Directors: FORD BEEBE, RAY TAYLOR. Screenplay: George Plympton, Sherman L. Lowe, Basil Dickey, Jack O'Donnell. Story: Oliver Drake. Photography: Jerome Ash and William A. Sickner. Supervising film editor: Saul A. Goodkind. Film editors: Joseph Gluck, Louis Sackin, Alvin Todd. Music director: Charles Previn. Dialogue director: Jacques Jaccard. Stunts: Leroy Johnson. Associate producer: Henry MacRae.
Individual chapters copyright on various dates from 6 March 1941 to 21 April 1941 by Universal Pictures Co., Inc. U.S. release: 1 July 1941. Each chapter consists of two reels. Total running time: 283 minutes.
Chapter titles: (1) Death Marks the Trail; (2) Menacing Herd; (3) Plunge of Peril; (4) Flaming Fury; (5) Avalanche of Doom; (6) Blood and Gold; (7) Death Rides the Storm; (8) Descending Doom; (9) Death Holds the Reins; (10) Devouring Flames; (11) Fatal Blast; (12) Thundering Doom; (13) The Bridge of Disaster; (14) A Fight to the Death; (15) The Harvest of Hate.
SYNOPSIS: An old prospector discovers a lost gold mine which he deeds to his niece, Mary Morgan. Jim Benton and his riders offer to help Mary locate the mine and then work it for their mutual profit. A gang of outlaws in cahoots with two crooked saloon owners have other ideas.
COMMENT: Despite assembling a colorful cast headed by two of our favorite cowboy heroes (Dick Foran and Buck Jones), who are pitted against two of the wickedest heavies in the business (Charles Bickford and Chaney Junior), this turns out to be a tame, lack- luster, repetitious serial with slender plot ideas and cumbersome comic relief.
It's hard to believe that experienced writers like the five gentlemen credited here were unable to exercise their collective imagination and could come up with nothing more exciting than this disappointing charade.
The chapter titles themselves indicate the general poverty of their invention. "Death" figures no less four times, "Doom" three times, and "Flaming/Flames" almost twice! It's particularly sad to see a fine talent like Buck Jones wasted in what amounts to a straw man supporting role with no fiber at all. What's worse, the action often grinds to a halt to allow that classic ham, Leo Carillo, leave to ham away with his phony but totally "unfunny" Mexican impersonation.
It's hard to pick out a view-able yet representative chapter. Admittedly, two or three in which the action gets stuck in a mine are particularly boring, but the others plumb the depths of mediocrity and scale no heights at all.
Just try the first and the last. They will give you a good idea of the quality of the serial as a whole.
The "first million-dollar serial," Universal proudly proclaimed at the time of its initial release. Well, it may have cost a packet in players, extras and locations, but any Mascot effort you name delivers at least ten times the thrills and excitements. True, "Riders" does boast a great theme song. That's just the trouble. The credits promise bags of gold but deliver only a few drops of gloss.
Individual chapters copyright on various dates from 6 March 1941 to 21 April 1941 by Universal Pictures Co., Inc. U.S. release: 1 July 1941. Each chapter consists of two reels. Total running time: 283 minutes.
Chapter titles: (1) Death Marks the Trail; (2) Menacing Herd; (3) Plunge of Peril; (4) Flaming Fury; (5) Avalanche of Doom; (6) Blood and Gold; (7) Death Rides the Storm; (8) Descending Doom; (9) Death Holds the Reins; (10) Devouring Flames; (11) Fatal Blast; (12) Thundering Doom; (13) The Bridge of Disaster; (14) A Fight to the Death; (15) The Harvest of Hate.
SYNOPSIS: An old prospector discovers a lost gold mine which he deeds to his niece, Mary Morgan. Jim Benton and his riders offer to help Mary locate the mine and then work it for their mutual profit. A gang of outlaws in cahoots with two crooked saloon owners have other ideas.
COMMENT: Despite assembling a colorful cast headed by two of our favorite cowboy heroes (Dick Foran and Buck Jones), who are pitted against two of the wickedest heavies in the business (Charles Bickford and Chaney Junior), this turns out to be a tame, lack- luster, repetitious serial with slender plot ideas and cumbersome comic relief.
It's hard to believe that experienced writers like the five gentlemen credited here were unable to exercise their collective imagination and could come up with nothing more exciting than this disappointing charade.
The chapter titles themselves indicate the general poverty of their invention. "Death" figures no less four times, "Doom" three times, and "Flaming/Flames" almost twice! It's particularly sad to see a fine talent like Buck Jones wasted in what amounts to a straw man supporting role with no fiber at all. What's worse, the action often grinds to a halt to allow that classic ham, Leo Carillo, leave to ham away with his phony but totally "unfunny" Mexican impersonation.
It's hard to pick out a view-able yet representative chapter. Admittedly, two or three in which the action gets stuck in a mine are particularly boring, but the others plumb the depths of mediocrity and scale no heights at all.
Just try the first and the last. They will give you a good idea of the quality of the serial as a whole.
The "first million-dollar serial," Universal proudly proclaimed at the time of its initial release. Well, it may have cost a packet in players, extras and locations, but any Mascot effort you name delivers at least ten times the thrills and excitements. True, "Riders" does boast a great theme song. That's just the trouble. The credits promise bags of gold but deliver only a few drops of gloss.