WINNERS OF THE WEST (1940) Dick Foran, Anne Nagel & Tom Fadden | Western, Serial | B&W

Winners of the West is a 1940 American Western film serial from Universal Pictures directed by Ford Beebe and Ray Taylor. It stars Dick Foran and Anne Nagel in a plot about the construction of a railroad and a local ganglord who opposes it. It was Universal's 115th serial release (the 47th with sound).

The studio had used the name for an earlier silent serial but there are no plot similarities between the two versions. Columbia's Roar of the Iron Horse is very similar to this serial, however, and the writer George H. Plympton worked on both.

SYNOPSIS
The Southwest Central Railroad Company is determined to build a railroad heading west through "Hell's Gate Pass," but their progress is threatened by King Carter, the self-appointed ruler of the land beyond the pass. Carter, who opposes the railroad's construction, resorts to sabotage and incites local Indians to attack the railroad crew. Jeff Ramsay, the head of the crew and assistant to the company president, along with his sidekick Tex, tirelessly thwart Carter's efforts. When Carter escalates his tactics by kidnapping Claire Hartford, the president's daughter, Jeff and Tex foil the scheme, ultimately defeating Carter and ensuring the railroad's completion. With the area now open to settlers, Jeff and his new wife Claire are among the first to start a new life in the once-hostile territory.

CAST & CREW
Dick Foran as Jeff Ramsay
Anne Nagel as Claire Hartford
Tom Fadden as Tex Houston
James Craig as Jim Jackson
Harry Woods as King Carter
Charles Stevens as Snakeye
Edward Keane as John Hartford
Trevor Bardette as Raven
Edgar Edwards as Tim
Edmund Cobb as Maddox
William Desmond as Bill Brine
Roy Barcroft as Logan

Directed by: Ford Beebe, Ray Taylor
Written by: George H. Plympton, Basil Dickey, Charles R. Condon
Produced by: Henry MacRae
Starring: Dick Foran, Anne Nagel, Tom Fadden, James Craig, Harry Woods, Charles Stevens
Cinematography: Jerome Ash, John Hickson, William A. Sickner
Edited by: Saul A. Goodkind (supervising), Joseph Gluck, Louis Sackin, Alvin Todd
Music by: Hans J. Salter
Distributed by: Universal Pictures
Release date: July 2, 1940
Running time: 13 chapters (247 min)
Country: United States
Language: English

NOTES
Chapter titles
1. Redskins Ride Again
2. The Wreck at Red River Gorge
3. The Bridge of Disaster
4. Trapped by Redskins
5. Death Strikes the Trail
6. A Leap for Life
7. hundering Terror
8. The Flaming Arsenal
9. Sacrificed by Savages
10. Under Crashing Timbers
11. Bullets in the Dark
12. The Battle of Blackhawk
13. Barricade Blasted