The Range Busters: Rock River Renegades / Trail Riders

American frontiersmen propelled to legend as the "best peacekeepers in the West," The Range Busters galloped onto the screen in 24 action-packed westerns produced from 1940 to 1943. A spin-off of The Three Mesquiteers western series (1936-1939), also starring Ray Corrigan and Max Terhune, The Range Busters played on the popularity of the B-Western genre. Third actor John King's baritone is heard during every movie, and ace stuntman David Sharpe replaced Corrigan in a few films, including Trail Riders.

Rock River Renegades (1942; B&W; 56 Minutes): James Dawson pressures the newspaper editor to use the power of the press to oust Marshal Luke Graham. On the Marshal's watch, their Wyoming town has been victimized by a brutal rash of unsolved robberies and murders. Desperate, Graham brings in the Range Busters to track down the phantom outlaws. Hours before Dawson's marriage, the threesome find a mysterious box of cash on the edge of town. Kidnapping the Judge to delay the wedding, the Range Busters unravel more clues leading to Dawson's shadowy past. Starring Ray Corrigan, John "Dusty" King, Max Terhune. Directed By S. Roy Luby.

Trail Riders (1942; B&W; 55 Minutes): Marshal Frank Hammond is gunned down during a bank robbery and left to die like a dog in the street. Vowing to hunt down the young man's killers, his father, Jim Hammond, deputizes the Range Busters ("Dusty" King, David Sharpe, Max Terhune) so they can seek justice. Unknown to the peacekeeping trio, they're up against murdering "vigilantes" who will stop at nothing to kill them. What's worse, Jim's foster son Jeff is part of their treacherous plan. The gang instigates a false arrest and frame-up before the Range Busters turn the tables and set up a brilliant sting of their own. Starring John "Dusty" King, David Sharpe, Max Terhune. Directed By Robert Tansey.

• western