"Riders of Death Valley," Universal's "Million Dollar Serial" was clearly intended to be something special, better than their usual output. Released in 1941 and Directed by Ford Beebe and Ray Taylor, it was the last 15-chapter Universal serial, featuring a large cast familiar from "B" Westerns and serials, adding Charles Bickford as the main outlaw leader.
Jim Benton (Dick Foran) leads the "Riders of Death Valley" to protect miners and prospectors against outlaws, headed by Wolf Reade (Charles Bickford) but secretly hired by saloon owner Joseph Kirby (James Blaine), who wants to take over the miners' claims. An old prospector, Chuckawalla Charlie (Frank Austin) is brought into the saloon, dying, and gives Benton a map of his find, the "Lost Aztec" mine, making him co-heir with Mary Morgan (Jeanne Kelly), Chuckawalla's niece. When Kirby fails to gain possession the map, he has "The Wolf" pursue Benton and his party, resulting in a chase lasting most of the remaining 14 chapters. Opening titles are accompanied by the song "Ride Along" by Milton Rosen and Everett Carter, belted out by Foran and chorus in a studio, while the actors are shown riding and making faces as if they were singing. At least they don't do that during the chapters.
While mostly a repetitive running gun battle, it should be remembered that the chapters provided a weekly "fix" of cowboy action, and the plot wasn't especially important. It also didn't matter that some of the cliffhangers are not resolved convincingly; it was enough that the hero survived. Viewed with some time between the chapters, interest is maintained by the cast of familiar faces, and some well-managed humor.
Benton's riders include Tombstone (Buck Jones), Borax Bill (Guinn "Big Boy" Williams), and Pancho (Leo Carrillo). Noah Beery, Jr. is prominent in the cast list as Smoky, but supporting character Tex (Glenn Strange) is given more to do. Kirby is assisted by Rance Davis (Monte Blue) and Dan Gordon (William Hall), while Wolf Reade's "pack" includes Lon Chaney, Jr., Roy Barcroft, Richard Alexander, Jack Rockwell and Ethan Laidlaw. Several familiar faces from "B" westerns and serials appear in minor roles, including Jack Perrin, Edmund Cobb, Slim Whitaker and Ernie Adams.
While the serial is lacking in several respects, I like the humor, especially that from Buck Jones, who isn't saddled with the awkward dialogue he had the same year in Columbia's "White Eagle." Leo Carrillo's line "Let's Went" is uttered nearly as often by Dick Foran. And there's unintentional humor; regardless of how many of Wolf's "pack" get shot off their horses, there are still six of them pursuing Benton's riders. It's like the number of bullets in their "six shooters." And how many large bodies of water can they find to plunge into in Death Valley?
VCI's DVD edition, #8435, is on two discs. It has a few shortcomings, most-annoying of which is their logo, large and fairly bright, which appears for 20 seconds every two minutes. I was a little surprised that I didn't notice them as much later in the chapters; they were still present. The decent image quality of the transfer helps compensate for them, though the source prints were hardly as good as what VCI had for "The Green Hornet Strikes Again" or the 1945 version of "Secret Agent X-9." There is a moderate amount of "grain" and more than a few "funhouse mirror" effects, possibly where scratches were "corrected" and in common with the other editions, a couple chapters have dark streaks through the picture during the "Foreword" text, apparently a film processing problem. These faults may have been beyond VCI's abilities to correct, but other issues were not. We get the usual "restoration cheat" where all but the first chapter use the opening credits from Chapter Two, with MPPDA certificate number 6748; not a big deal in itself but the uncorrected faults become obvious when repeated in the last 14 chapters, such as one of those dimensional distortions in the rock cliffs at the left of the screen at the credit for the directors. The titles start abruptly, missing the opening cymbal crash in the music, though this is no worse than the first chapter which begins a little further into the music, with a bad speed glitch. Perhaps to disguise the rough start, Universal's logo, the one with the reflective globe, has been tacked in before each chapter, but it looks like it came from a VHS tape, with lots of video noise and a head-switch glitch at the bottom. But unlike VCI's pop-up logos, these faults don't affect the content of the chapters, and otherwise the picture is sharp, the gray scale decent, and only a few splices, scratches and similar defects are seen. The sound is good, fairly crisp with little noise and low distortion. VCI provides some "extra" features; "Bios" of Buck Jones, Dick Foran, Noah Beery Jr., Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, Leo Carrillo and the two directors; a "Photo Gallery" with seven still pictures from "Riders of Death Valley" and lobby cards from nine serial movies; trailers from "Winners of the West," "Raiders of Ghost City" and one lasting only 40 seconds from "Riders of Death Valley" and the "VCI Serial/Cliffhanger Promo" with clips from serial movie trailers, advertising their DVD editions, some of which are no longer available.
VCI's old VHS edition, # 1707, was from a print with many of the same faults, and while the actual sharpness wasn't too bad, the video noise and inferior gray scale made the details harder to see. It seemed to have the correct MPPDA certificate numbers on the chapters, though guesswork was needed in reading some of them, and splices often interrupted the opening song. Most of the chapters don't clip the opening music, though the sound was a little noisy, lacking in high frequencies and somewhat distorted.
The main virtue of Alpha's DVD, # ALP 4127D is its low cost. In addition to techincal faults, it is now supplied on a "burned" DVD-R disc, which is double-layer and incompatible with many DVD players. Check the instruction manual for "DVD-R DL" and "DVD+R DL" as compatible disc types. Even Alpha's program notes are a little lacking, written as if Lon Chaney, Jr. was the main star of the serial, and failing to list Dick Foran anywhere on the cover. Alpha appears to have used the same video source as VCI's VHS edition, and while the video noise is a little lower, the image is otherwise worse, looking gray and washed out. The sound is quite horrible, with a "torn speaker cone" type of distortion, some chapters bad enough to make the dialogue hard to understand. Alpha puts their logo on-screen during the chapter "forewords" though only for about ten seconds, and they keep them turned off otherwise.
The serial is recommended especially to fans of Dick Foran, Buck Jones and Leo Carrillo, and of the editions VCI's DVD is the best choice. The pop-up logos are an annoyance, which is why I give it only a 3-star "OK" rating, but the good sharpness and gray scale are a big help, given that the scenery is more interesting than the plot. The Alpha edition is a lot cheaper, but its defects, especially the distorted sound, make it hard to appreciate what the serial has to offer. VCI's old VHS tape is only slightly better than Alpha's DVD. But with any edition, viewing should be limited to one chapter at a time, with a day or more between them.
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Riders of Death Valley
Buck Jones
(Actor),
Dick Foran
(Actor),
Ford Beebe
(Director),
Ray Taylor
(Director)
&
1
more Rated: Format: DVD
Unrated
IMDb6.1/10.0
| Additional DVD options | Edition | Discs | Price | New from | Used from |
|
DVD
July 9, 2015 "Please retry" | — | 1 | $12.49 | $3.49 |
Watch Instantly with
| Per Episode | Buy Season |
| Genre | Action & Adventure/Series & Sequels |
| Format | Multiple Formats, Black & White, Dolby, NTSC, Full Screen |
| Contributor | Ford Beebe, Basil Dickey, Leo Carrillo, Ray Taylor, Lon Chaney Jr., Noah Beery Jr., Jeanne Kelly, Sherman L. Lowe, Monte Blue, Dick Foran, Buck Jones, Glenn Strange, Jack O'Donnell, George H. Plympton See more |
| Language | English |
| Runtime | 4 hours and 47 minutes |
Product Description
This western serial has our able heroes escaping various perils devised by the evil Wolfe Reade and his pack of outlaws, who wish to lay claim to a fabled lost mine.
Product details
- Aspect Ratio : 1.33:1
- Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No
- MPAA rating : Unrated (Not Rated)
- Product Dimensions : 0.7 x 7.5 x 5.4 inches; 6.4 Ounces
- Item model number : Relay Time: 287 min; 2Videos
- Director : Ford Beebe, Ray Taylor
- Media Format : Multiple Formats, Black & White, Dolby, NTSC, Full Screen
- Run time : 4 hours and 47 minutes
- Release date : August 30, 2005
- Actors : Buck Jones, Dick Foran, Leo Carrillo, Glenn Strange, Lon Chaney Jr.
- Studio : Vci Video
- ASIN : B000A6CKXE
- Writers : Basil Dickey, George H. Plympton, Sherman L. Lowe, Jack O'Donnell
- Number of discs : 1
- Best Sellers Rank: #297,688 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
- #4,732 in Westerns (Movies & TV)
- #26,066 in Action & Adventure DVDs
- Customer Reviews:
Customer reviews
3.5 out of 5 stars
3.5 out of 5
26 global ratings
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Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 8, 2013
7 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 4, 2011
A typical period comedy with some goofy characters in John Hubbard and Adolphe Menjou as a couple of escapees from a nut house. Neither is actually nuts but are there for other reasons. Carole Landis is the female lead as the owner of a roving carnival.
It's a movie that grew on me after I watched it a couple of times. At first it seemed quite disjointed (probably from listening to other reviewers of the film) but after the second time I watched it, it became more entertaining and quite funny in its own way.
There's quite a bit of odd goofiness in this movie that doesn't seem to exactly fit but somehow they keep pulling it together enough for the movie to keep moving. Keep in mind the period when it was made and you'll see a lot more in this movie than you otherwise might.
Adolphe Menjou is the best part as the well meaning "Colonel Caraway" who befriends John Hubbard's character, "Drogo Gaines" and does his best to steer Drogo in the right direction. Of course it always seems that Drogo is getting into a little more trouble from Caraway's actions than he'd like but in the end, well, just watch the movie.
It's a movie that grew on me after I watched it a couple of times. At first it seemed quite disjointed (probably from listening to other reviewers of the film) but after the second time I watched it, it became more entertaining and quite funny in its own way.
There's quite a bit of odd goofiness in this movie that doesn't seem to exactly fit but somehow they keep pulling it together enough for the movie to keep moving. Keep in mind the period when it was made and you'll see a lot more in this movie than you otherwise might.
Adolphe Menjou is the best part as the well meaning "Colonel Caraway" who befriends John Hubbard's character, "Drogo Gaines" and does his best to steer Drogo in the right direction. Of course it always seems that Drogo is getting into a little more trouble from Caraway's actions than he'd like but in the end, well, just watch the movie.
6 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 23, 2006
This review refers to the Critics Choice DVD named Tex Ritter Triple Feature #4.
The movies in this DVD are:
Song of the Gringo, 1936, 62 min
Tex Ritter rides with the Boy Scouts, 1937, 66 min
Riding the Cherokee Trail, 1941, 59 min
Tex Ritter called it a career 5 years before I was born, nonethelss, he's one of my favorite cowboys.
The movies in this DVD are not pristine. Digital restoration or remasterization cleans up the picture somewhat, but will not eliminate scratches. Anyway, this is a good buy all around. The movies seem to be uncut, and for the price you pay, $5,99, you will be satisfied, especially if you like Tex's music.
The movies in this DVD are:
Song of the Gringo, 1936, 62 min
Tex Ritter rides with the Boy Scouts, 1937, 66 min
Riding the Cherokee Trail, 1941, 59 min
Tex Ritter called it a career 5 years before I was born, nonethelss, he's one of my favorite cowboys.
The movies in this DVD are not pristine. Digital restoration or remasterization cleans up the picture somewhat, but will not eliminate scratches. Anyway, this is a good buy all around. The movies seem to be uncut, and for the price you pay, $5,99, you will be satisfied, especially if you like Tex's music.
3 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 2, 2015
I'm not a serial fan but this one is much better than most. Good action and some decent character touches. Buck Jones steals the show. Image quality is so-so.
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 24, 2007
I must agree in part about "Riders of death Valley".At the moment I have it only on a double vhs.After Christmas..I am going to purchase it on dvd.My only negetive thing about this serial is..it repeats itself over & over.Where it could have been done in 12 chapters..however I'm glad it's 15 chapters.I loved BUCK JONES..he held up the whole serial with the help of the great LEO CARRILLO.And to have it in Sepria print...I CAN'T WAIT!I feel a lot of classic westerns..such as..HIGH NOON..had it been filmed in SEPRIA..it would look more like the real west..the old color like.But all in all from a one to ten..Ten being the best.I give this serial(in sepria) a BIG TEN!! Looks so good I would think.
3 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 28, 2014
I've seen Road Show at least a dozen times and I always really enjoy it. No one makes better comedies than Hal Roach - his films may be silly but they deliver lots of laughs. The real treat here is the beautiful blonde Carole Landis in one of her first major films. She gives a delightful performance as a circus owner trying to keep the show running. The rest of the cast is comedy gold - Patsy Kelly, Adolphe Menjou, John Hubbard, Charles Butterworth, and the adorable Margaret Roach. There's lots of circus gags and a few songs - it's just a really fun little comedy.
3 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 26, 2014
poor sound quality, even for a 1941 movie...hard to follow because of the audio/visual quality...really hard for children to follow.
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 27, 2019
This is a great movie for the whole family. It is a little old fashioned, but it is good clean fun.
Top reviews from other countries
JAllen
1.0 out of 5 stars
WATERMARKED print is unacceptable
Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on June 25, 2012
A VCI watermark pops up at very short intervals throughout what would otherwise be an excellent print. Wanting to protect your print from video pirates like Alpha is one thing, but doing so by ruining the print with an incredibly distracting watermark is simply idiotic. Bad enough if the thing was present for the duration, but to have it blink off and then blink back on again a minute later means your attention is continually drawn to the thing, making it impossible to forget that it's there.
We buy commercial prints specifically in order to be able to watch a good print of a film, uninterrupted by advertising or watermarks. This is a disgrace.
VCI, you don't distinguish yourself from your competition by ruining your own product. Let the quality of your reputation and your prints speak for themselves: sadly, your watermark mars both, and I will be researching anything I contemplate purchasing from you in the future to be sure I don't get stung again.
We buy commercial prints specifically in order to be able to watch a good print of a film, uninterrupted by advertising or watermarks. This is a disgrace.
VCI, you don't distinguish yourself from your competition by ruining your own product. Let the quality of your reputation and your prints speak for themselves: sadly, your watermark mars both, and I will be researching anything I contemplate purchasing from you in the future to be sure I don't get stung again.
One person found this helpful
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