The Three Mesquiteers (1936)

Republic's first venture into the world of the Three Mequiteers was a movie appropriately entitled THE THREE MESQUITEERS. From a 50,000 foot overview, the film tells how the trio came together, even though the guy who first played Lullaby, Sid Saylor of bobbing adam's apple fame, was cast in only one 3M film. It was released on September 22, 1936 and featured Bob Livingston as the real Stony Brooke, Ray Corrigan as Tuscon Smith, and Kay Hughes as the female lead. This threesome had recently completed an action-packed serial, THE VIGILANTES ARE COMING, with a Cold War theme a few years ahead of its time. Livingston, for the second time in his budding career wearing a black mask, successfully prevents the Russians with help from an other bad guy turn coat, Fred Kohler, from taking over northern California during the 1840s Gold Rush era.

The setting of the initial 3M film is 1919 in a small New Mexico town where Tucson and Stony are getting ready for a plate of steak and beans. WWI vets themselves, Stony and Tucson are adventuring after six months of hard work on their ranch. After all, our heroes need their time for fun too! Little do they know that their first episode is to begin. Five miles out of town is an approaching convoy of disabled WWI vets who are planning to homestead in the area. Anyone familiar with westerns knows that homesteaders are anathema to cattlemen. This is the basic plot of the story, a struggle for the veterans to survive in the west with the help of Stony and Tucson. The Canfield gang which includes "professional bad guy actors" John Merton, Al Bridge and J. P. McGowan, throw every possible road block in the veteran's trail. The movie climaxes when Sgt. Bob, the brother of Kay and unofficial leader of the vets, is brutally strapped to a horse and killed. Stony and Tucson ride into town to settle accounts, but are trapped themselves by the Canfield gang. Who comes to their rescue? Lullaby and the group of disabled veterans come charging into town to the strains of the George M. Cohan / WWI song "Over There". Imagine two of the three Mesquiteers being rescued by disabled WWI veterans fighting in New Mexico!

The plotline of the initial film had the trio pals returning from WWI to find crooks ruling the range. From L-to-R are: Bob Livingston, Syd (sometimes spelled Sid) Saylor and Ray "Crash" Corrigan doin' battle!

So after the rescue, what can we get out of the movie? In the end Lullaby is warmly welcomed into the trio as he decides to accompany Stony and Tucson for further adventure. Stony is established as the fun loving, outgoing, gregarious, romantic, head strong guy who rides a white horse, carries a single holster, and wears a white hat so tall it needs a safety light on top. Tucson is sort of a strong but not- so-silent type given to more deliberate thought, not necessarily romantically inclined yet, a sort of cross between a big brother and kind uncle, and a guy good with his dukes. The Lullaby in this film bears no resemblance to the Lullaby of later 3M films. Thank the Republic gods that this happened. As might be expected this film is not as exciting or action packed as subsequent 3M movies, but it was a start nonetheless.