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Post by Richard Kimble on Nov 21, 2017 0:39:21 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
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Post by mszanadu on Nov 26, 2017 4:13:58 GMT
For me it was the TV Western Show - BONANZA from season 3 episode 14 ( AD - December 24, 1961 ) " Gabrielle " ( from Wikipedia ) - " The Cartwrights help blind girl Gabrielle Wickman find her reclusive grandfather, who spent 21 years in jail for a crime he didn't commit . " To me this wonderful episode had a very similar heartfelt storyline of the film Heidi (1937) which I also enjoyed . Thanks so much Richard Kimble for your subject post .
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Post by Richard Kimble on Dec 4, 2017 10:30:00 GMT
Have Gun - Will Travel"A Matter Of Ethics" s1 e5 Directed by Andrew McLaglen Written by Sam Rolfe A gunfighter in jail awaiting trial for murder fears he will be lynched and hires Paladin to see that he makes it to court alive. But the victim's sister has other ideas...HGWT was perhaps the most ritualized of the classic TV westerns, usually following a very formal structure: opening showing Paladin's cultured manner, repartee/exposition with Hey Boy as he finds his next case, the sending of the card, Paladin reporting to his client for duty, Paladin facing the episode's choice (often whether or not to remain with his client), and the action climax resulting from his decision. This early episode certainly follows that format. The script by series co-creator Sam Rolfe gets a bit speechy at times, as you might expect with its lynching plot. I thought the most interesting scene was the opening, in which a salesman learns that Paladin's credit is impeccable -- implying the subtext that his word is his bond, a nice bit of character establishing. What's really impressive about this episode is its cast. Harold J. Stone is the gunfighter, always a powerful presence. His lawyer is no less than Strother Martin (bespectacled, yet). The victim's father is played by Ford regular Willis Bouchey, whose career high point was getting the last line in Liberty Valance. A young and hirsute (via wig) Theo Marcuse is the jewelry salesman who checks Paladin's credit with hotel clerk Peter Brocco. John Mitchum is one of Stone's henchmen, though I confess I didn't recognize him -- I don't think he gets a single closeup. The sheriff is the ridiculously prolific Roy Barcroft. And the sister is a very young, very brunette Angie Dickinson. She doesn't really appear to great advantage, as the script demands she remain sour-faced more most of the running time -- Paladin even comments on this in the coda. Directed by Andrew McLaglen, a fairly significant figure in TV westerns -- he helmed many of the early Gunsmokes.
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Post by Richard Kimble on Dec 12, 2017 9:40:21 GMT
Cimarron Strip"Knife In The Darkness" s1 w18 Directed by Charles Rondeau Written by Harlan Ellison Music score by Bernard Herrmann A serial killer strikes the town -- could it actually be the same murderer who recently terrorized London...?Like every other CS I've ever seen, it's heavily padded to fill out the 90 minute slot. As a result Ellison's script is pretty talky until the last act. Thriller and Star Trek both did similar stories, but written by Robert Bloch. Really the most interesting thing about it is the score. You can hear some of Bennie's favorite tricks, such as a harp flourish, and the two-note duuuuum DUM, duuuuum DUM, duuuuum DUM motif he was so fond of to create suspense, later imitated by John Williams in Jaws. Moody cinematography by the great Harry Stradling Jr (who died just a few days ago). He would move into features shortly afterward. Very impressive guest cast: Tom Skerritt, Phil Carey, western vet Jeanne Cooper, Victoria Shaw, David Canary, Karl Swenson, grim faced Ron Soble, and Star Trek alumnus Grace Lee Whitney. CS was probably the best-produced western om TV. Too bad it was generally so boring. Harry Stradling Jr gives a foggy London look to Cimarron Territory
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wanton87
Sophomore
@wanton87
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Post by wanton87 on Dec 13, 2017 19:09:26 GMT
My favorite Wagon Train episode would have been the story titled: The Tobias Jones Story. This episode featured über cutie Beverly Washburn (best known as Lisbeth Searcy in Old Yeller) and the delightful Lou Costello. Lou Costello plays Tobias, who has taken in orphan Midge (Washburn). But Tobia’s drinking problem gets the best of him, and this soon leads to trouble. These two are such naturals together. Sadly, Mr Costello would only be alive for a few more months following the airing of this episode. I came across an interesting bit of trivia (at least to me) more recently Richard Kimble when I learned that the Have Gun Will Travel television series preceded the radio series. I thought this odd, since radio was already in its waning days by the late 50’s, and most of the radio series had been replaced by their television counterparts by this time. John Dehner played Paladin in the radio version.
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Post by Richard Kimble on Dec 14, 2017 8:43:52 GMT
My favorite Wagon Train episode would have been the story titled: The Tobias Jones Story. This episode featured über cutie Beverly Washburn (best known as Lisbeth Searcy in Old Yeller) and the delightful Bud Abbot. Bud Abbot plays Tobias, who has taken in orphan Midge (Washburn). But Tobia’s drinking problem gets the best of him, and this soon leads to trouble. These two are such naturals together. Sadly, Mr Abbot would only be alive for a few more months following the airing of this episode. Actually it was Abbott's former partner Lou Costello who was in this episode. That bit of info -- that the TV series preceded the radio version -- is invariably mentioned whenever the radio HGWT comes up. I believe the radio version used mostly old TV scripts, which kept production costs low. If you haven't been there yet, come join us on the Radio BoardThe other bit of HGWT trivia that's always fascinated me is that the show as originally conceived in 1955 concerned a private eye in contemporary New York. That concept didn't sell, but two years later in the oater-crazed TV of 1957 it was hauled out of the trunk, reworked to depict an 1870s gunfighter, and a hit was born.
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wanton87
Sophomore
@wanton87
Posts: 224
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Post by wanton87 on Dec 14, 2017 16:07:36 GMT
Oops, sorry about that Richard Kimble. I don't know what it is, but I've always confused the names of these two. I had the short, portly little fellow pictured as I posted, but got the name wrong. Will edit, thanks for pointing out.
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newmanium
Freshman
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Post by newmanium on Dec 14, 2017 17:44:00 GMT
Robert Fuller was in Laramie, but didn't seem to do too much after that.
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newmanium
Freshman
@newmanium
Posts: 79
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Post by newmanium on Dec 14, 2017 17:45:05 GMT
The best western was Maverick. You can watch it today and it still holds up.
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Post by Richard Kimble on Dec 15, 2017 0:06:34 GMT
Robert Fuller was in Laramie, but didn't seem to do too much after that. That was just the start of his career. He immediately went into Wagon Train, which raised his profile even more. He then had sort of a journeyman period, where he did a few western features and even some biker movies. Then in the early '70s he was the lead doctor on Emergency, which ran for years. Fuller did a very interesting and entertaining interview for the Wagon Train 50th anniversary DVD set. He discussed both Laramie and WT, and said that all his money (he now lives on a ranch north of Dallas) came from Emergency -- he'd done the previous two shows on his original Universal contract, which paid "minimum wage" (his phrase). The set also contained an interview w/Denny Miller, which wasn't as interesting, as he was somewhat reserved (as compared to the ebullient Fuller). Miller also seemed (reading between the lines here) rather resentful of Fuller, who was kept on for WT's 8th season while Miller was let go -- he noticeably tightened up when Fuller was mentioned, and referred to him only by last name.
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wanton87
Sophomore
@wanton87
Posts: 224
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Post by wanton87 on Dec 15, 2017 16:22:00 GMT
I’m going to also include the enjoyable Bat Masterson tv series, starring Gene Barry, as a personal favorite. Bat dressed like a dandy at times, but was a force to be reckoned with if you were on opposing sides. I really liked his compact, nickel plated Peacemaker, that he kept at his waist. If memory serves me, the real Bat Masterson ordered a very similar gun, by writing down the specifications on a restaurant napkin, and sending it in directly to Colt.
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Post by Richard Kimble on Dec 17, 2017 12:53:13 GMT
A curious photo, as the stars worked for different studios in programs on different networks. Warners meets Ziv -- an early example of inter-studio ecumenism.
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Post by Chalice_Of_Evil on Dec 19, 2017 21:53:57 GMT
I'm not sure if these count, but two 'TV Westerns' that I really enjoyed... The TV show Wynonna Earp, which is described as ‘a Canadian-American supernatural Western horror television series’. And the TV series Firefly, which was described as a ‘Sci-Fi Western’.
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Post by Richard Kimble on Dec 20, 2017 10:11:11 GMT
Have Gun Will Travel "The Great Mojave Chase" s1e3 Directed by Andrew McLaglen Written by Gene Roddenverry Paladin enters a desert race to free a town from a water-monopolizing land baron, and plans to win by riding a rather exotic animal.Early classic episode, showing what would be a series-long interest in eccentric storylines, as well as introducing a new writing talent in Roddenberry -- he would establish his name in the industry via his work on HGWT. The central idea would later be used by Ride The High Country and Hawps - was this its first time out? Lawrence Dobkin scores as the heavy, although Claude Akins is kind of wasted as his henchman.
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Post by Richard Kimble on Dec 21, 2017 10:50:23 GMT
Have Gun Will Travel"Strange Vendetta" s1 e7 Directed by Andrew McLaglen Written by Ken Kolb A dying Mexican nobleman engages Paladin to escort his corpse back to his hacienda across the borderAlthough this starts in esoteric territory at the opera, it soon settles down into a straightforward chase story, albeit with a nice plot twist. Australian actor-playwright turned sagebrush mainstay Michael Pate is the guest star. Michael Pate
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Post by RiP, IMDb on Dec 21, 2017 11:15:27 GMT
Do you know this Western tv-episode? It was an episode of some 1950s b&w series about a man up against some outlaw gang. He says he isn't a gunfighter (gunslinger) and uses his intelligence (ingenuity) and wits to defeat them instead. He works with tools. Can't remember if he's a blacksmith or something else?? The actor looks like (could be his brother, but isn't) the late great Charlton Heston. Thanks!
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Post by Richard Kimble on Dec 22, 2017 11:38:21 GMT
Have Gun Will Travel "The Bride" s1 e6 Directed by Andrew McLaglen Written by Steve Fisher Paladin helps deliver a mail-order bridePaladin shows his kinder, gentler side in this surprisingly genteel script by noir novelist Steve Fisher ( I Wake Up Screaming). Tough guys Mike Connors and Bruce Gordon guest star. Celebrated stage actress Marian Seldes (then married to HGWT producer Julian Claman) plays the titular bride.
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Post by teleadm on Dec 23, 2017 15:44:19 GMT
Has anyone seen Rawhide episode Canliss 1964? As a big fan of Dean Martin, I'm just wondering? It was his only "guest star" role during the 1960's where he didn't play himself.
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Post by RiP, IMDb on Dec 24, 2017 8:03:17 GMT
Do you know this Western tv-episode? It was an episode of some 1950s b&w series about a man up against some outlaw gang. He says he isn't a gunfighter (gunslinger) and uses his intelligence (ingenuity) and wits to defeat them instead. He works with tools. Can't remember if he's a blacksmith or something else?? The actor looks like (could be his brother, but isn't) the late great Charlton Heston. Thanks! I figured this out! Guess what it is??
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wanton87
Sophomore
@wanton87
Posts: 224
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Post by wanton87 on Dec 24, 2017 17:52:09 GMT
Frontier Doctor (TV Series 1958- ). This lesser known, but better than expected series, only lasted one season, and featured Rex Allen as the protagonist. In the episode below titled Trouble in Paradise Valley, Dr Baxter (Allen) tries to assist a brother and sister, and the mounting medical bills that their mother’s illness has accrued, leading to financial misery, and potential violence. My, what an incredibly beautiful woman a young Jean Howell was!
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