The Wild West of Fiction and Film

By Ed Hulse

This revised and expanded second edition maintains the first’s emphasis on the nexus of Western pulp fiction and “B” movies, with coverage of significant Western serials as well. The Wild West of Fiction and Film does not pretend to be a comprehensive narrative history; it’s strictly a collection of essays with the same general theme. Some originally appeared in Blood ‘n’ Thunder, other were written for other publications, and a couple are new to this book.

As always, Ed Hulse relies on his own first-hand research, which includes first-person interviews with writers, directors, actors, and stuntmen involved in the making of these classic movies. The lead essay (also the book’s longest) is an overview of the 100-plus films adapted from the works of beloved Western author Zane Grey. Others chronicle the making of such genre milestones as The Mark of Zorro (1920), which introduced Johnston McCuley’s legendary masked hero of Old California; Mystery Ranch, the 1932 exercise in Western Gothic; Hop-along Cassidy (1935), first entry in the long-running series starring William Boyd; and Under Western Stars (1938), the first movie in which singer Leonard Slye appeared as Roy Rogers. Separate but thematically linked essays cover the Lone Ranger pulp magazine and the 1938 cliffhanger serial that marked the character’s silver-screen debut. Other pieces describe the making of such great chapter plays as The Riddle Rider (1924), Adventures of Red Ryder (1940), and Daredevils of the West (1943).

One lengthy article surveys 1920s issues of the memorable Doubleday pulp West, another charts the history of Street & Smith’s Wild West Weekly as seen through the eyes of its best-known contributor, Paul S. Powers. Various pulp-to-film comparisons explore works by Max Brand, Walt Coburn, and Norbert Davis.

The book’s 344 pages contain some 150,000 words of copy and a 27-page gallery of photos and illustrations.

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