Between 1941 and 1946, Crabbe starred in a series of westerns for Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC). He played a crime-fighting cowboy called Billy the Kid. Billy was not based on the real life outlaw of the American Old West, but the character's name was changed to Billy Carson to avoid confusion. Crabbe had signed with PRC for only two movies, but those two movies were hugely popular so the studio continued the series.