The Dark Command: A Kansas Iliad.

BURNETT, W.R. [John Wayne; Roy Rogers; Gene Autry].

$8,800.00

Item Number: 132134

New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1938.

First edition thus of Burnett’s best-selling novel adapted into the popular Western of the same name which was nominated for two Academy Awards and stands as the only film where Western icons Wayne and Rogers appeared together. Octavo, original cloth. Signed on the front free endpaper by John Wayne, Roy Rogers, Walter Pidgeon, and Gabby Hayes and inscribed on the rear free endpaper by Gene Autry. Very good in a near fine dust jacket. Ownership name. With a note from the author laid in. A wonderful example of this classic work signed by five icons of American Westerns.

A rare historical novel from Burnett, who was better known for modern day crime stories, Dark Command was an instant bestseller. The film rights were purchased by Republic Pictures who announced the film in May 1939 as part of their slate for 1939–40 to be directed by Raoul Walsh, who had discovered John Wayne in 1929 when Wayne was a 23-year-old prop man. The film was financed on a larger budget than Republic normally provided and featured an all-star cast including Wayne, Claire Trevor, Walter Pidgeon, George "Gabby" Hayes, and Roy Rogers. It was nominated for two Academy Awards for Best Original Score and Best Art Direction by John Victor Mackay.