| The Three Mesquiteers | |
|---|---|
 Poster forThe 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 | |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Three Mesquiteers is the umbrella title for aRepublic Pictures series of 51 AmericanWesternB-movies released between 1936 and 1943. The films, featuring a trio ofOld West adventurers, was based on a series ofWestern novels byWilliam 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 includedBob Livingston,Ray "Crash" Corrigan,Max Terhune,Bob Steele,Rufe Davis andTom Tyler.
William Colt MacDonald wrote a series of novels about The Three Mesquiteers, beginning withThe Law of 45's in 1933. The name "Mesquiteer" was a play on words, referring tomesquite, a plant common in theWestern United States, and the characters of the 1844Alexander Dumas novelThe Three Musketeers.[1] The film series blended thetraditional Western period with more modern elements,[2] a technique used in other B-Western films and serials. Toward the end of the series, duringWorld War II, the trio of cowboys were opposingNazis. One film,Outlaws of Sonora (1938), has arevisionist theme as an early example of the outlaw/gunfighter sub-genre.[3]
In the Republic series, the cast list varied but always featured a trio of cowboys. The original and most frequently recurring Mesquiteer characters were:
Other members of the trio over the entire series were:
Stars in supporting roles at various times included:
ActressLois 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 aventriloquist dummy called Elmer.
TheThree 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 topWestern film stars. From 1937 to the end of the series in 1943, theMotion 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]
The success of the series led to many "trigger trio" imitators at other studios.
The first wasThe Range Busters (1940–43) fromMonogram Pictures, which starred original Mesquiteer Ray "Crash" Corrigan as the character "Crash" Corrigan. Monogram also releasedThe Rough Riders (1941–42), again poaching a Mesquiteer in the form of Raymond Hatton, andThe Trail Blazers (1943–44).
Producers Releasing Corporation produced two similar series,The Texas Rangers (1942–45) andThe Frontier Marshals (1942).[6]
On television,NBC broadcastLaredo from 1965 to 1967. It starredNeville Brand,William Smith andPeter Brown as a trio ofTexas Rangers.[7]
Republic Pictures produced 51 films inThe Three Mesquiteers series between 1936 and 1943:
