Death Valley Days

Death Valley Days

1952
Death Valley Days
Death Valley Days

Death Valley Days

7.5 | TV-PG | en | Drama

Death Valley Days is an American radio and television anthology series featuring true stories of the old American West, particularly the Death Valley area. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program was broadcast on radio until 1945 and continued from 1952 to 1970 as a syndicated television series, with reruns continuing through August 1, 1975. The series was sponsored by the Pacific Coast Borax Company and hosted by Stanley Andrews, Ronald Reagan, Robert Taylor, and Dale Robertson. With the passing of Dale Robertson in 2013, all the former Death Valley Days hosts are now deceased.

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Seasons & Episodes

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EP26  Early Candle Lighten
Apr. 24,1970
Early Candle Lighten

A gold camp cook is threatened with hanging after it's discovered he has been skimming nuggets from the miners. His assistant thinks he can save his life by bringing the cook's sister from Tucson.

EP25  The Duke of Tombstone
Apr. 21,1970
The Duke of Tombstone

Tombstone sheriff Ray Ritter and wife Joanna have a bright future but then the he tosses shady gambler Fields out of area. He returns with a deed to half the town and Ritter finds he must protect the scoundrel from vigilant justice.

EP24  The Contract
Apr. 18,1970
The Contract

Red Eagle, with his wife Little Fawn, compete for an army freight contract against Manning. But Manning uses underhanded means to win so Little Fawn finds a clever solution after arriving at the fort.

EP23  Clum's Constabulary
Apr. 09,1970
Clum's Constabulary

John Clum is given the task of turning a small group of Apache men into a force that can aid the US Calvary. Not only must he prove their worth but deal with the prejudice of both the army and the local Anglo community who try to sabotage him.

EP22  A Gift from Father Tapis
Apr. 07,1970
A Gift from Father Tapis

Father de la Cuesta has replaced the deceased Father Tapis and is curious why the padre ordered a hand organ for the mission. Father and Jose refuse to leave when Joaquin and his renegades become a threat, using the organ to save the day.

EP21  The Solid Gold Pie
Apr. 01,1970
The Solid Gold Pie

A town's pie supply is threatened when the loveless lady baker decides to leave.

EP20  The Man Who Planted Gold in California
Mar. 16,1970
The Man Who Planted Gold in California

A sheriff schemes to win an interest in California's wine industry.

EP19  Amos and the Black Bull
Feb. 28,1970
Amos and the Black Bull

Amos can't marry his girl Maggie because he's poor. When his new friend Yucca offers to trade some of his land for a black bull, Amos has to figure out how to get his hands on one.

EP18  Talk to Me, Charley
Feb. 15,1970
Talk to Me, Charley

Charley and Stokes are partners in a productive gold mine and are successful holding off any claim jumpers. The main problem is Charley drinking too much and when the beautiful Wilhelma arrives the situation worsens. It is Charley who devises a solution.

EP17  A Saint of Travelers
Feb. 14,1970
A Saint of Travelers

Bishop Lamy and Tom Forbes head across the desert with Blue Feather, angry at his sister's conversion, in deadly pursuit. Tom learns about faith when the bishop stops to aid a man ill with cholera, then faces off with Blue Feather.

EP16  The Biggest Little Post Office in the World
Jan. 24,1970
The Biggest Little Post Office in the World

Postal inspector Wesley Hull is determined to discover how postmaster Jack Reardon can sell so many stamps in such a small town. He doesn't count on Reardon's pleasant disposition, or his knowledge of the letter of the law.

EP15  The Dragon of Gold Hill
Jan. 24,1970
The Dragon of Gold Hill

Maso and Okei, tea growers in Gold Hills, encounter both friendship and racism from the locals. A worsening drought has some looking for a scapegoat and local bully Dan leads a mob to drive their Japanese neighbors out.

EP14  The Wizard of Aberdeen
Jan. 17,1970
The Wizard of Aberdeen

Newspaperman L. Frank Baum is having a hard time making his paper a success. He spends most of his time telling stories to the local kids, full of scarecrows, lions, and little girls carried away to magical lands by tornadoes.

EP13  Simple Question of Justice
Jan. 12,1970
Simple Question of Justice

Caleb relies on the advice and support of his upstanding friend Andrew but has a blind spot concerning his son Johnny. Eventually Johnny goes to far and Caleb tracks him down to make him faces the consequences of his actions.

EP12  Pioneer Pluck
Jan. 03,1970
Pioneer Pluck

Annabelle ignores her grandmother's advice and flirts with ranch hand Winn while waiting for her beau Frank to propose. Winn's violent past becomes apparent when he vows revenge on her after she marries.

EP11  The Mezcla Man
Jan. 02,1970
The Mezcla Man

Jess intends to marry his longtime sweetheart but thinks he needs to find some hidden gold so she will accept. When a wealthy traveler from New Orleans shows up and courts her, Jess begins to realize what he really wants.

EP10  The King of the Uvalde Road
Jan. 01,1970
The King of the Uvalde Road

King Fisher keeps the mail from arriving from San Antonio, knowing if it succeeds, he will lose the power he has in Uvalde. The government sends Harry to resolve the problem and he finds a unique way to get King to open his road.

EP9  The Visitor
Nov. 17,1969
The Visitor

A peace seeking Indian scout aids pioneers besieged by Indian renegades.

EP8  The Great Pinto Bean Gold Hunt
Nov. 16,1969
The Great Pinto Bean Gold Hunt

After a trip to town, two down and out miners find gold nuggets mixed with beans they bought. Convinced that finding origin of the beans will make them wealthy, they head across the Arizona desert encountering difficulties along the way.

EP7  The Lady Doctor
Oct. 27,1969
The Lady Doctor

Amy Caldwell serves as the "doctor" in the remote mountain community over the objections of her husband John. He is also concerned about the threats of an Indian warrior who wants to take over from the old chief.

EP6  Son of Thunder
Oct. 26,1969
Son of Thunder

A gunfighter comes to town to challenge the "Avenging Angel". A gunman that is invincible. That bullets can't harm.

EP5  Biscuits and Billy, the Kid
Oct. 10,1969
Biscuits and Billy, the Kid

A blue eyed goat named Billy and a mother's ability to bake biscuits help family members traveling by wagon from Utah to California when they are abandoned by their guide.

EP4  The Tenderfoot
Oct. 09,1969
The Tenderfoot

While their family is traveling out west three children are orphaned. They decide to continue on to the town of Whiskey Flats and seek their fortune by panning for gold.

EP3  Old Stape
Oct. 04,1969
Old Stape

An old thief outwits lawmen by returning to his rundown shack, which straddles the U.S. and Republic of Texas border.

EP2  Tracy's Triumph
Oct. 04,1969
Tracy's Triumph

A convict is released from prison - but not from his past.

EP1  The Taming of Trudy Bell
Oct. 02,1969
The Taming of Trudy Bell

Lumberjack Will is attracted to Trudy, the daughter of his boss Mr. Bell. But Trudy thinks highly of herself and after Will spanks her at a box social he expects to lose his job plus his best friend's Danny whose advice he took.

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7.5 | TV-PG | en | Drama , Western | More Info
Released: 1952-10-01 | Released Producted By: McGowan Productions , sfm Entertainment Country: United States of America Budget: 0 Revenue: 0 Official Website: http://www.deathvalleydays.com/
Synopsis

Death Valley Days is an American radio and television anthology series featuring true stories of the old American West, particularly the Death Valley area. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program was broadcast on radio until 1945 and continued from 1952 to 1970 as a syndicated television series, with reruns continuing through August 1, 1975. The series was sponsored by the Pacific Coast Borax Company and hosted by Stanley Andrews, Ronald Reagan, Robert Taylor, and Dale Robertson. With the passing of Dale Robertson in 2013, all the former Death Valley Days hosts are now deceased.

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The tv show is currently not available onine

Cast

Dale Robertson

Director

Producted By

McGowan Productions , sfm Entertainment

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Reviews

bugsmoran29 I remember watching "Death Valley Days" back in the sixties on Saturday afternoons with my father and my five brothers. I have only recently begun watching the program as I can now receive it on the Western Encore Channel on cable. I really appreciate this show because it a western that features more than just cowboys & Indians. There are plenty of episodes that focus upon prospectors, missionaries, newspaper reporters, teachers, naturalists, telegraph operators and mail deliverer. The action takes primarily in San Francisco and the state of California but the viewer is has taken to the Dakotas, Wyoming, Montana, Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico. It is always fun to spot the actors on the show who were on their way up or down in Hollywood. I even saw a very young Clint Eastwood on an episode just recently.
bkoganbing Somewhere in the offices of the 20 Mule Team Borax company sits some television gold. Death Valley Days, the longest running syndicated show on television contains some fine dramas, made better by the fact that these were true western stories, no frills added. Take a look at the directors and writers lists for the show. You'll find in the credits any number of B picture western directors who found work as the B western died out on the big screen, same with the writers.Not to mention the players and for a real western feel the show had as its first host character actor Stanley Andrews known as the Old Ranger. Andrews brought a real feel of the old west to his job as host. Even when some rather more well known Hollywood names like Ronald Reagan, Robert Taylor and Dale Robertson took over the hosting duties, you always knew you were watching three well known movie stars. With Andrews it was like sitting by the fireside listening to tales from the past from a beloved relative.Robertson was from Oklahoma and could never shake the western image no matter how hard he tried in his career and he eventually went with the flow. Taylor and Reagan were both leading men, Taylor of A films and Reagan of B films from their respective studios. But both had a real love of horses and the west and would just as soon have been cowboy heroes at their studios instead of the career paths that were chosen for them by Louis B. Mayer and Jack Warner respectively. All of them fit the role of host well because of their backgrounds.This is another show that TV Land channel ought to grab. Or at least the country music channel which has now taken to showing films occasionally. They can't do better than this.
krorie One of my favorite shows on early TV was "Death Valley Days" featuring The Old Ranger (Stanley Andrews). Being a child, the only problem was the time schedule. On KARK, Channel 4, out of Little Rock, Akansas, the syndicated "Death Valley Days" came on just before sign-off but at least it was on a weekend night so I didn't have to worry about school the next day.Sleepy-eyed, I would watch the 20-mule team pull the borax wagons across the sands as Josef Bonime's enchanting "Bugle Theme" sounded me awake. The moving picture of the team transformed into a picture on the wall as the camera panned down to The Old Ranger seated at his desk. He spoke as he slowly rose to greet the viewers:"Howdy, I'm The Old Ranger and Death Valley is my stamping ground. Many's a tale of adventure I'm going to tell about Death Valley country. True stories, mind you...I can vouch for that...on behalf of these two products, 20-Mule Team Borax and Boraxo. And now here's Rosemary DeCamp to tell you about it." The stories were good one with many a veteran character actor appearing in various episodes. At times the story would be built around the sponsor's product. One such episode I saw recently was entitled "The Big Team Rolls," starring Judd Holdren of Commando Cody fame. The seasoned character actor, Tom London, was featured as the muleskinner, Sandy McPherson.Judd Holdren as Dana Emerson plays a tenderfoot from Boston who comes to Death Valley to be near his sweetheart (Lucille Barkley) whose father operates the borax works that transport the borax across the mountains and desert to Mojave, California, twenty miles round trip. Dana is tested by being assigned the swamper job. To complicate the novice's first trip, a disgruntled employee attempts to sabotage the journey and steal the payroll brought back from Mojave. Dana must prove his worth to himself, to his dearly beloved and to her father.Gene Autry's Flying A Productions produced the program. Many of the actors, including Stanley Andrews (The Old Ranger), were part of Gene's stock company of Thespians. Andrews appeared on several of the Gene Autry Show episodes as did many of the other featured players on Death Valley Days.As with any anthology-type series, the quality of the shows varied from week to week, but each one was entertaining and at times educational. Fans of TV westerns should enjoy Death Valley Days.
rcj5365 Hmmm................"Death Valley Days"..........I remember this show very well. It was a part of a lot of Saturday evening programming,and some Saturday afternoons as well when I was a kid growing up. It's amazing that this show would go on to make history as well which ran on television for an impressive 23 years(1952-1975)...It became the longest-running syndicated Western/Drama program in the history of television,and it stands besides some of the best Westerns of their day.....the legendary drama that ran on prime-time television,"Gunsmoke",which ran for 20 years on CBS,and the Western adventure drama "Bonanza",which ran for 14 years on NBC. "Death Valley Days" has also made its mark in tying with another classic show as well,"The Ed Sullivan Show",which ran for 23 years on CBS,making it the longest-running variety show ever on prime-time.For most of the show,I do recall the opening bugle call and the announcer opening to the title of the show and the sponsor,which was 20 Mule Team With Borax,which to this day is still on the market! Believe me,20-Mule Team With Borax will clean almost anything including everything around the house..its just that good! About those episodes,especially with the earlier episodes which were in black and white(1952-1965). The Black and White Episodes were exciting to watch since they were based on the true stories about the struggles of the Old West and the Pioneers who would go through the trials and tribulations of the American frontier. Each week there were stories based on gunslingers,Indians,Traders,Wagon Masters,United States Calvary,Mexican Bandits,Sheriffs,Deputies,Posses,along with the usual sort of Western fare that I saw plenty of on television back in those days. Some of these scenes were filmed around Death Valley,California; and in Arizona or on some Hollywood studio backlot.However,when the show made the transition to color(1965-1975),the stories got flimsier and rather stagy in some spots but the shows would switch location shots,one scene was filmed in Death Valley,CA; and the others were either filmed around Arizona and parts of the Upper California Valley,and I do recall one episode that was filmed around the Colorado Valley area. Some of the "color" episodes were quite boring and slow,and that's when I quite watching the show altogether. Some of the hosts that brought out the show were "The Original Old Ranger",who was played by Stanley Andrews,and then on by Ronald Reagan before he went into politics. There was one segment where country superstar Merle Haggard was guest host as well. The guest star roster that appeared on this show were some of the Hollywood's who's who and you'll see a lot of that here. It was the quinessential American Western,and for the 23 years that it ran in syndication was quite popular,depending on some of the episodes,which some were good and some were just awful. Now how about having those episodes out on DVD and Video sometime?