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(Courtesy of Les Adams)

Above, O'Brien and Beatrice Roberts in PARK AVENUE LOGGER (George Hirliman/RKO, 1937).  About a year later, Roberts would do her most remembered role portraying 'Queen Azura' in FLASH GORDON'S TRIP TO MARS (Universal, 1938).


Laraine Johnson, shown far right in this lobby card from BORDER G-MAN (RKO, 1938), would become better known as Laraine Day.  She made three oaters with O'Brien.


(Courtesy of Les Adams)

Above from L-to-R are Rosalind Keith, Tom Chatterton, Lloyd Ingraham, O'Brien, and an unidentified player in TROUBLE IN SUNDOWN (RKO, 1939).


(Courtesy of Les Adams)

Above from L-to-R are O'Brien, Virginia Vale, Charles 'Slim' Whitaker and Howard Hickman during the gunfight in BULLET CODE (RKO, 1940).



Vending/exhibition card

O'Brien rode 'Mike' during his stay at RKO.


Left is Virginia Vale (real name: Dorothy Howe), who was born in Dallas, Texas in 1920.  Vale's Hollywood career spanned from the mid 1930s through WW2, and she was George O'Brien's most frequent leading lady and they appeared together in a half dozen RKO oaters.  After retiring from the screen, Vale worked 30+ years for Lockheed.

O'Brien's other frequent heroines included Cecilia Parker (3 films) and Laraine Johnson/Laraine Day (3 films).  A variety of leading ladies appeared in two films with O'Brien.


Buck Rainey's Favorite O'Briens

By far, O'Brien's best western was THE IRON HORSE, directed by John Ford in 1924.  THREE BAD MEN ranks second among his silent westerns.  SUNRISE was his best non-western.  In the sound era, all of his Fox westerns were budgeted at $100,000 to $300,000. They were all excellent and it is hard to pick one above the others.  Personally, I like THUNDER MOUNTAIN best.  At RKO, his DANIEL BOONE has to be the best.

Les Adams' Favorite RKO O'Briens

THE MARSHAL OF MESA CITY - a remake of THE ARIZONIAN that is a bit less gritty than the original but is still out of the mainstream formula for a series western.

THE RENEGADE RANGER - a remake of an earlier Tom Keene (and another half-dozen or so that used this plot), but this version comes off as more plausible, and Tim Holt is a vast improvement over the insipid second-leads in the other versions. Rita Hayworth doesn't hurt anything nuther.

BORDER G-MAN - with the exception of Gene Autry's early fantasy films at Republic, I've never cared much for most westerns that mixed elements of the old west and modern times, but I did like this early-day saber-rattler. And Ray Whitley's first version of "Back in the Saddle Again".

Boyd Magers' Favorite O'Briens
RIDERS OF THE PURPLE SAGE ('31)
WHEN A MAN'S A MAN ('35)
TIMBER STAMPEDE ('39)		MARSHAL OF MESA CITY ('39)
STAGE TO CHINO ('40)
Guilty Pleasure: GOLD RAIDERS ('51)


George O'Brien Filmography
Sound films only
includes westerns, non-westerns, starring and supporting roles:
     Blue = non westerns
     Red = George Hirliman productions for RKO release
     Green = Sol Lesser productions for Fox release
Special thanks to Les Adams for providing this filmography


Date Title Company Star O'Brien Role Director Leading Lady
5/1/29 NOAH'S ARK (non-Western) Warners George O'Brien Travis / Japheth Michael Curtiz Dolores Costello
9/1/29 SALUTE (non-Western) Fox George O'Brien Cadet John Randall John Ford & David Butler Helen Chandler
1/5/30 LONE STAR RANGER, THE Fox George O'Brien Buck Duane A. F. Erickson Sue Carol
6/22/30 ROUGH ROMANCE Fox George O'Brien Billy West A. F. Erickson Helen Chandler
8/31/30 LAST OF THE DUANES Fox George O'Brien Buck Duane Alfred L. Werker Myrna Loy
2/2/31 FAIR WARNING Fox George O'Brien Whistlin' Dan Barry Alfred L. Werker Louise Huntington
7/19/31 HOLY TERROR, A Fox George O'Brien Tony Bard Irving Cummings Sally Eilers
11/28/31 RIDERS OF THE PURPLE SAGE Fox George O'Brien Jim Lassister Hamilton McFadden Marquerite Churchill
2/14/32 GAY CABALLERO, THE Fox George O'Brien Ted Radcliffe Alfred L. Werker Conchita Montenegro
3/3/32 RAINBOW TRAIL, THE Fox George O'Brien Shefford David Howard Cecilia Parker
3/29/32 SEAS BENEATH, THE (non-Western) Fox George O'Brien Commander Bob Kingsley John Ford Marion Lessing
7/1/32 MYSTERY RANCH Fox George O'Brien Bob Sanborn David Howard Cecilia Parker
12/3/32 GOLDEN WEST, THE Fox George O'Brien David Lynch / Motano David Howard Janet Chandler
12/30/32 ROBBERS ROOST Fox George O'Brien Jim Wall Louis King Maureen O'Sullivan
2/17/33 SMOKE LIGHTNING Fox George O'Brien Smoke Mason David Howard Nell O'Day
7/7/33 LIFE IN THE RAW Fox George O'Brien Unknown Louis King Claire Trevor
8/25/33 LAST TRAIL, THE Fox George O'Brien Tom Daley James Tinling Claire Trevor
3/25/34 EVER SINCE EVE (non-Western) Fox George O'Brien Neil Rogers George Marshall Mary Brian
11/19/34 FRONTIER MARSHAL Fox George O'Brien Michael Wyatt Lewis Seiler Irene Bentley
11/29/34 DUDE RANGER, THE Sol Lesser/Fox George O'Brien Ernest "Dude" Selden Edward F. Cline Irene Hervey
2/15/35 WHEN A MAN'S A MAN Sol Lesser/Fox George O'Brien Larry Knight Edward F. Cline Dorothy Wilson
4/25/35 COWBOY MILLIONAIRE, THE Sol Lesser/Fox George O'Brien Bob Walker Edward F. Cline Evelyn Bostick
5/15/35 WHISPERING SMITH SPEAKS Sol Lesser/Fox George O'Brien Whispering Smith David Howard Irene Ware
7/1/35 HARD ROCK HARRIGAN Sol Lesser/Fox George O'Brien "Hard Rock" Harrigan David Howard Irene Hervey
9/27/35 THUNDER MOUNTAIN Sol Lesser/Fox George O'Brien Kal Emerson David Howard Barbara Fritchie
3/27/36 O'MALLEY OF THE MOUNTED Sol Lesser/Fox George O'Brien Constable O'Malley David Howard Irene Ware
6/20/36 BORDER PATROLMAN, THE Sol Lesser/Fox George O'Brien Bob Wallace David Howard Polly Ann Young
10/16/36 DANIEL BOONE George A. Hirliman/
RKO Radio		 George O'Brien Daniel Boone David Howard Heather Angel
3/16/37 PARK AVENUE LOGGER George A. Hirliman/
RKO Radio		 George O'Brien Grant Curran David Howard Beatrice Roberts
5/28/37 HOLLYWOOD COWBOY George A. Hirliman/
RKO Radio		 George O'Brien Jeffrey Carson Ewing Scott Cecilia Parker
8/6/37 WINDJAMMER (non-Western) George A. Hirliman/
RKO Radio		 George O'Brien Lane Ewing Scott Constance Worth
5/13/38 GUN LAW RKO Radio George O'Brien Tom O'Malley David Howard Rita Oehman
6/24/38 BORDER G-MAN RKO Radio George O'Brien Jim Galloway David Howard Laraine Johnson ( Day )
8/12/38 PAINTED DESERT RKO Radio George O'Brien Bob McVey David Howard Laraine Johnson ( Day )
9/16/38 RENEGADE RANGER, THE RKO Radio George O'Brien Jack Steele David Howard Rita Hayworth
11/4/38 LAWLESS VALLEY RKO Radio George O'Brien Larry Rhodes David Howard Kay Sutton
1/20/39 ARIZONA LEGION RKO Radio George O'Brien Boone Yeager David Howard Laraine Johnson ( Day )
3/23/39 TROUBLE IN SUNDOWN RKO Radio George O'Brien Clint Bardford David Howard Rosalind Keith
6/14/39 RACKETEERS OF THE RANGE RKO Radio George O'Brien Barney O'Dell D. Ross Lederman Marjorie Reynolds
6/30/39 TIMBER STAMPEDE RKO Radio George O'Brien Scott Baylor David Howard Marjorie Reynolds
11/28/39 FIGHTING GRINGO, THE RKO Radio George O'Brien Wade Barton David Howard Lupita Tovar
12/3/39 MARSHAL OF MESA CITY, THE RKO Radio George O'Brien Cliff Mason David Howard Virginia Vale
1/5/40 LEGION OF THE LAWLESS RKO Radio George O'Brien Jeff Toland David Howard Virginia Vale
4/12/40 BULLET CODE RKO Radio George O'Brien Steve Holden David Howard Virginia Vale
6/14/40 PRAIRIE LAW RKO Radio George O'Brien Brill Austin David Howard Virginia Vale
7/26/40 STAGE TO CHINO RKO Radio George O'Brien Dan Clark Edward Killy Virginia Vale
9/20/40 TRIPLE JUSTICE RKO Radio George O'Brien Brad Hendesron David Howard Virginia Vale
12/27/47 MY WILD IRISH ROSE (non-Western) Warners Dennis Morgan William "Duke" Muldoon David Butler N/A
4/17/48 FORT APACHE RKO Radio John Wayne Capt. Sam Collingwood John Ford N/A
7/28/49 SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON RKO Radio John Wayne Major Allshard John Ford N/A
9/14/51 GOLD RAIDERS United Artists George O'Brien George O'Brien Edward Bernds Sheila Ryan
12/19/64 CHEYENNE AUTUMN Warners Richard Widmark Major Braden John Ford N/A

Note the name of David Howard in the director column above.  Howard (1896-1941) cut his teeth in early Hollywood working on Spanish language film versions.  He was a co-director for Nat Levine in a couple of Mascot cliffhangers, MYSTERY SQUADRON (1933) and THE LOST JUNGLE (1934).  His first film with O'Brien was THE RAINBOW TRAIL (Fox, 1932), the sequel to THE RIDERS OF THE PURPLE SAGE.  During nearly two decades, he and O'Brien collaborated on a total of 25 films, including George's last series western, TRIPLE JUSTICE (RKO, 1940).  When O'Brien retired, Howard helmed the initial films in the Tim Holt series at RKO.  If you like O'Brien's films, then some credit should go to director David Howard.


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