Tom London 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 the history of Hollywood, according to the 2001 book Film Facts, which says that the performer who played in the most films was "Tom London, who made his first of over 2,000 appearances in The Great Train Robbery, 1903. He used his birth name in films until 1924.
Frederick Benjamin "Fred" Gipson was an American writer and screenwriter. He is best known for writing the 1956 novel Old Yeller, which became a popular 1957 Walt Disney film. Gipson was born on a farm near Mason in the Texas Hill Country, the son of Beck Gipson and Emma Deishler. After working at a variety of farming and ranching jobs, he enrolled in 1933 at the University of Texas at Austin. There he wrote for the Daily Texan and The Ranger, but he left school before graduating to become a newspaper journalist.
Hank Worden was an American cowboy-turned-character actor who appeared in many Westerns, including many John Ford films such as The Searchers and the TV series The Lone Ranger.
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 dangers encountered while pushing cattle for miles up the trails and across the prairies. This continues with modern vaquero traditions and within the genre of Western music, and its related New Mexico, Red Dirt, Tejano, and Texas country music styles. A number of songs have been written and made famous by groups like the Sons of the Pioneers and Riders in the Sky and individual performers such as Marty Robbins, Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Tex Ritter, Bob Baker and other "singing cowboys". Singing in the wrangler style, these entertainers have served to preserve the cowboy as a unique American hero.
The Rounders is a 1965 American Western comedy film directed by Burt Kennedy and starring Glenn Ford and Henry Fonda. It is based on the 1960 novel of the same name by Max Evans.
Monte Walsh is a 1970 American Western film directed by cinematographer William A. Fraker starring Lee Marvin, Jeanne Moreau and Jack Palance. The name "Monte Walsh" is taken from the title of a 1963 western novel by Jack Schaefer, but the film has little to do with the plot of Schaefer's book. The film was set in Harmony, Arizona. The story has elements of a tragedy. The song played over the opening credits is "The Good Times Are Comin' " by Mama Cass, with music and lyrics by John Barry and Hal David.
Jay Wilsey was an American film actor. He appeared in nearly 100 films between 1924 and 1944. He starred in a series of very low-budget westerns in the 1920s and 1930s, billed as Buffalo Bill Jr.
Cowboy from Brooklyn is a 1938 American Western musical romantic comedy film directed by Lloyd Bacon and written by Earl Baldwin. It stars Dick Powell, Pat O'Brien and Priscilla Lane. The film was based on the 1937 Broadway play Howdy Stranger by Robert Sloane and Louis Pelletier.
Rhythm on the Range is a 1936 American Western musical film directed by Norman Taurog and starring Bing Crosby, Frances Farmer, and Bob Burns. Based on a story by Mervin J. Houser, the film is about a cowboy who meets a beautiful young woman while returning from a rodeo in the east, and invites her to stay at his California ranch to experience his simple, honest way of life. Rhythm on the Range was Crosby's only Western film and introduced two western songs, "Empty Saddles" by Billy Hill and "I'm an Old Cowhand " by Johnny Mercer, the latter becoming a national hit song for Crosby. The film played a role in familiarizing its audience with the singing cowboy and Western music on a national level.
Dude Cowboy is a 1941 American western film. David Howard directed the film and Morton Grant wrote the screenplay. The film stars Tim Holt as Terry McVey, Eddie Kane as Gordon West, Marjorie Reynolds as Barbara Adams, Byron Foulger as Frank Adams, Louise Currie as Gail Sargent, Eddie Dew as French, Helen Holmes as Aunt Althea Carter, Lloyd Ingraham as Pop Stebbins, Eddie Kane as Gordon West, and Tom London as the Silver City Sheriff.
Trigger Trail is a 1944 American Western film directed by Lewis D. Collins and starring Rod Cameron.
Gold Mine in the Sky is a 1938 Western film directed by Joseph Kane and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, and Carol Hughes. Based on a story by Betty Burbridge, the film is about a singing cowboy and ranch foreman who, as executor of the owner's will, must see that the daughter and heiress does not marry without his approval.
Ridin' on a Rainbow is a 1941 American Western musical film directed by Lew Landers and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, and Mary Lee. Written by Bradford Ropes and Doris Malloy, based on a story by Ropes, the film is about a singing cowboy whose investigation of a bank robbery takes him to a showboat, where he finds that a teenage singer's father has been working with the robbers to provide for her future. The film received an Academy Award nomination for best original song for "Be Honest with Me".
The Singing Cowboy is a 1936 American Western film directed by Mack V. Wright and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Lois Wilde and Lon Chaney Jr. Based on a story by Tom Gibson, the film is about a cowboy who decides to sing on television in order to raise money for the orphaned daughter of his former boss who was murdered.
Rootin' Tootin' Rhythm is a 1937 American Western film directed by Mack V. Wright and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, and Armida. Based on a story by Johnston McCulley, the film is about two cowboys who assume the identities of dead outlaws in order to stop a bunch of cattle rustlers, later discovering that the outlaws are far from dead.
Mountain Rhythm is a 1939 American Western film directed by B. Reeves Eason and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, and June Storey. Based on a story by Connie Lee, the film is about a cowboy who organizes his fellow ranchers to oppose an Eastern promoter's land grab scheme.
Colorado Sunset is a 1939 American Western film directed by George Sherman and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, and June Storey. Written by Betty Burbridge and Stanley Roberts, based on a story by Luci Ward and Jack Natteford, the film is about a singing cowboy and his buddies who discover that the ranch they bought is really a dairy farm—and worse, it's subject to intimidation from a protection racket that prevents dairy products from safely reaching the market.
Rovin' Tumbleweeds is a 1939 American Western film directed by George Sherman and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette and Mary Carlisle. Written by Betty Burbridge, Dorrell McGowan, and Stuart E. McGowan, the film is about a cowboy congressman who exposes a crooked politician who is delaying passage of a flood control bill.
Guy Owen Wilkerson was an American actor, known primarily for his roles in Western B movies, who with his tall, lanky frame, he often played sidekick or comedy relief parts.
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is a 2018 American Western anthology film written, directed, and produced by the Coen brothers. It stars Tim Blake Nelson, Tyne Daly, James Franco, Brendan Gleeson, Bill Heck, Grainger Hines, Zoe Kazan, Harry Melling, Liam Neeson, Jonjo O'Neill, Chelcie Ross, Saul Rubinek, and Tom Waits, and features six vignettes set on the American frontier.
