THE THREE MESQUITEERS

The Three Mesquiteers films were based on the William Colt MacDonald series of books. The first film to appear based on the characters in the books was "Law of the 45's" (Normandy Pictures 1935). The following year, Republic Pictures released the first of 51 features based on the MacDonald books. The series ran from 1936 to 1943. Ray "Crash" Corrigan costarred in the first 24 of them, from 1936 to 1939.

The first entry in the long running Republic series was "The Three Mesquiteers" (1936), starring Ray Corrigan, Robert Livingston, and Syd Saylor. This would be Syd's only appearance in the series.

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In the second entry of the series, Max "Lullaby" Terhune replaced Syd Saylor and appeared in the next 21 entries in a row before leaving the series.
The image to the right is a card that was distributed to the general public.


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After the first entry, the trio consisted of Robert Livingston, Ray Corrigan, and Max Terhune for the next 14 out of 15 entries:

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Ghost Town Gold (1936)
Roarin' Lead (1936)
Riders of the Whistling Skull (1937)
Hit the Saddle (1937)
Gunsmoke Ranch (1937)
Come On Cowboys (1937)
Range Defenders (1937)
Heart of the Rockies (1937)
Wild Horse Rodeo (1937)
The Purple Vigilantes (1938)
Call the Mesquiteers (1938)
Outlaws of Sonora (1938)
Riders of the Black Hills (1938)
Heroes of the Hills (1938)

The only exception was for The Trigger Trio (1937), which starred Ray Corrigan, Max Terhune, and Ralph Byrd. Byrd was replacing an injured Livingston.

For the last 4 entries of 1938 and the first 2 of 1939, Livingston was replaced by John Wayne:

Pals of the Saddle (1938)
Overland Stage Raiders (1938)
Sante Fe Stampede (1938)
Red River Range (1938)
The Night Riders (1939)
Three Texas Steers (1939)

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Ray Corrigan's last two films in the series were Wyoming Outlaw and New Frontier, both from 1939. The trio then consisted of Ray Corrigan, John Wayne, and Raymond Hatton.

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Ray and double
Ray Corrigan (on right) and his stunt double, Carl Mathews,
during filming of "Outlaws of Sonora".
(from the author's collection)

There were a total of 9 variations of actor/trios in the 51 films. Ray Corrigan appeared in the first 5 variations. Here is a photographic recap of those five trios:

Syd Saylor, Ray Corrigan, Robert Livingston

Max Terhune, Robert Livingston, Ray Corrigan

Ralph Byrd, Ray Corrigan, Max Terhune

Max Terhune, John Wayne, Ray Corrigan

Raymond Hatton, John Wayne, Ray Corrigan

For a lot more information on all The Three Mesquiteers films, please visit
Chuck Anderson's The Old Corral and The Three Mesquiteers.

The first entry in the long running Republic series was "The Three Mesquiteers" (1936), starring Ray Corrigan, Robert Livingston, and Syd Saylor. This would be Syd's only appearance in the series.
	Click on image for larger view
In the second entry of the series, Max "Lullaby" Terhune replaced Syd Saylor and appeared in the next 21 entries in a row before leaving the series. The image to the right is a card that was distributed to the general public.