re: They went thataway, so let's go thisaway: the TV Western thread

Tom Snyder, then a news anchorman in Georgia, future host of 'Tomorrow' & other talk shows, on The Rifleman (1961)

Law Of The Plainsman I(1959-60)

A Harvard-educated Apache becomes a US Marshal



In 1959 there were so many westerns on TV (25% of network primetime!) every new series had to have a gimmick. Thus, we present Tonto as the HIIC (Head Injun In Charge).

This is a spinoff of The Rifleman, where the character of Sam Buckhart appeared in 2 eps. As played by Syrian-born Michael Ansara, Buckhart has strength, dignity, wisdom, pride, and occasionally even outrage - note his reaction when the old marshal says nobody was in New Mexico before the Spanish.

Aside from the Indian Hero it's fairly standard stuff, so don't expect a lost classic like The Rebel or The Westerner. But it's entertaining, and in fact I prefer it to The Rifleman







30 ep YT playlist

If you watch, be sure to stay through the end credits, The closing theme is a classic.

I remember "Law of the Plainsman" episodes being a part of that bigger syndicated rerun package entitled "The Westerners." They got several short-lived series from Four-Star Productions, such as "Plainsman," "Black Saddle," "Johnny Ringo," and "The Westerner," and put them all together under that umbrella title, "The Westerners," and added Keenan Wynn as a host at the beginning. The bad thing was that by adding the bits with Wynn, they snipped out a few minutes of every episode, so one couldn't see them in complete form. I think "The Westerners" might have also included a few episodes of "Zane Grey Theater" into the mix, but I don't why, because that series was already in syndication by itself.

One western series that I've never seen is the anthology series "Frontier," from around 1956. Never ran across any episodes on the collecting circuit, years ago. I've also never managed to see "Buckskin," which featured youngster Tommy Nolan as its main character. There were also a few non-network series that were peddled across the country as syndicated fare which still seem pretty rare. Those single-season series like "Man Without a Gun" or "Union Pacific." Another is "Two Faces West," but that might have had a network run. Can't remember. Probably pretty minor stuff, but I always wished they could be re-mastered and turn up somewhere, just to offer a look-see.

I used to purchase a lot of bootleg VHS tapes of western series back in the 1980s and 1990s, before the tv-dvd craze hit and the floodgates opened. Some series were really rare back then. I recall that "Whispering Smith" with Audie Murphy only had one or two episodes in the collecting realm, and the series was reportedly 'lost,' with rumors of the original elements completely junked and no longer in existence. Turned out to be false, as a batch of 16mm prints were extant, and the series was officially released on dvd.

Haven't followed all the rare oddities that might have resurfaced in recent years. Glad to know that at least 'part' of a "Frontier" episode is around. Never knew about a "Union Pacific' pilot with Richard Anderson. I talked to Anderson once at a show, but I think he was already starting to come down with Alzheimer's, so I didn't get too much info from him. Similar thing with Robert Loggia one time. But I always enjoyed chatting about old westerns with such folk and hearing of their experiences making them.