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Eddie's horses - there was War Paint,
then Flash, then White Cloud, then Copper


(From Old Corral collection)

Above are Dean (on War Paint) and pretty Jean Carlin in a lobby card from the Cinecolor CARAVAN TRAIL (PRC, 1946). Carlin (and Louise Currie) were the female leads in Dean's WILD WEST.



(Courtesy of Minard Coons)

Above are Dean with Flash, which was his hoss #2 (after War Paint).




(From Old Corral collection)

Above - Eddie Dean atop White Cloud, which was a palomino, not a white horse. White Cloud had a white splotch on the forehead above the eyes and a dark spot on the front left shoulder (which can be seen in the still above). Dean rides him in HAWK OF POWDER RIVER, SHADOW VALLEY and BLACK HILLS. Strangely, he rides a substitute White Cloud in CHECK YOUR GUNS (PRC, 1948). In that film, Eddie's White Cloud is the horse called Falcon by Buster Crabbe in his PRC Billy the Kid/Billy Carson series and James Newill named him Alamo and rode him in the Texas Rangers series.



(Courtesy of Minard Coons)

Above is Dean with his fourth and last hoss, Copper.



(Courtesy of Les Adams)
 Left and below are pressbook clippings from BLACK HILLS and TORNADO RANGE about Eddie's horses White Cloud and Copper.



(Courtesy of Les Adams)



Eddie Dean's B Westerns


In a couple of Robert Emmett Tansey oaters prior to his starring PRC series.

Date Film Title Star Director Leading
Lady
Sidekick Dean role
1944 HARMONY TRAIL (re-issued in 1947 as WHITE STALLION) Ken Maynard Robert Emmett Tansey Ruth Roman   Marshal Eddie Dean
1945 WILDFIRE (Cinecolor) Bob Steele Robert Emmett Tansey Virginia Maples Sterling Holloway Sheriff Johnny Deal



Dean gets his own STARRING series at Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC).
19 films were made; 5 in Cinecolor.


Date Film Title Director Leading
Lady
Sidekick Dean role
1945 SONG OF OLD WYOMING (Cinecolor) Robert Emmett Tansey Jennifer Holt Emmett Lynn Eddie
1946 ROMANCE OF THE WEST (Cinecolor) Robert Emmett Tansey Joan Barton Emmett Lynn Eddie Dean
1946 THE CARAVAN TRAIL (Cinecolor) Robert Emmett Tansey Jean Carlin Emmett Lynn & Al LaRue Eddie Dean
1946 COLORADO SERENADE (Cinecolor) Robert Emmett Tansey Mary Kenyon Roscoe Ates Eddie Dean
1946 TUMBLEWEED TRAIL Robert Emmett Tansey Shirley Patterson Roscoe Ates Eddie Dean
1946 DRIFTIN' RIVER Robert Emmett Tansey Shirley Patterson Roscoe Ates Eddie Dean
1946 STARS OVER TEXAS Robert Emmett Tansey Shirley Patterson Roscoe Ates Eddie Dean
1946 WILD WEST (Cinecolor) Robert Emmett Tansey Louise Currie & Jean Carlin Roscoe Ates & Al LaRue Eddie Dean
1947 WILD COUNTRY Ray Taylor Peggy Wynne Roscoe Ates Eddie Dean
1947 RANGE BEYOND THE BLUE Ray Taylor Helen Mowery Roscoe Ates Eddie Dean
1947 WEST TO GLORY Ray Taylor Dolores Castle Roscoe Ates Eddie Dean
1947 BLACK HILLS Ray Taylor Shirley Patterson Roscoe Ates Eddie Dean
1947 SHADOW VALLEY Ray Taylor Jennifer Holt Roscoe Ates Eddie Dean
1948 CHECK YOUR GUNS Ray Taylor Nancy Gates Roscoe Ates Eddie Dean
1948 TORNADO RANGE Ray Taylor Jennifer Holt Roscoe Ates Eddie Dean
1948 THE WESTWARD TRAIL Ray Taylor Phyllis Planchard Roscoe Ates Eddie Dean
1948 THE HAWK OF POWDER RIVER Ray Taylor Jennifer Holt Roscoe Ates Eddie Dean
1948 PRAIRIE OUTLAWS (shortened, re-edited version of WILD WEST) Robert Emmett Tansey   Roscoe Ates & Al LaRue Eddie Dean
1948 THE TIOGA KID Ray Taylor Jennifer Holt Roscoe Ates Dual role: Eddie Dean & Tioga Kid
Footnotes:

1. In 1948, PRC had become Eagle-Lion, and they re-issued WILD WEST in a much edited and shortened B&W version titled PRAIRIE OUTLAWS. I've included that title on the above list.

2. Roscoe Ates was Dean's sidekick 'Soapy Jones' in 15 films (16 if you count PRAIRIE OUTLAWS).

3. Dean's most frequent leading ladies were Jennifer Holt (5 films) and Shirley Patterson (4 films).

4. Three of the Dean Cinecolor oaters featured Al LaRue before he became 'Lash': SONG OF OLD WYOMING (PRC, 1945), THE CARAVAN TRAIL (PRC, 1946), and WILD WEST (PRC, 1946) (Four if you count PRAIRIE OUTLAWS).

5. Dean and Roscoe Ates had featured roles in the musical comedy DOWN MISSOURI WAY (PRC, 1946) which starred Martha O'Driscoll, John Carradine and William Wright. Not a starring role for Eddie ... and not a B western.



Favorite Eddie Dean westerns:

SONG OF OLD WYOMING (PRC, 1945) (in Cinecolor)
WILD WEST (PRC, 1946) (in Cinecolor)
CARAVAN TRAIL (PRC, 1946) (in Cinecolor)
DRIFTIN' RIVER (PRC, 1946)
WEST TO GLORY (PRC, 1947)
WILD COUNTRY (PRC, 1947)
BLACK HILLS (PRC, 1947)
HAWK OF POWDER RIVER (PRC, 1948)
CHECK YOUR GUNS (PRC, 1948)



The Motion Picture Herald and BoxOffice polls were conducted from about the mid 1930s through the mid 1950s.  With a few exceptions, the annual poll results would list the Top Ten (or Top Five) cowboy film stars.  In most cases, the winners were what you would expect --- Autry, Rogers, Holt, Starrett, Hoppy, etc. Though Dean's starring career was relatively short, and his films were made during the final years of the B western, he was able to garner a Top Ten ranking in the Motion Picture Herald poll. Note that only a few of PRC's western heroes ever attained a ranking in those polls --- in addition to Dean, Tex Ritter made the list in 1944 and '45 while in the Texas Rangers series.  Lash LaRue was never among the top ranked cowboy stars.


Popularity Rankings of Eddie Dean
Year Motion Picture Herald Poll Ranking
1946 10th
1947 10th



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