Small Screen Sagebrush: the TV Western thread

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by JozefK, Nov 25, 2018.

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  1. JozefK

    JozefK Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Dixie
    [​IMG]

    Oh, young Paladin has come out of the West;
    Of all the horse operas, his show's watched the best.
    The weapon he carries: a neat business card;
    And with its sharp edges, many crooks have been scarred.
    When ads are concluded, and stories begin
    There ne'er was a hero like young Paladin.

    He knows table manners; politely he bows;
    He even quotes Shakespeare to some of the cows.
    When he faces the camera, all smiling, of course
    There's even a smile on the face of his horse.
    The crooks skulk around, but they can't hide chagrin
    At the guff they must take from this dude, Paladin.

    He spouts off to rustlers Keats, Shelly, and such,
    But they're always too busy to listen to much;
    No one on the networks gets quite such a bang
    Out of quoting long sonnets to men while they hang.
    Some day he will get what's been long due to him;
    The bad guys will shut up the smug Paladin.


    Tom Koch
    The MAD Treasury of Unknown Poetry, volume III
    MAD #54, July 1961

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
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  2. Ignatius

    Ignatius Forum Resident

    It's worth noting that these shows cost next to nothing to broadcast, and that's why we get blocks of Bonanza and The Rifleman, and not the Rockford Files.
     
  3. JozefK

    JozefK Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Dixie
  4. JozefK

    JozefK Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Dixie
    Bonanza and the later Gunsmokes get shown b/c they are in color.

    The Rifleman has a near-campy "badass" reputation which makes it more popular than far superior shows like HGWT.

     
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  5. sixtiesstereo

    sixtiesstereo Senior Member

    Location:
    Wisconsin
    I was 8 years old in 1958, and I remember all of these shows well. But, unless
    I missed it, I haven't seen "Wanted: Dead Or Alive" with Steve McQueen mentioned.
    Ran from 1958 to 1961. McQueen, as usual, was "cool". Similar to the same
    character he played in 1960 in "The Magnificent Seven".
    [​IMG]
     
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  6. sixtiesstereo

    sixtiesstereo Senior Member

    Location:
    Wisconsin
    The themes from these shows also became well known. And, in 1960 RCA released
    the album "Marty Gold - Swingin' West" in glorious Living Stereo. While basically a
    big band jazz album, it featured themes from many of the shows mentioned in this
    thread using some of the best West Coast jazz musicians (including Al Caiola, Doc
    Severinson, etc) of the day.
    A sensational album, some years back I did a needle drop of the album, and four years
    ago I posted three of the tracks on my youtube channel. I'll post them here for anyone
    that remembers the themes from these series.
    First, "The Deputy" (1959 - 1961) which starred Henry Fonda:
     
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  7. sixtiesstereo

    sixtiesstereo Senior Member

    Location:
    Wisconsin
    Next, "The Ballad Of Paladin" (Have Gun Will Travel)…
     
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  8. sixtiesstereo

    sixtiesstereo Senior Member

    Location:
    Wisconsin
    And finally, "The Texan" from 1958 starring Rory Calhoun. (This arrangement really cooks!)
     
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  9. JozefK

    JozefK Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Dixie
    Gunsmoke spoof from 1958:

     
  10. JozefK

    JozefK Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Dixie
    There is a long medley of western TV themes I'm looking for

    It was released IIRC in the eighties. It's done surf-style - I thought it was Jon and The Niteriders but that my be wrong. Ring a bell w/anybody?

    I also once heard a symphonic medley of the great western themes that I liked, but there have probably been several of those
     
  11. smilin ed

    smilin ed Senior Member

    Location:
    Durham

    This one was pretty awful.
     
  12. JozefK

    JozefK Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Dixie
    Star Wayne Maunder just died. Been meaning to add him to the obit thread.

    1967 was a bad year for Custers - it also gave us the Robert Shaw movie.
     
  13. smilin ed

    smilin ed Senior Member

    Location:
    Durham
    Speaking of Maunder...

     
  14. JozefK

    JozefK Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Dixie
    That may be the last of the great TV western themes -- by Jerome Moross no less.

    [​IMG]
     
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  15. The Wanderer

    The Wanderer Seeker of Truth

    Location:
    NYC
    See what these three pictures have in common?
     
  16. sixtiesstereo

    sixtiesstereo Senior Member

    Location:
    Wisconsin
    Lisa Gaye (Debra Paget's sister). She was in many TV westerns in the 50's.
    Also was in "Rock Around The Clock"...…
    [​IMG]
     
  17. The Wanderer

    The Wanderer Seeker of Truth

    Location:
    NYC
    [​IMG]
     
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  18. sixtiesstereo

    sixtiesstereo Senior Member

    Location:
    Wisconsin
    Even better...…
     
  19. a customer

    a customer Forum Resident

    Location:
    virginia
    From memory a long time ago
    William paley liked gunsmoke so to fit the timeslot Gilligans island was cancelled . Bummer.
     
  20. smilin ed

    smilin ed Senior Member

    Location:
    Durham
  21. The Wanderer

    The Wanderer Seeker of Truth

    Location:
    NYC
    When I posted those three pictures - Cheyenne, Paladin, Bat Masterson, I was actually posting Lisa Gaye. She was a doll, we both agree.
     
  22. JozefK

    JozefK Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Dixie
    Supposedly it was Paley's wife

    W/in a few years Gunsmoke had performed the greatest comeback in TV history, getting all the way to number two for one season.
     
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  23. JozefK

    JozefK Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Dixie
    Gunsmoke
    "The Raid"
    Season 11 | Episode 18-9
    (1966)

    A band of robbers have hit numerous banks with uncanny precision, planning and ease. They have their sights on Dodge now but they must remove a big obstacle before they can proceed - Marshal Dillon.

    "Gunsmoke" The Raid: Part 1 (TV Episode 1966) - IMDb

    Not bad two parter notable for the impressive guest cast, a veritable who's who of TV oater heavies: Gary Lockwood, John Kellogg, Richard Jaeckel, Jeremy Slate, Michael Conrad and Jim Davis.

    In fact there are so many great villains crammed into this episode that some are invariably underused. Davis and especially Jaeckel seem kind of wasted.

    [​IMG]

    Gary Lockwood, Richard Jaeckel, and Jeremy Slate

    [​IMG]

    Michael Conrad and Jim Davis

    [​IMG]
     
  24. smilin ed

    smilin ed Senior Member

    Location:
    Durham
    #

    The 1971 BBC Last of the Mohicans
     
  25. smilin ed

    smilin ed Senior Member

    Location:
    Durham
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