It’s been a while since there have been any guest posts on this site, so here’s a television themed one from Gordon Gates highlighting a few episodes from three different shows, all from directors better known for their movie work.
A trio of early television episodes from directors we all know. I picked one each from Sam Peckinpah, Robert Altman and Phil Karlson.
The Rifleman – The Marshal (1958)Chuck Connors headlines this 1958 to 1963 western series that ran for 168 episodes. Connors is a world class hand with a Winchester rifle. This of course ends up getting him in no end of trouble. This is episode 4 from the first season. It is the first episode that future North Fork, Sheriff, Paul Fix is in.
Chuck Connors, a new resident to the North Fork area rides into town to grab a few supplies. While having a talk with the North Fork, Sheriff, R.G. Armstrong, a drunk is tossed out of the local beer hall. Armstrong and Connors pick the man out of the dirt and offer him a coffee. Armstrong recognizes the drunk as a former top lawman.
The drunk, Paul Fix, had lost his nerve and taken to the bottle. Connors offers the man a job building fence. Three squares and a chance to get sober is all that Connors offers him. Fix agrees and is soon at work on Connor’s ranch. The heebie jeebies are soon at work on Fix as he struggles to detox.
While this is going on, three gunmen, James Drury, Robert Wilke and Warren Oates ride into North Fork. Wilke and Oates are brothers looking to settle a several year old score with former lawman, Fix. They have tracked Fix to North Fork and do not plan on leaving till they kill him. The word soon gets around that the brothers are in town to do a killing, so Sheriff Armstrong pays the pair a visit. He however fails to realize that Drury is also part of the group. This costs him his life as Drury shoots the Sheriff in the back.
When Connors hears about the murder, he grabs his rifle and heads to North Fork. The just barely sober Fix likewise heads to town after arming himself with Connors’ big twin barrel.
Connors runs into the brothers right off and lead flies with Wilke being knocked flat for the count. Connors collects a round in his side and goes down wounded. When Oates steps up to finish Connors, Fix walks up and blows Oates damn near in half with both barrels of the shotgun. He reloads and then steps out to meet the survivor, Drury. Drury is likewise soon making an express trip to boot hill.
Connors is patched up by the local doc. Fix has regained his self-esteem and takes over as the new town Sheriff.
A neatly done episode with plenty of gun-play involved. Handling the reins on only his second directing assignment is future big time director, Sam Peckinpah. Peckinpah is of course known to all western fans as the man behind, The Wild Bunch. Peckinpah received a best Oscar nomination for his screenplay on that film. Peckinpah also wrote the story for this particular television episode.
The look of the episode is quite sharp with two-time Oscar nominated, Pev Marley doing the cinematography.
This episode also was the beginning of the long time collaboration between actor Warren Oates, and director Peckinpah.
Next up on the playbill is…The Gallant Men – Pilot (1962)
The Gallant Men was an American television series that debuted on ABC in the fall of 1962. It followed a company of US soldiers from the Sept 1943 invasion at Salerno, and their battles up the toe of Italy. The series ran for a total of 26 episodes during 1962-63.
Leading the cast is Robert McQueeney, who also narrates the story. McQueeney is a newspaper reporter who follows the company on their exploits. (Sort of an Ernie Pyle clone) The rest of the regulars are played by William Reynolds, Francis X Slattery, Eddie Fontaine, Roland La Starza, Roger Davis and Robert Gothie. There are the standard types sprinkled throughout, the joker, the card sharp, the loner etc.
This one starts with the company storming ashore at Salerno. They then end up in the mountains fighting for the village of San Pietro. Attack after attack is launched against the well-entrenched German defenders. These make ground, but only slowly and with many casualties. Newsman McQueeney notices that one man in the squad, William Windom, always seems to be first in the attacks. Almost as if he has a death wish.
McQueeney is sure he knows Windom from somewhere. Then he recalls, Windom had been a Major in North Africa. He had been relieved of duty after getting most of his command killed in a botched attack. What is he doing here as an infantryman?
McQueeney grills Windom and discovers that Windom had taken the identity of a dead man, and reported to this unit as a replacement. He begs McQueeney not to turn him in. He has to prove that he is not a coward or a foul up. McQueeney agrees to remain silent.
During the next attack, the officer in charge, William Reynolds, is wounded and carried to safety by Windom. Reynolds wants to put the man up for a medal but Windom says no thanks. Windom does however offer some advice on how to take the hill they are assigned to occupy.Reynold and his officers listen and like what they hear.
That night, they infiltrate up the hill and launch an assault at first light. It is a hard fought go, but they manage to chase the Germans off the heights. Needless to say Windom is badly wounded taking out a machine gun nest single-handedly. He asks McQueeney to continue to keep his secret and dies.
A pretty good first episode which blends in plenty of live combat footage and film clips from other war films. Being in black and white of course helps this work. The series only lasted one year and lost out in the ratings to the same network’s other war series, Combat.The look of the episode is quite good with Robert Altman in the director’s chair. The cinematographer duties were handled by veteran Harold Stine. Stine would later work again with Altman as the d of p on the film, M*A*S*H.
The screenplay was by Halsted Welles. Welles was known for his work on numerous television series and the feature film, 3:10 to Yuma. William Reynolds would hit it big with 160 plus episodes of the series The F.B.I.
Last, but by no means least, is one by RTHC fave, Phil Karlson
Ford Theatre – The Fugitives (1954)
This is an episode from the long running anthology series, Ford Theatre. The series ran for 195 episodes between 1952 and 57.
Raymond Burr plays a cop-killer who is on the lam after breaking out of death row. He has only one thing on his mind. And that is to get even with his ex, Mary Beth Hughes. Hughes had ratted him out to the police, which of course had not amused Burr.Barry Sullivan is a newspaper reporter who gets the assignment to do a story on Burr. Sullivan has a wife, two young boys and is flat broke. For a $100 bonus, he tells his editor, Douglas Dumbrille, he will find Burr and get an exclusive story. The boss agrees.
Sullivan uses all his Police and underworld contacts to narrow down Burr’s possible hideouts. The Police however find Burr first. They have him cornered in a rundown rooming house. Sullivan rushes to the scene hoping to salvage enough for at least an article. The police are reluctant to close in as Burr has taken Mary Beth and a young neighborhood girl, Patsy Weil, hostage.
Sullivan needs that bonus so he offers to take a message from the Police into Burr. He figures he can help the Police and get his story at the same time.
Sullivan enters and finds Burr armed with a rifle. Burr is quite prepared to go out in a blaze of gunfire. Sullivan soon realizes that Burr is off his rocker and a story is the least of his worries. Sullivan unsuccessfully tries to persuade Burr to release the hostages. Burr then begins to beat Mary Beth. Sullivan decides to take a more physical approach and jumps Burr. A well-staged dust-up ensues with Sullivan getting wounded and Burr his well-deserved comeuppance.
This episode has noir fingerprints all over it with cast and crew all being noir vets. We have a story by Robert Hardy Andrews who worked on I Married a Communist.
Then there is the director of photography, Burnett Guffey, who worked on many noirs, including Nightfall, The Harder They Fall, Human Desire and In a Lonely Place.
Next up is the director, Phil Karlson. His films include, 99 River Street, Scandal Sheet, Hell’s Island, Behind the Mask, Tight Spot, 5 Against the House, The Brothers Rico, The Phenix City Story and Kansas City Confidential.
A well done bit of noir television.
Gordon Gates
Riding the High Country 
I share your interest in old TV series, Gord (as you know). Although I have never seen episodes of Ford Theatre the episode described sounds just up my (rainswept) alley.
Not at all familiar with THE GALLANT MEN. It obviously never crossed the ‘pond’.
THE RIFLEMAN -well now you’re talking! I really love that series. Many episodes were directed and/or written by Sam Peckinpah and the music and moody lighting made for an energy-charged series. Connors and Crawford were terrific together.
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That Ford TV series was a bit before my time. Hopefully, we can catch that episode on Youtube. But speaking of Ray Burr, while a Perry Mason fan from way back, he was once quoted most likely here https://www.perrymasontvseries.com/wiki/index.php/EpisodePages/Show255, if not here http://parkavenuebeat.blogspot.com/2017/09/perry-mason-on-hbo.html#comment-form that the series should have ended after season five. But while I found a good number of stand out episodes in the latter seasons, thanks to story lines and casting, I’d like to think that Burr, like me, found them lacking the noir qualities of lighting, pacing and characters (e.g. Tragg’s wisecracks) common in the early years. And for those fans unaware of how Burr likely became destined to play Perry Mason, this is probably what set it all in motion-even if Earle Stanley Gardner never saw this film. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Please_Murder_Me Now that’s one Public Domain film which truly needs to be reclaimed, restored and marketed.
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Greg, thanks for sharing those links. I’ve always liked the show, and Gardner’s books too, and that’s very interesting information.
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Great write-up, Gordon. I loved “The Rifleman”. The music was so tension-building. So many bad guys tried to take down “the sodbuster” but they all got their comeuppance. Johnny Crawford and Connors worked well together and Lucas usually came up with a meaningful life lesson for Mark at the story’s end. Besides Peckinpah, other personalities of note who directed episodes of “The Rifleman” were Richard Donner, Ted Post, Ida Lupino, Gene Nelson, James Clavell, Budd Boetticher, and Arthur Hiller. Can’t wait for my grandson to get a little older so I can watch the show with him.
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I knew Raymond Burr, somewhat, not as a close personal friend, and we discussed his feelings about Pery Mason. He was happy to be chosen but hated doing the show, principally because of the legal jargon he ws forced to learn each week. Most of the cast agreed that series was over after the first five seasons, but as Raymond told me, CBS kept throwing money at us. So we stayed. He did not have the same issue on Ironside, by that time Teleprompters were in common usage. Don Weis,a close friend of ours, commented that Alan Alda was the best actor he had ever worked with, but Raymond Burr was the best reader.
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Thanks for these very rare, and certainly spot on insights. Raymond was certainly a pro as who could have ever imagined that doing PM for him was another job. But then I don’t exactly live for my job either. Speaker of Alan Alda, while I really enjoyed his presence on the MASH, I wish that he had done more dramatic roles. The last thing I saw him in were a few episodes from Boston Legal. which were great, though. I know this is WAY off topic but since you seem to be a Hollywood vet from the period, have you ever worked or chatted with Leslie Stevens and/or any of the sound editors he worked with, like Roger Farris or John Elizalde? Outer Limits, and Stoney Burke the year before, were Leslie’s, and his Daystar team were masterful at creating awesome quality product on what had to have been very small budgets.
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No, I do not or did not know those people, but I like Stoney Burke and was surprised it did not continue.
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I said to Ray, but look what happened, and he said, I know, but it (stardom) was happening anyway. He took it one step further. The two Bills and Barbara were his close friends, especially Barbara, but by the time of the Mason remount both Bills were gone.
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Gordon, I really enjoyed your write-up, because I’m also a lifelong fan of the Classic TV series. Also, I have a long interest in who created, wrote, produced, directed, photographed, starred, and guest starred in these series and anthologies. A lot of major future motion picture talent received their start in television.
I know of THE GALLENT MEN and the FORD THEATRE, but I never viewed them back in the day. THE RIFLEMAN, on the other hand, is a favorite from back in the day and continues to be today. Sam Peckinpah created THE RIFLEMAN series, and it was an early beginning of Peckinpah’s stock company of actors like Warren Oates, R.G. Armstrong, James Drury, and Paul Fix. They would all show up later working with Peckinpah on TV and in movies.
I would like to add to Frank Gibbons list of THE RIFLEMAN directors, Joseph H. Lewis, who directed 51 episodes and Arnold Laven who directed 22 episodes as well as being the series co-producer.
Greg those are some really neat sites you linked us to.
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Colin and John, I am indeed grateful for your strong reccommendations of the BD of “THE NAKED SPUR”. As you both said, it looks really great (plus it must be one of the BEST westerns).
Gord, I am highly unlikely to ever catch you out when it comes to old TV series but here goes LOL – are you familiar with “RESCUE 8” (1958-60)?? Must have benn quite successful as 74 episodes were made, starring Jim Davis and Lang Jeffries, about a rescue squad as part of Los Angeles County Fire Department.
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I’d have been amazed if that Blu-ray of The Naked Spur hadn’t hit the spot.
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Re Blu-Ray of THE NAKED SPUR, and what Jerry has said about getting it, I had intended to note that I am just where he has been on not upgrading on most things (most DVDs look just fine), with this as an exception. When I finally got a Blu-Ray player myself, this is the same film I bought, knowing from seeing it (and I do have it) what a sub-par transfer the earlier DVD was and paying to attention to what everyone has said about this great restoration.
So, I haven’t watched it yet. I’m planning on it for my birthday in a few months. I’ve had all ten of Mann’s 1950s Westerns for some time now but after so many viewings have given them a break but intending to get back to them chronologically which I’m now doing, timing it so THE NAKED SPUR in this edition (my personal favorite of all Mann’s films) will be my birthday movie in a few months.
***
So I watched DEVIL’S DOORWAY (1950) a few weeks ago. Superb as ever and that is one tough-minded film. It occurred to me that when the appalling governor of Florida gets through banning books, he might move on to movies and this one would be near the top of the list. Any challenging or uncomfortable part of American history is something he is determined to bury. It is so sad in any event, and in this case we are talking about the Indian cycle in 50s Westerns, so steadily balanced and aware in its treatment of this subject and so pervasively sensitive to the mistreatment of American Indians, one of the saddest chapters of our history (even the much-maligned ARROWHEAD, with Heston’s bitter neurotic as its “hero” cannot help but underscore this in spite of how Warren may have wanted us to take it). There’s a lot to take in from art as well as history of course–as a movie like DEVIL’S DOORWAY shows. Anyone who would try to erase either should be ashamed. It is one of the most reprehensible things any culture can co.
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That’s a super way to celebrate your birthday, Blake. It will bring you a lot of pleasure for sure.
It’s been a long time since I viewed Devil’s Doorway, but it made a big impression on me and I posted a piece on it years ago here. It saddens me too to think of people sweeping the past aside. History, and our analysis of it, is a great educator, or at least it ought to be. For better or worse, we are all part of a long succession of events that act as markers on the path to civilization. Every step we take has been influenced by those who trod their share of the distance before us and if their journey is to have any meaning or value, it falls to us to learn something from that. To deny that is not only a negation of all that preceded us but in turn negates our own sense of purpose and worth both now and in the future.
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Very eloquent, Colin. You said it much better than I did.
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Agreed on all points from both Blake and Colin.
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a) Removing porn from school libraries does not equal banning books.
b) You’re correct that allowing the government to make unilateral decisions about what people are allowed to read/watch will and does lead to grave consequences. Local parents’ wishes, not government fiat, should determine what books children have official access too.
c) Kids should be made to watch old Westerns instead so that they know the government is untrustworthy when it comes to keeping promises it makes. 🙂
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Well said. Although, it is well known by RTHC ‘REGULARS’ it is frowned upon to make political comments of any kind. I guess that particular someone forgot.
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I hope you are not referring to me. And if you are I resent it.
My comment about DEVIL’S DOORWAY was generated by the movie and was absolutely apposite if you know the work. Both art and history, and movies especially, are in the province of RTHC and I’d encourage you to read or reread Colin’s comment after mine as well as his excellent piece on the film.
Maybe you see “political comments” where I don’t. I trust it is always appropriate to speak against all forms of intolerance, and especially on Easter.
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I see you expressing your own political ideology as a sort of Truth. Whereas others have differing opinions. As you, I standby my comments. I hope the Forum steps in again about this sort of thing.
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You don’t read. You don’t pay attention. It’s pretty annoying, frankly. If you read what Colin wrote, he supported what I said about history and said it better than I did.
But off topic, are you the same Scott who once defended the criminal former president, the one who tried to overturn an election and incited an insurrection–in which people died!– and refused the peaceful transfer of power, all things that NO ON ELSE, no Republican and no Democrat, anyone who was ever genuinely engaged in politics, ever did? And the same Scott who at that time said that you grew up on FATHER KNOWS BEST!!!? And that your values were nurtured by that show??
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So you think bringing Colin into the mix he will support your fowl disposition. Your words speak volumes.
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If you can’t spell “foul” how can you expect to be taken seriously?
My original comment was reasonable and came logically from my consideration of the movie. And history is important. Education is important too. And Colin did support me.
I will be honest. I don’t have patience for you. And since you didn’t answer my question, I’m presuming you actually are that guy.
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So I guess we can’t be friends. Oh……I’m so hurt. lol
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Blake, now that you may be done trying to belittle me as an insignificant human being and not to be taken seriously, I will answer your question. Yes, I am that same Scott and you know full well it is. Blake, you show just how low you can get by exposing my personal thoughts and feelings to anyone who dare to listen. Sir, I shared those same thoughts and feelings in confidentially written form and that it would remain so. I will close by quoting myself, “…..there is one thing we all have in common…..we love these movies for all the right reasons…..we get to see the good and not so good in ourselves”.
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I’d like to make my own comment here, to clarify matters.
I think the point made by Blake in relation to Devil’s Doorway is a valid one, and indeed a necessary one in many ways.
This site has movies as its focus, but I’d like to think it embraces art and cultural heritage in a wider sense too. The subject matter and themes of many movies ask the audience to examine certain trends in society, both historical and contemporary, and to either draw conclusions or continue asking questions about them. Art cannot be separated from society as it is, in the final analysis, an expression of or commentary on human experience.
The power of art derives not only from its capacity to move us, but its capacity to touch on the universals of human experience, that which resonates regardless of who we are, where we came from, or how we got to where we now are. Essentially, it not only represents us but is a part of us, existing not so much side by side with such ephemera as politics but above all that.
Every so often though, there emerge those who would try to convince us that aspects of art and culture are mere fodder for whatever agenda they are pushing for personal advancement. Art and culture, all that has gone into producing that and all that it represents, regardless of any individuals feelings or reactions to aspects of it, is knowledge, experience and insight, a kind of shared database chronicling the human condition in all its forms. It endures and grows because people do. It doesn’t just supersede ideology, but exists on a completely different level. Whenever those of any ideological hue attempt to restrict access to that well, humanity itself grows thirsty.
One may not connect with every idea posited by artists over time, which is only natural, but surely we’ve reached a stage where we can see the desirability of ensuring that access to those ideas, and the experiences that gave rise to them, is maintained. There are those at the moment who are quite clearly intent on making political capital from imposing restrictions via boilerplate rhetoric. That is politicking pure and simple. Defending art and culture by calling out that manipulation is not.
Hopefully, that will clear things up.
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I am a great admirer of Devil’s Doorway because of Mann’s technical brilliance in framing scenes and also because he spoke against intolerance in a moving and forceful way. Blake Lucas’ comments were not “apposite” of the movie’s theme. They were political, ideological, and totally inappropriate. You once told me that you would never allow politics on your site. Your comment didn’t clear anything up.
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My comment re Devil’s Doorway was pretty simple. Seeing the film again led me to that thought about censorship and where it can lead once it starts. And it can have a pretty profound effect on education, something Colin understands very well and expressed at length and better than I did. I really appreciate what he has written about in both of his posts about this and wish folks here would listen because what he is saying is so important.
And I really do think all of us might care about what might happen to some of the movies we love in an authoritarian society.
And that’s all. I think some others here are caught up in some kind of fierce ideology of their own. I am not. But I do understand that that there are so many elements at play in a work of art and they may be social and historical in part. And that’s a good thing.
To Scott, my clear memory was that your “Father Knows Best” remarks were made here in a public forum–so if that’s wrong, sorry, though not sure why you wouldn’t want to stand by what you said about that. I wouldn’t knowingly repeat anything confidential.
There is a lot more that could be said, but as some of it is arguably off topic of movies, I’ll make this my last words on this.
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Talking politics in someone else’s space is always poor manners….my apologies, especially since I seem to have triggered some hot words.
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“Talking politics in someone else’s space is always poor manners….”. In that light, again well said. Your initial comments were a counter opinion and well deserved. Good on you.
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I agree with you,
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Hey, so, let’s talk about Westerns!
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You are magnanimous to apologize. But your comment was absolutely justified.
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Jerry
I have several RESCUE 8 episodes in that jumbled mess of a storage unit of mine. I’ll add it to the list of titles to look for. My problem is that nothing is in any set order. LOL
Walter and Frank, it seems that any director worth his salt managed an episode or two of THE RIFLEMAN. I love seeing all the people involved as cinematographers, writers, directors etc.
Gord
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“Peckinpah is of course known to all western fans as the man behind, The Wild Bunch.”
Although this is correct (along with everything else you said about him here), do we have to identify him this way?
For lots of us here, the first movie we think of with Peckinpah is not The Wild Bunch. It’s Ride the High Country. I believe the name of this blog was inspired by that title.
So for me, The Wild Bunch is just one of his better movies. I’ve made peace with my ambivalence over the years and will now say that of his later movies, I do like this, Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid, and (maybe most of all) The Ballad of Cable Hogue.
But Ride the High Country is on a level above those–it is the one of his films that ranks among the great masterpieces of the genre.
I’ll add that I like early Peckinpah of those classical years very much. You didn’t mention that in addition to his writing and directing, he was effectively a co-creator of The Rifleman with Arnold Laven. It was a good series–I watched it when I was young and quite a bit of it more recently. I’ve seen this episode “The Marshal” which is an excellent one. I like that the series found such a terrific role for the always excellent Paul Fix, an actor who helped John Wayne as Wayne developed into the great actor he was.
But even better than The Rifleman is The Westerner, the short-lived but beautiful series (13 episodes in 1960) that Peckinpah created which starred Brian Keith. The opening episode “Jeff” especially is an outstanding one, with the best acting of Keith’s whole career, and I encourage anyone to seek this out if you can find it. It is startlingly adult, morally complex, and very moving.
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Ride the High Country is certainly, and I guess unsurprisingly, my favorite among Peckinpah’s films and every passing year has seen it consolidate its position for me. I think that might well be the case for many who visit this place. In all fairness to Gord, though I imagine he can speak for himself on this score, I also think The Wild Bunch would be the one Peckinpah title that would be more likely to be recognized or at least be more familiar among a wider audience.
Blake, thanks for the reminder on The Westerner, a series which I have been meaning to pick up for a while now.
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It might be weird but my favourite Peckinpah movie is Junior Bonner. Wonderfully melancholy. Steve McQueen’s finest performance by a long way.
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It’s not one of his better known films, or not one that gets mentioned a lot at any rate.
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Junior Bonner is a very atypical Peckinpah movie. Virtually no violence at all (as far as I can recall there’s just one very brief fistfight). Nothing much seems to happen. But in fact it really is a proper Peckinpah movie – a movie about the death of the Old West and about a man who finds himself totally out of place and bewildered in the modern world.
I guess it threw audiences for a loop, coming in between Straw Dogs and The Getaway!
I suspect that audiences both then and now were not prepared to accept Steve McQueen as a loser. But it’s an extraordinarily subtle and powerful performance. And maybe Peckinpah fans weren’t interested in Peckinpah showing so much sensitivity. The Blu-Ray release (packed with extras) seems to be unobtainable.
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Speaking of Chuck Conners, who else remembers Branded? A fascinating 1965 western series which certainly deals with the theme of redemption.
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dfordoom
Back in 65 we were living in Dawson Creek, in northern British Columbia. We had one tv channel that ran from noon till 9 during the week and noon till 11 on weekends. One of the shows I do recall from then, was, BRANDED. Us kids loved it.
Gord
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I still have vivid memories of the opening sequence in BRANDED where they strip the badges of rank from his uniform and break his officer’s sword.
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I sure do, though especially because the theme was written by the incomparable Dominic Frontiere -who earlier had scored the first season of Outer Limits and Stoney Burke before that. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOYx0PSacy8
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Blake
The Westerner is a truly wonderfully done series. I enjoyed it so much I put up reviews on IMDB for all the episodes back in 2015-16.
I hold RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY in high esteem. But it surprises me when talking Peckinpah with western fans, It is THE WILD BUNCH that is mentioned first. RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY needs to be seen by more folks. Once seen, it moves up their lists for most western fans.
Gord
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Gordon, just to be clear, I did not intend my comment in a negative critical way. It’s certainly true that THE WILD BUNCH is the title that is most likely to be mentioned in most places when Peckinpah comes up, and considered his signature film, as Colin also noted.
I just felt that on this particular blog, people are aware enough of his other films, and especially RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY, that you could have passed by conventional wisdom in what you said about him. For me, I mostly feel good when it is acknowledged that he had a kind of unique place in having one foot in both the classical and modernist eras–the same sensibility is there in both and in thinking of him, it helps to show me why I so much prefer Westerns through 1962, the year of RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY.
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Blake
LOL No slight was taken, I understand what you were referring to . I first saw both of these great films at a Drive-in theater. RTHC in 63 or 64 in Edmonton, Alberta and THE WILD BUNCH outside Vancouver, British Columbia in the early 70’s. Drive-ins here tended to show films a year or two after their release in the cinema. Of course it did not help that they were closed during the winter. I really miss Drive-ins. The last one closed here in Calgary a good 20 years ago.
Gordon
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Gordon and All, interesting bit of trivia about THE RIFLEMAN, Season 1, Episode 1 (The Sharpshooter) and Episode 4 (The Marshal) regarding the Peace Officer roles played by R. G. Armstrong. In Episode 1, R. G. was referred to as ‘Sherriff’ once by himself during the viewing and also in the closing credits. Whereas, in Episode 4 he was referred to as ‘Marshal’ a number of times by other players but still being referred to as ‘Sherriff’ in the closing credits. In contrast, in Episode 4, the Paul Fix initial role as a Peace Officer was always referred to as ‘Marshal’. The town’s law enforcement transition happened quickly because the general rule of the day was that Town Marshals could be immediately APPOINTED, whereas sheriffs needed to be elected.
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Just to add my two penn’worth to this lively discussion, I saw both “RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY” & “THE WILD BUNCH” on their original release on the big screen. In 1962, when I was 14, I went to see RTHC which was tucked away as the supporting feature to a film I can’t even remember the title. Never saw that film anyway because after watching RTHC (which I went to see entirely because of the two stars) I was completely and emotionally blown away. The film was instantly ‘special’ to me. I went to see it again the same week. It is still my favourite movie.
When “THE WILD BUNCH” came out my initial reaction was that I was thoroughly engrossed watching it but disappointed by the excessive (for the time) violence and its comparison with Peckinpah’s earlier film. I came to terms with TWB years ago now though and rate it quite highly though, as Blake says, not for me in the same league as RTHC.
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I really enjoy these 50s and 60s television episodes.
To borrow a line or two from Walter S, ” I have a long interest in who created, wrote, produced, directed, photographed, starred, and guest starred in these series and anthologies. A lot of major future motion picture talent received their start in television.”
Gordon
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Their linking of the Golden Age of Hollywood and the cinema of the future fascinates me too. So many episodes feature names on both sides of the camera who worked extensively in studio era pictures side by side with those who would go on to shape the movies in the years ahead. That crossover is great to see in action.
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Colin
I always try to mention the writers and cinematographers for an episode. As you say, it is great to see names from earlier films pop up on tv episodes. Lots of Oscar types worked on tv as film work dried up.
Gordon
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It’s great to observe that blending of experience and budding talent and look for potential influences.
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I’d like to request that any further discussion in this thread continue to be on TV, movies, books, music, or cultural/artistic matters in general.
I think we have all said as much as needs to said on other issues. It’s time to draw a line under that now and move on.
Thank you.
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Got it.
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Guys
The entire series run of BRANDED is up on You-Tube.
Gord
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Thanks. YT offers a handy way to sample material like this.
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I remember BRANDED(1965-66) very well, because it was one of my favorite tv shows from my youngsterhood. I recall first viewing it on January 24, 1965, during its first airing Sunday nights on NBC-TV at 7:30 Central Time, 30 minutes before the number 1 rated BONANZA(1959-1973). I was captivated by BRANDED’s unforgettable opening scene introduction of Captain Jason McCord(Chuck Conners) being drummed out of the army in disgrace for cowardice at the battle of Bitter Creek. The scene of the commanding officer(John Howard) ripping off the hat, shoulder epaulets, buttons, breaking the light cavalry saber, throwing the top part out the front gate, which was filmed at Kanab Fort in Utah, and occupied with composer Dominic Frontiere and lyrist Alan Alch’s theme song was taking the balladic storytelling theme song to a high level of importance. All the viewer needed to know about the following series was told in the theme song. I think this opening scene of BRANDED was one of the best ever, if not the best. I went around whistling the tune all the following week.
I really liked BRANDED then and I still do today, especially the first season, when the stories concentrated on the concepts of honor, heroism, cowardice, self-sacrifice, and the idea of when the legend becomes fact print the legend. The second season episodes didn’t abandon those concepts entirely, but the show became more a conventual Western series set against the historical backdrop of President U.S. Grant’s administration(1869-77). I like a Western set inside historical happenings, so this was okay with me.
About the BRANDED series being on YouTube. The quality isn’t very good, and the episodes are only 22 minutes long. So, 3 minutes are missing, which is a lot in a 30-minute show, which is actually 25-26 minutes including beginning and end credits. Although, As Colin says it’s a handy way to sample the material.
Has anyone viewed the movie BROKEN SABRE(1965), which is edited from the BRANDED 3-part “The Mission.” It was an 89-minute movie with added material of 15-20 minutes? The movie was released to theaters overseas.
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Walter, I’m extremely tempted to get the Branded DVD set, although I’d like to be sure that the episodes are unedited.
Broken Sabre seems like it’s going to be really difficult to find.
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Dee, I’ve been tempted to buy the BRANDED DVD set also, but I don’t won’t to spend my money on cut versions of poor quality. The 22-minute versions were the ones licensed for syndicated reruns to be shown on local tv stations, which aired more commercials. As far as I know the distribution rights to the BRANDED tv series is owned by CBS Television Distribution, even though the series first aired on NBC-TV, but we know how rights issues can change over the years. TIMELESS MEDIA GROUP released a 6 DVD set in 2012. I don’t know if it’s an uncut version, or not. Some years ago, I bought a CBS Television video DVD of THE RED SKELTON SHOW, and it was a cut version, and it wasn’t advertised as being cut. I wasn’t happy about it. Maybe, some readers and commenters on this site will have some information about the BRANDED DVD set.
Regarding BROKEN SABRE, this movie has eluded me over the years. My understanding is that a different ending was filmed that is different from the 3-part “The Mission.” I think there is a 2019 DVD on Australian eBay from Germany and the UK. It is a region 2 DVD, and the audio is in German and English. The movie is 86 minutes long and it sells for AU $30.04.
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Regarding vintage TV shows, Network in the UK are running a sale at the moment with some hefty reductions on some of their Blu-ray editions. I just took a chance on The Vise: Mark Saber: Vol 1. I’ve never seen any of this before but it looked kind of fun and the price was very reasonable. Anyone familiar with it?
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Colin
Go to You-Tube and enter, Harry the Hatchet Hopkirk. There are several sharp looking full episodes of THE VISE. There are also quite a few episodes of the first series of REDCAP the military Police show..
Gord
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One of those episodes is on the set I ordered, the others seem to be from the earlier run. If I like the look of them, I might get that set too.
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Colin, I boight THE VISE: MARK SABER Vol.1 some months ago. I found it picked up the series went on. Basically rather good fun. It was produced by The Danzigers which probably gives an indication of budgets spent. Glad I have it and I might well be tempted to get the other two sets.
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Thanks for the feedback,Jerry. I’m quite looking forward to giving these a go.
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I just came across a hidden gem…….at least it was for me. I thought how did this now legendary TV series elude me. Well, in 1967, I was in The Gulf of Tonkin off the coast of Vietnam doing my bit for the US Navy. In 1967, I missed all 17 series episodes of HONDO with Ralph Taeger in the title role. Taeger was supported by a slew of familiar faces with Robert Taylor guest starring in the first two episodes with sidekicks Noah Berry Jr and a dog named Sam. The show was Produced by John Wayne’s Batjac Productions, Andrew J. Fenady Corporation and MGM Television. All Production values were top notch. The show was patterned after John Wayne’s 1953 Hondo.
If my memory serves me correct, I’ve been on this site for about 7-years and have never heard mention of it. Anyone have any comments about it?
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“HONDO” TV series never made this side of ‘the pond’ as far as I know, Scott. I do remember Ralph Taeger though from the 1961 series “KLONDIKE” (never a favourite of mine, to be honest). I’ve caught up with many, most even, of the TV westerns but not “HONDO”.
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I have heard of, but have never seen Hondo and the Apaches, which seem to be one of those productions cobbled together from a couple of episodes. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061779/?ref_=tt_mv_desc
I think it used to appear in public domain DVD sets but, as I said, I’ve never seen it myself.
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Scott, I agree that the tv series HONDO(1967) is a gem and it was hidden for over twenty-one years. Talk about a cult tv show in the making. Ted Turner bought the MGM film library in 1986. In the library vault were the MGM-TV series, and one was HONDO, which starred Ralph Taeger as Hondo Lane and Noah Beery, Jr. as Buffalo Baker. Ted Turner used the MGM film library to launch his Turner Network Television(TNT) in 1988.
In June 1989 TNT began airing a block of MGM-TV Westerns on Saturday mornings. Besides HONDO they were THE TRAVELS OF JAMIE McPHEETERS(1963-64) starring Kurt Russell, Dan O’Herlihy, Charles Bronson, Meg Wyllie, and Donna Anderson, and HOW THE WEST WAS WON(1977-79) starring James Arness, Eva Marie Saint, Fionnula Flanagan and Bruce Boxleitner. HONDO was the breakout hit and became a resuscitated success story after over twenty years from its original showing on ABC-TV Friday nights.
The story of HONDO the tv series is quite a story. The production values of the series were top-notch because it was made by most of the production people from the BRANDED(1865-66) tv series. Andrew J. Fenady was writer/producer on HONDO as he was on BRANDED.
Here is the straight story, as far as I know, on the movie HONDO AND THE APACHES(1967). The movie was shot as a feature, filmed on location in Arizona. It was a movie-pilot for the proposed HONDO tv series. This wasn’t the usual one-hour pilot format. Writer/producer Andrew J. Fenady, John Wayne’s Batjac Productions, MGM, and ABC-TV decided that instead of making a $750,000 one-hour pilot that might not sell, they would make a movie, which could be released in movie theaters, whether it sold as a tv series, or not. Writer/producer Fenady with director Lee H. Katzin at the helm filmed the movie in 18 days, then shot an additional 15 minutes to fill out the first 2 episodes of the HONDO tv series.
HONDO AND THE APACHES was released to movie theaters in the UK before the series premiered on USA tv. Usually a 2-parter episode was later released as a movie for international viewing. In the UK, this movie was double billed with MGM’s DOUBLE TROUBLE(filmed 1966, released 1967) starring Elvis Presley on August 28, 1967, which was 10 days before the premiere of the HONDO tv series. Some of you living in the UK might have viewed the movie at that time, or later on. It was also released to movie theaters in Australia.
HONDO AND THE APACHES wasn’t ever released to movie theaters in the USA. It wasn’t until 1977 that it was finally licensed to local tv stations for viewing in the USA. This was after it had already been in movie theaters and shown on tv stations internationally.
IMDb lists HONDO AND THE APACHES as a tv movie taken from two episodes from the TV series HONDO edited together and released as a feature. This wasn’t the way the movie was put together according to writer/producer Andrew J. Fenady, but that misinformation continues to be spread all across the internet because of the IMDb listing.
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THUMBS UP!!!
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IMDB is, as you have pointed out, untrustworthy, and almost impossible to correct.
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Barry, I won’t use anything in IMDb’s trivia section, because no sources are listed.
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Scott and everyone else. Found some decent looking episodes of the entire run of HONDO on You-Tube at CINEMATEKA.
Goron
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Gordon, that’s where I found it. I’m on Episode 5 right now. I believe all 17 Episodes are there.
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Scott and Gordon, looks like episodes #14-16 are missing from the CINEMATEKA YouTube site, but the rest are there. Some of these episodes might not be the full versions, especially if they are under 50 minutes in length.
I think HONDO is a good show and well worth viewing. I faintly recall the show from its original airing in 1967. I think that I probably watched at least one or two episodes. The reason it was canceled was because it was up against GOMER PYLE: U.S.M.C.(1964-69) on CBS-TV and STAR TREK(1966-69) on NBC-TV. Although the suits at ABC may have pulled the plug to early, because it was starting to gain on STAR TREK and some of the later episodes finished ahead of STAR TREK. In our family household at that time, we watched STAR TREK, but we would switch over to ABC-TV and watch THE GUNS OF WILL SONNETT(1967-69) starring Walter Brennan and Dack Rambo, which came on right after HONDO.
In the early 1990’s a friend of mine sent me a few off the air taped VHS copies of HONDO that he taped from Turner Network Television(TNT) and I really liked them. I appreciated my friend doing the taping because we lived at that time were there was no cable tv and satellite dishes weren’t affordable, yet.
Also, I think the feature HONDO AND THE APACHES(1967) is well worth viewing, although I wouldn’t recommend the poor quality 73-minute version on YouTube. The feature movie runs 86 minutes. There are scenes in the movie that aren’t in the first two episodes of the tv series. The censors at ABC-TV thought those sequences were too brutal for prime-time network tv in 1967. I don’t want to give it away, but the first two minutes of the movie were pretty brutal for tv at that time.
Has anyone viewed the feature movie RIDE BEYOND VENGEANCE(filmed 1965, released 1966)? During the hiatus between the first and second tv seasons of BRANDED, the same production crew of the tv show filmed this movie. It was scripted and produced by Andrew J. Fenady and starred Chuck Connors. This movie was considered brutal for its day.
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Thanks Walter for the info on the episodes. I guess I cannot count anymore. LOL. I love this stumbling onto episodes of forgotten series etc. Great fun! You-Tube is a great resource for us amateur sleuths.
It flipping snowed here last night!
Gord
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Gordon, I’m with you about stumbling onto episodes of supposedly forgotten tv shows. I enjoy it right down to the ground.
It was 78 degrees F and sunny here in northern Arkansas today.
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My most exciting forgotten American TV series discovery in the past couple of years was Coronet Blue, created by Larry Cohen who also created Branded and The Invaders. It seems like anything Larry Cohen was involved with is worth seeking out.
Coronet Blue is not a western but it’s a quirky oddball mystery series about a man who doesn’t remember who he is. He doesn’t even know if he’s one of the good guys or one of the bad guys. The only thing he knows is that the words Coronet Blue are the key. The whole series is basically an extended story arc.
And it’s available on DVD.
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Dee, I’m really enjoying going back and triggering memories from tv past, especially 1960’s television, because they really knew how to produce some good memorable shows in more ways than one, and for me it was still the “Golden Age” of television. Thanks to Gordon Gates we have something going here.
Yes, I remember CORONET BLUE(1967). I recall viewing it during the late spring and summer of 1967. It was one of those summer replacement programs, so instead of watching reruns we could view a new show. This show aired on CBS-TV on Monday nights at 9:00 Central Time. Wow! It was an eyecatcher right from the start. The show had one of those memorable opening introductions with a catchy song. The theme of the series involved a good-looking young nameless guy(Frank Converse), who suffers from amnesia, so he can’t remember his name or anything else about who is and where he came from. All he can utter after he pulls himself from the ocean is, “Coronet Blue.” Although, there are some nameless would-be assassins trying to find and kill him. So, he is on the run, and he isn’t sure whether he is a good guy or a bad guy in some of the episodes. Each episode he attempts to discover his true identity. I don’t want to give away too much, because probably most of the readers of this post haven’t seen this offbeat mystery cult tv series. Some of the episodes are really good. The mission to Mars episode with Alan Alda and Patrick O’Neal might be the best one, along with the one about a song tune with Dick Clark and Sally Kellerman. Also, the college setting episode with some unknown actors named David Carradine, Jon Voight, and Candice Bergen.
After airing eleven episodes CORONET BLUE just up and ended with nothing resolved. I tuned in the next Monday night and THE CAROL BURNETT SHOW was on. This really neat show ended and never came back. It left surrounded in mystery just as it began. I think the suits at CBS-TV missed the boat on this one. As far as I know, it was never rerun in syndication. Dee, did you ever see it on Australian tv? Did anyone see it in the UK or anywhere else?
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After airing eleven episodes CORONET BLUE just up and ended with nothing resolved.
On the DVD release Larry Cohen explains his ideas on how he wanted to end it.
I have no idea if it ever aired in Australia. I hadn’t heard of this show at all until I bought the DVD a few years back. It was one of those strokes of good fortune – I was a fan of The Invaders and was reading up on that series and came across mention of this other series that Larry Cohen had done. So I bought it on a whim and it turned out to be terrific.
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All
I saw a couple of episodes of CORONET BLUE(1967) a few years back. They were part of a dvd-r with 4 episodes of various tv shows from the past. Love these things. I mentioned it here several years back, that I had bought a collection of episodes of various tv shows off a fellow in TEXAS. He had worked at a tv station in TEXAS for 30 plus years. Every time the station cleared out their store rooms he would save the tapes etc from the trash. He then spent years with his sons transferring everything to dvd-r discs, I managed to get over 1200-1300 episodes of various shows. The fellow died before I could get a master list of the episodes included. This means I need to watch each disc to see what is on it. I still have not made it through all the disc to find out which series are included.
Gord
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Gordon, yes, I remember you telling us about your wonderful collection of tv shows on dvd-r discs, and I’m still envious. Jerry Entract and I said that if we lived closer that we would be happy to help you catalog all the titles of those episodes. Thank goodness for the Texas tv station employee for saving those tapes from the garbage. Do you know what Texas tv station he worked for?
Since I wrote the above comments on CORONET BLUE, I’ve done some searching to see if there was any showing of the series reruns in overseas tv markets. Apparently, it was aired on NBN Channel 3 out of Newcastle, Australia in 1985. Also, here in the USA on cable tv’s TV LAND in 1997 when it was on bi-weekly alternating with THE ROGUES(1964-65). THE ROGUES had first aired on NBC-TV on Sunday nights at 9:00 Central Time right after BONANZA.
Clearly CORONET BLUE had all the ear markings for a cult tv show in that nobody was able to see it for decades. Kino Lorber released all 13 episodes including an interview with the show’s creator Larry Cohen on DVD in 2017. Only 11 of the episodes had been initially aired on CBS-TV in 1967. The other 2 episodes had been preempted with other programming.
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Clearly CORONET BLUE had all the ear markings for a cult tv show
Very much so and it puzzles me that it hasn’t developed a stronger cult following.
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Dee, I guess we’re part of the small cult following of CORONET BLUE. We have to remember that this series wasn’t viewed by most people for fifty years. Although, I would think that there were some new viewers with VCR’s taping the show when it aired on cable tv’s TV LAND in 1997. Those off the air tapings were probably passed around. Anyway, the DVD of CORONET BLUE(2017) can be bought on eBay for $20-$25. Also, it can be sampled on YouTube.
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Walter and everyone else.
Off the top of my fading memory, I think the tv station fellow was from Dallas. The amount of diff series I have uncovered so far is huge. Just to name a few of the anthology series I have seen episodes from include- THE 20TH CENTURY FOX HOUR 1955-57, THE ALCOA HOUR 57-58, ARMSTRONG CIRCLE THEATER 50-57, B STANWYCK SHOW 60-61, CLIMAX 52-58, CAVALCADE OF AMERICA 52-57, GOODYEAR PLAYHOUSE 51-57, PLAYHOUSE 90 56-60, FORD TELEVISION THEATER 52-57, STUDIO 57 54-58, FIRESIDE THEATER 49-58 and countless others. Then there are the anthology series from the U.K. as well. I’m sure our pal Jerry can throw in a few series titles from his side of the pond. Then of course there are the crime, detective and never ending supply of western series. I’ll need to live to 100 to make a real dent in these. LOL!!!!!
Have a good weekend my good people.
Gordon
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Gordon, you need to have your own YouTube channel, but there would probably be some kind of rights issues even if you put it up for free.
Those are some great anthology series. We won’t see their like again. With NBC-TV’s the BOB HOPE PRESENTS THE CHRYSLER THEATRE(1963-67) and ABC-TV’s ABC STAGE 67(1966-67) ending with the 1966-67 tv season, that was the close of some outstanding programming.
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Well, I have to say CORONET BLUE is a new one to me. Like Walter, I believe the 1960s was something of a TV golden age. There were some superior drama series such as SAINTS AND SINNERS (1962-63), NAKED CITY (1958-63), TARGET-THE CORRUPTORS (1961-62), ARREST AND TRIAL (1963-64) and several more.
It is always a shame when a series like CORONET BLUE sets out with a vision but is pulled before it has the chance to see it through. Another good series that suffered the same fate was A MAN CALLED SHENANDOAH (1965-66) with Robert Horton suffering amnesia and spending each episode searching to uncover his identity (sound familiar??). And again the series was pulled before that could happen. At least we got 34 episodes before it did.
Fortunately, because of its huge popularity, the superb THE FUGITIVE went the whole course, delivering a great finale when all is finally revealed. Terrific series.
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Jerry, I agree with you about a creator’s vision being pulled before it had a chance to take hold. Sadly, that has happened more than once. I remember viewing A MAN CALLLED SHENANDOAH(1965-66) every Monday night on ABC-TV. Robert Horton starred and wrote the specialized lyrics, which would fit the theme of the series, of “Oh Shenandoah.” Horton also sang the song for the opening of the show. I last viewed the show on GETTV during the 2015-16 tv season. I think A MAN CALLED SHENANDOAH was a good show, which is well worth viewing.
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NAKED CITY was an absolutely superb series. A great complex character-driven cop show.
The 1964 series GIDEON’S WAY was a kind of British equivalent of NAKED CITY.
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Referring to Gordon’s comment, there were some fine UK TV series from those years (’60s) though production values were always well behind the American curve.
Come the late 1980s though and a particularly good bunch of series came along here.
One of the best was Agatha Christie’s MISS MARPLE starring Joan Hickson where a dozen books were filmed (1984-92). This was followed by the wonderful Agatha Christie’s POIROT starring David Suchet where again all the Poirot books and short stories were filmed (a stupendous undertaking) between 1989-2013.
The best SHERLOCK HOLMES, other than Basil Rathbone, was Jeremy Brett where again all the Conan Doyle books and short stories were filmed 1984-94.
Colin Dexter’s INSPECTOR MORSE books were all filmed 1987-2000 starring John Thaw. A fantastic series which was followed after Thaw’s early death by LEWIS which featured Morse’s Detective Sergeant Lewis as the now promoted (after Morse’s death) to Inspector. These were filmed superbly 2006-2015 and then the Inspector Morse ‘prequel’ ENDEAVOUR covering Morse’s early years in the Oxfordshire police 2012-23.
I honestly don’t know how many (if any) of these very fine series crossed the seas to the U.S. or Australia (perhaps Dee can say).
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Jerry, every series that you listed aired on tv in the USA and they are all outstanding, in my opinion. They were all shown on the educational Public Broadcasting System(PBS). You could view these shows every Thursday night at 8:00 Central Time on MYSTERY!, which was hosted by Vincent Price from 1981-89 and Diana Rigg from 1989-2003. MYSTERY! was a very popular show with a huge following, because of these wonderful British crime stories adapted from British mystery fiction. The show is still being aired on PBS.
The memorable opening and closing title sequences are noted for its animated original drawings created by cartoonist Edward Gorey and animated by Eugene Federenko, Derek Lamb, and Janet Perlman, with music by Normand Roger.
Here is an intro with Vincent Price from 1985.
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Thank you, Walter, that’s good to know. I believe PBS is where many of such series would be found.
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Jerry, I would like to add that I think Jeremy Brett was an outstanding Sherlock Holmes and the definitive Holmes of his era, which was the 1980’s and 1990’s, just as Basil Rathbone was during the 1930’s and 1940’s. Jeremy Brett’s death in 1995 at age sixty-one was untimely and a sad loss for his family, friends, and fans.
THE MEMOIRS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, which consisted of the last six episodes with Jeremy Brett as Holmes was filmed for Granada Television and aired in the UK in 1994. The series was aired in the USA on MYSTERY! in 1995 and 1996, with intros and outros by Diana Rigg. I use the dates that the shows were aired in the USA. The following is Diana Rigg’s intro for the last episode “The Mazarin Stone,” which aired on January 25, 1996.
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We got all those series in Australia.
I think of the golden age of British TV as being from around 1967 to 1979. Series like CALLAN (the best and darkest TV spy series ever), PUBLIC EYE (the best private eye TV series ever), the original 1969-70 version of SPECIAL BRANCH, THE SWEENEY. Also worth seeking out is the 1969 13-part mini-series THE GOLD ROBBERS.
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Dee, I’ve never viewed any of these British tv programs. You have perked my interest.
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They’re all fascinatingly different to US shows. CALLAN is an amazingly bleak moody cynical spy series about a tortured British Government assassin. PUBLIC EYE is the most low-key PI series ever made. Very character-driven. SPECIAL BRANCH (the first two seasons not seasons 3 and 4) is a cop/spy series, also very character-driven. THE SWEENEY is a very tough very gritty very stylish cop series leavened with plenty of cynical humour.
I love the fact that British and American TV in the 60s and 70s were like two different universes, but both had their own style and their own appeal.
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Dee, thank you for the information, I’ll seek them out. We view British movies and television shows here in the USA and in the UK our movies and tv shows are viewed. I have fond memories of first viewing THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD(1955-60) starring Richard Greene in syndicated reruns on Memphis, Tennessee’s WMCT Channel 5 in 1964. If my memory serves me right, this was the first British tv show I viewed. Richard Greene was my first Robin Hood.
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Walter, Richard Greene was my first Robin Hood too, although I first saw his series around 1957.
Dee raised some very interesting points about the the differences between British and American TV series, each having their different appeal and I agree.
I always watched and enjoyed CALLAN, bleak though it could be. Only caught up with PUBLIC EYE much more recently. Terrific long-running series that could only have been British.
We had another ‘spy’ series but slicker and with more action and that was DANGER MAN starring Patrick McGoohan. I still watch and enjoy that.
This thread could run and 🏃♂️
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DANGER MAN was a great series, and it had its cynical moments.
And then of course there was THE PRISONER. And the never-to-be-resolved question – was the protagonist of THE PRISONER actually John Drake from DANGER MAN? And it gets more complicated. DANGER MAN started as a half-hour series, then was revived a couple of years later as a one-hour series. Both versions featured a spy named John Drake, but it is by no means certain that they were the same man.
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Yes, the rebirth of DANGER MAN was quite strange, Dee. In the first series (the half-hours) Drake worked for NATO. It then, as you say, returned after several years gap as an hour show. In this Drake was working for the British Security Services. All the series were superb. I think maybe the secret agent role for Drake when he returned was because in the interim the first James Bond films had arrived and been a huge success. Of course Drake was more serious (realistic?) and there were no bed-hopping scenes for Mr Drake!!
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The other intriguing thing about McGoohan was his transatlantic accent. At times in the half-hour series I get the impression that we were supposed to think he was an American. Or perhaps the intention was to create the impression that he had no definite nationality (and McGoohan himself was a kind of Irish-American-Englishman). In the one-hour series we’re definitely supposed to think he’s an Englishman.
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I have fond memories of THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD.
At around the same time the same company (ITC) also made THE ADVENTURES OF SIR LANCELOT (with several episodes rather surprisingly shot in colour) and SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. Both aimed at younger viewers but lots of fun.
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While we’re on the subject of British TV I’ll mention two other series well worth seeking out. Firstly the wonderful 1970s BBC LORD PETER WIMSEY series based on Dorothy L. Sayers’ detective novels. It’s actually five very short mini-series. Ian Carmichael was born to play Lord Peter Wimsey.
And secondly the Thames TV anthology series THE RIVALS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, a series of adaptations of detective stories from the late Victorian and Edwardian era. It was created by Hugh Greene, Graham Greene’s brother.
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Dee, I’ve never viewed any of these British tv programs. You have perked my interest.
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Hello All,
Since we are talking mainly about TV series of the 50’s and 60’s do any of you folks remember the 52 episode adventure series of RAMAR OF THE JUNGLE (52 & 53) starring Jon Hall? I believe 39 episodes had a backdrop setting in Africa and 13 episodes were set in India. I remember as a youngster how great it was then and still do today. Comments appreciated.
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Ramar on an episode basis was always better than anticipated. Good to remember.
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I have several episodes of RAMAR OF THE JUNGLE on DVD. I love jungle adventure stuff so much. SHEENA QUEEN OF THE JUNGLE was fun as well. I have quite a few episodes of that series on DVD. There was also of course JUNGLE JIM. My memories of that series are very dim. I’d love to get hold of a few episodes.
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Scott, Barry
Seen a few of RAMAR OF THE JUNGLE episodes and I have a couple discs with more episodes somewhere in storage. Anyone recall, SHEENA-QUEEN OF THE JUNGLE, 1955-56 with model Irish McCalla as the title character? I also have a few episodes of the jungle series AFRICAN PATROL 1958-59 with John Bentley.
Gord
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SHEENA QUEEN OF THE JUNGLE was fun. Irish McCalla said that she got the role because although she couldn’t act she could swing through the trees. She was very athletic and apparently did a lot of her own stunts. While she wasn’t a great actress I thought she was quite OK. She managed to make Sheena a fairly convincing jungle girl.
On the other hand I have no recollection of AFRICAN PATROL. But now I’m intrigued.
I’m also a fun of 1940s/1950s jungle girl movie serials. JUNGLE GIRL and the follow-up serial PERILS OF NYOKA are quite wonderful.
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