Death Valley Days (1952–1970) User Reviews

Tales Told At The Fireside

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 16 April 2010]

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.

And Now Death Valley Days

[krorie · 6/10 · 7 September 2006]

One of my favorite shows on early TV was "Death Valley Days" featuring The Old Ranger (Stanley Andrews). Being a child, the only problem was the time schedule. On KARK, Channel 4, out of Little Rock, Akansas, the syndicated "Death Valley Days" came on just before sign-off but at least it was on a weekend night so I didn't have to worry about school the next day.

Sleepy-eyed, I would watch the 20-mule team pull the borax wagons across the sands as Josef Bonime's enchanting "Bugle Theme" sounded me awake. The moving picture of the team transformed into a picture on the wall as the camera panned down to The Old Ranger seated at his desk. He spoke as he slowly rose to greet the viewers:

"Howdy, I'm The Old Ranger and Death Valley is my stamping ground. Many's a tale of adventure I'm going to tell about Death Valley country. True stories, mind you...I can vouch for that...on behalf of these two products, 20-Mule Team Borax and Boraxo. And now here's Rosemary DeCamp to tell you about it."

The stories were good one with many a veteran character actor appearing in various episodes. At times the story would be built around the sponsor's product. One such episode I saw recently was entitled "The Big Team Rolls," starring Judd Holdren of Commando Cody fame. The seasoned character actor, Tom London, was featured as the muleskinner, Sandy McPherson.

Judd Holdren as Dana Emerson plays a tenderfoot from Boston who comes to Death Valley to be near his sweetheart (Lucille Barkley) whose father operates the borax works that transport the borax across the mountains and desert to Mojave, California, twenty miles round trip. Dana is tested by being assigned the swamper job. To complicate the novice's first trip, a disgruntled employee attempts to sabotage the journey and steal the payroll brought back from Mojave. Dana must prove his worth to himself, to his dearly beloved and to her father.

Gene Autry's Flying A Productions produced the program. Many of the actors, including Stanley Andrews (The Old Ranger), were part of Gene's stock company of Thespians. Andrews appeared on several of the Gene Autry Show episodes as did many of the other featured players on Death Valley Days.

As with any anthology-type series, the quality of the shows varied from week to week, but each one was entertaining and at times educational. Fans of TV westerns should enjoy Death Valley Days.

Gunslingers, Outlaws, Writers and Prospectors!

[bugsmoran29 · 8/10 · 15 September 2016]

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.

Extremely entertaining!!!

[ketchkev · 1 December 2005]

I wish they would show these again. With over 20 years of episodes, I can't see why they don't. I was a huge fan of this program, and looked forward to watching it every week. This show was very low budget, but they were the most enjoyable half-hour episodes ever!! Many of them were factual as well. Although some of the episodes are available on video (and very,very few may I mention) they still don't encompass the true meaning of the series. You would be able to watch week to week and see what it took to tame the great west. With stories of the gold rush, wild outlaws, early politicians, and the ushering in of statehood, Death valley days will always be a favorite. I will also never forget the TV theme. It will forever be in my memories.

1950's Black and White.

[wfinlayson-567-88446 · 10/10 · 15 January 2010]

In Western Canada,when I was about 7 or 8,we used to see it on Saturday or Sunday afternoon,when television was fairly new in the North and not everybody had one.But my dad had a good job with the Telephone Company,so we always seemed to have the latest electrical gadgets.

Westerns,in 1958 were going strong but I especially remember and liked the haunting bugle call,the particular black and white reception,and our television itself,with the genuine Borax 20 Mule Team model carefully placed on top of it.I think the Stanley Andrews era was the best,because the actors were a product of post WW2,and the scenes were of a completely natural western landscape,especially the striking area itself,in which it was indeed filmed.I didn't see the later episodes because we moved but in the 60's the world did modernized pretty fast and the old western towns and people,and war heroes,were becoming only a memory.

I hope they roll out the episodes soon so I can build my own 20 Mule Team and get back to some real western television.

One of the best

[sus3337 · 9/10 · 11 February 2019]

This is one of the few early Western shows that was more accurate about depicting actual Indians and Mexicans in a much more favorable light. Too many of it's contemporary westerns created and perpetuated stereotypes that are still believed to this day. No it's not completely accurate, but it's much more authentic the most series were at the time. It's 60 years on am I still enjoy itbecause it does show that people can be good even when times are bad.

A real 20 mule team driver

[npn-06412 · 7/10 · 7 July 2019]

Looks like I can't post a photo. I have one of an old Swede who drove a 20 mule team in Death Valley in the 1890s. I met him in 1963.

A Genuine Classic

[hackraytex · 8/10 · 19 June 2017]

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.

Still showing on cable

[jlb-90080 · 9/10 · 2 January 2020]

You can still see episodes on cable Starz Encore Westerns and Grits. I agree that some of them are good and some not so good.

Series is on Roku!

[barbaraclarklaird · 10/10 · 27 March 2024]

I've been wanting to watch Death Valley Days in it's entirety for many years. Now I can on Roku. I'm so thrilled! What's so great about this show is that it really is based on true stories. I love the Old Ranger. I'm not yet to where Ronald Reagan is the host. I even can look up a story on the Internet to see more about the story. I love seeing these in black and white. Don't know yet about the color yet. Many thanks to Roku for making this possible. So pleased. Now if I could just get my grandchildren interested in these great history lessons! For me, it's delightful and entertaining as well as educational!

Fiction Passed off as Historical Fact

[WYAdams · 4/10 · 13 June 2021]

In the early years of the series, the Old Ranger tells us that the stories are true stories from the Death Valley area. There are two problems with this claim.

The first is that many stories are set in areas many hundreds of miles from Death Valley and have no connection to it.

The second, and more serious problem is that most of the stories are not historically accurate. In many cases, they are not even close to the truth.

Here are two examples.

1) The Johnny Ringo story is filled with inaccuracies, such as the statement that is real last name was Ringold. That name was only used once in newspapers in one area where they misspelled his name. They also claimed he was college educated, but historical records prove he and is family wandered the west and he did not attend any university in his lifetime. The also claim he was erudite, and refined, when historical records show he was a thug , troublemaker, and gunfighter his entire life.

2) The. Episode titled, "Forbidden Wedding" has a completely fictional account which has absolutely no historical facts to support it. In addition, they got the name of the bell wrong, and the supposed photograph of the bell is wrong as proven by online photos of the REAL bell.

The stories are enjoyable as works of fiction, but please do not be misled into thinking they have any real historical value. They are fiction, pure and simple.

Longest Running Syndicated Show On Television

[rcj5365 · 22 September 2004]

Hmmm................"Death Valley Days"..........

I remember this show very well. It was a part of a lot of Saturday evening programming,and some Saturday afternoons as well when I was a kid growing up. It's amazing that this show would go on to make history as well which ran on television for an impressive 23 years(1952-1975)...It became the longest-running syndicated Western/Drama program in the history of television,and it stands besides some of the best Westerns of their day.....the legendary drama that ran on prime-time television,"Gunsmoke",which ran for 20 years on CBS,and the Western adventure drama "Bonanza",which ran for 14 years on NBC. "Death Valley Days" has also made its mark in tying with another classic show as well,"The Ed Sullivan Show",which ran for 23 years on CBS,making it the longest-running variety show ever on prime-time.

For most of the show,I do recall the opening bugle call and the announcer opening to the title of the show and the sponsor,which was 20 Mule Team With Borax,which to this day is still on the market! Believe me,20-Mule Team With Borax will clean almost anything including everything around the house..its just that good! About those episodes,especially with the earlier episodes which were in black and white(1952-1965). The Black and White Episodes were exciting to watch since they were based on the true stories about the struggles of the Old West and the Pioneers who would go through the trials and tribulations of the American frontier. Each week there were stories based on gunslingers,Indians,Traders,Wagon Masters,United States Calvary,Mexican Bandits,Sheriffs,Deputies,Posses,along with the usual sort of Western fare that I saw plenty of on television back in those days. Some of these scenes were filmed around Death Valley,California; and in Arizona or on some Hollywood studio backlot.

However,when the show made the transition to color(1965-1975),the stories got flimsier and rather stagy in some spots but the shows would switch location shots,one scene was filmed in Death Valley,CA; and the others were either filmed around Arizona and parts of the Upper California Valley,and I do recall one episode that was filmed around the Colorado Valley area. Some of the "color" episodes were quite boring and slow,and that's when I quite watching the show altogether. Some of the hosts that brought out the show were "The Original Old Ranger",who was played by Stanley Andrews,and then on by Ronald Reagan before he went into politics. There was one segment where country superstar Merle Haggard was guest host as well. The guest star roster that appeared on this show were some of the Hollywood's who's who and you'll see a lot of that here. It was the quinessential American Western,and for the 23 years that it ran in syndication was quite popular,depending on some of the episodes,which some were good and some were just awful. Now how about having those episodes out on DVD and Video sometime?

Let's get that 20 mule team to haul out those episodes.

[yenlo · 14 November 2001]

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?

Early, black-&-white episodes are the best

[pt100 · 17 January 2001]

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'.

23 Years on the air and no comments?

[mavery-2 · 3 January 2001]

This Series was quite popular for many years. They used a rather strange approach to production, taking a cast and crew to a location (ie: Flagstaff) and shooting 3 episodes to be split up during the season. It was the quintiessential American western of the time. Sometimes quite good, sometimes very very bad. Wish the episodes were still about somewhere.