George Randolph Scott was an American film actor, whose Hollywood career spanned from 1928 to 1962. As a leading man for all but the first three years of his cinematic career, Scott appeared in dramas, comedies, musicals, adventures, war, horror and fantasy films, and Westerns. Out of his more than 100 film appearances, more than 60 of them were Westerns.
Pearl Zane Grey was an American author and dentist. He is known for his popular adventure novels and stories associated with the Western genre in literature and the arts; he idealized the American frontier. Riders of the Purple Sage (1912) was his best-selling book.
Brigham Young is a 1940 American biographical western film starring Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell and Dean Jagger that describes Young's succession to the presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after founder Joseph Smith was assassinated in 1844. The supporting cast features Brian Donlevy, Jane Darwell, John Carradine, Mary Astor, Vincent Price and Tully Marshall.
Wagon Train is an American Western television series that aired for eight seasons, first on the NBC television network (1957–1962) and then on ABC (1962–1965). Wagon Train debuted on September 18, 1957 and reached the top of the Nielsen ratings. It is the fictional adventure story of a large westbound wagon train through the American frontier from Missouri to California. Its format attracted famous guest stars for each episode appearing as travelers or residents of the settlements that the regular cast encountered.
Benjamin Franklin "Frank" McGrath was an American television and film actor and stunt performer who played the comical, optimistic cook with the white beard, Charlie B. Wooster, on the western series Wagon Train for five seasons on NBC and then three seasons on ABC. McGrath appeared in all 272 episodes in the eight seasons of the series, which had ended its run only two years before his death. McGrath's Wooster character hence provided the meals and companionship for both fictional trail masters, Ward Bond as Seth Adams and John McIntire as Christopher "Chris" Hale.
The Big Trail is a 1930 American epic pre-Code Western early widescreen film shot on location across the American West starring 23-year-old John Wayne in his first leading role and directed by Raoul Walsh. It is the final completed film to feature Tyrone Power Sr. before his death in 1931, as well as his only sound role.
Tully Marshall was an American character actor. He had nearly a quarter century of theatrical experience before his debut film appearance in 1914 which led to a film career spanning almost three decades.
Claude Aubrey Akins was an American character actor. He played Sonny Pruit in Movin' On, a 1974–1976 American drama series about a trucking team, Sheriff Lobo on the 1979–1981 television series, and a variety of other film and television roles.
Ernest Torrence was a Scottish film character actor who appeared in many Hollywood films, including Broken Chains (1922) with Colleen Moore, Mantrap (1926) with Clara Bow and Fighting Caravans (1931) with Gary Cooper and Lili Damita. A towering figure, Torrence frequently played cold-eyed and imposing villains.
The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1929) is a sound part-talkie film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film was directed by Charles Brabin and starred Lili Damita and Don Alvarado. In addition to sequences with audible dialogue or talking sequences, the film features a synchronized musical score and sound effects along with English intertitles. The sound was recorded via the Western Electric sound-on-film process.
The Covered Wagon is a 1923 American silent epic Western film released by Paramount Pictures. The film was directed by James Cruze based on a 1922 novel of the same name by Emerson Hough about a group of pioneers traveling through the old West from Kansas to Oregon. J. Warren Kerrigan starred as Will Banion and Lois Wilson as Molly Wingate. On their quest they experience desert heat, mountain snow, hunger, and Indian attack.
Nevada is a 1944 Western film based on the 1928 Zane Grey novel and starring a 27-year-old Robert Mitchum, with Anne Jeffreys, Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, and Richard Martin in supporting roles. The film was written by Norman Houston from Grey's popular novel and directed by Edward Killy. Mitchum is billed with "Introducing Bob Mitchum as Jim Lacy" at the film's beginning. Although this was not Mitchum's first movie, it was his first lead role; he had previously played mainly villains.
The Thundering Herd is a 1925 American silent Western film, now lost. It is directed by William K. Howard and starring Jack Holt, Lois Wilson, Noah Beery, Sr. and Raymond Hatton. Based on Zane Grey's 1925 novel of the same name and written by Lucien Hubbard, the film is about a trader who uncovers a scheme to blame the Indians for a buffalo-herd massacre. It was one of a series of critically and commercially successful Zane Grey westerns produced by Jesse Lasky and Adolph Zukor for Paramount Pictures.
Wagon Wheels is a 1934 American Western film directed by Charles Barton and starring Randolph Scott and Gail Patrick. It is a remake of 1931's Fighting Caravans, using stock footage from the original and substituting a new cast. It was based on the Zane Grey 1929 novel Fighting Caravans. The supporting cast features Monte Blue and Raymond Hatton.
To the Last Man is a 1933 American pre-Code Western film directed by Henry Hathaway and starring Randolph Scott and Esther Ralston. The screenplay by Jack Cunningham was based on the 1921 novel of the same name by Zane Grey. The novel, optioned to Paramount Pictures, was previously made as Victor Fleming's 1923 silent film version of the same title. The supporting cast of Hathaway's version features Noah Beery Sr., Jack La Rue, Buster Crabbe, Barton MacLane, Fuzzy Knight, Gail Patrick, and, in uncredited roles, Shirley Temple and John Carradine.
Ben Cooper was an American actor of film and television who won a Golden Boot Award in 2005 for his work in Westerns.
Nevada is a 1927 American silent Western film directed by John Waters and starring Gary Cooper, Thelma Todd, and William Powell. Based on the novel Nevada by Zane Grey, the film is about a former outlaw hired to protect a ranch owner's daughter, which angers the ranch foreman who is in love with the girl. The villainous foreman spreads a rumor of his rival's dark past to the sheriff, and the former outlaw is soon on the run again. Eventually he captures a gang of cattle rustlers led by the foreman, and with his reputation restored, he marries the girl. This lavish Western film was remade in 1944 as a B movie version titled Nevada starring Robert Mitchum—the only time Cooper and Mitchum played the same role; the remake was so early in Mitchum's career that he was billed with "Introducing Bob Mitchum as Jim Lacy."
The Heritage of the Desert is a 1924 American silent Western film directed by Irvin Willat and based on the novel of the same name by Zane Grey. It stars Bebe Daniels, Ernest Torrence, and Noah Beery. The film was released by Paramount Pictures with sequences filmed in an early Technicolor process.
Keene Thompson was a story, scenario and screenwriter who worked in the film industry from 1920 to 1937.
Doomed Caravan is a 1941 American western film directed by Lesley Selander and starring William Boyd, Andy Clyde and Minna Gombell. The film is a Western and part of the Hopalong Cassidy series released by Paramount Pictures. It is the 32nd entry in a series of 66 films.
