Battling with Buffalo Bill

Infobox Film
name = Battling with Buffalo Bill


image_size =
caption =
director = Ray Taylor
producer = Henry MacRae
writer = Ella O'Neill
George H. Plympton
William "Buffalo Bill" Cody "(book)"
narrator =
starring = Tom Tyler
Lucile Browne
William Desmond
Rex Bell
Francis Ford
music =
cinematography = John Hickson
editing = Alvin Todd
distributor = Universal Pictures
released = 28 November 1931
runtime = 12 chapters (217 min)
country = USA
language = English
budget =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website =
amg_id = 1:4374
imdb_id = 0021643

"Battling with Buffalo Bill" (1931) is a Universal movie serial based on the book "The Great West That Was" by William "Buffalo Bill" Cody, which had also been used as the inspiration for the studio's highly successful 1930 serial "The Indians Are Coming". [Page 10; "In the Nick of Time: Motion Picture Sound Serials"; Cline, William C.; 1997; McFarland & Company; ISBN 078640471X]

This was Universal's 78th serial, the 10th with sound and 4th with full sound, of the studio's total of 137 serials.

Plot

The plot is a variation on the standard B-Western "Land Grab" plot: Gold has been discovered in the area and gambler Jim Rodney intends to make sole claim to it by pushing the rightful owners off the land and taking it for himself. To do so he has his henchmen kill an Indian woman, provoking attacks from her tribe. This brings Buffalo Bill and the United States Cavalry into the town. Buffalo Bill proceeds to defeat Rodney and his schemes.

Cast

*Tom Tyler as William "Buffalo Bill" Cody
*Lucile Browne as Jane Mills, Buffalo Bill's love interest
*William Desmond as John Mills
*Rex Bell as Dave Archer, Buffalo Bill's sidekick. This serial brought Rex Ball to the attention of Trem Carr. Carr decided to star Bell in a series of nine films for Monogram Pictures, beginning with "From Broadway to Cheyenne" (1932). [cite book
last = Holland
first = Ted
authorlink =
title = B-Western Actors Encyclopaedia
year = 1989
publisher = McFarland & Company
isbn = 0899503063
pages = pp. ]
*Francis Ford as Jim Rodney, villainous gambler trying to illictly claim a local gold strike
*George Regas as 'Breed' Johns
*Yakima Canutt as Scout Jack Brady
*Bud Osborne as Joe Tampas, one of Rodney's henchmen
*Joe Bonomo as Joe Brady
*Bobby Nelson as Ezra Podge
*Chief Thunderbird as Chief Thunder Bird
*Jim Thorpe as Swift Arrow

Production

Along with the more successful "The Indians Are Coming" (1930) this serial was based on the book "The Great West That Was" by Buffalo Bill Cody. [cite book
last = Cline
first = William C.
title = In the Nick of Time
origyear = 1984
publisher = McFarland & Company, Inc.
isbn = 078640471X
pages = pp. 10
chapter = 2. In Search of Ammunition ]

tunts

* Joe Bonomo
* Yakima Canutt
* Cliff Lyons

Chapter titles

# Captured by Redskins
# Circling Death
# Between Hostile Tribes
# The Savage Horde
# The Fatal Plunge
# Trapped
# The Unseen Killer
# Sentenced to Death
# The Death Trap
# A Shot from Ambush
# The Flaming Death
# Cheyenne Vengeance_Source: [cite book
last = Cline
first = William C.
title = In the Nick of Time
origyear = 1984
publisher = McFarland & Company, Inc.
isbn = 078640471X
pages = pp. 204
chapter = Filmography ]

ee also

* List of film serials by year
* List of film serials by studio

References

External links

*imdb title|id=0021643
*amg title|id=1:4374

###@@@KEY@@@###succession box
title=Universal Serial
before=Danger Island (1931)
years=Battling with Buffalo Bill (1931)
after=The Spell of the Circus (1931)