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The Three Mesquiteers

Republic Pictures

51 films released
from 1936 - 1943



Variant 1 - one film
Bob Livingston (as Stony Brooke)
Ray Corrigan (as Tucson Smith)
Syd Saylor (as Lullaby Joslin)
THE THREE MESQUITEERS (1936)


THE THREE MESQUITEERS was released on September 22, 1936, and the producer was Nat Levine, one-time boss/owner of Mascot Pictures.

Levine was on Republic's payroll since his Mascot organization was one of the several companies that had been absorbed/merged into the new Republic Pictures which was created in 1935. In those early days of Republic, Levine was the production chief responsible for serials and B-westerns.

A couple of cowboy movie heroes had come along in the wheelings and dealings that created Republic.  One was Gene Autry, a Nat Levine find, and he was making singin' cowboy westerns for the new studio.  The other cinema hero was John Wayne.  Wayne and producer Paul Malvern had begun their association in 1933 and collaborated on over a dozen 'Lone Star' oaters which were released by Monogram.

The Wayne and Autry series were internal productions by the new Republic organization ... and so was the new Three Mesquiteers.  To supplement their release schedule (i.e., give them more films to release), the new studio got help from producer A. William Hackel who had Bob Steele and Johnny Mack Brown riding the cinema range for his Supreme Pictures company.  Hackel and Republic came to terms, and the Brown and Steele series were continued, but under the Republic logo.

The lead roles in the Mesquiteers went to Robert (Bob) Livingston and Ray 'Crash' Corrigan.  Both had been around since Republic was formed and both had done work in features and cliffhangers, including some starring roles.  Have no idea why Syd Saylor was chosen as the third member.

(From Old Corral collection)

Corrigan was billed as "Crash" in the serial UNDERSEA KINGDOM which was released by Republic in late May, 1936. Thus, he had that nickname many months prior to his landing the role of Mesquiteer "Tucson Smith". Corrigan mentioned that the "Crash" nickname was given to him to compete with Buster Crabbe's FLASH GORDON serial which was released by Universal in April, 1936.



(From Old Corral collection)

THE VIGILANTES ARE COMING (1936), 12 chapters, was directed by Mack V. Wright and Ray Taylor, and Nat Levine was the producer.  This 'Zorro-like' adventure was Bob Livingston's first starring serial, and it was among the first batch of serials to show the logo of the new Republic Pictures Corporation.



(From Old Corral collection)

The initial members of the Three Mesquiteers were, from L-to-R, comic Syd Saylor, Ray 'Crash' Corrigan and Bob Livingston.  Note the range uniform worn by the Mesquiteers in their initial film --- it would change significantly over the next 50 films.



(From Old Corral collection)

The plotline of the initial film had the trio - and a bunch of veterans - returning from World War I to find crooks ruling the range. L-to-R are Livingston, Saylor and Corrigan doin' battle!



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