FREE Western Movie Double Feature! Wild Bill Elliott & Allan Lane as TV's Red Ryder with James Best

THE SAN ANTONIO KID and GUN TROUBLE VALLEY! A Red Ryder movie from Republic Pictures, the House of Action. Starring my favorite Red Ryder, Wild Bill Elliott. Plus, Allan “Rocky” Lane in a bonus Red Ryder TV episode co-starring James Best and “Cisco Kid’s” Duncan Renaldo as THE SAN ANTONIO KID.

Riding with Wild Bill in the 1944 B Western feature THE SAN ANTONIO KID is his trusty sidekick, Little Beaver, played by child star Bobby Blake. In a bit of strange casting, Earl Hodgins, usually cast as a snake oil salesman (his specialty), here plays Red’s 2nd sidekick, Happy Jack.

The movie co-stars Republic serial queen Linda Stirling as the owner of a ranch with hidden oil on the property that villainous LeRoy Mason is after. When Stirling’s father is killed, Red comes to her aide. Mason, working with saloon owner Glenn Strange (later the bartender Sam on GUNSMOKE), hires a fast gun to take Red out of the picture. That fast gun is the San Antonio Kid played by future Cisco Kid, Duncan Renaldo!

Since this is a Republic Pictures production, there are plenty of well executed stunts coordinated by the great Yakima Canutt. As henchmen and gang members working against Red, you’ll spot Robert J. Wilke, Tom London and stuntmen Henry Wills, Cliff Lyons, Tom Steele and Bud Geary.

Red Ryder was a popular newspaper comic strip during the 1930s, 40s, 50s and 60s written and drawn by Fred Harmon. There were comic book spinoffs, a radio show and, before the B western movie series, there had been a popular Republic serial starring Don “Red” Barry. In fact, that’s how Barry got his nickname.

The movie series with Wild Bill Elliott was very popular but Elliott wanted to work in more adult movies. When he left the series, Allan Lane took his place as Red. Blake stayed and so did Alice Fleming as the Duchess.

When Republic ended the series, another company optioned the character and Jim Bannon took over the role for several more B western features. Bannon even starred in a TV pilot. So did Allan Lane a couple years later. Neither one sold. It’s too bad because the Allan Lane pilot was produced by Gene Autry, with locations filmed in Lone Pine and was very good. After today’s feature, THE SAN ANTONIO KID, we are showing that Allan Lane pilot, called "Gun Trouble Valley" (1956) and featuring Louis Lettieri as Little Beaver, Elizabeth Slifer as Duchess, Dan White as the Sheriff, William Henry, Gregg Barton, and a very young James Best as a seemingly cowardly cowboy in love. You’re in for a double dose of Red Ryder and will be able to compare Elliott and Lane interpretation of the red shirted hero. Let us know who you like best.

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Now let’s saddle up and ride with Red and Little Beaver in THE SAN ANTONIO KID.

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