# 26 Men

26 Men is a syndicated American Western television series about the Arizona Rangers, a law-enforcement group limited to 26 active members. By March 1958, the program was carried on 158 stations in the United States. The program was also broadcast on ATN-7 in Australia and on ZBM-TV in Bermuda.

## Synopsis and background

The series is set in the Arizona Territory in the first decade of the 20th century. The rangers were part of the group established by the Arizona Territorial Legislature in 1901. The number of members was limited to 26 "to avoid vigilantism". Information from government archives and newspapers provided the basis of the plots of episodes.

## Critical response

A review in the trade publication Variety said that the premiere episode had "clean action and plot situations", making it different from the era's trend toward adult westerns. It commended the work of Tris Coffin and Kelo Henderson and the pacing of the direction but noted that production values appeared weaker than those of Western programs on networks.

## Cast
### Main

* Tris Coffin as Captain Thomas H. Rynning
* Kelo Henderson as ranger Clint Travis.

### Guest stars

* Rico Alaniz
* Rayford Barnes
* Baynes Barron
* Robert Blake
* Edgar Buchanan
* Mason Alan Dinehart
* William Fawcett
* Richard Garland
* Don Haggerty
* Ron Hayes
* Tom Hennesy
* Robert Karnes
* DeForest Kelley
* Lash LaRue
* Forrest Lewis
* Jackie Loughery
* Jeanne Carmen as Lili Mae Turner
* Walter Maslow
* Doug McClure
* William Murphy
* Leonard Nimoy
* Gregg Palmer
* Tex Palmer
* Denver Pyle
* Maudie Prickett
* Richard Reeves
* Kim Spalding
* Glenn Strange
* Dub Taylor
* Carol Thurston
* Gregory Walcott
* Patrick Waltz
* Grant Withers

## Episodes
### Series overview

| Season | Episodes | Episodes | Originally released | Originally released |
| Season | Episodes | Episodes | First released | Last released |
| 1 | 39 | 39 | October 15, 1957 (1957-10-15) | July 15, 1958 (1958-07-15) |
| 2 | 39 | 39 | October 7, 1958 (1958-10-07) | June 30, 1959 (1959-06-30) |

### Season 1 (1957–58)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 1 | 1 | "The Recruit" | Reg Browne | Unknown | October 15, 1957 (1957-10-15) |
| 2 | 2 | "Trouble at Pinnacle Peak" | Reg Browne | Sloan Nibley | October 22, 1957 (1957-10-22) |
| 3 | 3 | "The Wild Bunch" | Reg Browne | Buckley Angell | October 29, 1957 (1957-10-29) |
| 4 | 4 | "Border Incident" | Reg Browne | Joe Richardson | November 5, 1957 (1957-11-05) |
| 5 | 5 | "Destination Nowhere" | Unknown | Dwight V. Babcock | November 12, 1957 (1957-11-12) |
| 6 | 6 | "Incident at Yuma" | Reg Browne | Ed Repp | November 19, 1957 (1957-11-19) |
| 7 | 7 | "The Slater Brothers" | Oliver Drake | Terence Maples & Sam Roeca & Tom Hubbard | November 26, 1957 (1957-11-26) |
| 8 | 8 | "Dead Man in Tucson" | Reg Browne | Tom Hubbard & Sam Roeca | December 3, 1957 (1957-12-03) |
| 9 | 9 | "Man on the Run" | Oliver Drake | Sam Roeca & Tom Hubbard & Will George | December 10, 1957 (1957-12-10) |
| 10 | 10 | "The Big Rope" | Oliver Drake | John K. Butler | December 17, 1957 (1957-12-17) |
| 11 | 11 | "Valley of Fear" | Unknown | Sloan Nibley | December 24, 1957 (1957-12-24) |
| 12 | 12 | "Indian Gunslinger" | Reg Browne | Frank Graves | December 31, 1957 (1957-12-31) |
| 13 | 13 | "Trail of Darkness" | Unknown | Joe Richardson | January 7, 1958 (1958-01-07) |
| 14 | 14 | "Trade Me Deadly" | Oliver Drake | Buckley Angell | January 14, 1958 (1958-01-14) |
| 15 | 15 | "Violent Land" | Unknown | Unknown | January 28, 1958 (1958-01-28) |
| 16 | 16 | "Panic at Bisbee" | Unknown | Unknown | February 4, 1958 (1958-02-04) |
| 17 | 17 | "Insurrection" | Unknown | Dwight V. Babcock | February 11, 1958 (1958-02-11) |
| 18 | 18 | "Slaughter Trail" | Unknown | Unknown | February 18, 1958 (1958-02-18) |
| 19 | 19 | "Gun Hand" | Unknown | Unknown | February 25, 1958 (1958-02-25) |
| 20 | 20 | "Cattle Embargo" | Unknown | Unknown | March 4, 1958 (1958-03-04) |
| 21 | 21 | "Badge to Kill" | Unknown | Unknown | March 11, 1958 (1958-03-11) |
| 22 | 22 | "Montezuma's Cave" | Unknown | Unknown | March 18, 1958 (1958-03-18) |
| 23 | 23 | "Sundown Decision" | Unknown | Unknown | March 25, 1958 (1958-03-25) |
| 24 | 24 | "The Parrish Gang" | Unknown | Unknown | April 1, 1958 (1958-04-01) |
| 25 | 25 | "Hoax at Globe" | Unknown | Unknown | April 8, 1958 (1958-04-08) |
| 26 | 26 | "The Bounty Hunter" | Unknown | Unknown | April 15, 1958 (1958-04-15) |
| 27 | 27 | "Apache Water" | Unknown | Unknown | April 22, 1958 (1958-04-22) |
| 28 | 28 | "Legacy of Death" | Oliver Drake | Oliver Drake | April 29, 1958 (1958-04-29) |
| 29 | 29 | "Chain Gang" | Unknown | Unknown | May 6, 1958 (1958-05-06) |
| 30 | 30 | "The Bells of St. Thomas" | Oliver Drake | Oliver Drake | May 13, 1958 (1958-05-13) |
| 31 | 31 | "Hondo Man" | Unknown | Unknown | May 20, 1958 (1958-05-20) |
| 32 | 32 | "The Vanquisher" | Unknown | Unknown | May 27, 1958 (1958-05-27) |
| 33 | 33 | "The Ranger and the Lady" | Unknown | Unknown | June 3, 1958 (1958-06-03) |
| 34 | 34 | "Idol in the Dust" | Unknown | Unknown | June 10, 1958 (1958-06-10) |
| 35 | 35 | "Runaway Stage" | Unknown | Unknown | June 17, 1958 (1958-06-17) |
| 36 | 36 | "Wayward Gun" | Unknown | Unknown | June 24, 1958 (1958-06-24) |
| 37 | 37 | "Hole Up" | Unknown | Unknown | July 1, 1958 (1958-07-01) |
| 38 | 38 | "Unholy Partners" | Unknown | Unknown | July 8, 1958 (1958-07-08) |
| 39 | 39 | "Killer's Trail" | Unknown | Unknown | July 15, 1958 (1958-07-15) |

### Season 2 (1958–59)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 40 | 1 | "The Glory Road" | Unknown | Unknown | October 7, 1958 (1958-10-07) |
| 41 | 2 | "Shadow of Doubt" | Unknown | Unknown | October 14, 1958 (1958-10-14) |
| 42 | 3 | "Man in Hiding" | Unknown | Unknown | October 21, 1958 (1958-10-21) |
| 43 | 4 | "Cross and Double Cross" | Unknown | Unknown | October 28, 1958 (1958-10-28) |
| 44 | 5 | "The Last Rebellion" | Unknown | Unknown | November 4, 1958 (1958-11-04) |
| 45 | 6 | "Brief Glory" | Unknown | Unknown | November 11, 1958 (1958-11-11) |
| 46 | 7 | "Dog Eat Dog" | Unknown | Unknown | November 18, 1958 (1958-11-18) |
| 47 | 8 | "Judge Not" | Unknown | Unknown | November 25, 1958 (1958-11-25) |
| 48 | 9 | "My Brother's Keeper" | Unknown | Unknown | December 2, 1958 (1958-12-02) |
| 49 | 10 | "Run No More" | Unknown | Unknown | December 9, 1958 (1958-12-09) |
| 50 | 11 | "The Manhunt" | Unknown | Unknown | December 16, 1958 (1958-12-16) |
| 51 | 12 | "The Avenger" | Unknown | Unknown | December 23, 1958 (1958-12-23) |
| 52 | 13 | "False Witness" | Unknown | Unknown | December 30, 1958 (1958-12-30) |
| 53 | 14 | "The Torch" | Unknown | Unknown | January 6, 1959 (1959-01-06) |
| 54 | 15 | "Trail of Revenge" | Unknown | Unknown | January 13, 1959 (1959-01-13) |
| 55 | 16 | "The Hellion" | Unknown | Unknown | January 20, 1959 (1959-01-20) |
| 56 | 17 | "Ranger Without a Badge" | Unknown | Unknown | January 27, 1959 (1959-01-27) |
| 57 | 18 | "The Showdown" | Unknown | Unknown | February 3, 1959 (1959-02-03) |
| 58 | 19 | "The Long Trail Home" | Unknown | Unknown | February 10, 1959 (1959-02-10) |
| 59 | 20 | "Death in the Dragoons" | Unknown | Unknown | February 17, 1959 (1959-02-17) |
| 60 | 21 | "Ricochet" | Unknown | Unknown | February 24, 1959 (1959-02-24) |
| 61 | 22 | "House Divided" | Unknown | Unknown | March 3, 1959 (1959-03-03) |
| 62 | 23 | "Profane Masquerade" | Unknown | Unknown | March 10, 1959 (1959-03-10) |
| 63 | 24 | "Dead or Alive" | Unknown | Unknown | March 17, 1959 (1959-03-17) |
| 64 | 25 | "The Has Been" | Unknown | Unknown | March 24, 1959 (1959-03-24) |
| 65 | 26 | "The Unwanted" | Unknown | Unknown | March 31, 1959 (1959-03-31) |
| 66 | 27 | "Live and Let Die" | Unknown | Unknown | April 7, 1958 (1958-04-07) |
| 67 | 28 | "Trial at Verde River" | Unknown | Unknown | April 14, 1959 (1959-04-14) |
| 68 | 29 | "Scorpion" | Unknown | Unknown | April 21, 1959 (1959-04-21) |
| 69 | 30 | "The Last Kill" | Unknown | Unknown | April 28, 1959 (1959-04-28) |
| 70 | 31 | "Redskin" | Unknown | Unknown | May 5, 1959 (1959-05-05) |
| 71 | 32 | "Cave-In" | Unknown | Unknown | May 12, 1959 (1959-05-12) |
| 72 | 33 | "Terror in Paradise" | Unknown | Unknown | May 19, 1959 (1959-05-19) |
| 73 | 34 | "Fighting Man" | Unknown | Unknown | May 26, 1959 (1959-05-26) |
| 74 | 35 | "Tumbleweed Ranger" | Unknown | Unknown | June 2, 1959 (1959-06-02) |
| 75 | 36 | "The Tiger" | Unknown | Unknown | June 9, 1959 (1959-06-09) |
| 76 | 37 | "Abandoned" | Unknown | Unknown | June 16, 1959 (1959-06-16) |
| 77 | 38 | "Bandit Queen" | Unknown | Unknown | June 23, 1959 (1959-06-23) |
| 78 | 39 | "Refuge at Broken Bow" | Unknown | Unknown | June 30, 1959 (1959-06-30) |

## Production

Russell Hayden was the producer of the ABC Film Syndication series. Reg Browne was the director, Sloane Nibley was the writer, and Oliver Drake was the adapter. The theme song was written by Hal Hopper.
Facilities of Cudia City Studios, in Phoenix, Arizona, were expanded to handle filming of 26 Men. When the series filmed on location, local residents often filled some roles in the cast. It was "reportedly the first TV series ever to be filmed completely in Arizona."

### Sponsors

As a syndicated program, 26 Men had different sponsors in different parts of the United States. They included H. P. Hood and Sons (a dairy) for all of New England; Mrs. Smith's Pie Company and Freihofer Baking Company (alternating weekly) in four cities in Pennsylvania; Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company in Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and Buffalo; and Standard Oil of Texas in eight markets in Texas and New Mexico.

## Release
### Home media

Timeless Media Group released a 3-disc best-of set, featuring 20 episodes from the series on DVD in Region 1 on April 12, 2011.
UK television network Talking Pictures TV began a re-run of series 1 from Wednesday 9 October 2024