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Charles Starrett
1903-1986
Updated 3/30/2008 with more films available on DVD!
biography
Born in Athol, Massachusetts in March 1903 (some sources cite 1904 as his year of birth), western actor Charles Starrett hailed from a well-to-do family. Tall and athletic, as a star football player for Dartmouth he got his first taste of acting when he appeared as an extra in the Paramount silent The Quarterback (1926; with Richard Dix), which was partially shot at Dartmouth. Bitten by the acting bug, Starrett did stage work and made his was to Broadway before going to Hollywood in either 1929 or 1930. Put under contract with Paramount, he was cast in a supporting role in Fast and Loose (1930; Miriam Hopkins and Carole Lombard) and followed up in another comedy, The Royal Family of Broadway (1930; with Fredric March and Ina Claire). Paramount put the handsome Starrett in several dramas also, including Silence (1931; with Marjorie Rambeau), Sky Bride (1932; with Richard Arlen), and Lady and Gent (1932; with Wynne Gibson) before the studio dropped his option in 1932. He then drifted from studio to studio for a few years, acting in the MGM horror film The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932; with Boris Karloff and Myrna Loy) and the RKO comedy Our Betters (1933; with Constance Bennett and Gilbert Roland) before sliding into poverty-row productions such as the Monogram adventure Jungle Bride (1933; with Anita Page), Chesterfield's mystery Murder on the Campus (1933; with Edward Van Sloan), and the Canadian-produced western Undercover Men (1934; with Kenne Duncan). Nevertheless, in these low-budget productions Starrett moved from supporting player to star.
LEFT: Starrett with his frequent Columbia co-star, Iris Meredith. RIGHT: Columbia promotional photo
Keeping busy as a freelance actor, his fortunes rose with the RKO actioner The Silver Streak (1934; with Sally Blane) and Paramount's drama So Red the Rose (1935; with Margaret Sullavan and Robert Cummings). In 1935, Starrett signed with Columbia, then a small, struggling studio, to supplant Tim McCoy as Columbia's top western star. His first film for the studio was the quickie Gallant Defender (1935). Of course, western fans know Starrett best in the role of the Durango Kid first featured in Columbia's The Durango Kid (1940), Starrett's debut as the masked Robin Hood of the west. In 1945, the studio finally kicked off a series of 'Durango Kid' westerns which proved highly popular, as did Starrett's new comic sidekick, Smiley Burnette, who came onboard in 1946. As Starrett moved into middle age, the studio also picked up Jock Mahoney as a stuntman and supporting player. Fantastically popular with audiences, Columbia kept Starrett under contract until 1952, starring in more than 130 pictures in all and sometimes acting in ten films a year.
the films of charles starrett
The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932)
Boris Karloff begins to torture Charles Starrett in MGM's horror flick The Mask of Fu Manchu
Murder on the Campus (1933)
Starrett tries to clear girlfriend Shirley Grey's name in a series of murders in Chesterfield's entertaining back-lot mystery Murder on the Campus. Also pictured is J. Farrell MacDonald
Westbound Mail (1937)
From Columbia's short feature Westbound Mail. LEFT: Starrett roughs up Edward Keane. RIGHT: With Arthur Stone
Outlaws of the Panhandle (1941)
Charles Starrett takes matters into his own hands to defeat cattle rustlers in Outlaws of the Panhandle
Riding Through Nevada (1942)
With Shirley Patterson in Riding Through Nevada
The Fighting Buckaroo (1943)
ALong with Kay Harris, Charles Starrett helps Stanley Brown defeat cattle rustlers in The Fighting Buckaroos
Cowboy from Lonesome River (1944)
With Kenneth MacDonald, Frank LaRue, and Vi Athens in Columbia's Cowboy from Lonesome River
Blazing the Western Trail (1945)
Lobby card from the Columbia western Blazing the Western Trail, an early entry in the Durango Kid series. Pictured along with Starrett are Tex Harding and Carole Mathews
Landrush (1946)
With George Hoey and comic relief Smiley Burnette in the Durango Kid entry Landrush
Blazing Across the Pecos (1948)
With Thomas Jackson in Columbia's Blazing Across the Pecos
Pecos River (1951)
With Delores Sidener and Jock Mahoney in Pecos River
Snake River Desperadoes (1951)
Starrett dons his Durango Kid mask in Snake River Desperadoes
The Rough, Tough West (1952)
From Columbia's Durango Kid western The Rough, Tough West. LEFT: With Jock Mahoney. CENTER: With Carolina Cotton and Jock Mahoney. RIGHT: With Tommy Ivo and Smiley Burnette
Smoky Canyon (1952)
Danny Sue Nolan pulls a gun on Charles Starrett in Smoky Canyon
later years
With television horning in on B movie western audiences, Columbia finally pulled the plug on the 'Durango Kid' film series with the lensing of The Kid From Broken Gun (1952; with Smiley Burnette and Jock Mahoney). Nearly 50 years old, Starrett retired from the screen to tend to his business interests. He passed away in March 1986, just a few days before his 83rd birthday.
Unfortunately, many of Starrett's Columbia westerns are not yet available for the home video market. The up-to-date listing below showcases Starrett's films available on DVD and VHS.
The Viking [DVD](1931) DVD
Before becoming a B-western star, Charles Starrett played a Newfoundland fishing village resident who is left stranded on an Arctic ice floe with a romantic rival. This unusual adventure tale is famous for being Canada's first sound movie, and for a ship explosion off the Newfoundland coast that killed the film's director and 26 other people. With Arthur Vinton, Louise Huntington. 73 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English; photo gallery.
Hollywood Legends Of Horror Collection [DVD] DVD
"Doctor X" (1932) is an early shock classic with Lionel Atwill as a Long Island scientist suspected to be behind a series of gruesome slayings. Fay Wray co-stars. Humphrey Bogart's first--and last--horror role was in the in-name-only sequel "The Return of Doctor X" (1939), as a reporter tries to link a medical researcher to a succession of corpses that have been drained of blood. With Wayne Morris, Rosemary Lane. "The Mask of Fu Manchu" (1932) finds the infamous Asian mastermind (Boris Karloff) and his diabolical daughter (Myrna Loy) raiding the tomb of Genghis Khan. With Charles Starrett. "Mad Love" (1935) stars Peter Lorre as a deranged surgeon obsessed with an actress in Paris' gory Grand Guignol theatre. Director Tod Browning's chiller "Mark of the Vampire" (1935) stars Lionel Barrymore as a vampire hunter who goes up against an undead family led by Bela Lugosi. And Browning's classic "The Devil Doll" (1936) stars Barrymore as a prison escapee who sends unique assassins after the men who wronged him...human beings shrunken to 12 inches high! With Maureen O'Sullivan. 7 hrs. total on three discs. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono.
Will Rogers Collection, Vol. 2 [DVD] DVD
Have you ever seen a Will Rogers movie you didn't like? This four-disc collection includes "Ambassador Bill" (1931), which mixes frontier slapstick with political satire when cattleman Rogers is appointed U.S. ambassador to a tiny European country.Tad Alexander, Marguerite Churchill, Ray Milland co-star. Rogers reprises his silent role of the tramp Jubilo in "Too Busy to Work" (1932), returning home from the war to find his family missing. Dick Powell, Louise Beavers also star. The bank takes possession of the family farm belonging to "Mr. Skitch" (1933), so he (Rogers) and his wife (ZaSu Pitts) pack up their brood and head off on a hilarious trip to Hollywood. Florence Desmond, Rochelle Hudson, Charles Starrett also star. Finally, Rogers plays "David Harum" (1934), a banker whose horse-trading rivalry with Charles Middleton takes a surprising turn when he lands a horse that only wins when Rogers sings to him! Louise Dresser, Stepin Fetchit also star. 5 hrs. total. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono.
Jungle Bride [DVD](1933) DVD
A devastating shipwreck, a royal rumble between Charles Starrett and a hungry lion, and the loincloth-clad Anita Page spark this jungle adventure about a wrongly-accused Starrett dodging a reporter's pursuit in Africa. With Kenneth Thomson, Eddie Borden. 63 min.
Green Eyes [DVD](1934) DVD
The host of a costume party given at an elaborate mansion in the country is murdered, and a detective writer attempts to solve the mystery in this suspenseful whodunit. Shirley Grey and Charles Starrett star. 70 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English mono. Plays All Regions.
Murder On The Campus [DVD](1934) DVD
A newspaper reporter, investigating a story on college students, gets tangled up in a murder plot, and a pretty student and a professor try to find the real culprit of the crime in this excellent "B" movie. Shirley Grey, Charles Starrett, Maurice Black. 69 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English. Plays All Regions.
Murder On The Campus [VHS](1934) VHS
A newspaper reporter, investigating a story on college students, gets tangled up in a murder plot, and a pretty student and a professor try to find the real culprit of the crime in this excellent ``B'' movie. Shirley Grey, Charles Starrett, Maurice Black. 71 min.
Make A Million [DVD](1935) DVD
Screwball comedy of the Depression era stars Charles Starrett as a college economics professor whose radical ideas about capitalism cause him to lose his job. After getting the boot, he puts his controversial ideas about how to get rich--including making cash through panhandling--to the test. But when his methods prove fruitful, those who scoffed him try to cheat him out of his fortune. Pauline Brooks, George E. Stone, James Burke star. Standard; Soundtrack: English. Plays All Regions.
What Price Crime? [DVD](1935) DVD
Cowboy favorite Charles Starrett tries a change of pace, playing an undercover FBI agent who poses as a prizefighter in order to get the goods on crooks swiping weapons from the government. Noel Madison, Virginia Cherrill co-star in this vintage programmer. Standard; Soundtrack: English. Plays All Regions.
Sons Of Steel [DVD](1935) DVD
This effective (and affecting) drama concerns two brothers who are partnered in the smelting business. While sharing ownership of a steel mill, one of the men spends his time trying to climb the social ladder while his sibling humbly and dutifully plugs away at his job. But when the hard-working man's son organizes a strike, the stage is set for a family showdown. Charles Starrett, Polly Ann Young (Loretta's older sister), William Bakewell star. 64 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English. Plays All Regions.
A Shot In The Dark [DVD](1935) DVD
What sort of fatal shooting leaves no bullet hole or gunpowder mark, and makes no blasting sound? That's the question faced by Charles Starrett in this tale of murder and conspiracy on a New England campus. 69 min.
Stampede [DVD](1936) DVD
Early Charles Starrett sagebrusher in which an evil rancher murders a rival to get his land. The incident prompts the dead man's brother (Starrett) to search for the killer. With J.P. McGowan and Finis Barton. Standard; Soundtrack: English. Plays All Regions.
Two-Gun Law [VHS](1937) VHS
It's the only law Charles Starrett knows, and in this oater he's been on both sides of it. See what happens when former outlaw Starrett is tempted to stray off the straight and narrow by some trouble-making rannies. With Peggy Stratford, Charles Middleton, and Hank Bell as Cookie.
Blazing Across The Pecos [DVD](1948) DVD
Southwest Texas is a hard place to do a bad day's work when Charles Starrett as the Durango Kid streaks in, with a gripe against all troublemakers. Co-stars Smiley Burnette and Chief Thundercloud. 54 min.
Bonanza Town [DVD](1951) DVD
As if the Durango Kid (Charles Starrett) didn't have enough problems tossing lawbreakers in the lockup...he's got to contend with the crooked judge who keeps letting 'em back out! Smiley Burnette, Fred F. Sears co-star. 55 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono.
charles starrett films on vhs from amazon.com
filmography
FILM
The Kid From Broken Gun (1952) with Smiley Burnette, Jock Mahoney, Angela Stevens, and Myron Healey
Junction City (1952) with Smiley Burnette, Jock Mahoney, Kathleen Case, and John Dehner
The Rough, Tough West (1952) with Smiley Burnette, Jock Mahoney, Carolina Cotton, and Pee Wee King
Laramie Mountains (1952) with Smiley Burnette and Jock Mahoney
The Hawk of Wild River (1952) with Smiley Burnette, Jock Mahoney, and Clayton Moore
Smoky Canyon (1952) with Smiley Burnette and Jock Mahoney
Pecos River (1951) with Smiley Burnette and Jock Mahoney
The Kid from Amarillo (1951) with Smiley Burnette, Harry Lauter, and Don Megowan
Cyclone Fury (1951) with Clayton Moore and Smiley Burnette
Bonanza Town (1951) with Myron Healey and Smiley Burnette
Snake River Desperadoes (1951) with Tommy Ivo, Monte Blue, and Smiley Burnette
Fort Savage Raiders (1951) with Smiley Burnette, John Dehner, and Frank Griffin
Ridin' the Outlaw Trail (1951) with Smiley Burnette and Pee Wee King
Prairie Roundup (1951) with Smiley Burnette
Lightning Guns (1950) with Smiley Burnette, Gloria Henry, Jock Mahoney, and Frank Griffin
Frontier Outpost (1950) with Smiley Burnette, Jock Mahoney, and Bud Osborne
Raiders of Tomahawk Creek (1950) with Smiley Burnette
Across the Badlands (1950) with Smiley Burnette
Streets of Ghost Town (1950) with Smiley Burnette
Texas Dynamo (1950) with Smiley Burnette, Lois Hall, Jock Mahoney, John Dehner, and Emil Sitka
Outcasts of Black Mesa (1950) with Smiley Burnette and Martha Hyer
Trail of the Rustlers (1950) with Smiley Burnette, Gail Davis, and Tommy Ivo
Renegades of the Sage (1949) with Smiley Burnette and Jock Mahoney
Horsemen of the Sierras (1949) with Smiley Burnette, Lois Hall, Tommy Ivo, John Dehner, Jason Robards Sr., and Jock Mahoney
Bandits of El Dorado (1949) with John Dehner, Clayton Moore, and Smiley Burnette
South of Death Valley (1949) with Gail Davis, Clayton Moore, and Smiley Burnette
The Blazing Trail (1949) with Smiley Burnette and Jock Mahoney
Laramie (1949) with Tommy Ivo and Smiley Burnette
Desert Vigilante (1949) with Peggy Stewart and Smiley Burnette
Challenge of the Range (1949) with Smiley Burnette, Paula Raymond, and Billy Halop
Quick on the Trigger (1948) with Smiley Burnette, Lyle Talbot, and Helen Parrish
El Dorado Pass (1948) with Smiley Burnette and Elena Verdugo
Trail to Laredo (1948) with Tommy Ivo and Smiley Burnette
Blazing Across the Pecos (1948) with Patricia Barry and Smiley Burnette
Whirlwind Raiders (1948) with Smiley Burnette
West of Sonora (1948) with Smiley Burnette
Phantom Valley (1948) with Smiley Burnette
Six-Gun Law (1948) with Smiley Burnette
Last Days of Boot Hill (1947) with Smiley Burnette
Buckaroo from Powder River (1947) with Smiley Burnette
Riders of the Lone Star (1947) with Smiley Burnette
The Stranger from Ponca City (1947) with Smiley Burnette and Jock Mahoney
Prairie Raiders (1947) with Smiley Burnette
Law of the Canyon (1947) with Smiley Burnette
West of Dodge City (1947) with Smiley Burnette
The Lone Hand Texan (1947) with Smiley Burnette
South of the Chisholm Trail (1947) with Smiley Burnette
The Fighting Frontiersman (1946) with Smiley Burnette
Terror Trail (1946) with Smiley Burnette and Barbara Pepper
Landrush (1946) with Smiley Burnette
Heading West (1946) with Smiley Burnette
The Desert Horseman (1946) with Smiley Burnette
Two-Fisted Stranger (1946) with Smiley Burnette
Galloping Thunder (1946) with Smiley Burnette
Gunning for Vengeance (1946) with Smiley Burnette
Roaring Rangers (1946) with Smiley Burnette
Frontier Gunlaw (1946) with Dub Taylor
Texas Panhandle (1945) with Dub Taylor and Carolina Cotton
Lawless Empire (1945) with Dub Taylor
Outlaws of the Rockies (1945) with Dub Taylor, Carole Mathews, and Carolina Cotton
Blazing the Western Trail (1945) with Dub Taylor and Carole Mathews
Rustlers of the Badlands (1945) with Dub Taylor
Both Barrels Blazing (1945) with Dub Taylor
The Return of the Durango Kid (1945)
Rough Ridin' Justice (1945) with Dub Taylor
Sagebrush Heroes (1945) with Dub Taylor
Saddle Leather Law (1944) with Dub Taylor and Lloyd Bridges
Cyclone Prairie Rangers (1944) with Dub Taylor
Cowboy from Lonesome River (1944) with Dub Taylor
Riding West (1944) with Shirley Patterson, Arthur Hunnicutt, and Ernest Tubb
Sundown Valley (1944) with Dub Taylor and Jeanne Bates
Cowboy Canteen (1944) with Jane Frazee, Vera Vague, Tex Ritter, Max Terhune, Dub Taylor, and Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams
Cowboy in the Clouds (1943) with Dub Taylor
Hail to the Rangers (1943) with Arthur Hunnicutt and Lloyd Bridges
Robin Hood of the Range (1943) with Arthur Hunnicutt and Bud Osborne
Frontier Fury (1943) with Arthur Hunnicutt
Law of the Northwest (1943) with Shirley Patterson and Arthur Hunnicutt
The Fighting Buckaroo (1943) with Arthur Hunnicutt and Ernest Tubb
Pardon My Gun (1942) with Arthur Hunnicutt
Riding Through Nevada (1942) with Shirley Patterson, Arthur Hunnicutt, and Minerva Urecal
Overland to Deadwood (1942) with Russell Hayden
Bad Men of the Hills (1942) with Russell Hayden
Riders of the Northland (1942) with Russell Hayden, Shirley Patterson, and Lloyd Bridges
Down Rio Grande Way (1942) with Russell Hayden
Lawless Plainsmen (1942) with Russell Hayden
West of Tombstone (1942) with Russell Hayden
Riders of the Badlands (1941) with Russell Hayden
The Royal Mounted Patrol (1941) with Russell Hayden, Wanda McKay, Donald Curtis, Lloyd Bridges, and Kermit Maynard
Prairie Stranger (1941) with Cliff Edwards
Thunder Over the Prairie (1941) with Cliff Edwards and Donald Curtis
The Medico of Painted Springs (1941) with Bud Osborne
Outlaws of the Panhandle (1941) with Bud Osborne
The Pinto Kid (1941)
Thundering Frontier (1940) with Iris Meredith
West of Abilene (1940) with Bruce Bennett, Don Beddoe, and Bud Osborne
The Durango Kid (1940)
Texas Stagecoach (1940) with Iris Meredith and Don Beddoe
Blazing Six Shooters (1940) with Iris Meredith and Bruce Bennett
Bullets for Rustlers (1940) with Lorna Gray
Two-Fisted Rangers (1939) with Iris Meredith
The Stranger from Texas (1939) with Lorna Gray
Outpost of the Mounties (1939) with Iris Meredith
Riders of Black River (1939) .with Iris Meredith
The Man From Sundown (1939) with Iris Meredith
Western Caravans (1939) with Iris Meredith
Spoilers of the Range (1939) with Iris Meredith
North of the Yukon (1939) with Dorothy Comingore and Kenne Duncan
Texas Stampede (1939) with Iris Meredith
The Thundering West (1939) with Iris Meredith
Rio Grande (1938) with Ann Doran
West of the Santa Fe (1938) with Iris Meredith and Bud Osborne
Colorado Trail (1938) with Iris Meredith
South of Arizona (1938) with Iris Meredith
West of Cheyenne (1938) with Iris Meredith
Law of the Plains (1938) with Iris Meredith
Call of the Rockies (1938) with Iris Meredith
Start Cheering (1938) with Jimmy Durante, The Three Stooges, and Broderick Crawford
Cattle Raiders (1938) with Iris Meredith
Outlaws of the Prairie (1937) with Iris Meredith
The Old Wyoming Trail (1937)
One Man Justice (1937)
Two Fisted Sheriff (1937)
Two Gun Law (1937) with Charles Middleton
Trapped (1937)
Westbound Mail (1937)
Dodge City Trail (1936)
Stampede (1936)
The Cowboy Star (1936) with Iris Meredith
Along Came Love (1936) with Irene Hervey, Doris Kenyon, and H.B. Warner
Code of the Range (1936)
Secret Patrol (1936) with J.P. McGowan
The Mysterious Avenger (1936) with Jon Hall and Roy Rogers
Gallant Defender (1935)
So Red the Rose (1935) with Margaret Sullavan, Robert Cummings, Johnny Downs, Randolph Scott, and Dickie Moore
Make a Million (1935)
What Price Crime? (1935) with Virginia Cherrill
One in a Million (1935) with Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams
One New York Night (1935) with Franchot Tone, Una Merkel, and Conrad Nagel
A Shot in the Dark (1935) with Edward Van Sloan
Sons of Steel (1934) with Polly Ann Young and Aileen Pringle
Undercover Men (1934) with Kenne Duncan
The Silver Streak (1934) with Sally Blane, Arthur Lake, and Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams
Gentlemen Are Born (1934) with Franchot Tone, Jean Muir, Margaret Lindsay, Ann Dvorak, Ross Alexander, and Dick Foran
Desirable (1934) with Jean Muir and George Brent
Call It Luck (1934)
Green Eyes (1934)
Three on a Honeymoon (1934) with Sally Eilers, Zasu Pitts, Irene Hervey, and Johnny Mack Brown
Stolen Sweets (1934) with Sally Blane and Polly Ann Young
This Man Is Mine (1934) with Irene Dunne and Ralph Bellamy
Mr. Skitch (1933) with Will Rogers, Rochelle Hudson, Zasu Pitts, and Eugene Pallette
Murder on the Campus (1933) with Dewey Robinson and Edward Van Sloan
Sweetheart of Sigma Chi (1933) with Buster Crabbe, Grady Sutton, and Leif Erickson
The Return of Casey Jones (1933) with Gabby Hayes
Our Betters (1933) with Constance Bennett, Anita Louise, Gilbert Roland, and Alan Mowbray
Jungle Bride (1933) with Anita Page
The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932) with Boris Karloff, Lewis Stone, Myrna Loy, and Jean Hersholt
Lady and Gent (1932) with Wynne Gibson, James Gleason, John Wayne, and Joyce Compton
Sky Bride (1932) with Richard Arlen, Jack Oakie, and Virginia Bruce
Touchdown (1931) with Richard Arlen, Jack Oakie, and Regis Toomey
The Age for Love (1931) with Billie Dove and Edward Everett Horton
Silence (1931) with Clive Brook and Marjorie Rambeau
The Viking (1931)
Damaged Love (1931) with June Collyer
The Royal Family of Broadway (1930) with Ina Claire, Fredric March, and Frank Conroy
Fast and Loose (1930) with Miriam Hopkins, Carole Lombard, Frank Morgan, and Ilka Chase
The Quarterback (1926) with Richard Dix
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This page premiered February 10, 2006.
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