay
Louis Sackin
Editor
Heinz Roemheld
Original Music Composer
Karl Hajos
Original Music Composer
Jerome Ash
Director of Photography
W. Franke Harling
Original Music Composer
Charles Previn
Original Music Composer
Ralph Freed
Original Music Composer
Age Classification & Content Advisories
Official viewer rating standards and content warnings across international classification boards.
NR: Not Rated — Evaluated outside standard classification boards.
International Certification Matrix
Not Rated — Evaluated outside standard classification boards.
Production Stills & Gallery
Official cinematic photography and background stills for Riders of Death Valley.
Featured In Curated Collections
Editorial lists, community rankings, and cinematic collections featuring Riders of Death Valley.
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list_Western
Movies categorized under Western
BD Release: Past-1960
Movies released in 4K Blu-ray format - Past-1960
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Frequently Asked Questions About Riders of Death Valley
Quick factual answers about cast, synopsis, director, box office, and release information.
What is Riders of Death Valley about?
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.
Who directed Riders of Death Valley?
Riders of Death Valley was directed by Ray Taylor, Ford Beebe.
Who stars in Riders of Death Valley?
The principal cast of Riders of Death Valley includes Dick Foran, Leo Carrillo, Buck Jones, Charles Bickford, Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams.
When was Riders of Death Valley released and how long is it?
Riders of Death Valley was released in 1941 with a total runtime of 4h 43m.
Who composed the musical score for Riders of Death Valley?
The original motion picture soundtrack for Riders of Death Valley was composed by Heinz Roemheld, Karl Hajos, W. Franke Harling, Charles Previn, Ralph Freed, Frank Skinner.
What is the age rating and content advisory for Riders of Death Valley?
Riders of Death Valley holds official age classifications: US: NR (Not Rated — Evaluated outside standard classification boards.).