Future legends of the Old West, Charlie Bassett, Bat Masterson, Wyatt Earp, and Bill Tilghman were the lawmen who patrolled the unruly streets. When a cattle baron's son fled town after the shooting of the popular saloon singer named Dora Hand, the four men--all experts with a gun who knew the harsh, desertlike surrounding terrain--hunted him down like "Thunder Over the Prairie." The posse's ride across the desolate landscape to seek justice influenced the men's friendship, their careers, and their feelings about the justice system. This account of that event is a fast-paced, cinematic glimpse into the Old West that was.
The amazing true story of the men on Wyoming's death row in the nineteen-teens
who believed they'd be granted reprieves as long as they kept winning baseball
games.
"Exploding onto the movie scene in 1935, Republic Pictures brought the pop culture of the 1930s and 1940s to neighborhood movie houses. Week after week kids sank into their seats at the matinee to ride off into the classic American West, fight World War II battles, or frighten themselves with movies such as The Crimson Ghost and Valley of the Zombies. Republic was a studio that dollar for dollar packed more movie onto the screen than the majors could believe. A core of technicians, directors, and actors worked hard at their craft as Republic released a staggering total of more than a thousand films through the late 1950s. Republic Pictures was home to John Wayne for thirty-three films and featured the West's first singing cowboy. Republic promised--and delivered--action, adventure, and escape. Scenes from westerns such as The Three Mesquiteers and Lawless Range gave screaming kids a white-knuckle display of expert filmmaking. Republic Pictures became a studio where major directors could bring their personal vision to the screen. Sometimes these were projects no other studio would touch, such as The Quiet Man (for which director John Ford won an Oscar) and Macbeth. Cowboys, Creatures, and Classics: The Story of Republic Pictures is for anyone who likes B movies magic. It is the honest account of an extraordinary production house." -- Dust jacket.
By the time Stagecoach made John Wayne a silver-screen star in 1939, the
thirty-one-year-old was already a veteran of more than sixty films, having
appeared in B Westerns for five studios. By the 1950s he was destined to
become an American icon. This biography reveals the story of his early life,
illustrated with rare archival images.
