The Three Mesquiteers

Theatrical release poster for Pals of the Saddle, 1938

The Three Mesquiteers is the umbrella title for a Republic Pictures series of 51 Western B-movies released between 1936 and 1943, including 8 films starring John Wayne. The name was a play on mesquite and The Three Musketeers, and each film featured a trio of stars.

The series was based on a series of western novels by William Colt MacDonald, which began with The Law of 45's in 1933.^[1] A film version of The Law of 45's was made by a different film company in 1935 and introduced the characters Tucson Smith and Stony Brooke.

The series blended the traditional Western period with more modern elements, which was not unknown with other B-Western films and serials. Towards the end of the series, during World War II, the trio of cowboys were opposing Nazis.

The Mesquiteers

The cast list varied but always focused on a trio of cowboys. The members of this trio over the entire series were:

Ralph Byrd as Larry Smith (1 film, replacing Bob Livingston, injured during filming)
Ray "Crash" Corrigan as Tucson Smith (24 films)
Rufe Davis as Lullaby Joslin (14 films)
Jimmie Dodd as Lullaby Joslin (6 films)
Bob Livingston as Stony Brooke (29 films)
Raymond Hatton as Rusty Joslin (9 films)
Duncan Renaldo as Rico Rinaldo (7 films)
Syd Saylor as Lullaby Joslin (1 film)
Bob Steele as Tucson Smith (20 films)
Max Terhune as Lullaby Joslin (21 films)
Elmer as Elmer (Lullaby Joslin's (Max Terhune) Ventriliquest Dummy)
Tom Tyler as Stony Brooke (13 films)
John Wayne as Stony Brooke (8 films)
Kirby Grant as Tex Reilly (1 film, Red River Range) (Pretended to be Stony Brooke while Stony Brooke was undercover)

Stars in supporting roles at various times included:

Actress Lois Collier was sometimes called the Fourth Mesquiteer because seven of the movies featured her as the female lead.^[2]

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. For example, from 1937 to the end of the series in 1943, The Motion Picture Herald consistently ranked the series in its top ten, reaching a peak of 5th place in 1938, when a pre-Stagecoach John Wayne was the series lead.^[3]

Influence

The success of the series led to many 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 (PRC) produced two similar series, The Texas Rangers (1942–45) and The Frontier Marshals (1942).^[3]

Films

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

Year	Title	Stars
1936	1. The Three Mesquiteers	Robert Livingston (Stony Brooke)	Ray Corrigan (Tucson Smith)	Syd Saylor (Lullaby Joslin)
	2. Ghost-Town Gold			Max Terhune (Lullaby Joslin)
	3. Roarin' Lead
1937	4. Riders of the Whistling Skull
	5. Hit the Saddle
	6. Gunsmoke Ranch
	7. Come on, Cowboys
	8. Range Defenders
	9. Heart of the Rockies
	10. The Trigger Trio	Ralph Byrd (Larry Smith, Tucson's brother)
	11. Wild Horse Rodeo	Robert Livingston (Stony Brooke)
1938	12. The Purple Vigilantes
	13. Call the Mesquiteers
	14. Outlaws of Sonora
	15. Riders of the Black Hills
	16. Heroes of the Hills
	17. Pals of the Saddle	John Wayne (Stony Brooke)
	18. Overland Stage Raiders
	19. Santa Fe Stampede
	20. Red River Range
1939	21. The Night Riders
	22. Three Texas Steers
	23. Wyoming Outlaw			Raymond Hatton (Rusty Joslin)
	24. New Frontier
	25. The Kansas Terrors	Robert Livingston (Stony Brooke)	Duncan Renaldo (Rico Renaldo)
	26. Cowboys from Texas
1940	27. Heroes of the Saddle
	28. Pioneers of the West
	29. Covered Wagon Days
	30. Rocky Mountain Rangers
	31. Oklahoma Renegades
	32. Under Texas Skies		Bob Steele (Tucson Smith)	Rufe Davis (Lullaby Joslin)
	33. The Trail Blazers
	34. Lone Star Raiders
1941	35. Prairie Pioneers
	36. Pals of the Pecos
	37. Saddlemates
	38. Gangs of Sonora
	39. Outlaws of Cherokee Trail	Tom Tyler (Stony Brooke)
	40. Gauchos of El Dorado
	41. West of Cimarron
1942	42. Code of the Outlaw
	43. Raiders of the Range
	44. Westward Ho
	45. The Phantom Plainsmen
	46. Shadows on the Sage			Jimmie Dodd (Lullaby Joslin)
	47. Valley of Hunted Men
1943	48. Thundering Trails
	49. The Blocked Trail
	50. Santa Fe Scouts
	51. Riders of the Rio Grande

References

↑ B-Westerns, retrieved 14 November 2007
↑ Magers, Boyd; Fitzgerald, Michael G. (2004). Westerns Women: Interviews with 50 Leading Ladies of Movie and Television. McFarland & Co. Inc. pp. 58–62. ISBN 9780786420285. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
1 2 B-Westerns, retrieved 14 November 2007

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Three Mesquiteers.

The Three Mesquiteers films

1936	The Three Mesquiteers Ghost-Town Gold Roarin' Lead

1937	Riders of the Whistling Skull Hit the Saddle Gunsmoke Ranch Come on, Cowboys Range Defenders Heart of the Rockies The Trigger Trio Wild Horse Rodeo

1938	The Purple Vigilantes Call the Mesquiteers Outlaws of Sonora Riders of the Black Hills Heroes of the Hills Pals of the Saddle Overland Stage Raiders Santa Fe Stampede Red River Range

1939	The Night Riders Three Texas Steers Wyoming Outlaw New Frontier The Kansas Terrors Cowboys from Texas

1940	Heroes of the Saddle Pioneers of the West Covered Wagon Days Rocky Mountain Rangers Oklahoma Renegades Under Texas Skies The Trail Blazers Lone Star Raiders

1941	Prairie Pioneers Pals of the Pecos Saddlemates Gangs of Sonora Outlaws of Cherokee Trail Gauchos of El Dorado West of Cimarron

1942	Code of the Outlaw Raiders of the Range Westward Ho The Phantom Plainsmen Shadows on the Sage Valley of Hunted Men

1943	Thundering Trails The Blocked Trail Santa Fe Scouts Riders of the Rio Grande

Alexandre Dumas's d'Artagnan Romances

Characters

Films

The Three Musketeers	The Three Musketeers (1916) Les Trois Mousquetaires (1921) The Three Musketeers (1921) The Three Musketeers (1932) The Three Musketeers (1933) The Three Musketeers (1935) The Three Musketeers (1939) The Three Musketeers (1946) The Three Musketeers (1948) The Three Musketeers (1953) The Three Musketeers (1961) The Three Musketeers (1969) The Three Musketeers (1973) The Four Musketeers (1974) d'Artagnan and Three Musketeers (1978) The Three Musketeers (1993) The Musketeer (2001) The Three Musketeers (2011) 3 Musketeers (2011) The Three Musketeers (2013)

Twenty Years After	The Return of the Musketeers (1989) Musketeers Twenty Years After (1992)

The Vicomte of Bragelonne	The Iron Mask (1929) The Man in the Iron Mask (1939) Uthama Puthiran (1940) Lady in the Iron Mask (1952) Uthama Puthiran (1958) Le Masque de fer (1962) The Man in the Iron Mask (1977) The Fifth Musketeer (1979) The Secret of Queen Anne or Musketeers Thirty Years After (1993) The Man in the Iron Mask (1998)

Other sequels	At Sword's Point (1952) The Secret Mark of D'Artagnan (1962) Revenge of the Musketeers (1994) La Femme Musketeer (2004) The Return of the Musketeers, or The Treasures of Cardinal Mazarin (2009)

Animated	Tom and Jerry The Two Mouseketeers Touché, Pussy Cat! Tom and Chérie Royal Cat Nap The Three Musketeers (1973) The Man in the Iron Mask (1985) The Three Musketeers (1986) The Three Musketeers (1992) Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers (2004) Barbie and the Three Musketeers (2009)

Television

Games

Touché: The Adventures of the Fifth Musketeer
The Three Musketeers (1987 video game)
The Three Musketeers (2006 video game)
The Three Musketeers: One for All!

Musicals

The Three Musketeers (1928)
3 Musketiers

Other adaptations

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