Back to prior page            Go to next page


The Range Busters
24 Films released from 1940 - 1943
Theme song: "Home on the Range"


The 24 Range Busters films

(From Old Corral collection)

Above - the original Range Busters trio - from left to right are John King, Ray Corrigan and Max Terhune.
16 films starring:
Ray Corrigan as Ray "Crash" Corrigan
John King as John "Dusty" King
Max Terhune as Max "Alibi" Terhune

THE RANGE BUSTERS (1940)
TRAILING DOUBLE TROUBLE (1940)
WEST OF PINTO BASIN (1940)
THE TRAIL OF THE SILVER SPURS (1941)
THE KID'S LAST RIDE (1941)
TUMBLEDOWN RANCH IN ARIZONA (1941)
WRANGLERS ROOST (1941)
FUGITIVE VALLEY (1941)
SADDLE MOUNTAIN ROUNDUP (1941)
TONTO BASIN OUTLAWS (1941)
UNDERGROUND RUSTLERS (1941)
THUNDER RIVER FEUD (1942)
ROCK RIVER RENEGADES (1942)
BOOT HILL BANDITS (1942)
TEXAS TROUBLE SHOOTERS (1942)
ARIZONA STAGECOACH (1942)

(From Old Corral collection)

Above from left to right are John King, stuntman Dave Sharpe and Max Terhune (with Elmer). Sharpe left for World War II duty about half way through HAUNTED RANCH, and Rex Lease came in as a sub for the remainder of the film.
3 films starring:
John King as John "Dusty" King
David/Dave Sharpe as "Davy" Sharpe
Max Terhune as Max "Alibi" Terhune

TEXAS TO BATAAN (1942)
TRAIL RIDERS (1942)
TWO FISTED JUSTICE (1943)




1 film starring:
John King as John "Dusty" King
David/Dave Sharpe as "Davy" Sharpe
Max Terhune as Max "Alibi" Terhune
Rex Lease as Rex Lease (subbing for Sharpe who left for World War II duty).

HAUNTED RANCH (1943)

(From Old Corral collection)

Above are the members of the final Range Busters team - from left to right are Max Terhune, Dennis Moore and Ray Corrigan.
4 films starring:
Ray Corrigan as Ray "Crash" Corrigan
Dennis Moore as Dennis "Denny" Moore
Max Terhune as Max "Alibi" Terhune

THE LAND OF HUNTED MEN (1943)
COWBOY COMMANDOS (1943)
BLACK MARKET RUSTLERS (1943)
BULLETS AND SADDLES (1943)

Trade publications carried news on the above personnel changes:

  • May 21, 1942 Motion Picture Daily: "Davey Sharpe replaces Ray Corrigan in Monogram's Range Busters Western series."
  • July 8, 1942 Variety: "Monogram starts a new series of eight Range Busters this week with a new rider, Davey Sharpe, taking the place of Ray Corrigan as one-third of a trio with John King and Max Terhune."
  • October 10, 1942 Motion Picture Herald: "The war, the armed services and the draft are worrying big, rotund Hollywood producer George Weeks. They're snapping up his male players from his little series of 'Range Busters' films. Davey Sharpe, his new lead, was to have been snapped up by the Army this week. And the other male lead, Johnny King, is expecting to go soon. 'Pretty soon I'll be wearing a girdle and riding a horse in my own pictures,' writes Weeks, a 250 pounder."
  • December 9, 1942 Variety: "Dennis Moore succeeds John King, now in the Army, as third of a trio with Ray Corrigan and Max Terhune in the 'Range Busters' series of westerns at Monogram."
  • December 19, 1942 Showmen's Trade Review: "Joining Ray Corrigan and Max Terhune in the featured trio of Monogram's 'Range Busters' pictures, Dennis Moore will make his first appearance with the group in 'Robber's Roost'."



The best of the Range Busters
THE RANGE BUSTERS (1940)In their first adventure, our three intrepid heroes ride to the aid of the Circle T Ranch owner who is threatened by a mysterious phantom killer. When the three meet up at the beginning, they ask Terhune why the name change from "Lullaby" to "Alibi" - and the answer is (paraphrase) that the "Alibi" monicker is a better fit because dummy Elmer gets him into so much trouble and he always needs an alibi/excuse. Directed by S. Roy Luby.
THE TRAIL OF THE SILVER SPURS (1941)Mystery tale with an old ghost town, a gold mine and prolific western villain I. Stanford Jolley as the "Jingler", the killer and wearer of the noisy spurs. Directed by S. Roy Luby.
TUMBLEDOWN RANCH IN ARIZONA (1941)A lot of folks ask about this one. The sons of 'Crash' and 'Dusty' meet up at college ... and there's a flash back to an adventure with their famous Range Buster fathers. Good idea for a story, but turned out rather routine. Directed by S. Roy Luby.
THE KID'S LAST RIDE (1941)Oh the embarassment when our three heroes lose their trusty steeds to the bad guys. Fairly routine oater that is enhanced by the closing fisticuffs between Glenn Strange and Corrigan. Earlier, at the outlaw shack, Strange has his hands full in a confrontation with Crash's captured horse (which happens to be "White Hoss #1 - The "horse with a mottled face" that's profiled in the Trusty Steeds section of the Old Corral). Directed by S. Roy Luby.
BOOT HILL BANDITS (1942)Another good role for I. Stanford Jolley as the slick "Mesquite Kid" ... and an even better role for big Glenn Strange as the scarred and scary brute known as "the Maverick". Directed by S. Roy Luby. Strange also portrayed "Petro", the hairy werewolf created by scientist George Zucco in THE MAD MONSTER (PRC, 1942). Both BOOT HILL BANDITS and THE MAD MONSTER were released in April-May, 1942. Both were good practice for Strange who would soon become the Frankenstein monster at Universal.
TEXAS TO BATAAN (1942)King, Sharpe and Terhune are contracted to deliver a herd of Army mounts to the Phillipines. And they do. And Sharpe adds some spectacular fist fight thrills in a barroom brawl. At the end, there's a radio broadcast announcing the Pearl Harbor attack and the three heroes decide to enlist. Directed by Bob Tansey.
HAUNTED RANCH (1943)There's a search for hidden gold bullion stolen from the Denver Mint as well as a ghost or apparition haunting the ol' Triangle W Ranch. This is the film in which Dave Sharpe exits at about the half-way mark to join Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders (in reality, he left for World War II duty), and a thick waisted Rex Lease fills in for the second half of the film. Locating the missing gold involves playing a particular tune on an organ (can you sing "Little Brown Jug"?). Directed by Bob Tansey.
COWBOY COMMANDOS (1943)Range Busters #22 has Corrigan, Moore and Terhune versus a bunch of Nazis who are after some super powerful mineral. The female lead is Evelyn Finley who gets some screen time to show off her spectacular riding skills. And who can forget Johnny Bond singing "I'll Get the Fuehrer Sure As Shootin' ". (I can forget!) Directed by S. Roy Luby.




(Courtesy of Minard Coons)

As mentioned, Max Terhune as "Alibi" appeared in all 24 of the films. For whatever reason, the teaming of Max and alter ego Elmer worked in the Three Mesquiteers ... and it worked in the Range Busters.

But there was some strangeness that I noticed when re-watching the films. In several, Elmer is completely separated/detached from Terhune ... and Elmer wisecracks and chats ... just like Elmer is a real person. This happens in TEXAS TROUBLESHOOTERS, ARIZONA STAGECOACH, TEXAS TO BATAAN, LAND OF HUNTED MEN, and perhaps a few others. Reminded me of that 1962 TWILIGHT ZONE episode with Cliff Robertson and his dummy "Willy". That "Elmer operating on his own" may have occurred in the Mesquiteers films, but I don't recall it.




(Courtesy of Minard Coons)

Another consistency in the series was Carl Mathews who is on the right in the above still. Max Terhune is center and George Chesebro is on the left. Normally a henchman, Mathews did stunt work and doubled Fred Scott in his Spectrum films as well as Corrigan in the Three Mesquiteers. Apparently, that Corrigan and Mathews relationship carried over to the Range Busters. Mathews worked in 21 of the 24 Busters films.


The stats - who did what and how many ... and a mystery.
NameNumber of Range Busters filmsThe mystery man on this list is director Anthony Marshall whose total Hollywood career amounted to one movie - he is credited as the director of BULLETS AND SADDLES (Monogram, 1943), the last of the Range Busters.

The film editor of that western was a Roy Claire, which just happens to be a pseudonym used by S. Roy Luby.

Was this "Anthony Marshall" a mistake ... or another alias for Luby ... was Anthony Marshall real?

Inquiring minds want to know.
Max Terhuneall 24
Ray Corrigan20
John King20
Dave Sharpe3 1/2
Dennis Moore4
Rex Lease1/2
Director Sol Roy Luby19
Director Robert Emmett 'Bob' Tansey4
Director Anthony Marshall1
Film editor Roy Claire (really S. Roy Luby)23
Producer George W. Weeksall 24



Links & Other Info

Don't forget to take a look at the other sections on the Old Corral which are devoted to Ray Corrigan, John 'Dusty' King and Dave Sharpe. Under 'Saddle Pals & Sidekicks', there's a lot more info on Max Terhune. And Dennis Moore is highlighted in 'Saddle Pals & Sidekicks' as well as 'Villains & Supporting Players' and "Gunbelts' sections.

  Although some of the data is incomplete or inaccurate, the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) has information on Corrigan, Terhune, King, Sharpe, Moore, Luby and Weeks.  Click on:

Ray Corrigan: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0181003/
Max Terhune: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0855579/
John King: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0454878/
Dave Sharpe: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0789211/
Dennis Moore: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0601117/
Director and film editor Sol Roy Luby (AKA Roy Claire): https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0523994/
Producer George Warren Weeks: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0917316/

You may want to go to the In Search Of ... page on the Old Corral and then to the California Death Index. There you will find records on:
Sol R. Luby, born 8/8/1899 in New York, and he passed away in the Los Angeles area on 8/19/1976.
George Warren Weeks, born 3/21/1885 in Michigan, Mother's maiden name of Harnden, and he passed away in the Los Angeles area on 11/16/1953.

You can download or stream some of the Range Busters films from the Internet Archive website: http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=%22range%20busters%22

Jerry L. Schneider's Movie-Making Locations Guide website on Hollywood film locations is at: http://www.movielocationsplus.com/

and Jerry's expanded site on Ray Corrigan's Corriganville is at: http://www.corriganville.net/



Back to prior page            Go to next page