Saturday, March 31, 2012

Reel Cowboys of the Santa Susanas -- Sunset Carson


Sunset Carson (1920 - 1990) was an American B-western cowboy star of the 1940s.  He grew up in Texas where he became an accomplished rodeo rider in his youth.  He briefly worked in a western show owned Tom Mix, and in the early 1940s traveled to South America, where he competed in rodeos.

Because of his appearance and horsemanship Republic Pictures changed his name to "Sunset Carson," and signed to a contract to do a series of B-western films.  Within a couple of years he was one of the top-ten B-Western money makers in Hollywood. 

He and his horse named "Cactus" starred in a string of western genre films, but after a dispute he and Republic parted company in 1946.  According to stuntman Yakima Canutt, Carson had attended a studio function drunk and accompanied by an underage girl, and studio head Herbert Yates fired him.

In later years he played roles in several minor Westerns. 

Sunset Carson's Santa Susana locations filmography:


Alias Billy the Kid (1946) starring Sunset Carson (Iverson Ranch) Republic


Bandits of the Badlands (1945) starring Sunset Carson (Iverson Ranch) Republic
Bells of Rosarita (1945) starring Roy Rogers **guest appearance** (Iverson Ranch) Republic
Bordertown Trail (1944) starring Sunset Carson and Smiley Burnette - Republic
Call of the Rockies (1944) starring Sunset Carson and Smiley Burnette (Iverson Ranch) Republic


The Cherokee Flash (1945) starring Sunset Carson - Republic
Code of the Prairie (1944) starring Sunset Carson and Smiley Burnette - Republic
Days of Buffalo Bill (1946) starring Sunset Carson (Iverson Ranch) Republic


The El Paso Kid (1946) starring Sunset Carson (Iverson Ranch) Republic


Firebrands of Arizona (1944) starring Sunset Carson and Smiley Burnette (Iverson Ranch)(Corriganville) Republic
Oregon Trail (1945) starring Sunset Carson (Iverson Ranch) Republic


Red River Renegades (1946) starring Sunset Carson - Republic
Rio Grande Raiders (1946) starring Sunset Carson - Republic


Rough Riders of Cheyenne (1945) starring Sunset Carson (Iverson Ranch) Republic (photo above courtesy of Bruce Hickey)


Santa Fe Saddlemates (1945) starring Sunset Carson (Iverson Ranch) Republic


Sheriff of Cimarron (1945) starring Sunset Carson (Iverson Ranch) Republic


Alias Billy the Kid (1946) starring Sunset Carson (Iverson Ranch) Republic

'Reel Cowboys of the Santa Susanas' is a continuing series about "six-gun heroes that performed on movie location ranches in Chatsworth, California.  For more information about Chatsworth filming locations see http://www.cowboyup.com/ to find information about my books: Rendezvous at Boulder Pass: Hollywood's Fantasyland - 2010 and Reel Cowboys of the Santa Susanas - 2008.

Disclaimer: This list of movie titles and credits has been compiled from many sources.  It has not been independently verified.  Titles with location credits in parentheses are either movies I own or come from a source I feel has a higher level of creditability.

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