About this season
Death Valley Days is an American radio and television anthology series featuring true stories of the old American West, particularly the Death Valley area. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program was broadcast on radio until 1945 and continued from 1952 to 1970 as a syndicated television series, with reruns continuing through August 1, 1975. The series was sponsored by the Pacific Coast Borax Company and hosted by Stanley Andrews, Ronald Reagan, Robert Taylor, and Dale Robertson. With the passing of Dale Robertson in 2013, all the former Death Valley Days hosts are now deceased.
Episodes (26)
1. Honor the Name Dennis Driscoll
Aired 1 October 1964
When an army convoy Is threatened by Indian attack, a young soldier played by a young Tom Skerritt volunteers to get help from a nearby fort.
2. The Lucky Cow
Aired 1 October 1964
A scheming Indian chief sells cows to unsuspecting settlers, steals them, only to sell them back to the same unsuspecting settlers.
3. Big John and the Rainmaker
Aired 1 October 1964
A charlatan traveling rainmaker gets hired during a long drought, sparking conflict between rival local governments.
4. From the Earth, a Heritage
Aired 8 October 1964
A rival trapper is dogged in his pursuit to purchase Joe Meek's beautiful Indian wife from him, but he'll have none of it.
5. The Other White Man
Aired 8 October 1964
Scipio Gaines is an escaped slave who has been living among the Indians for years. When a government official shows up Scipio is prepared to giving up his freedom, not knowing much has changed in the ensuing years.
6. The Hero of Fort Halleck
Aired 9 October 1964
Jim Campbell has a rival in Lt. Harper for pretty newcomer Elsie's affections. He and his friends pretend to be rogue warriors to frighten the cavalryman but create a problem between the soldiers and Indians. It takes all of Jim's ingenuity to fix the situation.
7. The Left Hand Is Damned
Aired 29 October 1964 • 30 min
A kindhearted barroom singer nurses a gunfighter back to health.
8. There Was Another Dalton Brother
Aired 10 December 1964
Newly appointed Deputy Marshal Frank Dalton takes his job seriously. However he must choose between duty and love when the father of his girl becomes the prime suspect in a missing persons case.
9. Tribute to the Dog
Aired 24 December 1964
This is about real life attorney George Graham Vest (December 6, 1830 - August 9, 1904) who was also later a U.S. Congressman from Missouri. The story is about a man who is sued by a boy for shooting his dog named Old Drum on October 18, 1869. Vest's, "a man's best friend" closing arguments from the trial became more famous than Vest himself. Starring future Governor of California and President of The U.S. Ronald Reagan as George Graham Vest.
10. The $25,000 Wager
Aired 24 December 1964
California Governor Leland Stanford bets an enormous amount of money in trying to prove a point about horse racing. He needs photographer Eadward Muybridge to get the proof he needs to win the wager.
11. A Bargain Is for Keeping
Aired 30 December 1964
Andy Carter collects items cast off from wagon trains and then sales them. Mary Ann recognizes a family heirloom and demands it back but Andy insists she work for it's value. Left together they find they have more in common than not.
12. Peter the Hunter
Aired 31 December 1964
A hunter and his daughters save an Easterner.
13. Paid in Full
Aired 1 January 1965
Colonel Hunter, a former Confederate officer returns to Texas to call on Kathy McLennan, the wife of a dead soldier who had been killed while serving under him during the Civil War. He discovers that the widow and other ranchers in the valley had been cheated by a wealthy cattle baron who gave them legally unclaimable IOUs in when purchasing their stock. Hunter tries to reason with the cattle baron, but when this fails devises a tactic to recover the money stolen from them.
14. A Bell for Volcano
Aired 11 January 1965
A town drunk and a businessman from a small town make a trip to San Francisco to buy a bell for the new Church In Volcano, California. While on the way back the businessman gets sick in Sacramento and the drunk is supposed to take the bell alone to Volcano but hatches a plan to steal it and go back to Frisco and sell it. Along the way a bandito tries to rob him and steal the bell, but the bandito who was going to kill the drunk, realizes who the bell is for, and allows the drunk to go on his way as the Preacher was kind to him. This makes the drunk change his ways and...
15. The Trouble with Taxes
Aired 14 January 1965
Jeb Slade talks his brother Billy into helping him rob Aaron Winters, who is wealthy from his borax findings. They fail and while Aaron escorts Billy to the authorities, he learns the type of character the young man has.
16. The Race at Cherry Creek
Aired 20 January 1965
Two editors compete to give Denver it's first newspaper.
17. Death in the Desert
Aired 10 March 1965
The Paiute tribe have their own traditions concerning justice but when there is a killing, the white settlers want the guilty punished by their system.
18. Raid on the San Francisco Mint
Aired 10 March 1965
Billy Ralston is a fast talking banker who cannot cover his customer's assets. He comes up with a scheme involving the mint to solve his problem yet remain out of jail.
19. Magic Locket
Aired 17 March 1965
Librarian and part-time poet Ina Coolbrith takes precocious but intelligent young street waif Dorita under her wing. As their relationship grows Ina finds that a locket means more to her fulfillment than any literary renown.
20. The Battle of San Francisco Bay
Aired 18 March 1965
After a mob takes control of the docks of San Francisco, Captain David Farragut formulates a plan to enable the Navy to regain control.
21. The Wild West's Biggest Train Holdup
Aired 18 March 1965
The aging and ailing sheriff of Washoe County, Nevada gets a big assist from his deputy in the county's fight with the Central Pacific railroad over payment of back taxes.
22. No Gun Behind His Badge
Aired 25 March 1965
The new sheriff of Abilene, "Bear River" Smith, tries to uphold the law in the wild town without carrying a sidearm -- with mixed results.
23. Fighting Sky Pilot
Aired 25 March 1965
Reverend Ben Darniell believes he should practice what he preaches, and he refuses to resort to violence in the face of opposition. But he finds a minister in Carson City must be prepared to fight for those who cannot defend themselves.
24. The Journey
Aired 29 March 1965
Two cavalry officers have very different attitudes about the treatment of their Indian prisoners. A showdown occurs after an escape.
25. Kate Melville and the Law
Aired 4 April 1965
A new judge and a recently-appointed woman sheriff have conflict over the concepts of judicial fairness versus frontier justice.
26. Birthright
Aired 6 May 1965
The town of Rough And Ready, California declares succession from the United States -- with unintended and undesirable consequences.