Death Valley Days

1952

Seasons & Episodes

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7.5| TV-PG| en| More Info
Released: 01 October 1952 Returning Series
Producted By: McGowan Productions
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website: http://www.deathvalleydays.com/
Info

Death Valley Days is an American radio and television anthology series featuring true stories of the old American West, particularly the Death Valley area. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program was broadcast on radio until 1945 and continued from 1952 to 1970 as a syndicated television series, with reruns continuing through August 1, 1975. The series was sponsored by the Pacific Coast Borax Company and hosted by Stanley Andrews, Ronald Reagan, Robert Taylor, and Dale Robertson. With the passing of Dale Robertson in 2013, all the former Death Valley Days hosts are now deceased.

Genre

Drama, Western

Watch Online

Death Valley Days (1952) is now streaming with subscription on Prime Video

Director

Production Companies

McGowan Productions

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Death Valley Days Audience Reviews

Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.
FirstWitch A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.
Jonah Abbott There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.
Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
hackraytex This was truly one of the great series from the Golden Age of Television. They had a distinguished roster of hosts: Stanley Andrews (1952-1964), Ronald Reagan (1964-1965), Rosemary DeCamp (1965), Robert Taylor (1966-1969), Dale Robertson (1969-1970). It was definitely one of the "must see" shows in my home at that time.One of the elements that set it apart was that the programs were based on historical people, legends, and incidents. I give it an 8 out of 10 only because like the Hollywood westerns of that time, little or no attention was paid to have the characters and props match the era in which the programs were but I guess they had a tight budget. I watched shows today from the 1850's to the 1890's and everyone was wearing the same clothes and had hair and grooming styles from the 1950's. Also because it was only 30 minutes long, I guess it was necessary to edit the stories and sometimes they did not match up with what really happened.This was the last series that Ronald Reagan acted in before he entered politics and regardless of what critics said about him, his acting chops were spot on and he looked like he enjoyed participating in this show. I wish he had gotten involved in it earlier and had gotten to perform more in the episodes. Like his son Ron Reagan said when he was asked what his father might have done if he had stayed in acting, Ron said he thought his father would have ended up hosting something like "Unsolved Mysteries". Ronald Reagan could not have picked a better show to end his acting career with. Rest in peace lady and gentlemen. A job well done.
wfinlayson-567-88446 In Western Canada,when I was about 7 or 8,we used to see it on Saturday or Sunday afternoon,when television was fairly new in the North and not everybody had one.But my dad had a good job with the Telephone Company,so we always seemed to have the latest electrical gadgets.Westerns,in 1958 were going strong but I especially remember and liked the haunting bugle call,the particular black and white reception,and our television itself,with the genuine Borax 20 Mule Team model carefully placed on top of it.I think the Stanley Andrews era was the best,because the actors were a product of post WW2,and the scenes were of a completely natural western landscape,especially the striking area itself,in which it was indeed filmed.I didn't see the later episodes because we moved but in the 60's the world did modernized pretty fast and the old western towns and people,and war heroes,were becoming only a memory. I hope they roll out the episodes soon so I can build my own 20 Mule Team and get back to some real western television.
krorie One of my favorite shows on early TV was "Death Valley Days" featuring The Old Ranger (Stanley Andrews). Being a child, the only problem was the time schedule. On KARK, Channel 4, out of Little Rock, Akansas, the syndicated "Death Valley Days" came on just before sign-off but at least it was on a weekend night so I didn't have to worry about school the next day.Sleepy-eyed, I would watch the 20-mule team pull the borax wagons across the sands as Josef Bonime's enchanting "Bugle Theme" sounded me awake. The moving picture of the team transformed into a picture on the wall as the camera panned down to The Old Ranger seated at his desk. He spoke as he slowly rose to greet the viewers:"Howdy, I'm The Old Ranger and Death Valley is my stamping ground. Many's a tale of adventure I'm going to tell about Death Valley country. True stories, mind you...I can vouch for that...on behalf of these two products, 20-Mule Team Borax and Boraxo. And now here's Rosemary DeCamp to tell you about it." The stories were good one with many a veteran character actor appearing in various episodes. At times the story would be built around the sponsor's product. One such episode I saw recently was entitled "The Big Team Rolls," starring Judd Holdren of Commando Cody fame. The seasoned character actor, Tom London, was featured as the muleskinner, Sandy McPherson.Judd Holdren as Dana Emerson plays a tenderfoot from Boston who comes to Death Valley to be near his sweetheart (Lucille Barkley) whose father operates the borax works that transport the borax across the mountains and desert to Mojave, California, twenty miles round trip. Dana is tested by being assigned the swamper job. To complicate the novice's first trip, a disgruntled employee attempts to sabotage the journey and steal the payroll brought back from Mojave. Dana must prove his worth to himself, to his dearly beloved and to her father.Gene Autry's Flying A Productions produced the program. Many of the actors, including Stanley Andrews (The Old Ranger), were part of Gene's stock company of Thespians. Andrews appeared on several of the Gene Autry Show episodes as did many of the other featured players on Death Valley Days.As with any anthology-type series, the quality of the shows varied from week to week, but each one was entertaining and at times educational. Fans of TV westerns should enjoy Death Valley Days.
mavery-2 This Series was quite popular for many years. They used a rather strange approach to production, taking a cast and crew to a location (ie: Flagstaff) and shooting 3 episodes to be split up during the season. It was the quintiessential American western of the time. Sometimes quite good, sometimes very very bad. Wish the episodes were still about somewhere.