TV Western's - Branded| FiftiesWeb TV Westerns Black and White – 48 episodes (Jan. 1965 – Sept. 1966 Sunday 8:30-9:00) Branded Cast Chuck Connors as Jason McCord William Bryant as President Ulysses S. Grant Branded Theme Song “Branded” music by Dominic Frontiere, lyrics by Alan Alch “All but one man died There at Bitter Creek And they say he ran away. Branded, marked with a coward’s shame, What do you do when you’re branded, Will you fight for your name?” Captain Jason McCord (Chuck Connors) is a West Point graduate who is the sole survivor of a massacre at Bitter Creek. He is judged to have been a coward in the battle and is dismissed in disgrace. In the opening sequence, we see McCord’s commanding officer rip the rank designations and decorations from his uniform. He breaks McCord’s sabre in half, tossing the bottom half out of the fort gate. Now McCord must wander the West in the 1880s hoping to establish his innocence but never telling the story of what really happened at Bitter Creek.

Some he encounters believe him to be a coward, while others find his character beyond such transgressions. Along the way, he is introduced to President Grant (William Bryant), who engages McCord to asist in undercover operations for the government. Passings Chuck Connors died in 1992 of lung cancer and William Bryant in 2001 of cancer. Chuck Connors A beginner’s guide to classic TV Westerns · Primer · The A.V. Club Share Tweet Primer is The A.V. Club’s ongoing series of beginners’ guides to pop culture’s most notable subjects: filmmakers, music styles, literary genres, and whatever else interests us—and hopefully you. This installment: Classic TV Westerns. In 1949 the television Western was born. In 1959 it dominated the airwaves. And in 1969, it slouched in its saddle off toward the sunset. In the long view there has always been a Western—or at least a lookalike—on the air, but Gunsmoke’s cancellation in 1975 was a closing of the frontier. In the four decades since, television has grown up. At least that’s what they say.

But in 1955, Marshal Matt Dillon stumbled upon the hanged bodies of two would-be (but not quite) murderous ne’er-do-wells, done in by Matt’s friends and neighbors the night before. Matt doesn’t know what to do about this vigilante justice. He can’t very well arrest the whole town. Instead, our black-and-white ’50s hero washes his hands of the dilemma and walks away, leaving justice undone. Television didn’t grow up all at once. In fact, many roots of modern television run back to the classic Western, a formative influence on David Milch and Vince Gilligan, a training ground for Gene Roddenberry and Frank Pierson, moral grist for Rod Serling and Sam Peckinpah. The Western is often dismissed as good guys versus bad guys, patriarchal lessons for the Eisenhower family, a landscape of men swinging their guns around with no acknowledgment of women or minorities. That’s true in parts. But the horizon is vast. The Western isn’t just the story of the sheriff keeping the peace. It’s about cowboys riding from town to town on a season-long drive, women pioneers settling the frontier in vignettes, and a Native American U.S. Marshal.

It’s a cop show, a historical adventure, a small town dramedy, a legal procedural, a spy-fi hybrid, and sometimes an art drama without the prestige. It’s an overwhelming bounty, not least because so many hits and sidekicks are available on DVD. But no need to dig. The perfect introduction is sitting right there on top. Classic TV Westerns 101: The legends 1959 was the year the Western broke. On the big screen John Wayne roused his friends in defense of Rio Bravo, and on the small screen network schedules were clogged with more than 30 Westerns. The rise over the ’50s had been steady, and the sudden drop-off in the ’60s was just around the corner. Coming off Gunsmoke’s win for Best Dramatic Series in 1958, the Emmys created a new category for Best Western. America couldn’t get enough. Seven of the top 10 series of the 1958-59 season were Westerns, including the top four: Gunsmoke, Wagon Train, Have Gun – Will Travel, and The Rifleman.

CBS’ Gunsmoke was in the middle of a four-year reign as television’s most watched program in 1959. Begun as a radio show and slightly reimagined for television, creators Norman Macdonnell and John Meston envisioned Gunsmoke as an adult Western , a realistic corrective to consequence-free children’s shows like The Lone Ranger. It’s the story of Dodge City, Kansas, at the time considered the Gomorrah of the West, a frontier hub that attracted all manner of unsavory sorts. The only thing standing between chaos and civilization was Marshal Matt Dillon, played by James Arness. The series was more plainspoken than that, but it was always reaching for elemental drama. Set in a single location, Gunsmoke was unusually populated for those days, with a supporting cast of three (eventually four) Dodgers: Amanda Blake’s passionate saloon girl Kitty, Milburn Stone’s ornery Doc Adams, and Dennis Weaver’s dim Deputy Chester, later replaced by Ken Curtis’ hayseed Festus. After the series added a fifth regular, Burt Reynolds played a half-Native American blacksmith for a spell.

Source Running for 635 episodes over 20 years, Gunsmoke is a monolith. It’s the center of the television Western canon, the massive body around which all else orbits. In 1955 it debuted as a straight-shooting half-hour black-and-white adventure tracking mud everywhere. In 1975 it bowed out as an hour-long color social issues drama. A three-episode survey might be Sam Peckinpah’s “Poor Pearl,” which ends with a man stewing in his own moral filth; “Seven Hours To Dawn,” an exciting action piece with the town held hostage; and “The Good Samaritans,” which has Brock Peters and Rex Ingram playing ex-slaves debating whether or not to help a wounded Matt. Through it all runs a preoccupation with violence: law and order, revenge, the Civil War, the plight of the Native American, scars physical and psychological. To Meston, Dodge was an arena for gladiators unleashed in the Civil War. Indeed, violence is what the Western is all about, from The Lone Ranger’s heroics to Deadwood’s brutality.

Strip it down to its component parts and the Western is a man with a gun somewhere between the state of nature and government. No Western understands that so thoroughly as Gunsmoke. Wagon Train makes Gunsmoke look like Deadwood. Based on John Ford’s masterful melting pot Wagon Master, NBC’s Wagon Train is a 1957 semi-anthology series about a wagon train crew leading all kinds of settlers west through the wilderness. Each hour-long episode is one guest actor’s moral tale, the West a crucible testing the fiber of its people. Gunsmoke may have a traditional façade, but Wagon Train is square to the bone with its corny comedy and “do the right thing” drama, preaching good, old-fashioned values like personal responsibility, obedience, and honor in certain kinds of violence. “Sometimes, in spite of how a man tries to stay out of a fight, he ends up with crossed swords,” Major Adams patiently explains in a static close-up, the better to soak up the wisdom. Where Matt Dillon hardens with every bullet, Adams is untroubled. All of Wagon Train is contained in his grandfatherly smile.

Played by John Ford regular Ward Bond, Adams led the wagon train for the first half of the series until Bond’s death, when Anthony Mann regular John McIntire took over. The show was designed around the guest stars anyway. Ernest Borgnine, fresh off an Oscar win for Marty, anchors the pilot as a drunk tested by battle. Executive producer Richard Lewis was as proud of the acting talents Wagon Train wrangled—like Sessue Hayakawa and Bette Davis—as of the writers he brought aboard, like E. Jack Neuman and Aaron Spelling (who would go on to co-create The Guns Of Will Sonnett starring Walter Brennan). When the show hit number one in 1962, ABC outbid NBC and the series jumped ship. But even with a season of 90-minute color episodes , Wagon Train never regained its ratings, and it rolled to a stop in 1965. From 1958 to 1961, the top three shows in the country, in this order, were Gunsmoke, Wagon Train, and Have Gun – Will Travel. Unlike the other two, Have Gun’s vision of the West was mythic.

Where Gunsmoke is stuck to its hub and Wagon Train is stuck to its formula, Have Gun travels all over the country, getting tangled up in land disputes, murder mysteries, camel races—you name it. The Old West was an epic poem, and here was its knight-errant. For six seasons of romantic black-and-white half hours shot in all kinds of country, Emmy-nominated Richard Boone played Paladin, a private detective/bounty hunter with equal parts brains and grit who operates out of a ritzy hotel in San Francisco. The series was named for the text of his business card. He’s packing, and he’ll be there soon. Most heroes of the adult Western aim to solve problems without violence, but few were as intellectual as Paladin. Push often comes to shove on Have Gun – Will Travel, and Paladin’s as good a shot as any other hero, but there were times, like Gene Roddenberry’s “ The Hanging Cross ,” when the show’s peace prevails. Sam Peckinpah had a wearier vision of the Old West.

After honing his craft on some of Gunsmoke’s steeliest scripts, Peckinpah wrote a pilot about a marksman bullied into throwing a shooting contest and then leaving town in shame. Producing team Jules V. Levy, Arthur Gardner, and Arnold Laven balanced Peckinpah’s pessimism with a more commercial approach, and they successfully sold The Rifleman. A version of that story with a happy ending aired first as an episode of anthology series Zane Grey Theatre and then as the first episode of ABC’s 1958 series about Chuck Connors’ upright rancher Lucas McCain trying to raise his son in the West. Peckinpah’s stamp is all over the first season with its focus on masculinity and subversive cynicism, but he would soon leave over creative differences. In his absence The Rifleman would become more wholesome, as much a paternal ’50s sitcom as a rip-roaring Western, but no less savage and beautiful. Even in spring of 1963, when the show finally dropped out of the Nielsen Top 30 and was canceled, B-movie stylist and The Rifleman’s secret weapon Joseph H.

Lewis was churning out action spectaculars replete with splash-page composition and newsprint chiaroscuro. Source Not simply the most popular programs in America, Gunsmoke, Wagon Train, Have Gun – Will Travel, and The Rifleman were also nominated for Best Western that year. Together they read like a syllabus. Two are black-and-white half-hours and two are mostly hour-longs with seasons in color. Two are stationary semi-serials, and two are nomadic semi-anthologies, and they cover all three networks. Their heroes can be plotted on a spectrum of very relative compromise: a righteous wagon master, a stalwart rancher, a clenched town sheriff, and a freer radical. But all four were beaten for the Emmy by the fifth-highest rated Western (in the number six position behind The Danny Thomas Show), Roy Huggins’ sly, slick Maverick. Roy Huggins, writer of Raoul Walsh’s Gun Fury, was fresh off a year on Warner Western Cheyenne, but the unfailing virtue of the hero was driving him crazy.

So he set out to write a series about “a hero with humor, who gambled for a living, who was not concerned with the troubles of others, and who was, in fact, a kind of ‘gentle grafter.’” Huggins made a Western about an antihero. Maverick began in 1957 with James Garner playing gambler Bret Maverick, a more self-interested Western hero than the others and a prototype for his ’70s P.I., Jim Rockford. He drifted from saloon to riverboat looking for a score until trouble found him. Often he’d encounter some swindler and embark on an episode-long plan to get his money back, but other times he’d reluctantly come to help a woman who catches his eye or an underdog in town so long as there was something in it for him. Maverick was a side-eye take on the Western, with capers, adventures, and even outright parodies rather than stern moral tales, but Bret was ultimately as dependable as Lucas McCain. Even before Budd Boetticher shot the pilot, Warner planned to set up a second unit with another actor to minimize the danger of falling behind schedule.

So Jack Kelly came in as Bret’s brother Bart, and from episode eight on, the Maverick brothers would alternate episodes and occasionally team up. In one of the more memorable outings, “Shady Deal At Sunny Acres,” five different recurring characters join the Maverick brothers in a heist to get Bret’s money back while he just sits on his porch whittling , sure that his money will return. In one of the contract disputes that plagued the Warner Westerns, Garner left the series after its third season, so Roger Moore came on as cousin Beau, only lasting a year out of unhappiness with his scripts. For the final shortened season, Bart was the solo lead, but by 1962, the Western was already falling out of fashion, and Maverick was canceled. Intermediate Studies: The open range Before Gunsmoke and company blazed a trail for the adult Western, the genre was for kids. In the late ’40s and early ’50s, the Western was escapist entertainment, all half-hour black-and-white adventures about good guys and bad guys. Lone Pine was as exotic as the West could look. Everything else was shot within 50 miles of Hollywood.

The white hat would triumph over the black hat and then sing a song. He had a broad comic sidekick and his horse had a name. He was always in danger but never really. He was bowling with bumpers. The West in those days was easier. Naming his horse was never a very high priority for Paladin. The originals are NBC’s Hopalong Cassidy and ABC’s The Lone Ranger, both from 1949. Hopalong Cassidy was a B-picture hero debuting on television in 1948 in the form of heavily edited movies. Cassidy was bigger than ever on the small screen, and NBC began airing an original series (also partly comprised of theatrical releases) in June of 1949 with William Boyd’s middle-aged Hoppy and his sidekick, grizzled old Red Connors. That September, The Lone Ranger began with a three-part movie patterned after ’30s adventure serials wherein the titular, fresh-faced ex-Texas Ranger and his Native American sidekick, Tonto, would find themselves in cliffhanger endings. Hopalong Cassidy burned hot and fast, but The Lone Ranger lasted for more than 200 episodes over eight years, including a season in color.

It’s the Gunsmoke of the early Westerns, the key that fits all the other locks. Source A stampede followed. In 1950, The Cisco Kid would bring the format down South with the adventures of the title caballero, “O. Henry’s famous Robin Hood of the Old West,” and his cartoonish sidekick, Pancho. Sold into syndication, Cisco stands out for being shot in color even though it aired in black and white. CBS’ only notable Western in the early ’50s, The Gene Autry Show, distinguished itself with its singing cowboy. Autry and pal Pat were malleable heroes, slotting into whatever occupations the stories required, but they were always reliable for a song or two. NBC’s The Roy Rogers Show was just as adventurous, but set in one location, which allowed it to have more regulars, like Rogers’ wife Dale Evans as a restaurateur and Harry Harvey Sr. as the town sheriff. The series was also gleefully anachronistic, with telephones and cars when need be.

When producers started mining historical figures for kiddie Westerns (like The Adventures Of Wild Bill Hickok and The Adventures Of Kit Carson), Autry produced the first Western centered on a woman, Gail Davis’ tough, playful, pig-tailed markswoman, Annie Oakley. Annie wasn’t a rodeo performer in the show but rather a sort of peace officer. Each week she’d prove herself with her gun and then right the wrongs of the world, often with her baby brother Tagg and the town Deputy Lofty, who was a love interest on the back burner like a male Miss Kitty. Source In the fall of 1955, audiences tuned in to see radio hero Matt Dillon in the flesh. He was shot down halfway through the premiere of Gunsmoke on CBS, and the adult Western was born. There were Westerns not aimed at kids before 1955, but that was the year the dam broke. NBC offered a short-lived anthology series called Frontier. And ABC introduced future Top-30 regular, The Life And Legend Of Wyatt Earp. Hugh O’Brian played the legendary lawman and embodied the show: handsome, dependable, and humorless, even when smiling.

The show had strong action and some nice episodes, but it claims to be history and reads like a textbook. From its acting to its sets, it was simpler than Gunsmoke in every respect but one: Earp was serialized. The on-going story was light, but Wyatt spent the first season mostly in Wichita, the next three as marshal of Dodge, and the last two in Tombstone, with the final two episodes dealing with the shootout between the Earps and the Clanton gang. By the end, Wyatt was even entangled in a romance with a Clanton girl. The other original adult Western, Cheyenne, also aired on ABC, and it was the first hour-long Western. In the light of Clint Walker’s Cheyenne Bodie, it’s easier to see Matt Dillon’s rage, Paladin’s intellect, Lucas McCain’s tenderness. Cheyenne Bodie is pure beef, a heroic archetype never fully humanized, but his brand of comic strip adventures has its virtues. Cheyenne is most notable for being the first Western produced by a major studio—in this case Warner Bros. under its first TV executive, William T. Orr.

It was Orr who brought on Roy Huggins to try to rework Cheyenne, and after serving his time, Huggins went on to write two 1957 pilots for Warner: Maverick and Colt .45. The latter was about a marshal undercover as a gun salesman with an obvious favorite. Where the kid Westerns had special horses, adult Westerns had special guns: Wyatt Earp’s buntline special, The Rifleman’s Winchester 1892, Yancy Derringer’s fancy derringer. Meanwhile the flagship was in trouble when Clint Walker left over a contract dispute. So Warner brought on a replacement hero, Ty Hardin’s livelier Bronco Layne. When Walker came back in 1958, Orr hit a successful three-show rotation that lasted for three years: Cheyenne, spinoff Bronco, and Sugarfoot . Sugarfoot was the first of the wheel to go, but its offbeat flavor—a law student drifting through the West trying to solve problems without a gun—makes it the most interesting.

Where Orr’s other Westerns are Maverick-style drifters, 1958’s Lawman was in the mold of Gunsmoke, about the marshal of Laramie, Wyoming. Sugarfoot and Cheyenne both fell out of the Top 30 around the turn of the decade, leaving Lawman not just Warner’s, but ABC’s, highest-rated Western in 1961. The last of Orr’s Westerns, 1959’s The Alaskans, was timed to the admission of Alaska as the 49th state that January, but a writer’s strike suffocated it. Star Roger Moore stayed in the family by going on to play Beau Maverick, but characters from Orr’s Westerns also had a habit of popping up on each other’s shows. The Alaskans was the first to go in 1960, but the Western craze was dying anyway. Cheyenne was the first and outlasted the others, but the Warner Westerns were over by 1963, just eight years after they began. Source NBC had a similar relationship with the studio behind Wagon Train, Revue Productions, which was the television arm of Universal.

In addition to Wagon Train, Revue had supplied two other Western hits, The Restless Gun and Tales Of Wells Fargo. Both out-rated Wagon Train at first. Developed by David Dortort, The Restless Gun was about a problem-solving drifter with a reluctant but competent trigger finger. Tales Of Wells Fargo had a higher concept in its company troubleshooter securing safe, long-distance journeys. There were other shows like it (Pony Express, Stagecoach West starring Wayne Rogers, Stories Of The Century about a railroad detective), but none performed as well as Tales, which ran for five seasons. Revue later brought NBC The Deputy, created by Norman Lear and Roland Kibbee. It starred Henry Fonda and Allen Case, trading leads like Maverick. Unfortunately, Revue is better at manufacturing trivia than actual Westerns. Warner outpaced it in the popcorn department and its middlebrow cheese can’t compete with the best of the adult Westerns. The studio was great at commercial hits like Wagon Train, but its creative hits wouldn’t come until the turn of the decade.

In 1959 CBS had its own Wagon Train in the form of Rawhide, developed by straight-shooting director Charles Marquis Warren, who had previously developed Gunsmoke. If Wagon Train took after John Ford, Rawhide took after Howard Hawks. Instead of moral tales about honor and history, Rawhide presents a rugged portrait of camaraderie and labor. Its heroes are human with little flaws and smiles. Clint Eastwood is the big discovery, but Eric Fleming’s trail boss makes a smart counterpoint to unfailing Major Adams. (In fact Fleming was initially offered the lead role in A Fistful Of Dollars. When he said no, producers didn’t have to look very far.) Rawhide’s drama is muscular and its images classically complicated. It’s more concerned with work than guns, and its stories bite into a piece of meat and don’t let go until the taste’s gone. Because it’s set outdoors and on the move, not only does it have the genre’s most sumptuous black-and-white nature photography, but it’s the Western that best captures the expanse of the American frontier. Source There were Paladin imitators, too, most notably 1958’s Wanted: Dead Or Alive on CBS.

A young Steve McQueen played bounty hunter Josh Randall like milk to Paladin’s vinegar. His breakout led to his role in The Magnificent Seven and then the end of the series after three seasons. NBC’s Bat Masterson was more explicitly a Have Gun rip-off with its upper-crust detective for hire, but it wasn’t exactly an adult Western. It was like a procedural. There was a formula to the plots, Bat was always good for a quip, and the cases were high society things like art forgery and thrown horse races. It was the original White Collar. The ABC standout is The Rebel, directed primarily by Irvin Kershner and starring Nick Adams as ex-Confederate soldier Johnny Yuma. Unlike Paladin, he has adventure thrust upon him as he drifts through the West in the wake of the Civil War, lending the series an air of penance. Johnny Yuma isn’t trying to save the world out of chivalry. He’s just lost. Adult Westerns like The Rifleman popped up into the ’60s, but few lasted long. The standouts were a beat up pair from 1965 that didn’t make it past 1966.

Rod Serling’s The Loner recalls John Meston’s vision of the West. Each episode opens with a Serling special: “In the aftermath of the blood-letting called The Civil War, thousands of rootless, restless, searching men traveled west.” Lloyd Bridges played the Loner for 26 episodes’ worth of Serling’s beautiful, bitter moral tests. Branded at least made it two seasons. In fact, it was the second-highest rated Western for the 1964-65 season. Chuck Connors played the hero, branded a coward and stripped of his rank in the credits that open each episode. The accusations are false, but he keeps silent to prevent the cavalry from going to war with the Apache. By the mid-’60s, even The Rifleman was compromised. But audiences were in the mood for easier fare. Advanced studies: Settling down America started to move on soon after the rush of ’59. What lasted through the ’60s were Westerns that doubled as small town dramas, exemplified by Gunsmoke’s transition from violence to social issues. The West was moving indoors.

Rawhide is the notable exception, lasting through the mid-’60s, but its robust cast and continuing relationships quench similar serial thirsts. Bonanza was the pioneer of the ’60s Western, broadcast in color from the beginning in 1959 on NBC. Developed by David Dortort when The Restless Gun ended, Bonanza was a new kind of Western, focused on a family and set on a ranch, like The Rifleman, but with melodrama. In Bonanza, the Cartwright family—Lorne Greene’s patriarch, his three adult children, and no women—own and operate a Lake Tahoe ranch where they discuss issues like gun violence and bigotry. There was never an issue that the Cartwrights couldn’t talk to death. For most of the ’60s, Bonanza was in the top five, finishing the decade in third behind Gunsmoke. But true to its Revue roots, Bonanza is that rare prototype outdone by its imitators. Source The best of the ’60s Westerns was Dortort’s follow-up for NBC, The High Chaparral, written by journalist and Hemingway amigo Denne Bart Petitclerc.

Also about a family on a lone ranch outside of town, The High Chaparral took the Bonanza formula and tweaked it here and there, transforming the sprawling talkie into a tight little snake. Instead of a woman-less family, Chaparral’s Cannons were a veritable social experiment. Leif Erickson’s patriarch, Big John, is also a widower—his wife is killed in the premiere—but he enters a marriage of convenience with the daughter of a powerful local Mexican rancher, and she and her brother move in. Meanwhile, they’re out in Apache country. Where post-Tonto Native Americans show up regularly in adult Westerns played by guest stars in stories about racism, the Apache are a constant presence in The High Chaparral, neither a sadistic menace nor mere objects for sympathy. Every other episode turns on the Cannons’ failure to understand the Apache or vice versa. Best of all, instead of a soundstage Sierra Nevada, The High Chaparral makes spectacular use of its Tucson location. With its sand-and-saguaro vistas and flying arrow zooms, it looks like no other Western. Its big blue skies pick up where Rawhide left off.

Source The same year Bonanza began, NBC launched Revue’s Laramie, another Western about men living together on a ranch, this one shot in black and white. Laramie is a combination of Gunsmoke’s grit with Bonanza’s soap, a world of continuous characters and hardscrabble living. The show produced some of the black-and-white Western’s most expressionistic cinematography courtesy of Ray Rennahan, making use of stark lighting, curtain shadows, and negative space galore in episodes like “ The Debt ,” but its two color seasons were rarely so vivid. When Laramie ended in 1963, co-star Robert Fuller joined the cast of Wagon Train, now on ABC. To fill its slot for NBC, Revue came up with another experiment, TV’s first 90-minute Western, The Virginian, which followed James Drury as a ranch foreman who’d get caught up in a different story each week, from lighter fare about a schoolgirl’s crush to more adventurous stuff like temporary blindness in the wilderness.

At a B-movie running time, each episode cost about four times as much as one of Monte Hellman’s contemporaneous Westerns, and few had as much psychological meat, let alone visual personality. But the lavish production gave The Virginian the most realistic look of the ’60s Westerns, and it was a commercial hit that ran for nine seasons and spun off Texas Ranger action-comedy Laredo. The Big Valley was ABC’s answer to Bonanza in 1965, a story about a ranch family headed by a widow instead of a widower with a daughter in the mix of children. As matriarch Victoria Barkley, Barbara Stanwyck brought a welcome sense of humor to the stern hero role. Written by noir screenwriter A.I. Bezzerides and produced by The Rifleman shepherds Levy-Gardner-Laven, The Big Valley is distinguished by a sense of control. Bonanza is full of mugs with a rainbow color palette, the better to sell RCA color TVs. Everything from the acting to the art direction on The Big Valley is more measured, and it lasted four years.

One of The Big Valley’s formative writers, Christopher Knopf, went on to create CBS’ stab at the 90-minute Western (in the wake of NBC’s The Virginian and ABC’s color season of Wagon Train), Cimarron Strip. It was slower, dreamier, and darker than the usual ’60s Westerns, as beautiful as The High Chaparral but in a totally different style. Its West was crawling with dirty characters out for themselves, seemingly unconfined by network notes. It’s one of the best of its time, and it lasted only a season. Lancer followed, more in the Bonanza mold, but it didn’t last long either. CBS wanted a series about the end of the West, but it was the end of the Western. When Gunsmoke ended in 1975, the genre’s transition into family drama was complete with Little House On The Prairie. Opposite the serials were two notable anthology Westerns, Death Valley Days and Zane Grey Theatre, both black-and-white half-hours.

Adapted by Ruth Woodman from her radio show, Death Valley Days is a quaint, quiet show that focused more on hardship than violence, a kind of How The West Was Settled. It told all kinds of frontier stories, but especially stories about women, from transplanted society girls to wayward con women. Death Valley Days debuted in syndication in 1952, predating the adult Westerns of 1955, and lasted for 18 years, making it the second longest-running Western behind Gunsmoke. Source Where Death Valley Days would stew, Zane Grey Theatre would boil. The stories had more action, the shots had more drama, the production had more stars. Produced by Dick Powell as part of his Four Star Productions for CBS, Zane Grey Theatre also served as a pilot showcase, spinning off five different Westerns. The Rifleman came first, which in turn spun off Law Of The Plainsman. Bounty hunter blast Trackdown lasted two years, but before it went, it introduced Josh Randall and spun off Wanted: Dead Or Alive. Finally came a one-season Western for each of the networks: Black Saddle for ABC, Johnny Ringo for CBS, and The Westerner for NBC.

After Sam Peckinpah left The Rifleman, Dick Powell asked him to write and direct a pilot for Zane Grey Theatre. Peckinpah wanted to show the West how it was, so he came up with The Westerner, the story of a cowboy drifter, not a gunslinger, who wandered the West with his dog just trying to survive. Downtrodden, lonely, and wry, it was the Terriers of its day. Brian Keith played antihero Dave Blassingame with a hangdog charm. Peckinpah produced every episode, and wrote or directed several. The series premiered in 1960 with a story about a man enjoying a prostitute he knew from childhood. The Westerner was rough and weary enough to get rave reviews and unhappy affiliates. It was canceled after 13 episodes. Source Miscellany: Beyond the gunslinger There were other Westerns that weren’t about do-gooders with guns. Outlaws is a sharp, ripped-from-the-historical-headlines series that would dramatize the exploits of a different outlaw each week until the recurring marshals caught the villain. The second season was in color and told from the perspective of the marshals.

Following Four Star’s Black Saddle about a gunslinger turned lawyer, William T. Orr oversaw a legal Western with Jeffrey Hunter playing judge Temple Houston. The networks also tried their hands at Westerns about Native Americans. CBS’ one-season Brave Eagle followed a Cheyenne tribe. ABC’s Broken Arrow centered on the relationship between an Indian agent and an Apache chief played by Michael Ansara. Ansara would go on to star as an Apache U.S. Marshal in Four Star’s short-lived Law Of The Plainsman for NBC. Source Typically, Westerns are set between the Mississippi and the Pacific between the Civil War and the automobile or so. But there were some Western-style adventures before that time period, like Disney’s Zorro in pre-Mexican War California or Fox’s Daniel Boone. There were also some set later, like 1962 rodeo dramas The Wide Country and Stoney Burke. Four Feather Falls introduced Gerry Anderson’s marionette animation with a kids’ cowboy show. A couple other interesting international Westerns are Canada’s Sergeant Preston Of The Yukon, marked by its early color photography, and Australia’s Whiplash , marked by its sharp black-and-white photography and kangaroos.

While the Western drifted into family drama, it was also popular enough to spawn other hybrids, like The Wild Wild West and William Shatner’s ’70s spy Western, Barbary Coast. McCloud brought a Western-style sheriff to the big city. Most notably there were a handful of Western-flavored sitcoms: cavalry comedy F Troop, cowboy comedy The Rounders, and in 1973, Dusty’s Trail, which was Gilligan’s Island in the Old West, starring Bob Denver. The ’70s are a Western curiosity shop, with the audience drying up but the networks reluctant to abandon the genre altogether. James Garner and Richard Boone both dipped their toes back in while James Arness was still basking in Dodge. Garner played a sheriff with a motorcycle and a slow trigger finger on Nichols, and Boone played a Paladin-like detective on a 90-minute forensics Western called Hec Ramsey. Sara was a quickly canceled show about a frontier schoolteacher starring Brenda Vaccaro. Together with superproducer Glen A. Larson, Maverick creator Roy Huggins wrote about another pair of swindlers, Alias Smith And Jones, the rare late Western to last three seasons.

The Life And Times Of Grizzly Adams, about a fugitive who lives in the wilderness, made it two. Finally, David Dortort would close out the ’70s with the story of a family’s westward trek in The Chisholms. More Westerns followed, but when Gunsmoke and Death Valley Days vanished from broadcast schedules in 1975, the classic TV Western was over. From its lush look to its murky morality, the Western is one of TV’s greatest accomplishments. Those looking for a foundation might want to start with 1959’s big five. Those with more particular tastes should pick a vein and start mining. And for those looking for the best of the best, here are five of the highest peaks covering as much terrain as possible. The essentials 1. Have Gun – Will Travel (1957-63) The Western hero. Richard Boone breathed life into the adult Western with his flesh-and-blood detective. Have Gun – Will Travel roots out the rot in the West with a keen understanding of violence. Co-created by Oscar-nominated writer of The Naked Spur Sam Rolfe, it’s the closest thing to an Anthony Mann TV Western. 2.

The Westerner (1960) The revisionist Western. No show looks at the West as clearly as The Westerner. It’s a shame Dave Blassingame isn’t commercially available, but episodes are out there, including his premiere on Zane Grey Theatre, “Trouble At Tres Cruces.” Alternately, the adult Western is still stinging from the splash of water that was Maverick. 3. Rawhide (1959-66) The classical Western. The Westerner and Rawhide offer the realest men in the West. But Rawhide sustained its drama over the better part of eight seasons of hour-long episodes. Its expanse is extraordinary. 4. Zane Grey Theatre (1956-61) The boundless frontier. A covert pick that encompasses The Rifleman, The Westerner, and five other series besides, Zane Grey Theatre is the TV Western’s traveling bard. Whatever the traditional Western could be, it was and it was beautifully in Zane Grey Theatre. 5. The High Chaparral (1967-71) The late Western.

The color era is best represented on DVD by Cimarron Strip, albeit in abbreviated syndicated form, but it’s worth seeking out The High Chaparral for its lush pop art imagery and its serious grappling with the bubbling melting pot of the American West. TV Westerns of the 60's Listen to western TV theme songs while you read! Warning: this page is part of the Lazy J Ranch, and we don't cotton t' sissies, dudes, cardsharps or bushwhackers. "Reach mister, I ain't gonna tell ya again," Ah, the great westerns of 60's television. In prime time, nobody could resist them-largely because there weren't that many choices on television-but there was another reason: they appealed to almost everyone. Welcome to the Lazy J Ranch where the TV westerns of the 60's had nobility which other types of shows seemed to lack. There were handsome leading men for the ladies and lots of roundups and gunplay for the gents. Westerns provided all round entertainment, with guessable plots, last-minute problem resolutions, and fast-paced action.

Towards the mid to later 60's, westerns began taking on tougher issues-social issues-with a few grown up themes. The cowboy was the heart and soul of our nation; the epitome of the last man standing with honor, courage, and rugged good looks to spare. Cowboy shows were so popular that they flourished like flies at a picnic. To compare the amount of westerns produced for television as opposed to war dramas, or love stories, would make a very lengthy list. So, with that said, slap on some fancy smellum, get ready for a Saturday night in town, and let's move the herd toward those wonderful TV westerns! "You sayin' I'm cheatin'?" James Garner was his name, and he was Bret Maverick. Cardsharp extraordinaire, with that wry James Garner sense of humor, Maverick was one of the reasons we had a television set. I remember the show in syndication only, but it was watched in our house with regularity. Later in the first season, actor Jack Kelly played Bart Maverick, Bret's brother. I have always been a huge fan of Clint Walker and "Cheyenne" was one of my favorites.

Walker, like James Arness, was quite a mountain of a man giving him that extra umph to his tough guy persona. But like Cheyenne, Clint was good-guy humble, and a very likeable character in western work. One of my Clint Walker favorites: "Night of the Grizzly". "Laramie", "Sugar Foot", "Shenandoah" and of course, "Wagon Train" were also great TV shows. More of my favorites were Wanted: Dead or Alive", "The Rebel" and "Branded" with Chuck Connors. "Death Valley Days" was one show that used to come on in syndication every night at 7:00 pm. The best part was that it was in color. "They say yer supposed t' be fast." "Gunsmoke" was one of the most watched shows in our household. My dad was a devout western lover, so on our block, we probably watched the most of them. Marshall Matt Dillon was a great character; 12 feet tall, 500 pounds, and a wicked fast draw made him a formidable lawman.

Okay..., the height and weight are a bit off, but in reality, actor James Arness was 6' 7" which allowed him to fill the screen. Great characters such as Doc, Miss Kitty, and the loveably haggard Festus, were unforgettable. I watched gunsmoke through the "Chester" years, and admired the characters played by Buck Taylor, Burt Reynolds and Dennis Weaver, but there was no character as wonderful as Festus Hagen. The grizzled old side-talkin' deputy was a show stealer, and offered a ton of comic relief, but was still considered someone to take seriously once he drew his pistol. Gunsmoke also had the tension of an unresolved romance between Marshall Dillon and Miss Kitty. They were in love, but never got aroun' t' doin anythin bout it. "I'm goin' inta town for supplies." "Bonanza" was another favorite show in our house. Every Sunday night at 9:00 pm, the NBC network gave us fine entertainment from The Cartwright family. Widower father Ben and his three sons-all as different as night and day-share the work and responibilities of The Ponderosa spread.

It has been reported that this program was one of the pioneers of color television programming simply to promote the idea of buying color television sets. The Cartwrights did enjoy the honor of being television's foremost western family, and the program managed fourteen seasons accompanied by very high ratings. If I were to take a guess, I'd say that Hoss was probably my favorite character on the show. When actor David Canary came on the show as "Candy", he became my second favorite. Oh yes, and that theme song is unforgettable! "You'd better head back to town, and spur all the way." Once we acquired our first color television set in 1966, TV westerns took on a whole new persona. My dad loved westerns, so did my mom and the entire family, but for me, during the 60's, there was no show as great as "The Virginian". This was what westerns were all about! The program was a real breakthrough for television as it filled a 90 minute time slot. This permitted unusal plot twists that weren't as easily guessed as the standard western.

With The Virginian, there were some interesting story lines, with an emphasis on characters (one episode even featured a cowhand with schizophrenia that murdered by night!) The extra minutes permitted the writers to flesh out a better story each week. The characters were: The Virginian of course; top hand Trampas (I'm not sure if he ever has another name mentioned or not); top hand Steve Hill; the landowner and rancher Judge Henry Garth, his daughter Betsy, and last, but not least, the beautiful Wyoming territory itself (though not filmed on location.) Premiering in 1962, The Virginian ran for nine consecutive seasons, not as long as Gunsmoke or Bonanza, but long enough to secure strong ratings and a stronger following. "The ramrod" of the Shiloh ranch was a loner known to everyone as simply "The Virginian". (His true name was never revealed during the entire nine seasons of the show's run). Actor James Drury brought this character to life in a way that I'd never seen a western tough guy ever portrayed. He gave no quarter, and never missed an opportunity to push when it was necessary.

He threw whiskey bottles at bad guys to get their attention; he yelled at judges in the courtroom and braced bullies in the streets or saloons with the ferocity of a half-starved Rotweiller . The Virginian was the toughest, strongest, most fair, and most noble TV cowboy I can remember ever. To this day I collect the DVD sets! (They're very expensive, but I'm about halfway there). If you tried pushing The Virginian, or tried out-stubborning Steve Hill, or tried playing poker with Trampas, or defied Judge Garth, or did not fall in love with Betsy, then you were just plain foolish. The 90 minute time slot permitted this program to serve as basically a western movie every week. In its ninth and final season, "The Virginian" switched its title to "Men from Shiloh" and lost its magnificent theme song "Lonesome Tree" by Percy Faith. The new theme song was by the now-renowned Ennio Morricone, but was wrong, and very awkward for the show. Characters came and went, but thank goodness we never lost Trampas or our title character.

Illustration by Autumn Wind Studios Lucas McCain Chuck Connors, referred to as "Old Iron Jaw", brought an unforgettable face to westerns. For me, Chuck was the western; he was tough, deliberate, unyielding, and usually a good guy. I loved every episode I could digest of "The Rifleman". The shows title character was Lucas McCain and he was a widower raisin' up his young son Mark. Most notable is the fact that it was the first western to feature a widowed father raising a son. "Bonanza" topped this theme one year later with a widower raising three sons! Lucas McCain carried the Winchester '73, his rifle of choice, and solved many of the show's problems with it. Chuck Connors was a pro baseball and basketball player before "The Rifleman" He played with the Brooklyn Dodgers and The Chicago Cubs, and was one of the original members of The Boston Celtics. Chuck portrayed Jason McCord in the popular TV western "Branded" about an army officer unjustly drummed out of the army as he was falsely accused of desertion in battle.

This show was another favorite, and Chuck Conners earned himself a place on the bench with my ultimate TV western heroes: "Cheyenne", "Wanted: Dead or Alive", "The Virginian", and Nick Barkley from "The Big Valley". "How do, ma'am," A tip of the hat, generally with only two fingers touching the brim, opened every greeting to a female on TV westerns. The ladies were as bountiful as the gents on these shows, and often provided the flip side to the attraction of the program for male viewers. One of the most interesting female characters for me was the introduction of a rancher's Mexican wife. Actress Linda Cristal lit up the screen as the charmingly sustained Victoria Cannon on "The High Chapparal". The High Chapparal was also a great show, with wonderful characters. Victoria, the daughter of Don Sebastian Montoya, a fellow big-time cattleman, brought her brother Manolito with her to the ranch. The ranch was run by John Cannon and his brother Buck, who, was barely one step ahead of the law, in his ways of getting things done.

Buck was played by the great Cameron Mitchell who brought a new kind of badness to the big screen. The Big Valley was a show that I did not miss-ever. And no, it wasn't because of Linda Evans, it was because of the hot-tempered tough guy Nick Barkley played by actor Peter Breck. I always loved the way he got things done. Considering how much I liked this show, it's interesting that I really didn't like most of the characters! I could've easily done without Victoria, Jarrod, and Audra. I really watched the show only for Nick and Heath. Heath being the underdog gave him some decent story action, and it was the stories that were really well-told and held my attention. "Sure, you can kill me, but not before I put a bullet into you." What I really hated among westerns were the tiresome stories. These were the ones that either took place somewhere back east with fancy dudes and almost zero action, or the endlessly tiresome "cave-in" stories. Each western had to have a cave-in where the main characters were trapped inside a mine, a canyon pass, or a cave.

Of course it took the entire show for the others to figure out where they were; Of course there were only few precious moments of air; Of course they were barely alive when discovered. Well now, I guess we better git t' some westernisms! "Keep an eye on the herd." "Set 'em up, barkeep" The Rifleman - Chuck Connors "Lucas McCain" CHUCK CONNORS — "LUCAS McCAIN" Born Kevin Joseph Aloysius Connors in Brooklyn, New York on April 10, 1921, Connors was the elder of two children whose parents, originally from Ireland, had immigrated to the US via Newfoundland. As a child of the Depression, he grew up poor in a family that knew hard times, with his mother doing menial jobs and his father perennially unemployed, eventually landing a job as a bank guard in New York City. Young Kevin Connors played baseball on the sand lots as a kid and displayed such exceptional ability that he was given an athletic scholarship at Adelphi Academy, making him one of the few youngsters ever to win a prep school scholarship for sports. Upon graduation from Adelphi, more than 25 colleges offered Connors athletic scholarships.

He cast his lot with Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey, where he developed his natural athletic ability. At college, he added basketball to his sports schedule and was instrumental in leading the Seton Hall team to national prominence as a basketball power. He acquired the nickname "Chuck" in South Orange, and it stuck. Although he attended Seton Hall on a sports scholarship, Connors was a serious student and enrolled as an English major. He soon demonstrated a flair for performing by entering and winning an elocution contest in his freshman year. He recited Vachel Lindsay's sonorous poem, "Congo." Winning the contest made him consider for the first time the prospect of pursuing an acting career. He left Seton Hall after two years, and in 1940, he was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent, but by the summer of 1942, had moved to the New York Yankees' minor league organization. In October 1942, Connors enlisted in the Army at Fort Knox. He was stationed at Camp Campbell, Kentucky, and later at West Point, New York, spending most of the war as an instructor in tank-warfare.

While at West Point, during the winter months Connors moonlighted as a professional basketball player, and during the summer season he played semi-professional baseball. After being discharged from the Army in 1946, he joined the newly formed Boston Celtics basketball team. In 1946, he became the first player in the NBA to shatter a backboard. He got his first break to play baseball in the Major leagues with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1949. He played just one season, then joined the Chicago Cubs in 1951, playing in 66 games, usually as first baseman and occasional pinch hitter. After one season, he was demoted and sent to the Los Angeles Angels farm club in the Pacific Coast League. If it was a disappointment to Connors at the time, later he would think of it very differently, saying in 1954, "Greatest break I ever got. I'm out there right in the middle of the movie business where, if a guy has anything, he's got the chance to break in." Connors has the distinction of being one of just 12 athletes in the history of American professional sports to have played for both Major League Baseball and the NBA.

Later, in 1966, Connors would play an off-field role in bringing Los Angeles Dodgers pitchers Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax back to the negotiating table to resolve a contract dispute between the owners and players. During his stint on THE RIFLEMAN series, Connors invited several sports icons to make guest appearances on the show; they included baseball legend Don Drysdale, Duke Snider and football hall of famer Sid Gilman. While playing professional baseball in southern California, Connors was spotted by an MGM casting director, who cast him in a small role as a police captain in the sports-themed romantic comedy "Pat and Mike" (1952), starring Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. The film featured a who's who roster of famous athletes making cameo appearances. He hung up his gloves and spikes and concentrated on developing his skills as an actor.

In 1953, he appeared in the Burt Lancaster film "South Seas Woman" and in 1957, the Disney film "Old Yeller" and also "The Hired Gun." His portrayal of Burn Sanderson, owner of Old Yeller, would clinch him the role of Lucas McCain in THE RIFLEMAN—beating out 40 other actors vying for the part of a widowed rancher raising his young son in the American frontier of the 1880s. As the father of four boys in real life, playing a strong father figure came naturally to Chuck Connors. Standing 6'5", Connors' physical stature, rugged build and good looks also made him ideally suited for the role. He learned to shoot and do his own stunts to prepare for the role. The same year he was cast in the lead for THE RIFLEMAN, Connors was tapped by director William Wyler to play Buck, the trouble-making son of Hannassey (Burl Ives) in "The Big Country." It was the role regarded by critics and fans alike as his finest screen performance.

If segueing from baseball star to Hollywood actor seemed like an unlikely career transition, according to Connors, it was a snap. "Anytime a batter is called out on strikes, he acts plenty when he returns to the dugout. After all," he laughed, "he has to make the manager believe the umpire was wrong in his decision." Connors' histrionics were so effective that his teammates dubbed him "The Lawrence Olivier of the diamond." As the star of ABC-TV's western series, THE RIFLEMAN, however, he no longer had to worry about balls and strikes. As Lucas McCain, Connors had two primary concerns in life—first, confronting and overcoming injustice with resolve, fair-mindedness and decency and second, making a home for his young boy, Mark, whose mother passed away. Father and son settle on a ranch near the frontier town of Northfork and begin forging a life in the New Mexico territory. The casting of Johnny Crawford as young Mark was an inspired choice. A little-known child actor, Crawford and Connors had a genuine chemistry playing father and son. Off-screen, Connors invited his young co-star to accompany him on camping trips with his own sons.

Their warm bond persisted, and at Chuck Connors' memorial service, after passing away at age 71 on November 10, 1992, Crawford gave his TV father and real-life friend a moving eulogy. While under contract to Four Star Productions for THE RIFLMAN series, Connors played the title role in the western biopic film "Geronimo" (1962). Over the next two and a half decades, he appeared in other films in a variety of genres, including the James Garner–Doris Day romantic comedy "Move Over, Darling" (1963). Connors went on to do several other series after THE RIFLEMAN, the best-known of which was "Branded" (1965–1966). He played the role of US cavalry officer Jason McCord, who was drummed out of the service on the strength of a false accusation of cowardice. The show aired for two seasons, with each of the 32 episodes having the disgraced captain roaming the West, attempting to redeem his reputation.

He played Attorney Jim Egan in the crime drama "Arrest and Trial" (1963–1964), co-starring Ben Gazarra and Roger Perry, and he played Jim Sinclair in the short-lived adventure series, "Cowboy in Africa" (1967–1968). He continued to make film and television appearances, playing recurring characters in several series, including Jeb Hollister in "The Yellow Rose" (1983–1984), Janos Skorzeny in "Werewolf" (1987–1988) and Gideon McCay in "Guns of Paradise" (1989–1990). His portrayal of slave owner Tom Moore in the mini-series "Roots" (1977) earned Connors an Emmy award nomination. Connors received a star on Hollywood's "Walk of Fame" on July 18, 1984. In one of his last on-screen appearances, Connors reprised the character of an aged Lucas McCain in the Kenny Rogers made for television movie "The Gambler Returns: the Luck of the Draw" (1991).

In an interview with movie reviewer Leonard Maltin, Connors was asked if he felt somewhat bitter at carrying the mantle of his best-known role as Lucas McCain, and the actor was quick to reply that, on the contrary, he was proud to be associated with a show that was so admired and play a character who continued to be popular with fans. The year before he passed away, Connors was inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. TV Guide ranked Lucas McCain #32 on its list of top TV dads of all time. Chuck's iconic character probably ranks closer to second place in the hearts of Rifleman fans (after our own real-life fathers). We are sure that is true, because every week for the past 55 years, LGL has received messages and letters from fans telling us what a great inspiration and role model Lucas McCain has been to them. This outpouring from fans has made Father's Day extra special for us here at North Fork. To the many loyal fans of "The Rifleman," Chuck Connors and Lucas McCain, we wish you and your family a very happy Father's Day.

The Rebel (TV Series 1959–1961) - IMDb IMDb 17 January 2017 2:03 PM, UTC NEWS There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error After the end of the American Civil War, a former Confederate Army private roams the Wild West and, as a rogue drifter, gets involved in helping out various settlers threatened by various bad guys. Creators: Yuma stops at a bar where a bounty hunter is holding the wife of the outlaw he hopes to collect on. Seeing Yuma's descriptive resemblance to the outlaw, the bounty hunter decides upon an alternative ... 9.2 A rich older widow obsessed with her army son killed in the Civil War, has made it an annual town holiday, but Yuma might share some information the could bring that to an end. 8.9 Yuma is in a town where the people's failure to accept the war's outcome encourages a boy to seek revenge for his father's death by killing General Grant.

To dissuade the boy, Yuma relates a tale of ... 8.8 a list of 38 titles created 20 Sep 2011 a list of 30 titles created 15 Mar 2013 a list of 28 titles created 08 Dec 2015 a list of 24 titles created 5 months ago a list of 21 titles created 1 week ago Search for " The Rebel " on Amazon.com Connect with IMDb Title: The Rebel (1959–1961) 8/10 Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. The adventures of a gentlemanly gunfighter for hire. Stars: Richard Boone, Kam Tong, Hal Needham Gil Favor is trail boss of a continuous cattle drive; he is assisted by Rowdy Yates. The crew runs into characters and adventures along the way. Stars: Clint Eastwood, Paul Brinegar, Steve Raines Stories of the journeys of a wagon train as it leaves post-Civil War Missouri on its way to California through the plains, deserts and Rocky Mountains.

The first treks were led by gruff, ... See full summary » Stars: Frank McGrath, Terry Wilson, Robert Horton A Civil War veteran with a sawed-off rifle as a holstered weapon makes a living as a bounty hunter in the Wild West of the 1870s. Stars: Steve McQueen, Wright King, Olan Soule After the Civil War, nomadic adventurer Cheyenne Bodie roamed the west looking for fights, women and bad guys to beat up. His job changed from episode to episode. Stars: Clint Walker, Clyde Howdy, Chuck Hicks 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.6/10 X In the 1880s Jason McCord travels the country trying to prove he's no coward. He needs to do this because the military career of this West point graduate came to an end when he was thrown out of the army after being accused of cowardice. Stars: Chuck Connors, Chuck Hamilton, William Bryant Frontier hero Daniel Boone conducts surveys and expeditions around Boonesborough, running into both friendly and hostile Indians, just before and during the Revolutionary War.

Stars: Fess Parker, Patricia Blair, Darby Hinton The Wild West adventures of the residents and staff of Barkley Ranch in California's San Joaquin Valley. Stars: Richard Long, Peter Breck, Lee Majors Marshal Earp keeps the law, first in Kansas and later in Arizona, using his over-sized pistols and a variety of sidekicks. Most of the saga is based loosely on fact, with historical badguys... See full summary » Stars: Hugh O'Brian, Jimmy Noel, Ethan Laidlaw It is the 1870s in Wyoming Territory. Slim Sherman and his 14-year-old brother Andy try to hang on to their ranch after their father is shot by a land grabber. They augment their slight ... See full summary » Stars: Robert Fuller, John Smith, Spring Byington Lawman is the story of Marshal Dan Troop of Laramie, Wyoming and his deputy Johnny McKay, an orphan Troop took under his wing. In the second season Lily Merrill opens The Birdcage Saloon ... See full summary » Stars: John Russell, Peter Brown, Peggie Castle Marshal Matt Dillon keeps the peace in the rough and tumble Dodge City.

Stars: James Arness, Milburn Stone, Amanda Blake Edit Storyline Johnny Yuma is an angry young former Confederate Army soldier drifting through an apparently meaningless existence in the 1860's Wild West. While in search of his identity, he defends people from hostile Indians, crooked land developers, and evil ranchers. Written by Matthew Patay Plot Summary | Add Synopsis Taglines: This is Johnny Yuma...Rebel Without a Friend. Don't Cross Him...or Double Cross Him. Unless, Like Johnny Yuma, You're Not Afraid to Die (season 1) Genres: 4 October 1959 (USA) See more » Also Known As: Did You Know? Trivia In spite of being cast as a former Confederate soldier, Nick Adams never made any attempt to speak with a southern accent or even to moderate his natural and rather pronounced New England accent. See more » Connections He Packed No Star As He Wandered Far....Johnny Yuma 28 February 2002 | by Ramar (Stony Brook, NY) – See all my reviews One of the best Western series of all time.

Johnny Yuma, The Rebel took no grief from anybody and was quick to help the underdog defeat injustice. I personally like the on going feature of Johnny's writing in his journal of his travels and people he meet along the way. I am proud to have all 76 episodes in my VHS collection. 29 of 31 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes The Rifleman - The Pilot Episode Original Air Date: September 30, 1958 Guest stars: Leif Erickson as Big Jim Lewis. Erickson was an American film and television actor. Born as William Wycliffe Anderson, he appeared in numerous films and television series. Erickson appeared in THE RIFLEMAN pilot episode, "The Sharpshooter," as Big Jim Lewis.

He later went on to star in his own TV Western, playing patriach Big John Cannon in "High Chaparral." He and Chuck Connors also appeared together in "Branded." Previously, the two actors co-starred with John Wayne in "Trouble Along the Way." His film credits include "College Holiday," "Conquest," "Ride a Crooked Mile," "Sorry Wrong Number," "The Snake Pit," "Fourteen Hours," "Invaders from Mars," "On the Waterfront," "Twilight for the Gods," "A Gathering of Eagles," "Roustabout," and "The Carpetbaggers." Perhaps his most notable role was playing Deborah Kerr's macho husband in the stage and film versions of "Tea and Sympathy." Dennis Hopper as Vernon Tippert, the young sharpshooter. Dennis Lee Hopper was an American actor, filmmaker, and artist. Hopper became interested in acting and eventually became a student of the Actors Studio.

He made his first appearance as an actor in 1955, appearing in two films co-starring James Dean, "Rebel Without a Cause," and "Giant." Over the next ten years, Hopper appeared frequently on television in guest roles, and by the end of the 1960's had played supporting roles in several films. He directed and starred in "Easy Rider," winning an award at the Cannes Film Festival. He also was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay as co-writer of the film's script. Hopper appeared in THE RIFLEMAN pilot episode, "The Sharpshooter," in the title role. He also appeared in "Three-Legged Terror" (episode 30) as Johnny Clover. By mid-career, he was unable to build on his early success for several years, until a feature role in "Apocalypse Now" brought him back to public attention. He subsequently appeared in "Rumble Fish" and "The Osterman Weekend." Hopper received critical recognition for his work in "Blue Velvet" and "Hoosiers," the latter film garnering him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

He directed "Colors," portrayed King Koopa in the film version of "Super Mario Brothers," and he played the villain in "Speed." Hopper's latest work included a leading role in the television series "Crash." Hopper was a prolific photographer, painter, and sculptor whose works have been exhibited world wide. Sidney Blackmer as Judge Hanavan. Blackmer first portrayed Judge Hanavan in THE RIFLEMAN pilot episode, "The Sharpshooter," and reprised the role of Judge Hanavan in two other Rifleman episodes, "The Safe Guard" (episode 8) and "The Photographer" (episode 18). Charles Arnt as Wes Tippert. Arnt appeared in THE RIFLEMAN pilot episode, "The Sharpshooter," as Wes Tippert, uncle of the young sharpshooter played by Dennis Hopper. Arnt was a veteran character actor whose career spanned 30 years. R.G. Armstrong as Sheriff Tomlinson. Armstrong appeared in THE RIFLEMAN pilot episode, "The Sharpshooter," as Sheriff Tomlinson.

He reprised the role in "The Marshal" (episode 4), which introduced the title character played by Paul Fix after Armstrong's sheriff was killed by marauding outlaws. His filmography lists more than 180 credits spanning 50 years. Mickey Simpson as Carl Lamprey. Simpson appeared in THE RIFLEMAN pilot episode, "The Sharpshooter," as Carl Lamprey. He also appeared in "The Indian" (episode 21) as Tub. Over his long career in film and television, he appeared in many westerns, frequently cast as the villain. Kathleen Simpson Mulqueen as Nancy Hanavan. Mulqueen appeared in 4 episodes of THE RIFLEMAN—"The Sharpshooter" (the pilot episode) as Nancy Hanavan, "The Angry Gun" (episode 12) as Mrs. Peterson, "Eddie's Daughter" (episode 46) as Woman, and "The Actress" (episode 94) as Judge Hanavan's wife/sister/daughter. She was a character actress, working primarily in film and television in the 1950s and 60s. Victoria Aldridge as Waitress.

Aldridge appeared in several other western series of the 1950s and 1960s and appeared in several films. About the pilot/first episode Lucas and Mark decide to enter a local turkey shoot to raise money to buy a ranch. The competition pits Lucas against the young sharpshooter, Vernon Tippert, who is sponsored by his bullying uncle, Wes Tippert. Although Vernon is a crack shot, he is no match against Lucas's superior skills as a marksman. The dramatic tension in "The Sharpshooter" turns on McCain throwing the match after the competition's promoter threatens to harm Lucas' young son should Tippert lose the competition. The unfolding story shows Lucas McCain reconciling the moral dilemma of protecting his young son and participating in a rigged competition. "The Sharpshooter" introduced not only the main characters, setting and back story for THE RIFLEMAN series, but also established its thematic distinctions from other popular western adventure programs produced during the Golden Age of television.

To be sure, the staples of the genre inform THE RIFLEMAN's storylines—law and order, right and wrong, pioneer spirit and rugged individualism—but the central themes revolve around the father and son relationship—the first primetime television series to portray a single parent raising a child alone—and nuanced morality plays that explored human nobility and very human frailties, foibles and failings, as well as the archetypal white-hatted good guys and black hatted bad guys and outlaws. Production Notes Arnold Laven created the concept for THE RIFLEMAN series and directed many episodes, including the pilot "Sharpshooter." Mr. Laven established the four main themes for this classic western in the first program, and every single episode was built on these core pillars: the father-son relationship , family values , parables or stories with a moral lesson , and the customized Winchester rifle . The name of the show was the inspiration of Jules Levy. LGL Productions co-founder Arnold Laven met up-and-coming screenwriter and director Sam Peckinpah (pictured at right), and they struck up a rapport.

Peckinpah submitted a screenplay for THE RIFLEMAN, and after agreeing to making some changes, finished a script that would become the pilot for THE RIFLEMAN, which originally aired on CBS on Dick Powell's "Zane Grey Theatre" on March 7, 1958. The title of the script for the pilot was "The Shooting Match," but the program aired as "Sharpshooter," with a slightly edited version debuting as the first episode of the series in the regular season; it was broadcast as "The Sharpshooter" on ABC on September 30, 1958. Mr. Peckinpah went on to write and direct several other episodes (2, 4, 22 and 33) in the first season and one in the second season (52), basing many of the characters and situations on real-life childhood experiences growing up on a ranch. The Rifleman® is a servicemark of Levy-Gardner-Laven Productions, Inc. and is registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office © Levy-Gardner-Laven Productions, Inc. - 2016 – all rights reserved | Distributor: LGL Licensing LLC

Question: Who played the leading role in the T.V Western series 'Branded'?
Answer: Chuck Connors