Whip Wilson

Whip Wilson

Born: June 16, 1911
Died: October 22, 1964
in Granite City, Illinois, USA
From Wikipedia

Whip Wilson (born Roland Charles Meyers June 16, 1911, Granite City, Illinois – October 22, 1964, Los Angeles, California) was an American cowboy film star of the late 1940s and into the 1950s, known for his roles in B-westerns.

His first film was alongside Monogram's singing cowboy Jimmy Wakely in the 1948 film Silver Trails, to give him experience in front of the camera. The next year Wilson starred in his own series films, the first being Crashin Thru, followed by Haunted Trails, Range Land and Riders of the Dusk. He first was given a horse named "Silver Bullet", later shortened to "Bullet", then changed to "Rocket" due to Roy Rogers having a dog in his films named "Bullet."

Wilson may have come along too late to establish himself as a major star; studios were already phasing out low-budget westerns. Veteran comedian Andy Clyde was a valuable asset as co-star, but the series got little attention. After 12 films, Clyde left the cast, replaced by Fuzzy Knight and later by Jim Bannon. In 1950 Wilson starred in Gunslingers, Arizona Territory, Cherokee Uprising, Fence Riders, and Outlaws of Texas. In 1951 his character continued in Lawless Cowboys, Stage to Blue River, Canyon Raiders, and Abilene Trail.

There was nothing novel or original about Wilson to distinguish himself from other cowboy stars. The name of his horse, the bullwhip gimmick, and the false past created by the producers were all derivative. Wilson's career never really took off, and by 1952 his Hollywood career was all but over, with him starring in Night Raiders, with his last film being that same year, titled Wyoming Roundup.

Movies for Whip Wilson...

Wyoming Roundup
Title: Wyoming Roundup
Character: Whip Wilson
Released: November 9, 1952
Type: Movie
When newcomers Whip and Bob break up a saloon fight they are made town Marshals. This puts then in the middle of the range war between large ranch owner Howard and the small ranchers. Everyone thinks Howard is the culprit but Whip believes otherwise.
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Montana Incident
Title: Montana Incident
Character: Whip Wilson
Released: August 10, 1952
Type: Movie
Whip is surveying land for a railroad but a land baron and one of his daughters stands in the way.
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Night Raiders
Title: Night Raiders
Character: Whip Wilson
Released: February 3, 1952
Type: Movie
Whip arrives to investigate why night raiders are ransacking cabins but taking nothing....
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The Gunman
Title: The Gunman
Character: Whip Wilson
Released: January 1, 1952
Type: Movie
Terrorized citizens send for a Texas lawman to rid their town of bandits.
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Stage to Blue River
Title: Stage to Blue River
Character: Marshall Whip Wilson
Released: December 30, 1951
Type: Movie
Whip Wilson has to stop bandits who are trying to take over a stage line.
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Lawless Cowboys
Title: Lawless Cowboys
Character: Whip Wilson
Released: November 7, 1951
Type: Movie
Monogram's Whip Wilson western series was in its final year of existence when Lawless Cowboys hit the screen. Set in the contemporary West, the film casts Wilson as a Texas Ranger on the trail of a crooked gambling ring.
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Stagecoach Driver
Title: Stagecoach Driver
Character: Whip Wilson
Released: July 15, 1951
Type: Movie
Jim Bannon and his partner own a stagecoach line. With the coming of the telegraph and the end of the Pony Express, two men plot to take over and get the new mail contract. When Jim's partner is murdered and Jim's name is written in the sand beside the body, Jim is arrested. At his trial Whip brings surprising evidence that clears Jim and the two plotters are soon arrested.
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Nevada Badmen
Title: Nevada Badmen
Character: Whip Wilson
Released: May 27, 1951
Type: Movie
The "badmen" of the title in this average western from Monogram are Waller, a greedy express agent and Banker Jensen, who conspire to separate Bob Bannon from the gold found on his property. Bob's brother Jim and his two pals Whip Wilson and Texas arrive too late to save Bob from the bad guys. Hoping to flush out the killer, Whip arranges to auction off the property.
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Canyon Raiders
Title: Canyon Raiders
Character: Whip Wilson
Released: April 7, 1951
Type: Movie
Whip Wilson only gets to crack his trademark weapon once in this economic Western filmed in toto at the Iverson Movie Ranch in Chatsworth, CA. A government agent, Wilson arrives in the near ghost town of Tunis, where his friend is in trouble with a couple of horse thieves. The latter are also terrorizing a homesteader, Texas Milburn, and his wife, Ruth, and when the female sheriff Alice Long interferes, she finds herself taken hostage.
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Wanted: Dead or Alive
Title: Wanted: Dead or Alive
Character: Marshal Whip Wilson - Posing as Alan Mason
Released: April 2, 1951
Type: Movie
Taggart and his men are breaking wanted outlaws out of jail and then killing them for the reward money. Marshal's Whip, Jim, and Texas have a plan to trap the gang. Whip poses as a wanted outlaw while Jim joins Taggart's gang and helps break him out. But there is trouble when gang member Mike, wanting a bigger cut, double-crosses everyone.
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Abilene Trail
Title: Abilene Trail
Character: Dave Hill aka The Kansas Kid
Released: February 4, 1951
Type: Movie
Whip Wilson rides again in the Monogram western Abilene Trail. Wilson and his grizzled sidekick Andy Clyde are accused of horse stealing, a hangin' offense around these here parts. Eluding the authorities, the boys take jobs at a ranch where the real crook is hiding out.
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Outlaws of Texas
Title: Outlaws of Texas
Character: U.S. Marshal Tom Yeager
Released: December 10, 1950
Type: Movie
Monogram's Outlaws of Texas is surprisingly bereft of the action highlights one might expect from star Whip Wilson. This time, the Whip and his saddle pal Andy Clyde play heroes Tom and Hungry who work undercover to break up a gang of bank robbers.
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Silver Raiders
Title: Silver Raiders
Character: Ranger Larry Grant
Released: October 19, 1950
Type: Movie
Arizona Ranger Larry Grant is posing as an outlaw while hunting for an outlaw gang, secretly led by Lance Corbin, that is stealing silver in Mexico and smelting it into bars for sale in the United States.
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Cherokee Uprising
Title: Cherokee Uprising
Character: Marshal Bob Foster
Released: October 7, 1950
Type: Movie
The title insurrection in this low-budget Whip Wilson Western consists mainly of Iron Eyes Cody, who is conspiring to raid the wagon trains with crooked sheriff Marshall Reed and nefarious Indian agent Forrest Taylor.
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Arizona Territory
Title: Arizona Territory
Character: Jeff Malloy
Released: July 2, 1950
Type: Movie
Prospector Jeff Malloy rescues Doris Devlin, owner of a trading post, from an ambush planned by her uncle, Kilburn, who is trying to scare her out of the territory so that he can continue his counterfeiting operations.
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Gunslingers
Title: Gunslingers
Character: Whip Wilson
Released: April 9, 1950
Type: Movie
Wilson and his saddle pal Andy Clyde come to the rescue of a group of ranchers who are being victimized by villain Ace Larabee (Douglas Kennedy). Ace has inside information that the railroad is coming through the territory, and he intends to grab up all the land and sell it to the train execs for a tidy profit.
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Fence Riders
Title: Fence Riders
Character: Whip Wilson
Released: January 19, 1950
Type: Movie
Whip Wilson and Andy Clyde are back and Monogram's got 'em in Fence Riders. The Whipster comes to the aid of beautiful ranch owner Reno Browne, who is being victimized by rustlers Myron Healey and Riley Hill. To get Wilson out of the way, the villains frame him on a murder rap.
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Range Land
Title: Range Land
Character: Whip Wilson
Released: December 24, 1949
Type: Movie
Monogram's Whip Wilson western series occasionally produced a better-than-average entry. In Range Land, Wilson and saddle pal Andy Clyde try to get the goods on a gang of stagecoach bandits.
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Riders of the Dusk
Title: Riders of the Dusk
Character: Marshal Whip Wilson
Released: November 13, 1949
Type: Movie
Riders of the Dusk is another of Monogram's formula Whip Wilson westerns. Since the studio couldn't build an entire film around Wilson's bullwhip prowess, a plot was called for. This time around, it's the one about a U.S. marshal who searches high and low for a mysterious masked desperado. The mystery angle is minimal, since seasoned movie fans will be able to determine the mystery person's identity within 15 minutes. As always, Andy Clyde is a tower of comic strength as Whip Wilson's grizzled old sidekick.
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Haunted Trails
Title: Haunted Trails
Character: Whip Wilson
Released: August 21, 1949
Type: Movie
Singing cowboy Whip Wilson, the foreman on a cattle drive, quits his job to pursue five bank robbers who murdered his brother.
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Shadows of the West
Title: Shadows of the West
Character: Marshall Whip Wilson
Released: January 24, 1949
Type: Movie
U.S. Marshal Whip Wilson (Whip Wilson) decides to take a vacation and visit his old friend Winks Grayson (Andy Clyde), the ex-sheriff. Upon his arrival Whip learns of Winks' suspicions regarding newly-elected Sheriff Tanner (William Ruhl as William H. Ruhl), and the story of a frame-up of Paul Davis (Ted Adams) and his son Bud (Riley Hill), now being released from prison. Following a holdup and a killing, a band of outlaws hide at the Davis ranch, implicating them again. Paul is hot and Bud goes to jail. Whip and Winks work to clear Bud and expose the real leader of the outlaw gang.
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Crashing Thru
Title: Crashing Thru
Character: Whip Wilson
Released: January 9, 1949
Type: Movie
When Ranger Raymond is killed during a stage holdup, Wells Fargo Agent Whip Wilson assumes his identity.
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Silver Trails
Title: Silver Trails
Character: Whip
Released: August 21, 1948
Type: Movie
Jimmy and Cannonball find the body of Don Muquel after he has been shot and robbed by henchmen Ramsay and Sturgis. Jimmy is accused of the crime by Jose Esteban but the latter's rich uncle, Don Esteban, clears his friend Jimmy. Jose accuses the the settlers, led by John Chambers, of confiscating the land of the native Californians, through murder and theft. Actually, surveyor Willard Jackson is making forged copies of stolen land-grant papers after his men have killed the rightful owners. Playing both ends against the middle, Ramsay urges Chambers and his daughter, Diane, to drive off the Californians.