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The Texas Rangers
22 Films
Released 1942 - 1945



(Courtesy of Les Adams)

Above is the title lobby card for TRAIL OF TERROR (PRC, 1943), one of the best of the Texas Rangers series. The masked Dave O'Brien is having a disagreement with Dan White. In this film, O'Brien plays his lawman self as well as his evil twin brother.



(From Old Corral collection)

Above - O'Brien, Newill and Wilkerson are standing at the bar in this flimsy (tinderbox) saloon interior from WEST OF TEXAS (PRC, 1943). The gal singer is Frances Gladwin. Jack Rockwell is tending bar on the far left.



(From Old Corral collection)

In the above lobby card from BAD MEN OF THUNDER GAP (PRC, 1943), Dave O'Brien has his six-gun on Guy Wilkerson, the tall drink-of-water who portrayed 'Panhandle Perkins' in the Texas Rangers series. This was the second film in PRC's Texas Rangers series. Note the "Dave (Tex) O'Brien" top billing.  When Tex Ritter replaced Jim Newill for the last eight films of the series, he got the top billing and O'Brien dropped to second billed.



(From Old Corral collection)

Above is a lobby card from GUNSMOKE MESA (PRC, 1944), and from left to right are Jim Newill, Dave O'Brien, Jack Ingram, and on the floor looking over some unidentified baddies is Guy Wilkerson. Notice a mistake? The image used to prepare this lobby card has been reversed, and they all have left-handed holsters. See crop below which I've flipped to show the correct image with holsters on the right side.


The 22 Texas Rangers films

14 starring
Dave (Tex) O'Brien as "Tex Wyatt"
Jim Newill as "Jim Steele"
Guy Wilkerson as "Panhandle Perkins"

THE RANGERS TAKE OVER (1942; directed by Al Herman)
BAD MEN OF THUNDER GAP (1943; directed by Al Herman)
WEST OF TEXAS (1943; directed by Oliver Drake)
BORDER BUCKAROOS (1943; directed by Oliver Drake)
FIGHTING VALLEY (1943; directed by Oliver Drake)
TRAIL OF TERROR (1943; directed by Oliver Drake)
RETURN OF THE RANGERS (1943; directed by Elmer Clifton)
BOSS OF RAWHIDE (1943; directed by Elmer Clifton)
GUNSMOKE MESA (1944; directed by Harry L. Fraser)
OUTLAW ROUNDUP (1944; directed by Harry L. Fraser)
GUNS OF THE LAW (1944; directed by Elmer Clifton)
THE PINTO BANDIT (1944; directed by Elmer Clifton)
SPOOK TOWN (1944; directed by Elmer Clifton)
BRAND OF THE DEVIL (1944; directed by Harry L. Fraser)



8 starring
Tex Ritter as "Tex Haines"
Dave O'Brien as "Dave Wyatt"
Guy Wilkerson as "Panhandle Perkins"

GANGSTERS OF THE FRONTIER (1944; directed by Elmer Clifton)
DEAD OR ALIVE (1944; directed by Elmer Clifton)
THE WHISPERING SKULL (1944; directed by Elmer Clifton)
MARKED FOR MURDER (1944; directed by Elmer Clifton)
ENEMY OF THE LAW (1945; directed by Harry L. Fraser)
THREE IN THE SADDLE (1945; directed by Harry L. Fraser)
FRONTIER FUGITIVES (1945; directed by Harry L. Fraser)
FLAMING BULLETS (1945; directed by Harry L. Fraser)



There's hero sections on both Dave O'Brien, James Newill and Tex Ritter on the Old Corral.

From 1942-1955, Dave O'Brien was the star and often wrote and directed Pete Smith comedies at MGM. The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) has a "people working together" search and O'Brien and Pete Smith collaborated on about 80 shorts: https://www.imdb.com/search/title/?role=nm0809570,nm0639495

  Although some of the data is incomplete or inaccurate, the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) has information on Ritter, Newill, O'Brien, Wilkerson, as well as directors Herman, Clifton, Fraser and Drake:

Tex Ritter: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0728811/
Jim Newill: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0627910/
Dave O'Brien: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0639495/
Guy Wilkerson: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0929116/
Harry Fraser: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0292134/
Elmer Clifton: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0166730/
Oliver Drake: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0236980/
Al Herman: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0379092/



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