The Rough Riders 8 Films released 1941 - 1942

(From Old Corral image collection) Above from L-to-R are Buck Jones, Tim McCoy and Ray Hatton. Note the long frock coat that McCoy added to his traditional black/dark blue range costume.

Buck Jones and Tim McCoy had been among the 'top guns' of Hollywood sagebrush stars in both silent and sound features.

But the careers of both men had waned due to their age and the influx of singing cowboys.  Scott R. Dunlap, the production boss at Monogram Pictures, was a close personal and business friend of Jones and knew that Buck's career could be boosted if given the right screen property.

In 1941, the deal was struck for a new western trio series called the Rough Riders, starring Charles 'Buck' Jones, Tim McCoy and Raymond Hatton.  Interestingly, all three performers were fifty years of age or older when the series began.

Jones, Dunlap and Monogram's Trem Carr had formed Great Western Pictures to produce the Rough Riders series for release through Monogram, and each had invested $3,300 in the venture.

Production values were solid, the storylines were decent, and the charisma/interaction between the three movie veterans was quite enjoyable to watch, as they seemed to be having fun.  Though a tad slow in the action department, the eerie GHOST TOWN LAW (1942) is my favorite RR film.  Many western critics and fans, self included, consider the Rough Riders among the finest of the B-western series.

In the films, Jones portrayed Marshal Buck Roberts, McCoy was Marshal Tim McCall, and Hatton was Marshal Sandy Hopkins.

But the best laid plans don't always come to fruition.  World War II arrived and Colonel Tim McCoy returned to active duty.  Still portraying their Rough Rider characters, Jones and Hatton did one more film together, the 70 minute DAWN ON THE GREAT DIVIDE (1942).  However, this was not advertised as a Rough Riders film.

But before DAWN was released, Jones died in the November 28, 1942 Cocoanut Grove nightclub fire in Boston, which killed nearly 500 people.  The badly burned Jones was rushed to the Massachusetts General Hospital but passed away a few days after the fire.  The exact reason that Jones was in Boston is lost in Hollywood history, but the general consensus is that he was there to promote his Monogram films, or do some War Bond work, or do a little of both.  Scotty Dunlap was also injured in the fire, but did recover.

As to Raymond Hatton, he took his Sandy Hopkins character and became the sidekick to Monogram's new sagebrush star, Johnny Mack Brown.  The initial entries in the Brown series utilized ideas and scripts that were originally planned for the second season of the Rough Riders.

There was a standard, nostalgic ending in the Rough Riders films --- Ray Hatton would note that he's returning to Texas; McCoy proclaimed that he was heading home to Wyoming; and Jones was ridin' back to Arizona.  All three would bid farewell by saying "So long, Rough Riders!", and then gallop off in three different directions as the theme song came up.  Remember the theme? It began with:

Overall, the Rough Riders was a great series and certainly ranks among the finest achievements of little Monogram Pictures.

(Courtesy of Les Adams)

So long, Rough Riders!

Above, Ray Hatton (left) chats with Tim McCoy (right) while Buck Jones takes a rest behind bars in this lobby card from ARIZONA BOUND (Monogram, 1941). Above, a scene from the RIDERS OF THE WEST (Monogram, 1942), the eighth and final film in the Rough Riders series. From L-to-R are: Christine McIntyre, Sarah Padden, Raymond Hatton (white coat), Harry Woods (without his usual moustache), Walter McGrail, Buck Jones (sitting on desk), and Bud Osborne. Dennis Moore is kneeling over the floored Robert Frazer. Christine McIntyre was the resident leading lady in the Columbia Pictures short subjects unit, and today is best remembered for her work in about three dozen two-reelers starring the Three Stooges.

(Image courtesy of Les Adams)

Left is Scott R. Dunlap (1892-1970) ... friend and business manager of Buck Jones ... injured in the Cocoanut Grove nightclub fire which killed Jones ... primarily remembered for his work at Monogram in westerns such as the Rough Riders. Dunlap's official title was Vice President in Charge of Production, and he reported to Monogram boss and president W. Ray Johnston.