Lester Alvin Burnett, better known as Smiley Burnette, was an American country music performer and a comedic actor in Western films and on radio and TV, playing sidekick to Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, and other B-movie cowboys. He was also a prolific singer-songwriter who is reported to have played proficiently over 100 musical instruments, sometimes more than one simultaneously. His career, beginning in 1934, spanned four decades, including a regular role on CBS-TV's Petticoat Junction in the 1960s.
Jasper Joseph Inman Kane was an American film director, film producer, film editor and screenwriter. He is best known for his extensive directorship and focus on Western films.
Black Arrow is a 1944 American Western Serial film directed by Lew Landers and starring Roberts Scott, Adele Jergens, Robert Williams and Kenneth MacDonald.
Billy the Kid Returns is a 1938 American Western film directed by Joseph Kane and starring Roy Rogers.
Grand Canyon Trail is a 1948 American Western film starring Roy Rogers combining Western action with Three Stooges-style slapstick. Robert Livingston plays the head villain and James Finlayson plays the sheriff. The Republic Pictures film was shot in Trucolor, but only black and white prints survive.
Melody Trail is a 1935 American Western film directed by Joseph Kane and starring Gene Autry, Ann Rutherford, and Smiley Burnette. Written by Sherman L. Lowe and Betty Burbridge, the film is about a singing cowboy who goes after the men who kidnapped the baby he should have been babysitting. The film features the songs "On the Melody Trail", "A Lone Cowboy on the Lone Prairie", and "Western Lullaby".
The Sundown Kid is a 1942 American Western film directed by Elmer Clifton and written by Norman S. Hall. The film stars Don "Red" Barry, Ian Keith, Helen MacKellar, Linda Leighton, Emmett Lynn and Wade Crosby. The film was released on December 28, 1942, by Republic Pictures.
Pride of the Plains is a 1944 American Western film directed by Wallace Fox and written by John K. Butler and Robert Creighton Williams. The film stars Robert Livingston, Smiley Burnette, Nancy Gay, Steve Barclay, Kenneth MacDonald and Charles Miller. The film was released on January 5, 1944, by Republic Pictures.
Beneath Western Skies is a 1944 American Western film directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet and written by Albert DeMond and Robert Creighton Williams. The film stars Robert Livingston, Smiley Burnette, Effie Laird, Frank Jaquet, Tom London and Charles Miller. The film was released on March 3, 1944, by Republic Pictures.
Goodnight, Sweetheart is a 1944 American comedy film directed by Joseph Santley and written by Isabel Dawn and Jack Townley. The film stars Robert Livingston, Ruth Terry, Henry Hull, Grant Withers, Thurston Hall and Lloyd Corrigan. The film was released on June 17, 1944, by Republic Pictures.
Call of the Rockies is a 1944 American Western film directed by Lesley Selander and written by Robert Creighton Williams. The film stars Smiley Burnette, Sunset Carson, Harry Woods, Kirk Alyn, Ellen Hall and Frank Jaquet. The film was released on July 14, 1944, by Republic Pictures.
Bordertown Trail is a 1944 American Western film directed by Lesley Selander and written by Robert Creighton Williams and Jesse Duffy. The film stars Smiley Burnette, Sunset Carson, Weldon Heyburn, Addison Richards, Francis McDonald and Jack Luden. The film was released on August 11, 1944, by Republic Pictures.
Code of the Prairie is a 1944 American Western film directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet and written by Albert DeMond and Anthony Coldeway. The film stars Smiley Burnette, Sunset Carson, Peggy Stewart, Weldon Heyburn, Tom Chatterton and Roy Barcroft. The film was released on October 6, 1944, by Republic Pictures.
Firebrands of Arizona is a 1944 American Western film directed by Lesley Selander and written by Randall Faye. The film stars Smiley Burnette, Sunset Carson, Peggy Stewart, Earle Hodgins, Roy Barcroft and LeRoy Mason. The film was released on December 1, 1944, by Republic Pictures.
Wagon Wheels Westward is a 1945 American Western film in the Red Ryder film series directed by R. G. Springsteen and written by Earle Snell. The film stars Wild Bill Elliott, Robert Blake, Alice Fleming, Linda Stirling, Roy Barcroft and Emmett Lynn. The film was released on December 21, 1945, by Republic Pictures.
Laramie Mountains is a 1952 American Western film directed by Ray Nazarro and starring Charles Starrett, Jock Mahoney and Fred F. Sears. This was the sixty-second of 65 films in the Durango Kid series.
The Fighting Frontiersman is a 1946 American Western film directed by Derwin Abrahams and written by Ed Earl Repp. The film stars Charles Starrett, Helen Mowery, Hank Newman and Smiley Burnette. The film was released on December 10, 1946, by Columbia Pictures. This was the eighteenth of 65 films in the Durango Kid series.
Trail to Laredo is a 1948 American Western film directed by Ray Nazarro and written by Barry Shipman. The film stars Charles Starrett, Jim Bannon, Virginia Maxey, Tommy Ivo, Hugh Prosser and Smiley Burnette. The film was released on August 12, 1948, by Columbia Pictures. This was the thirty-third of 65 films in the Durango Kid series.
Laramie is a 1949 American Western film directed by Ray Nazarro and written by Barry Shipman. The film stars Charles Starrett, Fred F. Sears, Tommy Ivo, Elton Britt and Smiley Burnette. The film was released on May 19, 1949, by Columbia Pictures. This was the thirty-seventh of 65 films in the Durango Kid series.
Landrush is a 1946 American Western film directed by Vernon Keays and starring Charles Starrett, Doris Houck, Smiley Burnette, Emmett Lynn, Bud Geary and Steve Barclay. The film was released on November 18, 1946, by Columbia Pictures. This was the sixteenth of 65 films in the Durango Kid series.
