South of Death Valley

"Starrett's a two-gun terror! Smiley's a hit tune riot!"

1949 0h 54m EN

👍

7.0

SOLID

★7.0TMDB · 2

Western

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

When Steve Downey arrives to reopen his brother-in-law's gold mine, he finds a war between the ranchers and the miners. Ashton has had the water poisoned killing cattle. When Ashton's men find Steve's hat, they kill Tom Tavish and frame Steve for the murder. Escaping jail the Durango Kid goes into action.

“Starrett's a two-gun terror! Smiley's a hit tune riot!”

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Cast

Charles Starrett
Steve Downey aka The Durango Kid
Gail Davis
Molly Tavish
Fred F. Sears
Sam Ashton
Lee Roberts
Scotty Tavish
Richard Emory
Tommy Tavish
Clayton Moore
Henchman Brad
Tommy Duncan
Tommy, Band Leader
Smiley Burnette
Self

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Ray Nazarro
Writers: Earle Snell, James Gruen
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 54-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

77 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "The Durango Kid Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Ray Nazarro, shot by Fayte M. Browne. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Paul Borofsky shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Charles Starrett and Gail Davis and Fred F. Sears carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Starrett's a two-gun terror! Smiley's a hit tune riot!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Ray Nazarro directs. Fayte M. Browne behind the camera. Paul Borofsky cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 54-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
277 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Part of the "The Durango Kid Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
5Directed by Ray Nazarro, shot by Fayte M. Browne. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Editor Paul Borofsky shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Charles Starrett and Gail Davis and Fred F. Sears carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Starrett's a two-gun terror! Smiley's a hit tune riot!".
9IMDB entry: tt0041905 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Only 2 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Fayte M. Browne
Editing: Paul Borofsky
Runtime: 54 min · 0h 54m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: South of Death Valley (1949)

Part of

The Durango Kid Collection

One of the most popular western series of the 40's and 50's starring Charles Starrett as the hero who wore a mask to hide his identity. The stories always provided plenty of comedy relief and was one of the longest running series of all times.