BUCK JONES
December 12th, 1891 -- November 30th, 1942

Above: Buck Jones with his horse Silver.

My special thanks to B-Western historian Bobby Copeland, who provided me with Buck’s correct birthdate for this piece. For further information about Mr. Copeland’s books, go to this page at Larry Welch’s Saturday Matinee Memories site.

Tough. Good-humored. Convincing. Tall in the saddle. A hero in real life as well as on screen. All of these expressions well describe cowboy star Buck Jones, who led a life that would have made a good movie in itself. Born in 1889 in Indiana, he grew up in Okalahoma (actually, in the 1890s it was still officially Indian Territory). It was there that he developed his extraordinary riding skills (Pierce Lyden, the B-western badman actor, always rated Jones 10 on a scale of 10 when he compared B-western horsemen). He served in the Spanish-American War and the subsequent Philippine occupation, and brought back a scar from a Moro knife. He became a top bronco buster and rodeo rider, and finally, in the 1920s, he entered the movie business, as, naturally, a star of Westerns.

Buck was a big box-office draw in silent Westerns, and he remained a popular cowboy hero when sound came in, one of the few to make the transition. Following two popular series of B-westerns, one for a studio called Beverly, and the second for Columbia Pictures, Jones was signed up by Universal to star in a series of B-westerns--and some serials as well. I'll get to them in a minute. Jones’ films varied widely in tone, from the grim, dramatic RANGE FEUD (co-starring a young John Wayne; Buck was one of the young Duke’s heroes and role models) to the hilariously tongue-in-cheek FORBIDDEN TRAIL, but in all of them Buck displayed his strong, dominating personality and self-assured cowboy charm.

Above: Buck Jones (right) slugs Bud Osborne in a lobby card for GORDON OF GHOST CITY (Universal, 1933), Buck's first serial.

Universal's decision to sign Buck Jones to a contract was probably influenced by his performance, a year earlier, as the hero in one of their serials while he was still "freelancing". The serial was GORDON OF GHOST CITY (Universal, 1933). Buck played Buck Gordon, a range detective who took on a gang of rustlers, who made their secret headquarters in deserted Ghost City. Things were further complicated by Mary Gray (Madge Bellamy), who owned a gold mine under the outlaw property, and a mystery man who hid out in the ghost town. Among the supporting cast were Walter Miller (as the villainous leader of the rustlers), William Desmond (as the rancher victimized by the rustlers), and Francis Ford (as the mysterious old coot who lived in Ghost City and took pot shots at both Buck and the rustlers from time to time). GORDON was a very entertaining serial, thanks largely to Buck, who made his character a very endearing, easygoing, but tough “cowpoke” type

Above: A poster for Buck Jones's first serial, GORDON OF GHOST CITY (Republic, 1933), showing Jones with leading lady Madge Bellamy.

THE RED RIDER, made in 1934, was Buck's first serial under contract to Universal. Jones played Red Davidson, a sheriff who tosses away his badge in order to save his best friend, Silent Slade (Grant Withers) from being hanged for a crime he didn't commit. Red and Silent set out to track down the real killers, and eventually bring them to justice. Walter Miller, who had also been the heavy in GORDON OF GHOST CITY, was the head villain, and Richard Cramer was his Mexican cohort. Marion Shilling was the leading lady, and legendary athlete Jim Thorpe was another one of Miller's henchmen. THE RED RIDER was much better written than the average serial, emphazing characterization, drama, and humor without any detriment to the action scenes. In other words, it was a perfect vehicle for Jones’ talents.

Above: Buck Jones talks with Margaret Lamarr (center) and Marion Shilling in THE RED RIDER (Universal, 1934).

Buck was really on a roll at Universal. His next starring serial was released the next year: THE ROARING WEST. As a cowboy named Montana Larkin, Buck came to the aid of old rancher William Desmond and his daughter Muriel Evans, and helped them protect a map to a gold mine from their treacherous foreman (Walter Miller, again). Frank McGlynn Sr., usually cast as stern preachers or doctors, played Buck's comic sidekick, Jinglebob Morgan.

Next came THE PHANTOM RIDER (Universal, 1936). Jones's character, as in GORDON OF GHOST CITY, was first named Buck, with a last name of Grant. Jones masqueraded as the title rider in order to help heroine Marla Shelton protect her ranch from a gang of no-good outlaws headed by one of the best badmen in the business--Harry Woods. PHANTOM RIDER was Buck's final starring serial for Universal, and by all accounts, it was a pretty good one to go out on.

Above: Buck Grant (Buck Jones) and Mary Grayson (Marla Shelton) discover a murdered Lafe McKee in THE PHANTOM RIDER (Universal, 1936).

Due to the oncoming singing cowboy craze, Buck's popularity began dropping after he finished his work at Universal. He did a group of B-westerns at Columbia that were not as good as his earlier films there, performed in several forgettable non-Western programmers, and made his only Republic appearance (terribly miscast as a VILLAIN!) in WAGONS WEST (Republic, 1940). In 1941, he made his last starring serial for Columbia, WHITE EAGLE, a remake of an earlier B-western he had made at Columbia in the thirties. Buck was pony express rider White Eagle, a white man raised by Indians and protecting his adopted tribe against the evil schemes of Dandy Darnell (James Craven), with the help of sidekick Grizzly (Raymond Hatton) and heroine Janet Rand (Dorothy Fay, Tex Ritter's real life wife). Although the premise was fine, the serial was sabotaged by director James W. Horne, who played the script for comedy and made Craven, Hatton, and most of the other cast members seem like idiotic buffoons.

Above: A publicity portrait of Buck Jones in WHITE EAGLE (Columbia, 1941).

Bad as it might have been, WHITE EAGLE did well for Buck Jones. Universal noticed him once again, and decided to help him stage a comeback. RIDERS OF DEATH VALLEY (Universal, 1941) was intended as the first stage of this comeback. Known as the Million Dollar Serial, RIDERS OF DEATH VALLEY was a wonderful, thrill-packed Western adventure with non-stop action and an all-star cast. The Riders, a group of heroic vigilantes, aid an Eastern girl come West (Jeanne Kelly) in discovering and develping her late uncle's gold mine, the Lost Aztec. Dick Foran was the hero and head of the Riders, Jim Benton, Jones was his trusty second in command, Tombstone, and Leo Carrillo, Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, Noah Beery Jr., and Glenn Strange filled out the ranks of the Riders. The villains of the piece were saloon owner Joseph Kirby (James Blaine) and his rebellious, rambunctious, and downright nasty outlaw cohort, Wolf Reade (Charles Bickford). RIDERS OF DEATH VALLEY was an exceptional serial, and, although Buck played second lead to Foran, he still got in on a lot of the action and exchanged some great repartee with Foran and the others, once again showing his humorous side. It was a good final serial for him.

Above: Buck Jones, on his white horse Silver, pauses for a moment with Leo Carrillo in a scene from the magnificent RIDERS OF DEATH VALLEY (Universal, 1941).

RIDERS successfully boosted Buck's popularity, and he began starring in the very popular and very fondly remembered "Rough Riders" B-western series over at Monogram Pictures. He would probably have given us many more serials and B-westerns, but in 1942, on a personal appearance tour, he was killed in a fire while appearing at the Cocoanut Grove Nightclub. He actually managed to escape from the nightclub unharmed, but went back in to rescue others. Twice Buck returned with victims of the fire, then went back a third time--and never came out.

Buck Jones was probably one of the most loved B-western stars of all time. I've only begun to discover his work, but already I can see and appreciate the personality that pleased so many audiences so long ago. He gave us some great serials and Westerns to enjoy, and lived--and died--a hero. He will never be forgotten as long as there are folks who still appreciate a rugged, principled, and noble cowboy who “stands tall” for the Right.

Above: A couple of nice publicity photos of Buck, the top one from later in his career, the bottom one from an earlier period.