''Tucson Raiders'' is a 1944 American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US * Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that i ...

film directed by

Spencer Gordon Bennet Spencer Gordon Bennet (January 5, 1893 – October 8, 1987) was an American film producer and director. Known as the "King of Serial Directors", he directed more film serials than any other director. Biography Born in Brooklyn, New York, Ben ...

and starring

Wild Bill Elliott Wild Bill Elliott (born Gordon Nance, October 16, 1904 – November 26, 1965) was an American film actor. He specialized in playing the rugged heroes of B Westerns, particularly the Red Ryder series of films. Early life Elliott was born Gor ...

in the role of

Red Ryder Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

. It was the first of twenty-three Red Ryder feature films that would be produced by

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 a ...

. The picture was shot on the studio’s back lot along with outdoor locations at

Iverson 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 ...

, 1 Iverson Lane, Chatsworth,

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

Plot

''Tucson Raiders'' is set in 1895’s Painted Valley, Colorado.

, makes his first appearance as Red Ryder and

Robert Blake Robert Blake may refer to: Sportspeople * Bob Blake (American football) (1885–1962), American football player * Robbie Blake (born 1976), English footballer * Bob Blake (ice hockey) (1914–2008), American ice hockey player * Rob Blake (born 19 ...

’s first as Little Beaver, Red discovers that he has been framed for murder. His little Indian pal, Little Beaver, manages to foil the corrupt Sheriff Kirk’s (Ed Cassidy) plan to kill Red as he escapes from jail. Hannah Rogers (

Ruth Lee Ruth Lee (September 14, 1895 – August 3, 1975) was an American stage and film actress. Early life and career Lee was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and she graduated from a dramatic school there. Lee acted in stock theater with the Nati ...

) in the pay of Governor York (

Stanley Andrews Stanley Andrews (born Stanley Martin Andrzejewski; August 28, 1891 – June 23, 1969) was an American actor perhaps best known as the voice of Daddy Warbucks on the radio program '' Little Orphan Annie'' and later as "The Old Ranger", the firs ...

), a dishonest politician, tries to trick Red in escaping jail. However, her scheme fails and Red Ryder shoots his way out. He manages to intercept a payroll robbery but finds that Little Beaver has been captured by the outlaws. ''The "red headed"'' cowboy exposes Hannah’s plot, saves Little Beaver and brings an end to Governor York’s gang.

Cast

as Red Ryder *

as Little Beaver * Alice Fleming as The Duchess (Red's Aunt) *

George "Gabby" Hayes George Francis "Gabby" Hayes (7 May 1885 – 9 February 1969) was an American actor. He began as something of a leading man and a character player, but he was best known for his numerous appearances in B-Western film series as the bewhiskered, c ...

as Gabby Hopkins *

as Hannah Rogers * Peggy Stewart as Beth Rogers *

LeRoy Mason LeRoy Franklin Mason (July 2, 1903 – October 13, 1947) was an American film actor who worked primarily in Westerns in both the silent and sound film eras. Mason was born in Larimore, North Dakota on July 2, 1903. Career 1920s Mason's fi ...

as Jeff Stark *

as Governor York *John Whitney as Tom Hamilton *

Bud Geary Bud Geary (February 15, 1898 – February 22, 1946), was an American film actor. He appeared in 258 films between years 1920 and 1946. He was born in Salt Lake City, Utah and died in Hollywood, California, aged 48. Partial filmography * ...

as Deputy One Eye *

Karl Hackett Carl Ellsworth Germain (September 5, 1893 – October 24, 1948), known professionally as Karl Hackett, was an American actor. He served in the U.S. army during World War I. He was married to Ruby Burnette Moore. On October 24, 1948, Hacket ...

as Reverend George Allen * Tom Steele as Deputy Logan *

Marshall Reed Marshall Jewel Reed (May 28, 1917 – April 15, 1980) was an American actor who appeared in over 200 films between 1943 and 1978. He was born in Englewood, Colorado. Early years Reed's parents were Walter George Reed and Ruth Dustin. By a ...

as Deputy *

Tom Chatterton Tom Chatterton (February 12, 1881 – August 17, 1952) was an American actor and director.. Born in Geneva, New York, Chatterton was active in sports as a youth. He gained early acting experience with Ben Horning's stock theater company in Syrac ...

as Judge James Wayne *Ed Cassidy as Sheriff Kirk (as Edward Cassidy) *Foxy Callahan as Stagecoach Guard (uncredited) *Tommy Coats as Saloon Henchman (uncredited) *

Kenne Duncan Kenne Duncan (February 17, 1903 – February 5, 1972) was a Canadian-born American B-movie character actor. Hyped professionally as "The Meanest Man in the Movies," the vast majority of his over 250 appearances on camera were Westerns, bu ...

as Henchman (voice) (uncredited) * Fred Graham as Henchman (uncredited) *

Neal Hart Neal Hart (April 7, 1879 – April 2, 1949) was an American actor and director of the silent era. Biography Hart was born in Staten Island, New York. Before he began working in films, he was a city marshal, cowboy, and stage driver. He w ...

as Barfly (uncredited) *Edward Howard as Deputy Logan (uncredited) *

Jack Kirk Jack Kirk (February 19, 1895 – September 13, 1948) was an American film actor from Missoula, Montana who had roles in over 300 films, mostly B-westerns, from 1926 and 1954. Selected filmography * '' The Stolen Ranch'' (1926) * '' Dames Ahoy ...

as Brawler (voice) (uncredited) *Bert LeBaron as Rancher (uncredited) *

Tom London Tom London (born Leonard T. Clapman; August 24, 1889 – December 5, 1963) was an American actor who played frequently in B-Westerns. According to ''The Guinness Book of Movie Records'', London is credited with appearing in the most films in ...

as Matthews (voice) (uncredited) *Frank McCarroll as Henchman (uncredited) *Post Park as Sam - 1st Stagecoach driver (uncredited) *Frank Pershing as Townsman (uncredited) * Charles Sullivan as Bartender (uncredited) *

Ken Terrell Kenneth Jones Terrell (April 29, 1904 – March 8, 1966) was an American western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US * Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Austr ...

as Saloon Henchman (uncredited) *

Ted Wells Theodore V. "Ted" Wells, Jr. (born April 28, 1950) is an American lawyer who works in the field of criminal law. A litigation partner at the New York law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, Wells has been selected by the Nationa ...

as Barfly (uncredited) *Bud Wolfe as Henchman (uncredited)

Production

''Tucson Raiders'' was based on Fred Harman’s comic strip,

. It was the first of Republic's

feature series and the first to star

as Red Ryder and

as Little Beaver. When Eliott was promoted up to the more adult features and replaced by Alan Lane, Blake continued on in the role for the remaining 22 films.Corneau, Ernest N., ''Allan "Rocky" Lane'', The Hall of Fame of

film Stars. The Christopher Publishing House, North Quincy, Massachusetts, 1969, p. 219,

Stunts

Yakima Canutt Enos Edward "Yakima" Canutt (November 29, 1895 – May 24, 1986) was an American champion rodeo rider, actor, stuntman, and action director. He developed many stunts for films and the techniques and technology to protect stuntmen in performing t ...

* Tom Steele *

* Fred Graham *

Foxy Callahan Foxy or Foxxy may refer to: People * Foxy Brown (rapper) (born 1978), American rapper * Foxy Brown (singer), Jamaican reggae singer * Foxy Flumere (1912–1990), American football, basketball, and baseball coach * Graeme Fowler (born 1957), Eng ...

* Tommy Coats * Bert LeBaron *

Carey Loftin William Carey Loftin (January 31, 1914 – March 4, 1997, a.k.a. Cary Loftin, Carry Loftin, Carey Lofton, Gary Loftin, William Carey Loftin) was an American professional stuntman, stunt coordinator and actor in the U.S. film industry. He is ...

Frank McCarrol Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Cur ...

* Ken Terrel *

* Joe Yrigoyen

References

External links

''Tucson Raiders'', IMDb''Tucson Raiders'', Turner Classic Movies
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tucson Raiders 1944 films 1944 Western (genre) films Films set in 1895 Films set in Colorado American black-and-white films Republic Pictures films American Western (genre) films Films based on comic strips Films based on American comics Films directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet 1940s English-language films 1940s American films Red Ryder films