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They went thataway, so let's go thisaway: the TV Western thread
Posted on 12/21/13 at 2:50 pm
Posted on 12/21/13 at 2:50 pm
Rawhide - "Incident with an Executioner"
A mysterious gunman follows the herd, but no one knows who his target is. The plot strongly resembles the classic Audie Murphy movie No Name On The Bullet but the treatment here is much more noirish, with even some supernatural overtones.
The Virginian - "Ride A Dark Trail"
The Trampas origin story, in which we see how he came to be at Shiloh. The bunkhouse poker scene is a classic. A nice touch is that Trampas' father is played by Sonny Tufts, who played Steve in the 1946 movie version.
Wagon Train - "The Prairie Story"
An untypical WT episode, not so much for its plot -- the hardships of pioneer women -- but for its self-consciously poetic treatment in the manner of Conrad Aiken or Willa Cather, which actually works most of the time (although they do go overboard on the heavenly choir soundtrack). Directed by the great Mitchell Leisen (Death Takes A Holiday, Arise My Love, Hold Back The Dawn).
A mysterious gunman follows the herd, but no one knows who his target is. The plot strongly resembles the classic Audie Murphy movie No Name On The Bullet but the treatment here is much more noirish, with even some supernatural overtones.
The Virginian - "Ride A Dark Trail"
The Trampas origin story, in which we see how he came to be at Shiloh. The bunkhouse poker scene is a classic. A nice touch is that Trampas' father is played by Sonny Tufts, who played Steve in the 1946 movie version.
Wagon Train - "The Prairie Story"
An untypical WT episode, not so much for its plot -- the hardships of pioneer women -- but for its self-consciously poetic treatment in the manner of Conrad Aiken or Willa Cather, which actually works most of the time (although they do go overboard on the heavenly choir soundtrack). Directed by the great Mitchell Leisen (Death Takes A Holiday, Arise My Love, Hold Back The Dawn).
38
Posted on 12/21/13 at 3:05 pm to Kafka
I think Lou Gehrig was in Rawhide wasn't he?
Posted on 12/21/13 at 3:09 pm to JumpingTheShark
quote:And there is yet another Rawhide with Tyrone Power
I think Lou Gehrig was in Rawhide wasn't he?
None of these have much if anything to do with the actual process of rawhiding
Posted on 12/21/13 at 3:43 pm to Kafka
Posted on 12/21/13 at 4:37 pm to Kafka
Rawhide...
Mr. Rowdy Yates
Mr. Rowdy Yates
Posted on 12/21/13 at 5:00 pm to Alahunter
quote:For any newbs watching Rawhide and expecting Clint to be the star, I should point out that he wasn't even the head cowboy, he was the assistant cowboy
Rawhide...
Mr. Rowdy Yates
Posted on 12/21/13 at 5:06 pm to Kafka
quote:
assistant cowboy
Assistant to the cowboy
Posted on 12/21/13 at 5:09 pm to JumpingTheShark
quote:Executive Cowperson Associate
Assistant to the cowboy
Posted on 12/21/13 at 5:36 pm to Kafka
Posted on 12/21/13 at 7:39 pm to Kafka
Clint was still a star back then.....
This post was edited on 12/21/13 at 7:41 pm
Posted on 12/21/13 at 7:48 pm to JumpingTheShark
quote:
Assistant to the cowboy
Posted on 12/27/13 at 3:28 pm to Kafka
The Loner - "An Echo of Bugles"
If you've always wanted to see a western by Rod Serling, well wait no longer:
Premiering about a year after The Twilight Zone left the air, The Loner was one of several "existentialist drifter" series to debut in 1965, all inspired by the success of The Fugitive.
The script gets a bit preachy at times, but it does show an admirable emphasis on character. With its theme of being haunted by the past, the episode is reminiscent of Twilight Zone classics like "In Praise Of Pip" and "Walking Distance".
More about The Loner
If you've always wanted to see a western by Rod Serling, well wait no longer:
Premiering about a year after The Twilight Zone left the air, The Loner was one of several "existentialist drifter" series to debut in 1965, all inspired by the success of The Fugitive.
The script gets a bit preachy at times, but it does show an admirable emphasis on character. With its theme of being haunted by the past, the episode is reminiscent of Twilight Zone classics like "In Praise Of Pip" and "Walking Distance".
More about The Loner
Posted on 12/27/13 at 3:41 pm to Kafka
quote:
Lloyd Bridges
Posted on 1/3/14 at 7:25 pm to Kafka
Bonanza -- "The Crucible"
After being robbed in the desert, Adam stumbles onto the isolated camp of a seemingly chivalrous prospector named Peter Kane, who offers him a mule and supplies for three days work. However, Kane is in fact a demented madman who imprisons Adam and starts a dangerous game of psychological cat and mouse...
I'm not the world's biggest Bonanza fan -- it had too much soap opera, and Michael Landon gets on my nerves. This is probably my favorite episode (supposedly Pernell Roberts' favorite as well), with an intriguing premise and the great Lee Marvin at his Lee Marvinest.
================================
The Big Valley -- "Journey Into Violence"
Heath is kidnapped by a religious sect who accuse him of murdering one of their members. Acting as their own judge and jury, they convict Heath and he is sentenced to slavery to atone for his crime.
A similar premise to "The Crucible", but this episode emphasizes romance -- a girl from the cult (as it happens, the widow of the man he killed) falls in love with Heath and tries to help him. She's played by Quentin Dean (yes, that's her name -- she's best remembered as the "field slut" in In The Heat Of The Night), who is hot.
After being robbed in the desert, Adam stumbles onto the isolated camp of a seemingly chivalrous prospector named Peter Kane, who offers him a mule and supplies for three days work. However, Kane is in fact a demented madman who imprisons Adam and starts a dangerous game of psychological cat and mouse...
I'm not the world's biggest Bonanza fan -- it had too much soap opera, and Michael Landon gets on my nerves. This is probably my favorite episode (supposedly Pernell Roberts' favorite as well), with an intriguing premise and the great Lee Marvin at his Lee Marvinest.
================================
The Big Valley -- "Journey Into Violence"
Heath is kidnapped by a religious sect who accuse him of murdering one of their members. Acting as their own judge and jury, they convict Heath and he is sentenced to slavery to atone for his crime.
A similar premise to "The Crucible", but this episode emphasizes romance -- a girl from the cult (as it happens, the widow of the man he killed) falls in love with Heath and tries to help him. She's played by Quentin Dean (yes, that's her name -- she's best remembered as the "field slut" in In The Heat Of The Night), who is hot.
Posted on 5/13/14 at 7:11 pm to Kafka
The Westerner was a short-lived TV series that aired in the fall of 1960. It starred Brian Keith as itinerant cowboy Dave Blassingame, who drifted around the West accompanied only by his loyal dog Brown (played by Spike, who had previously essayed the title role of Ole Yeller).
Created and produced by Sam (The Wild Bunch, Ride The High Country) Peckinpah (who had earlier created The Rifleman, but was screwed out of the credit), The Westerner presented a protagonist who was far from the typical Knight of the sagebrush. Wikipedia:
quote:
Blassingame was realistically portrayed as a basically decent, ordinary man who was handy with a gun. Not particularly bright, illiterate and occasionally amoral, he felt no compunction about being seduced by another man's wife or absconding with a long-lost government payroll (abandoning his dog Brown along the way).
I guess this publicity photo was intended to make Keith's character more lovable:
---
The Westerner - "Line Camp" (December 9, 1960)
This episode was written and directed by Tom Gries. It memorably shows the gritty, mundane, unglamorous world of the cowhand. Note that although one of the supporting characters is black (Time-Life books estimated at least 25% of all cowboys were either black or Mexican, even if you never saw that onscreen), there are no pompous liberal speeches against racism. He's simply there.
Some of you western fans may recognize the story. Gries later expanded it into a feature script and directed it as the classic Will Penny:
Posted on 2/10/15 at 1:10 pm to Kafka
TV had never seen a western hero quite like Richard Boone's Paladin before Have Gun - Will Travel moseyed onto screens in 1957. Paladin -- no other name is ever given -- is a rather dandyish fellow who quotes Virgil and avidly attends Shakespeare productions as well as the opera. Living in a suite at the plush Hotel Carlton in San Francisco, he enjoys good food, fine wine, expensive cigars and the company of beautiful women.
To pay for all this high living, West Point grad and Civil War vet Paladin (the word, incidentally, is defined as "A paragon of chivalry; a heroic champion; a strong supporter or defender of a cause") hires himself out as a gunfighter to whoever will pay his $1000 fee.
But Paladin, as his name suggests, is a man of old-fashioned honor who lives by his own code. He may even change sides if he feels his opponent's cause is just.
Sounds a bit like Sam Spade or Philip Marlowe, doesn't he? Have Gun Will Travel was actually conceived as a modern-day private eye series set in contemporary New York. But P.I.s were out of fashion and cowboys were at the height of their popularity, so the writers re-imagined the concept for the old west. And in the process made a TV star out of craggy-faced Richard Boone, as well as creating a new and iconic archetype for the genre.
The cultured yet deadly, empathizing yet stubbornly independent Paladin is a fascinating character, and the show's scripts are often of an extremely high quality; among the show's writers were Frank Pierson (Cool Hand Luke; Oscar winner for Dog Day Afternoon), Frank Gilroy (Pulitzer Prize winner for The Subject Was Roses), and Sam Peckinpah (who should need no introduction for western fans).
Have Gun Will Travel - "Squatter's Rights"
While Paladin protects widows, orphans, damsels in distress, etc... like any conventional horse opera hero, his unique character often gives the show a moral complexity seldom seen in westerns. This episode, for example, starts off like a standard evil-rancher-versus-loveable-homesteaders story, but Paladin's attitudes and actions may surprise you.
Posted on 2/10/15 at 3:21 pm to Kafka
Been watching a little Have Gun, Will Travel, Bat Masterson, and The Rifleman. I was surprised with Bat Masterson, didnt think I was going to care for it but it aint bad. The Rifleman though, the lead actor is pretty bad. I guess it drives me crazy because he pulls his gun slower than anybody whos ever been on tv.
Posted on 2/10/15 at 3:24 pm to Kafka
the king of them all..
Posted on 2/10/15 at 5:34 pm to Kafka
I enjoy the old westerns too.
ONe thing is that they are timeless in a way. The time - 1870-1910 or so, is part of the story. that was the west.
Watching, say, the detective shows from the 60s and 70s the time gets in the way. You feel like you're watching something dated.
ONe thing is that they are timeless in a way. The time - 1870-1910 or so, is part of the story. that was the west.
Watching, say, the detective shows from the 60s and 70s the time gets in the way. You feel like you're watching something dated.
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