Winners of the West (1940 serial)

For the silent serial of the same name, see Winners of the West (1921 serial).

Winners of the West is a 1940 American Western film serial from Universal Pictures, directed by Ford Beebe and Ray Taylor. It stars Dick Foran and Anne Nagel in a plot about the construction of a railroad and a local ganglord, who opposes it. It was Universal's 115th serial release (the 47th with sound).

Winners of the West
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Ford Beebe Ray Taylor
Written by	George H. Plympton Basil Dickey Charles R. Condon
Produced by	Henry MacRae
Starring	Dick Foran Anne Nagel Tom Fadden James Craig Harry Woods Charles Stevens
Cinematography	Jerome Ash John Hickson William A. Sickner
Edited by	Saul A. Goodkind (supervising) Joseph Gluck Louis Sackin Alvin Todd
Music by	Hans J. Salter
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date	July 2, 1940 (1940-07-02)
Running time	13 chapters (247 min)
Country	United States
Language	English

The studio had used the name for an earlier silent serial, but there are no plot similarities between the two versions. Columbia's Roar of the Iron Horse is very similar to this serial, however, and the writer George H. Plympton worked on both.

Plot

The Southwest Central Railroad Company^[1] is attempting to build a railroad through "Hell's Gate Pass". However, King Carter, the self-appointed ruler of the land beyond the pass, does not want this to happen. He sends henchmen, including local Indians, to disrupt the construction anyway they can, from sabotage to kidnapping Claire Hartford, the daughter of the company President. The President's assistant, Jeff Ramsay, and his sidekicks stop King Carter's schemes at every point and, eventually, defeat him entirely. This opens the area up to new settlers, the first of which is Jeff himself and his new wife, Claire.

Cast

• Dick Foran as Jeff Ramsay, employee of the Hartford Transcontinental Railroad
• Anne Nagel as Claire Hartford, daughter of John Hartford
• Tom Fadden as Tex Houston, scout and one of Jeff Ramsay's sidekicks
• James Craig as Jim Jackson, another of Jeff Ramsay's sidekicks
• Harry Woods as King Carter, villain
• Charles Stevens as Snakeye, King Carter's lead henchman
• Edward Keane as John Hartford, President of the Hartford Transcontinental Railroad
• Trevor Bardette as Raven, one of King Carter's henchmen
• Edgar Edwards as Tim, one of King Carter's henchmen
• Edmund Cobb as Maddox, one of King Carter's henchmen
• William Desmond as Bill Brine, Railroad foreman
• Roy Barcroft as Logan, one of King Carter's henchmen

Production

Stunts

• Cliff Lyons, riding double for Dick Foran (Jeff Ramsay) and Tom Fadden (Tex Houston)
• Eddie Parker, fight double for Dick Foran (Jeff Ramsay)
• Fred Graham, doubling Harry Woods (King Carter)
• Kermit Maynard
• Ken Terrell
• Henry Wills

Chapter titles

1: Redskins Ride Again is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive 2: The Wreck at Red River Gorge 3: The Bridge of Disaster 4: Trapped by Redskins is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive 5: Death Strikes the Trail is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive 6: A Leap for Life is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive 7: Thundering Terror is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive

8: The Flaming Arsenal is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive 9: Sacrificed by Savages is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive 10: Under Crashing Timbers is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive 11: Bullets in the Dark is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive 12: The Battle of Blackhawk is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive 13: Barricade Blasted is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive

_{Source for chapter names:}^[2]

See also

• List of film serials
• List of film serials by studio