Bruce Lander, who passes through 50 Westerns From The 50s quite a bit, sent me a copy of The Western Film And TV Annual from 1958. (That’s not it above — the ’58 volume has Dale Robertson on the cover.) These books, put together by F. Maurice Speed in the UK, make a wonderful resource. Lots of stills. Interviews (Audie Murphy and Jock Mahoney in this one). Info on the real West.
Of course, earlier volumes (it first appeared in 1947) don’t include TV. Features covered in this one include Decision At Sundown (1958), The Hired Gun (1957, black and white CinemaScope, with Rory Calhoun and Anne Francis) and Day Of A Bad Man (1958, starring Fred MacMurray and Marie Windsor). I’m dying to see those last two.
Thanks a million, Bruce. Now to track down the rest of the decade.
The book above with Clayton Moore as The Lone Ranger cover is the 1957 issue. The covers of others that decade and beyond that I have are as follows:
1955: Unidentified cowboy actor.
1956: Joel McCrea.
1957: Clayton Moore.
1958: Dale Robertson.
1959: Clint Walker.
1960: Robert Horton.
1961: John Wayne.
1962: The cast of Bonanza.
As far as I know, the 1962 annual was the last to be issued.
1955 Might have been Whip Wilson