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''The Range Busters'' was a 1940–1943 American Western film series of 24 films. They were about the adventures of a trio of cowboys, many filmed at the
Corriganville Movie Ranch __NOTOC__ Corriganville Movie Ranch was a working film studio and movie ranch for outdoor location shooting, as well as a Western-themed tourist attraction. The ranch, owned by actor and stuntman Ray "Crash" Corrigan, was located in the foothills ...
, produced by George W. Weeks and distributed by
Monogram Pictures Monogram Pictures Corporation was an American film studio that produced mostly low-budget films between 1931 and 1953, when the firm completed a transition to the name Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. Monogram was among the smaller studios i ...
. The series used " Home on the Range" as its theme song with each film featuring the heroes waving goodbye and promising to return in another adventure.


Production

Ray "Crash" Corrigan had previously made 24 films in
Republic Pictures Republic Pictures Corporation (currently held under Melange Pictures, LLC) was an American motion picture production-distribution corporation in operation from 1935 to 1967, that was based in Los Angeles. It had studio facilities in Studio City an ...
' ''
The Three Mesquiteers ''The Three Mesquiteers'' is the umbrella title for a Republic Pictures series of 51 American Western B-movies released between 1936 and 1943. The films, featuring a trio of Old West adventurers, was based on a series of Western novels by W ...
'' series. When he and ventriloquist
Max Terhune Max Terhune (February 12, 1891 – June 5, 1973) was an American film actor born in Franklin, Indiana. He appeared in nearly 70 films, mostly B-westerns, between 1936 and 1956. Among these, Terhune starred in ''The Three Mesquiteers'' and ' ...
, who had made 21 films in the series, both had disputes over money with Republic, Corrigan went to producer George W. Weeks with the idea of a similar series that would be distributed by
Monogram Pictures Monogram Pictures Corporation was an American film studio that produced mostly low-budget films between 1931 and 1953, when the firm completed a transition to the name Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. Monogram was among the smaller studios i ...
and filmed at the
movie ranch A movie ranch is a ranch that is at least partially dedicated for use as a set in the creation and production of motion pictures and television shows. These were developed in the United States in southern California, because of the climate. The fir ...
with Western sets owned by Corrigan, the
Corriganville Movie Ranch __NOTOC__ Corriganville Movie Ranch was a working film studio and movie ranch for outdoor location shooting, as well as a Western-themed tourist attraction. The ranch, owned by actor and stuntman Ray "Crash" Corrigan, was located in the foothills ...
in the Simi Hills of the Simi Valley. Corrigan said in an interview that he received 50% of the profits of the series. For a third member of the trio (or third and a half if you include Terhune's dummy Elmer) Monogram chose
singing cowboy A singing cowboy was a subtype of the archetypal cowboy hero of early Western films. It references real-world campfire side ballads in the American frontier, the original cowboys sang of life on the trail with all the challenges, hardships, and d ...
John "Dusty" King who had the lead in Monogram's ''The Gentleman from Arizona''. The first film in the series in 1940 was appropriately titled '' The Range Busters''. Monogram also had another "Trigger Trio" series of "the Rough Riders" which ended in 1942 after Buck Jones's death and Colonel Tim McCoy returned to active service. Though the characters were the same from film to film, the series inexplicably changed time periods, going to contemporary times for 1942's ''
Texas to Bataan ''Texas to Bataan'' is a 1942 American Western film directed by Robert Emmett Tansey. The film is the seventeenth in Monogram Pictures' "Range Busters" series, and it stars John "Dusty" King as Dusty, "Davy" Sharpe and Max "Alibi" Terhune, ...
'', '' Cowboy Commandos'' and '' Black Market Rustlers'' (both 1943) then reverting to the Wild West days for the others in the series. Corrigan left the series temporarily over money disputes and was replaced by ace stuntman David Sharpe beginning with ''Texas to Bataan''. In '' Haunted Ranch'' (1943) Sharpe enlists in the US Army to fight in the Spanish–American War. In real life both Sharpe and King joined the US Army Air Forces. Corrigan returned to replace Sharpe with Deputy Rex Lease taking Sharpe's place halfway through the film. Dennis 'Denny' Moore replaced Lease in the last four films of the series that ended in 1943's '' Bullets and Saddles''. An experienced Western star, Moore was unfit for military service due to the injuries he received in an airplane crash. After the last Range Buster film, 1943's ''Bullets and Saddles'', Corrigan mostly played in films wearing his gorilla suit in such films as ''
Nabonga ''Nabonga'' is a 1944 PRC film starring Buster Crabbe and Julie London (in her film debut). It was retitled ''Jungle Woman'' in the British Empire. Plot T. F. Stockwell (Herbert Rawlinson) steals the money and jewelry contents of safe deposi ...
'' and gave his full attention to Corriganville. When Corrigan opened
Corriganville __NOTOC__ Corriganville Movie Ranch was a working film studio and movie ranch for outdoor location shooting, as well as a Western-themed tourist attraction. The ranch, owned by actor and stuntman Ray "Crash" Corrigan, was located in the foothills ...
on weekends to the general public in 1949, he hired his former co-star Terhune to entertain the ranch visitors.


Films

The first 16 films star "Crash" Corrigan, "Dusty" King, and "Alibi" Terhune. * '' The Range Busters'' (1940) * '' Trailing Double Trouble'' (1940) * '' West of Pinto Basin'' (1940) * '' Trail of the Silver Spurs'' (1941) * ''
The Kid's Last Ride ''The Kid's Last Ride'' is a 1941 American Western film directed by S. Roy Luby and written by Earle Snell. The film is the fifth in Monogram Pictures' "Range Busters" series, and it stars Ray "Crash" Corrigan as Crash, John "Dusty" King as Dus ...
'' (1941) * '' Tumbledown Ranch in Arizona'' (1941) * ''
Wrangler's Roost ''Wrangler's Roost'' is a 1941 American Western film directed by S. Roy Luby and written by John Vlahos and Robert Finkle. The film is the seventh in Monogram Pictures' "Range Busters" series, and it stars Ray "Crash" Corrigan as Crash, John "D ...
'' (1941) * ''
Fugitive Valley ''Fugitive Valley'' is a 1941 American Western film directed by S. Roy Luby. The film is the eighth in Monogram Pictures' "Range Busters" series, and it stars Ray "Crash" Corrigan as Crash, John "Dusty" King as Dusty and Max "Alibi" Terhune as ...
'' (1941) * ''
Saddle Mountain Roundup ''Saddle Mountain Roundup'' is a 1941 American Western film directed by S. Roy Luby. The film is the ninth in Monogram Pictures' "Range Busters" series, and it stars Ray "Crash" Corrigan as Crash, John "Dusty" King as Dusty and Max "Alibi" Te ...
'' (1941) * '' Tonto Basin Outlaws'' (1941) * ''
Underground Rustlers ''Underground Rustlers'' is a 1941 American Western film directed by S. Roy Luby. The film is the eleventh in Monogram Pictures' "Range Busters" series, and it stars Ray "Crash" Corrigan as Crash, John "Dusty" King as Dusty and Max "Alibi" Ter ...
'' (1941) * ''
Thunder River Feud ''Thunder River Feud'' is a 1942 American Western film directed by S. Roy Luby and written by John Vlahos and Earle Snell. The film is the twelfth in Monogram Pictures' "Range Busters" series, and it stars Ray "Crash" Corrigan as Crash, John " ...
'' (1942) * '' Rock River Renegades'' (1942) * '' Boot Hill Bandits'' (1942) * '' Texas Trouble Shooters'' (1942) * '' Arizona Stage Coach'' (1942) The next four films star "Dusty" King, "Davy" Sharpe and "Alibi" Terhune, with Rex Lease joining the team in the fourth. * ''
Texas to Bataan ''Texas to Bataan'' is a 1942 American Western film directed by Robert Emmett Tansey. The film is the seventeenth in Monogram Pictures' "Range Busters" series, and it stars John "Dusty" King as Dusty, "Davy" Sharpe and Max "Alibi" Terhune, ...
'' (1942) * ''
Trail Riders ''Trail Riders'' is a 1942 American Western film directed by Robert Emmett Tansey. The film is the eighteenth in Monogram Pictures' "Range Busters" series, and it stars John "Dusty" King as Dusty, "Davy" Sharpe and Max "Alibi" Terhune, wit ...
'' (1942) * '' Two Fisted Justice'' (1943) * '' Haunted Ranch'' (1943) The final four films star "Crash" Corrigan, "Denny" Moore and "Alibi" Terhune. * '' Land of Hunted Men'' (1943) * '' Cowboy Commandos'' (1943) * '' Black Market Rustlers'' (1943) * '' Bullets and Saddles'' (1943)


References

{{Reflist


External links


The Monogram Trio Westerns
Film series introduced in 1940 1940s Western (genre) films American Western (genre) films American black-and-white films 1940s English-language films Monogram Pictures films Western (genre) film series 1940s American films