Death Valley Days

The opening bugle call, the 20-mule team hauling the borax wagons out of the desert, The Old Ranger introducing the story and Rosemary DeCamp doing the commercials could only mean one thing, another episode of "Death Valley Days" was on the air. Where are all those episodes today?

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.

Somewhere in the offices of the 20 Mule Team Borax company sits some television gold. Death Valley Days, the longest running syndicated show on television contains some fine dramas, made better by the fact that these were true western stories, no frills added. Take a look at the directors and writers lists for the show. You'll find in the credits any number of B picture western directors who found work as the B western died out on the big screen, same with the writers.

Not to mention the players and for a real western feel the show had as its first host character actor Stanley Andrews known as the Old Ranger. Andrews brought a real feel of the old west to his job as host. Even when some rather more well known Hollywood names like Ronald Reagan, Robert Taylor and Dale Robertson took over the hosting duties, you always knew you were watching three well known movie stars. With Andrews it was like sitting by the fireside listening to tales from the past from a beloved relative.

Robertson was from Oklahoma and could never shake the western image no matter how hard he tried in his career and he eventually went with the flow. Taylor and Reagan were both leading men, Taylor of A films and Reagan of B films from their respective studios. But both had a real love of horses and the west and would just as soon have been cowboy heroes at their studios instead of the career paths that were chosen for them by Louis B. Mayer and Jack Warner respectively. All of them fit the role of host well because of their backgrounds.

This is another show that TV Land channel ought to grab. Or at least the country music channel which has now taken to showing films occasionally. They can't do better than this.

In the early 50s, this show had some wonderful episodes. I believe most of the early episodes, in black & white, were based on true stories. Later, they included more 'legends' and the show eventually was produced in color. I quit watching it during its later years, when color came in, Ronald Reagan was the host, and the stories got flimsier -- although in some of these later stories you can see some young actors who later went on to become Hollywood stars. My favorite host was the original 'Old Ranger'.

I remember watching "Death Valley Days" back in the sixties on Saturday afternoons with my father and my five brothers. I have only recently begun watching the program as I can now receive it on the Western Encore Channel on cable. I really appreciate this show because it a western that features more than just cowboys & Indians. There are plenty of episodes that focus upon prospectors, missionaries, newspaper reporters, teachers, naturalists, telegraph operators and mail deliverer. The action takes primarily in San Francisco and the state of California but the viewer is has taken to the Dakotas, Wyoming, Montana, Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico. It is always fun to spot the actors on the show who were on their way up or down in Hollywood. I even saw a very young Clint Eastwood on an episode just recently.