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Post by Richard Kimble on Jan 14, 2018 0:19:13 GMT
Have Gun - Will Travel"The Wager" s2 e16 Directed by Andrew McLaglen Written by Denis Sanders and Terry Sanders Paladin is hired to protect a railroad tycoon -- or is it all just a game?Although the ending is a bit anti-climactic, this is a classic example of HGWT's occasional Nietzsche-Darwin undertones, harking back to The Most Dangerous Game and even forward to Deliverance. Written by the brothers Denis & Terry Sanders, the first film school vets to make an impact in Hollywood, a decade before Francis Coppola. They won an Oscar for the short A Time Out Of War (1954) and kept threatening to accomplish even greater things, but never quite did. Paladin demands the truth from the tycoon's rival (Ken Lynch)Denis and Terry Sanders
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Post by Richard Kimble on Feb 2, 2018 15:43:10 GMT
Alias Smith & Jones as my generation's Maverick. Not surprisingly, the same man was responsible for both, Roy Huggins (he also created The Fugitive). Pete Duel was in some ways just as talented as James Garner, and some AS&J episodes can more than hold their own with Maverick's best. An especially enjoyable aspect of AS&J was the Burke's Law-style casting, emphasizing familiar western faces. Among the sagebrush vets who guested on the show: Walter Brennan John Russell James Drury Neville Brand Andy Devine Jack Elam Earl Holliman George Montgomery Forrest Tucker Pernell Roberts The classic card game from "Night Of The Red Dog" (a reworking of a script Huggins had originally written for his series Run for Your Life). Note the presence of western standbys Calhoun and Kelly. Paul Fix of Rifleman fame was also in it.
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Post by Richard Kimble on Feb 5, 2018 11:23:18 GMT
Have Gun, Will Travel"First, Catch A Tiger" s3 e1 Directed by Ida Lupino Written by Harry Julian Fink Rather than wait for an assassin to come after him, Paladin goes to an isolated mountain hotel for a nerve-racking game of cat and mouse.The premiere episode of season 3 is an especially tense example of the "waiting" subgenre, a la Bad Day At Black Rock (possibly the most imitated situation in movie history -- it must have inspired a hundred TV episodes). This one is a veritable convention of heavies, with John Anderson (taking a break from The Rifleman -- he seemed to guest on that every other week), Don Megowan, Stacy Harris, and Harry Bartell (the latter two having been mainstays of West Coast radio). Richard Boone's bio claims that at one point he tried to be a professional boxer, and I can believe it from the one-two left he throws in the fight scene with Megowan. Writer H.J. Fink would later co-script Dirty Harry. Traveling gun salesman (or is he?) Stacy Harris seems to have the drop on Paladin
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Post by Richard Kimble on Feb 7, 2018 7:45:56 GMT
Photo below is from the June 22-28, 1957 TV GUIDE. Left to right, Dick Jones as “Buffalo Bill Jr.”, John Lupton of “Broken Arrow”, Guy Madison as “Wild Bill Hickok”, James Arness of “Gunsmoke”, Clint “Cheyenne” Walker, Peter Graves of “Fury” (Arness' brother -- a rare photo of them together in character) and Dale Robertson of “Tales of Wells Fargo”. From the same June 1957 issue, depicting five new TV western heroes set to make their debuts in the fall. (L-R) Will “Sugarfoot” Hutchins, Richard Boone, Paladin on “Have Gun Will Travel”, James Garner as “Maverick”, Ward Bond, Major Seth Adams on “Wagon Train” and James Best, set to star in “Pony Express”. (The pilot was made but didn’t sell. It later sold starring Grant Sullivan.)
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Post by Richard Kimble on Feb 21, 2018 3:45:25 GMT
Gunsmoke"Bloody Hands" s2 e21 Directed by Andrew Mclaglen Written by John Meston Matt is forced to kill three men in the line of duty. Appalled by what he has done, he takes off his badge and leaves Dodge. But outlaws are coming to town...Most of the half-hour Gunsmoke scripts were taken from the radio series, and this classic is no exception. The highlight is the speech writer Meston gives Chester in the final scene, pleading with Matt to put his badge back on, because he's the only man who can do the job. The episode actually ends before we see the situation with the outlaws resolved, a very unusual climax for a TV show of the era, or really any era. TV does not like loose ends. Mclaglen's direction has some nice noirish shots in the jail scenes, but it's that closing speech you remember, one of the high points of the series. Chester pleads with Matt to put his badge -- and his guns -- back on
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Post by Richard Kimble on Feb 22, 2018 5:45:55 GMT
Gunsmoke"How To Kill A Friend" s4 e11 Directed by Richard Whorf Written by John Meston Two gamblers try to bribe Matt, but when that fails they bring in a gunslinger -- an old friend of Matt's, with a pathological hatred of lawmen...OK episode, but not one of Meston's best scripts. As pointed out in a couple of IMDb reviews, there is an interesting moment when the plot is altered by a completely random encounter on the street. It does give a certain Kafkaesque vibe to the climax. The biggest problem here is the casting of cold Pat Conway as the gunslinger. I'll never understand why he was considered a leading man. If he could show any kind of warmth the viewer might buy that he and Matt had once been friends. Imagine what a livelier actor like Jack Cassidy (who actually guested on Gunsmoke during this period) could've done with such a role. Philip Abbott and the great James Westerfield come off better as the gamblers. Director Whorf must've been giving a break to the near-ubiquitous Andy Mclaglen. There's some nice noir shadows in the jail shooting scene, and I liked the final shot, where Matt walks back to jail, with Chester eventually coming into the frame and following him. Matt is the reflection of his old friend. I'm sure that's symbolic of something.
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Post by Richard Kimble on Feb 23, 2018 7:06:07 GMT
Gunsmoke"Jealousy" s2 e39 Directed by Andrew Mclaglen Written by Sam Peckinpah, from a story by John Meston When an old friend of Marshall Dillon comes to Dodge City with his new bride, a faro dealer with a grudge against the marshal fills his head with lies about Matt and his wife...Hmmmm... I wonder what Shakespeare play this could be based on? Matt = Cassio Friend = Othello Wife = Desdemona Dealer = Iago Peckinpah wrote the teleplay but John Neston gets story credit, which almost always means it's based on a radio script he wrote. "Jealousy" was first done on the radio series in 1955. Jack Kelly, destined for Maverick in a few months, plays the friend. He was never a match for James Garner in comedy but he does have charm -- which we see in his first scene, though once the jealousy bit starts he's a fairly predictable heavy. No classic but not bad, at least until the rather ridiculous resolution. The Shakespearean triangle in happier times
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Post by Richard Kimble on Feb 25, 2018 10:44:04 GMT
Gunsmokes2 e3 Directed by Ted Post Written by Gil Dowd, from a story by John Meston An army deserter robs and kills an old man, but it seems like he's going to get away with it...I am not posting the episode's title, as it gives away the ending. The deserter is found innocent, and returned to the army, probably not even to be prosecuted -- but he's being returned to the 7th Cavalry at Ft. Lincoln in the Dakota Territory, shortly before their action against the Sioux (the episode's title is "Custer"). The script is meandering and padded -- the long scene with Matt and Chester having coffee is clearly filler. As an IMDb reviewer pointed out, it would work better if opening scene -- removing pretty much any suspense of the villain's guilt -- had been cut. And the ending beats us over the head with the twist -- okay, he's going to Custer's outfit and will be killed at Little Big Horn, we get it. The heavy is played by a young actor named Brian Hutton, who brooded his way through various oaters for a few years before becoming a director (Where Eagles Dare, Kelly's Heroes). Later he became very successful as -- I kid you not -- a Beverly Hills plumbing contractor. Trimble (Brian Hutton) can't talk his way out of it when Matt finds him with stolen horses.Brian Hutton
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Post by hi224 on Feb 28, 2018 20:49:52 GMT
Wagon Trains8 e10 "The Richard Bloodgood Story" Directed by Joseph Pevney Written by Leonard Praskins A mysterious blind man, along with his Indian servant, joins the train and slowly makes it known that he intends to kill trail scout Cooper SmithA classic but uncharacteristically noirish WT episode, emphasizing eerie paranoia and even featuring some expressionistic flashbacks. Highlighted by moody photography -- the shot where shadows cover the blind Bloodgood's eyes is especially well done. Two excellent guest stars in Guy Stockwell and William Smith. This may be Robert Fuller's best episode. He wasn't a very strong actor, but this script gives him the opportunity to exercise his greatest talent -- brooding. Robert Fuller as scout Cooper Smith in Wagon Train Guy Stockwell as the mysterious Richard Bloodgood Theres abgenre that could use a comeback.
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Post by telegonus on Mar 17, 2018 0:52:09 GMT
Whispering Smith S. 1, Ep. 5. “Safety Valve” June 5, 1961. This western series lasted for just one 26 episode season. The season was shot in 1959 but didn’t reach TV screens (via NBC) until 1961. “Whispering Smith” was, at the time, criticized for violence. Audie Murphy, in his only venture into series television, plays the title character, Tom Smith, a police officer in frontier Denver. Co-star Sam Buffington (who looked much older than his official age and I for one question his published birth date, but that's another story) tragically committed suicide before the show aired, leading Murphy to quip, "He must have seen the rushes". Sam Buffington (1931 [allegedly] -1960)I've been seeing a lot of Sam Buffington in classic TV shows from the Fifties, notably the Hitchcock half-hour and Perry Mason. Good actor, he reminded me a little of Roger Carmel, who also died young.
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Post by Richard Kimble on Mar 19, 2018 18:31:28 GMT
Co-star Sam Buffington (who looked much older than his official age and I for one question his published birth date, but that's another story) tragically committed suicide before the show aired, leading Murphy to quip, "He must have seen the rushes". Sam Buffington (1931 [allegedly] -1960)I've been seeing a lot of Sam Buffington in classic TV shows from the Fifties, notably the Hitchcock half-hour and Perry Mason. Good actor, he reminded me a little of Roger Carmel, who also died young. I've been meaning to write about Sam. He reminds me of some weird mating of Sorrell Booke and Wm Conrad. On the radio show 'Like Slaughter of Tombstone' he sounds like an imitation of Conrad. Somebody actually researched SB's life, and the reason for his suicide. You can Google it.
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Post by telegonus on Mar 20, 2018 6:12:36 GMT
I've been seeing a lot of Sam Buffington in classic TV shows from the Fifties, notably the Hitchcock half-hour and Perry Mason. Good actor, he reminded me a little of Roger Carmel, who also died young. I've been meaning to write about Sam. He reminds me of some weird mating of Sorrell Booke and Wm Conrad. On the radio show 'Like Slaughter of Tombstone' he sounds like an imitation of Conrad. Somebody actually researched SB's life, and the reason for his suicide. You can Google it.
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Post by telegonus on Mar 20, 2018 6:23:35 GMT
I've been seeing a lot of Sam Buffington in classic TV shows from the Fifties, notably the Hitchcock half-hour and Perry Mason. Good actor, he reminded me a little of Roger Carmel, who also died young. I've been meaning to write about Sam. He reminds me of some weird mating of Sorrell Booke and Wm Conrad. On the radio show 'Like Slaughter of Tombstone' he sounds like an imitation of Conrad. Somebody actually researched SB's life, and the reason for his suicide. You can Google it. Thanks for that, Richard. Interesting and sad story about Sam Buffington. Too bad about some of some of those issues mentioned in his bio as to his orientation. This is why continuing to live is a good thing when the going gets tough: things change. No matter how bad things thing get, if you wait a minute, or an hour or a day, a month, a year, life has a way of changing, as do people. In another ten years he'd have had far less to feel bad about in these matters. That's assuming that we know the real reason. My guess is that it takes more than one big thing to cause a person to take his own life. Sam Buffington's career was in a good place, and he had a lot more good reasons to want to live and to prosper than die, assuming that his physical health was otherwise okay.
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Post by Richard Kimble on Mar 25, 2018 6:08:12 GMT
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Post by Richard Kimble on Apr 1, 2018 20:49:38 GMT
Co-star Sam Buffington (who looked much older than his official age and I for one question his published birth date, but that's another story) tragically committed suicide before the show aired, leading Murphy to quip, "He must have seen the rushes". Sam Buffington (1931 [allegedly] -1960)I've been seeing a lot of Sam Buffington in classic TV shows from the Fifties, notably the Hitchcock half-hour and Perry Mason. Good actor, he reminded me a little of Roger Carmel, who also died young. Another appearance by the TV Western Thread's favorite character actor, from the 1959 Gunsmoke episode "Buffalo Hunter": I still can't believe he was only 28 when he died. He looks at least 50 here. As a grizzled old trail cook SB does his Wm Conrad voice. It's curious how SB (from Massachusetts) and WC (born in Kentucky, raised in L.A.) could sound so much alike (Paul Frees sounded a lot like Orson Welles, but they were both from the Chicago area). SB may have deliberately been imitating WC for his macho roles.
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