The Three Mesquiteers

Not to be confused with The Three Musketeers.

The Three Mesquiteers
Poster for The Three Mesquiteers (1936)
Written by	William Colt MacDonald (based on novels by)
Starring	Bob Livingston Ray Corrigan Syd Saylor Max Terhune John Wayne Ralph Byrd Duncan Renaldo Raymond Hatton Tom Tyler Bob Steele Rufe Davis Jimmie Dodd
Production company	Republic Pictures
Release date	September 22, 1936 to May 21, 1943
Country	United States
Language	English

The Three Mesquiteers is the umbrella title for a Republic Pictures series of 51 American Western B-movies released between 1936 and 1943. The films, featuring a trio of Old West adventurers, was based on a series of Western novels by William Colt MacDonald. The eponymous trio, with occasional variations, were called Stony Brooke, Tucson Smith and Lullaby Joslin. John Wayne, who played Stony Brooke in eight of the films in 1938 and 1939, was the best-known actor in the series. Other leads included Bob Livingston, Ray "Crash" Corrigan, Max Terhune, Bob Steele, Rufe Davis and Tom Tyler.

Background

William Colt MacDonald wrote a series of novels about The Three Mesquiteers, beginning with The Law of 45's in 1933. The name "Mesquiteer" was a play on words, referring to mesquite, a plant common in the Western United States, and the characters of the 1844 Alexander Dumas novel The Three Musketeers . ^[1] The film series blended the traditional Western period with more modern elements, ^[2] a technique used in other B-Western films and serials. Toward the end of the series, during World War II, the trio of cowboys were opposing Nazis. One film, Outlaws of Sonora (1938), has a revisionist theme as an early example of the outlaw/gunfighter sub-genre. ^[3]

Previous non-Republic films

• The Law of the 45's (1935, First Division Pictures) starred Guinn "Big Boy" Williams as Tucson "Two Gun" Smith and Al. St. John as Stoney Martin; there was no Lullaby Joslin in the film.
• Powdersmoke Range (1935, RKO Pictures) starred Harry Carey as Tucson Smith, Hoot Gibson as Stony Brooke, and Guinn "Big Boy" Williams as Lullaby Joslin.
• Too Much Beef (1935, Grand National Pictures) starred Rex Bell as Johnny Argyle, who adopts the name Tucson Smith as an undercover identity.

The Mesquiteers

Theatrical release poster for Pals of the Saddle (1938) starring John Wayne

In the Republic series, the cast list varied but always featured a trio of cowboys. The original and most frequently recurring Mesquiteer characters were:

• Stony Brooke
  (played by Bob Livingston in 29 films, John Wayne in 8 films, and Tom Tyler in 13 films) ^[4]
• Tucson Smith
  (played by Ray Corrigan in 24 films, and by Bob Steele in 20 films)
• Lullaby Joslin
  (played by Syd Saylor in one film, Max Terhune in 21 films, Rufe Davis in 14 films, and by Jimmie Dodd in six films)

Other members of the trio over the entire series were:

• Ralph Byrd as Larry Smith (one film, replacing Bob Livingston, injured during filming)
• Raymond Hatton as Rusty Joslin (nine films)
• Duncan Renaldo as Rico Rinaldo (seven films)
• Kirby Grant as Tex Reilly (in Red River Range , Tex and Stony Brooke swap identities so that Stony can take Tex's place in an undercover investigation of cattle rustlers)

Stars in supporting roles at various times included:

• Noah Beery
• Henry Brandon
• Louise Brooks
• Yakima Canutt
• Chief Thundercloud
• Rita Hayworth (billed as Rita Cansino, her real name)
• Jennifer Jones
• Carole Landis
• George Montgomery
• Roy Rogers (billed as Dick Weston)
• Robert Warwick
• Hank Worden

Actress Lois Collier was sometimes called the Fourth Mesquiteer because seven of the movies featured her as the female lead. ^[5]

Max Terhune, when playing Lullaby Joslin, would sometimes appear with a ventriloquist dummy called Elmer.^{[ citation needed ]}

Reception

The Three Mesquiteers series was extremely popular at the time of its release. The series was the only one of its kind to be specifically named and ranked in contemporary polls of the top Western film stars. From 1937 to the end of the series in 1943, the Motion Picture Herald consistently ranked the series in its top 10, reaching a peak of fifth place in 1938, when a pre- Stagecoach John Wayne was the series lead. ^[6]

Influence

The success of the series led to many "trigger trio" imitators at other studios. The first was The Range Busters (1940–43) from Monogram Pictures, which starred original Mesquiteer Ray "Crash" Corrigan as the character "Crash" Corrigan. Monogram also released The Rough Riders (1941–42), again poaching a Mesquiteer in the form of Raymond Hatton, and The Trail Blazers (1943–44). Producers Releasing Corporation produced two similar series, The Texas Rangers (1942–45) and The Frontier Marshals (1942). ^[6] On television, NBC broadcast Laredo from 1965 to 1967. It starred Neville Brand, William Smith and Peter Brown as a trio of Texas Rangers. ^[7]

Films

Republic Pictures produced 51 films in The Three Mesquiteers series between 1936 and 1943:

Year	Title	Director	Mesquiteers			Lead actress
1936	1. The Three Mesquiteers	Ray Taylor	Bob Livingston (Stony Brooke)	Ray Corrigan (Tucson Smith)	Syd Saylor (Lullaby Joslin)	Kay Hughes
	2. Ghost-Town Gold	Joseph Kane			Max Terhune (Lullaby Joslin)
	3. Roarin' Lead	Sam Newfield Mack V. Wright				Christine Maple
1937	4. Riders of the Whistling Skull	Mack V. Wright				Mary Russell
	5. Hit the Saddle					Rita Cansino
	6. Gunsmoke Ranch	Joseph Kane				Jean Carmen
	7. Come On, Cowboys					Maxine Doyle
	8. Range Defenders	Mack V. Wright				Eleanor Stewart
	9. Heart of the Rockies	Joseph Kane				Lynne Roberts
	10. The Trigger Trio	William Witney	Ralph Byrd (Larry Smith, Tucson's brother)			Sandra Corday
	11. Wild Horse Rodeo	George Sherman	Bob Livingston (Stony Brooke)			June Martel
1938	12. The Purple Vigilantes					Joan Barclay
	13. Call the Mesquiteers	John English				Lynne Roberts
	14. Outlaws of Sonora	George Sherman				none
	15. Riders of the Black Hills					Ann Evers
	16. Heroes of the Hills					Priscilla Lawson
	17. Pals of the Saddle		John Wayne (Stony Brooke)			Doreen McKay
	18. Overland Stage Raiders					Louise Brooks
	19. Santa Fe Stampede					June Martel
	20. Red River Range					Lorna Gray
1939	21. The Night Riders					Doreen McKay
	22. Three Texas Steers					Carole Landis
	23. Wyoming Outlaw				Raymond Hatton (Rusty Joslin)	Pamela Blake
	24. New Frontier					Jennifer Jones
	25. The Kansas Terrors		Bob Livingston (Stony Brooke)	Duncan Renaldo (Rico Renaldo)		Julie Bishop
	26. Cowboys from Texas					Carole Landis
1940	27. Heroes of the Saddle	William Witney				none
	28. Pioneers of the West	Lester Orlebeck				Beatrice Roberts
	29. Covered Wagon Days	George Sherman				Kay Griffith
	30. Rocky Mountain Rangers					Rosella Towne
	31. Oklahoma Renegades	Nate Watt				Florine McKinney
	32. Under Texas Skies	George Sherman		Bob Steele (Tucson Smith)	Rufe Davis (Lullaby Joslin)	Lois Ranson
	33. The Trail Blazers					Pauline Moore
	34. Lone Star Raiders					June Johnson
1941	35. Prairie Pioneers	Lester Orlebeck				Esther Estrella
	36. Pals of the Pecos					June Johnson
	37. Saddlemates					Gale Storm
	38. Gangs of Sonora	John English				June Johnson
	39. Outlaws of Cherokee Trail	Lester Orlebeck	Tom Tyler (Stony Brooke)			Lois Collier
	40. Gauchos of El Dorado
	41. West of Cimarron
1942	42. Code of the Outlaw	John English				none
	43. Raiders of the Range					Lois Collier
	44. Westward Ho
	45. The Phantom Plainsmen
	46. Shadows on the Sage	Lester Orlebeck			Jimmie Dodd (Lullaby Joslin)	Cheryl Walker
	47. Valley of Hunted Men	John English				none
1943	48. Thundering Trails					Nell O'Day
	49. The Blocked Trail	Elmer Clifton				Helen Deverell
	50. Santa Fe Scouts	Howard Bretherton				Lois Collier
	51. Riders of the Rio Grande					Lorraine Miller

References

1. "The Three Mesquiteers". B-Western Movies. p. 1. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
2. Powell, Larry; Amsbary, Jonathan H. (2018). Becoming John Wayne: The Early Westerns of a Screen Icon, 1930–1939. McFarland. p. 118. ISBN   978-14-76629-94-0.
3. "Outlaw (Gunfighter) Film". AllMovie. p. 11. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
4. Kehr, Dave (September 28, 2012). "Tall in the Saddle in 2 Eras at Once". New York Times. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
5. Magers, Boyd; Fitzgerald, Michael G. (2004). Westerns Women: Interviews with 50 Leading Ladies of Movie and Television. McFarland. pp. 58–62. ISBN   978-07-86420-28-5.
6. "The Three Mesquiteers". B-Western Movies. p. 2. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
7. Hathorn, Billy (2013). "Roy Bean, Temple Houston, Bill Longley, Ranald Mackenzie, Buffalo Bill, Jr., and the Texas Rangers: Depictions of West Texans in Series Television, 1955 to 1967". West Texas Historical Review. West Texas Historical Association. 89: 115–116.

External links

• Keywords 'three-mesquiteers-series' at IMDb
• The Three Mesquiteers at B-Westerns