Allan William Colt MacDonald (December 2, 1891 – March 27, 1968), who used the name William Colt MacDonald for his writing, was an American writer of

westerns The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...

born in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

, Michigan whose work appeared both in books and on film.

Biography

His many film writing credits, all for character writing, include ''

Santa Fe Stampede ''Santa Fe Stampede'' is a 1938 American " Three Mesquiteers" Western film directed by George Sherman and starring John Wayne, Ray Corrigan, and Max Terhune. Wayne played the lead in eight of the fifty-one films in the popular series. Plot s ...

'' (1938), ''Cowboys from Texas'' (1939),'' The Kansas Terrors'' (1939), ''New Frontier'' (1939), ''Wyoming Outlaw'' (1939), ''Three Texas Steers'' (1939), ''The Night Riders'' (1939), and ''Red River Range'' (1938). His many novels included ''Gun Country'' (1929), ''Rustler's Paradise'' (1932), ''The Crimson Quirt'' (1949), ''Action at Arcanum'' (1958), and ''California Gunman'' (1957). His most famous characters are

The Three Mesquiteers ''The Three Mesquiteers'' is the umbrella title for a Republic Pictures series of 51 American Western B-movies released between 1936 and 1943. The films, featuring a trio of Old West adventurers, was based on a series of Western novels by W ...

, who first appeared together in '' Law of the Forty-Fives'' (also known as ''Law of the .45s'' and the alternative title ''Sunrise Guns''), although two of the three Mesquiteers actually appeared in an earlier novel, ''Restless Guns''.

Novels

*''Gun Country'' (1929) *''Restless Guns'' (1929) *''Rustler's Paradise'' (1932) *''Law of the .45's'' (1933) *''Powdersmoke Range'' (1934) *''Riders of the Whistling Skull'' (1934) *''King of Crazy River'' (1934) *''Ghost-Town Gold'' (1935) *''The Town That God Forgot'' (1935) *''The Red Rider of Smoky Range'' (1935) *''Roaring Lead'' (1935) *''California Gunman'' (1936) *''Bullets for Buckaroos'' (1936) *''Sleepy Horse Range'', a.k.a. ''Fighting Kid from Eldorado'' (1938) *''Six-Gun Melody'' (1939) *''Six-Shooter Showdown'' (1939) *''The Phantom Pass'' (1940) *''The Riddle of Ramrod Ridge'' (1942) *''Boomtown Buccaneers'' (1942) *''The Vanishing Gun-Slinger'' (1943) *''The Shadow Rider'' (1943) *''Cartridge Carnival'' (1945) *''The Crimson Quirt'' (1949) *''Gunsight Range'' (1949) *''Thunderbird Trail'' (1949) *''The Deputy of Carabina'' (1949) a.k.a. ''Two-Gun Deputy'' *''Stir Up the Dust'' (1950) *''Ambush at Scorpion Valley'' (1950) a.k.a. ''The Singing Scorpion'' *''Dead Man's Gold'' (1951) *''Sombrero'' (1952) *''Three-notch Cameron'' (1952) *''Cow Thief'' (1953) *''Peaceful Jenkins'' (1953) *''Showdown Trail'' (1953) *''The Killer Brand'' (1953) *''Blind Cartridges'' (1953) *''Ranger Man'' (1954) *''Law and Order Unlimited'' (1955) *''Lightning Swift'' (1955) *''The Range Kid'' (1955) *''The Black Sombrero'' (1956) *''Flaming Lead'' (1956) *''Hellgate'' (1956) *''The Mad Marshal'' (1958) *''Ridin' Through'' (1958) *''Blackguard'' (1959) *''Gun Branders'' (1962) *''Trouble Shooter'' (1962) *''Guns Between Suns'' (1963) *''Battle at Three Cross'' (1963) *''Incident at Horcado City'' (1964) a.k.a. ''The Osage Bow'' *''The Gloved Saskia'' (1965) *''Shoot Him on Sight'' (1966) *''Fugitive from Fear'' (1968) *''West of Yesterday'' (1968) *''Alias Dix Ryder'' (1969) *''Powder Smoke'' (1969) *''Marked Deck at Topango Wells'' (1970) *''Rebel Ranger'' (1971) *''The Riddle of Ramrod Ridge'' (1972) *''Master of Mesa'' (1973) *''Punchers of Phantom Pass'' (1973) *''Whiplash'' (1973) *''Wheels in the Dust'' (1973) *''Bullet Trail'' (1974) *''Snake Hunt'' (1994) *''Winchester Welcome'' (1994) *''The Gun-slingin' Gringo'' (1995) *''Gun Fog'' (1997) *''The Red Raider'' (2004)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonald, William Colt 1891 births 1968 deaths American male screenwriters Western (genre) writers 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters