Red River Range ** (1938, John Wayne, Ray Corrigan, Max Terhune, Polly Moran) – Classic Movie Review 11,670

Republic Pictures’ 1938 film Red River Range stars John Wayne for the fourth time as Stony Brooke in another short, fast-moving Three Mesquiteers B-Western. 

Director George Sherman’s 1938 Republic Pictures film Red River Range is based on the characters created by William Colt MacDonald, and stars John Wayne, Ray Corrigan, Max Terhune and Polly Moran.

Wayne is back for the fourth time as Stony Brooke in another short (56 minutes), fast-moving minor Three Mesquiteers B-Western, and his charismatic turn is the making of this otherwise forgettable B-movie. Ray Corrigan and Max Terhune are also on hand as as Tucson Smith and Lullaby Joslin.

Stony Brooke (Wayne) gets Tex Riley (Kirby Grant) to masquerade as him so he can pretend to be a wanted outlaw to get into a gang of cattle rustlers, while the rustlers’ boss Hartley (Perry Ivins) joins the posse to end the Mesquiteers.

Also in the cast are Lorna Gray, Kirby Grant, Sammy McKim, William Royle, Perry Ivins, Stanley Blystone, Lenore Bushman, Burr Caruth, Roger Williams, Earl Askam, Olin Francis, Fred Toones, Al Taylor, Jack Montgomery, Robert McKenzie, Theodore Lorch, Ed Cassidy, John Beach, and Chuck Baldra.

Red River Range is directed by George Sherman, runs 56 minutes, is made and released by Republic Pictures, is written by Betty Burbidge, Stanley Roberts and Luci Ward, based on a story by Luci Ward and characters by William Colt MacDonald, is shot in black and white by Jack A Marta, is produced by William A Berke and is scored by William Lava.

Wayne played the lead in eight of the 51 films in the Republic Pictures Three Mesquiteers series as Stony Brooke: Pals of the Saddle, Overland Stage Raiders, Santa Fe Stampede, Red River Range, The Night Riders, Three Texas Steers, Wyoming Outlaw, and New Frontier. Stony Brooke was played by Bob Livingston in 29 films and Tom Tyler in 13 films.

The Three Mesquiteers series was released between 1936 and 1943. The name mixes mesquite, a plant common in the Western states, with The Three Musketeers.

Previously, Powdersmoke Range (1935, RKO Pictures) had starred Harry Carey Sr as Tucson Smith, Hoot Gibson as Stony Brooke, and Guinn ‘Big Boy’ Williams as Lullaby Joslin. Then Republic Pictures started up with The Three Mesquiteers (1936) with Bob Livingston.

The cast are John Wayne as Stony Brooke, Ray Corrigan as Tucson Smith, Max Terhune as Lullaby Joslin, Polly Moran as Mrs Maxwell, Lorna Gray as Jane Mason, Kirby Grant as Tex Reilly, Sammy McKim as Tommy Jones, William Royle as Payne, Perry Ivins as Hartley, Stanley Blystone as Randall, Lenore Bushman as Evelyn Maxwell, Burr Caruth as Pop Mason, Roger Williams as Sheriff Wood, Earl Askam as Henchman Morton, Olin Francis as Henchman Kenton, Chuck Baldra as Dude Ranch Cowhand, Ed Cassidy as Marshal, Bert Dillard as Cattleman, Jack Montgomery as Cattleman, Theodore Lorch as Rancher, Frank O’Connor as Photographer, Curley Dresden as Rustler, Robert McKenzie as Justice of the Peace, Joe Whitehead as Henchman, Fred ‘Snowflake’ Toones as Bellhop, Al Taylor as henchman Slick, and John Beach as Rustler.

© Derek Winnert 2021 Classic Movie Review 11,670

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