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| The Great Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok | |
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| Directed by | |
| Written by |
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| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Cinematography | |
| Edited by | Richard Fantl |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 15 chapters |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Great Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok (1938) is a Columbia Pictures movie serial. It was the fourth of the 57 serials released by Columbia and the studio's first Western serial. The serial was the first to be produced by Columbia personnel; Columbia's previous three serials had been produced by the independent Weiss Brothers company, using Columbia's facilities.
Wild Bill Hickok, U.S. Marshal in Abilene, Kansas, is sent to stop the mysterious "Phantom Riders" from disrupting the cattle drives across the Chisholm Trail and construction of a new railroad. Hickok intercedes when a wagon train of westbound settlers is threatened by Indian attacks. The leaders of the wagon train are the Cameron family and their escorts Kit Lawson and Jim Blakely. The opposition, unknown to Hickok, is led by Morrell in league with Joshua Bruce and wagon-train malcontent Scudder. During the course of the story, which endangers Hickok at every turn, Hickok must ride between Abilene and Texas to keep an eye on both factions. Hickok befriends the locals in Texas, including bartender Snake-Eyes, print-shop owner Danny, halfbreed brave Jerry, and most of the young boys in the area (whom he deputizes so they can report their observations to him).
The serial was shot on location in Utah (Johnson Canyon, Three Lakes, and Parry Lodge).[1]: 287 The production budget was an exceptional $200,000, this when the average western feature cost $10,000 to produce, and the film featured a great deal of elaborate outdoor scenes, including cattle drives and stampedes.
The Motion Picture Herald called this serial "a compliment to its title."[2] It became a huge success in theaters, according to a tally published in Motion Picture Herald and Film Daily.[3] The serial firmly established Columbia as a major serial producer, and Gordon Elliott as a western star. Elliott became so identified with the Wild Bill Hickok role that Columbia changed his name to Bill Elliott, and promoted him to feature films as a character named "Wild Bill Saunders" and then "Wild Bill Hickok." In addition to his screen name, he gained such trademarks as buckskins, reversed holsters and the catchphrase "I'm a peaceable man," from this serial.[2]
When Columbia re-released the serial in 1949, leading man Elliott was using the name William Elliott; Columbia billed him as such for the reissue.