TV WESTERNS ON DVD

Before looking at individual TV westerns on DVD in depth, I thought it might be useful to make a list of them, or at least those I am aware of. I don't claim to be infallible so if I have missed any, please feel free to make amendments or additions. I have not included recent shows like 'Deadwood', or items such as 'F Troop' or 'Dustys Trail'which are essentially comedies. Neither have I included pilots but hope to do something on these later.

Items in brackets indicate availability on the 'gray' market.

26 Men -various PD releases
Action in the Afternoon -no (1)
Adventures of Champion - various PD + 23 R2 - (ALL)
Adventures of Jim Bowie - All
Adventures of Kit Carson - various PD
Adventures of Rin-Tin-Tin - various R2 (ALL)
The Alaskans -no - (5)
Alias Smith & Jones - All
Annie Oakley - various PD - (all)
Barbary coast - No - (all ?)
Big Valley - 1 & half seasons (all)
Black Saddle - no - (all)
Bonanza - 2 seasons ,R2 7 seasons - (all)
Bordertown -no - (unknown)
Boots & Saddles - no -(5 or 6)
Branded - all but edited -
Brave Eagle - 4 - (various)
Bret Maverick - no - (all)
Bronco - no - (all)
Buckskin -no- (4 ?)
Buffalo Bill Jnr - 27 (all)
Cade's County - no - (all ?)
Californians - no - (10)
Casey Jones - not at present - (all)
Cheyenne - 3 seasons +1 eps - (all)
Cimarron City - all from March
Cimarron Strip - all in R2 - (all)
Circus Boy - no - (some)
Cisco Kid - approx 80 eps - (all)
Colt 45. - no - (some)
Cowboy G Men - various PD - (all ?)
Custer - no - (all)
The Dakotas - no - (all)
Daniel Boone (Fess Parker) - all
Daniel Boone -(Dewey Martin) -no - (all)
Davy Crockett - all
Death Valley Days - some pd - (numerous)
The Deputy - all
Destry - all
Dundee & the Culhane - no - (all)
Empire - no - (unknown)
Frontier - (1) (unknown)
Frontier Circus - all
Frontier Doctor - 24 PD - (all bar 3 ?)
Fury - all in R2
Gene Autry - 2 seasons, 2 more in Apl - (all)
Gray Ghost - not at present - (all ?)
Guns of Will Sonnett - all edited
Gunslinger - no - (5 eps)
Gunsmoke - 1st 5 seasons + selected - (all)
Hawkeye & the Last of the Mohicans - all R2
Hawkeye - all
Hec Ramsey - no - (all)
Have Gun Will Travel - 5 seasons - (all)
High Chaparral - all R2
Hondo - no - (all)
Hopalong Cassidy - all
Hotel De Paree - no - (various)
How the West Was Won - no - (all)
Hudsons Bay - no - (various)
Iron Horse - no - (all)
Jefferson Drum - no - (3 eps)
Johnny Ringo - no - (all)
Judge Roy Bean - various PD
Klondike - no - (all bar 1 eps)
Kodiak - no - (2 eps)
Lancer - no - (all)
Laramie - all
Laredo - all
Law of the Plainsman - no - (all)
Lawman - no - (all)
Legend of Jesse James - no - (3 eps)
Life & Legend of Wyatt Earp -S1 +several) - (all)
Lonr Ranger - Seasons 1, 2 & R2 3 & 4 - (all)
Loner - no - (various)

LISTINGS M TO Z TO FOLLOW

LISTINGS M TO Z

Mackenzie's Raiders - No - (Most)
Magnificent 7 - All
Man Called Shendoah -No (Some)
Man Without a Gun - No - (29)
Maverick - S1 in May - (all)
Men From Shiloh - All
Monroes - No - (probably all)
Nichols - No - (All)
Nine Lives of Elfaga Baca - No Known - (All)
Northwest Passage - Some PD - (All ?)
Oregon Trail- All
Outcasts - No - (Some)
Outlaws 1960 - No - (All)
Overland Trail - All

Paradise - No -(All ?)
Pony Express - No - (4 ?)
Range Rider - About 30 PD - (All bar 1 Ep)
Rawhide - 4 Seasons - All R2 - (All)
RCMP - No - (4 or 5)
Rebel - No - (All)
Redigo - No (?)
Restless Gun - 30 - (A few others)
Rifleman - Seasons 1 & 2 + numerous others over several sets - (All)
Riverboat - All from May
Road West - No - (?)
Rough Riders - No - ( Some)
Roy Rogers - Many PD- (All)
Sgt Preston of the Yukon - All
Shane - No - (All)
Sheriff of Cochise/US Marshall - numerous PD - (Some)
Shotgun Slade - 16 Eps - (numerous)
Sky King - All Privately -
Stagecoach West - No - (All)
State Trooper - All
Steve Donavon - Western Marshal - No - (3 Eps)
Stony Burke - No - (Numerous)
Stories of the Century - All on PD
Sugarfoot - 1 PD (All)
Tales of the Texas Rangers - No - (Numerous)
Tales of Wells Fargo - Seasons 1 & 2 ,few others + 22 last season - (a few more)
Tall Man - All
Temple Houston - No - (Pilot)
The Texan - nearly all - (Couple more)
Texas John Slaughter - No - (All)
Tombstone Territory - No - (All)
Trackdown - No - (All)
Travels of Jamie Mc Pheters - No - (Most ?)
Two Faces West - No - (A few)
Union Pacific - No - ( 3 ?)
Virginian - Series 1-5 + 6 in May (All)
Wagon Train - Series 1-4 & 7 + 5 in May (all)
Wanted Dead or Alive - All
Westerner - No - (All)
Whiplas - All in R2
Whispering Smith - All
Wichita Town - No - (Some)
Wide Country - All
Wild Bill Hickock - No - (Most)
Wild, Wild West - All
Wrangler - No (Unknown)
Yancey Derringer - Not at present ! - (All)
Young Dan'l Boone -No - (Not Known)
Young Maverick - Pilot - (Some)
Zanr Grey Theatre - Series 1 -(All)
Zorro - All

Wish they would release Tombstone territory on regular dvd (never know how good the grey market would be)....just saw Pat Conway last night play a hired gunman on a Gunsmoke episode. Reminded me how much I enjoyed Tombstone Territory as a kid..."Whistle a tune that'll carry me back to Tombstone Territory."

Two that I wish they would release to dvd would be Lawman and Bronco....

With the release of Maverick now.....it may happen...

The Warner Bros.westerns

As these seem to be so well remembered & popular I thought I would cover them on DVD first.

Although Warners have been very pro-active in releasing their catalogue of old movies, they have shown an almost complete disinterest in in their extensive library of classic TV shows, both westerns & detective series. Even in the video age their contribution was to put out a few tapes with a single episode on.

With the rise of DVD & the advent of studios releasing complete runs ,it was surprising WB never jumped on the bandwagon, however, with two releases in 2012 maybe thir attitude is changing, hopefully the wheels haven't fallen of the bandwagon yet, but I do feel they may have had more success a few years back.

In any event here is a quick look at what is available -

CHEYENNE - If memory serves me correctly this was voted No 1 western series in the most recent poll on this forum. I am not going to argue with that, Cheyenne is still probably the most popular cowboy hero of them all even after 50 odd years, in no small part due to the magnetism of Clint Walker. The show holds up well today & I understand has been most successful in recent reruns on the Encore Western Channel. Viewing the WB shows of the 50's today, with perhaps a more cynical eye, you tend to notice the budget constraints. Stock footage was prevalent & it can be quite jarring, whilst the sudden appearance of actors in front of a process screen can make you wince. Likewise the tendency to insert a 'desperate hours' story every few episodes,with characters either held prisoner or trapped on an obvious set was clearly an effort to keep down costs. Nevertheless, Cheyenne remains one of the all time great western series.

No. of Seasons - 7

All episodes are copyright Warner Bros.

Network ABC -(UK - ITV)

Episodes - 107 including 1 two parter. Some sources list 108, The confusion arises as at the end of S6 ,the pilot episode of 'The Dakotas' 'A Man Called Ragan' aired in the Cheyenne slot. Cheyenne was not in this ,or anyway connected.

Season 1 (1955/6) as 'Warner Bros Presents' rotating with 'Casablanca ' & 'Kings Row'. Warners were not expecting too much of 'Cheyenne' but it proved the hit series.

Season 2 (1956/7) - rotated with 'Conflict'

Season 3 (1957/ rotated with' Sugarfoot'

1958/9 - Clint in dispute with Warners.

Season 4 -1959/60 -

Season 5 -1960/61 - rotates with 'Sugarfoot & 'Bronco' as 'The Cheyenne Show'

Season 6 - 1961/62 - rotates with 'Bronco

Season 7 -Fall 1962.

In the UK Cheyenne 'rotated with 'Maverick' for a while.

Clint reprised the role of Cheyenne as a cameo in the Kenny Rogers TV movie 'The Gambler Returns - Luck of the Draw' 'in 1991 along with other former TV western heroes.(Available on DVD).

Crossovers - Warner shows often had characters from one series crossover into another. 'Duel at Judas Basin' from Season 5 was the most notable where Cheyenne teams up with both Bronco & Sugarfoot. Apparently, although these crossovers were popular with viewers, the sponsors objected.

Notable episodes - 'Big Ghost Basin' S2 - Cheyenne battles a mysterious beast - actually quite creepy. A similar theme was explored in the S7 episode 'Santonka'.

'Iron Trail' S2 - although a 'desperate hours' segment this one is quite good.Hollywood wild man Dennis Hopper,years before 'Easy Rider' & 'Blue Velvet', shows up as a psychotic young gunman.

'Dead to Rights' S3 one of the the best episodes (John Russell guest stars.)'

The Conspirators' S3 - Clint dons a dinner jacket & sings.

'Vengeance is Mine' S7- an unremakable segment but does have one of the greatest ever fist fights between Clint & perrenial bad guy Leo Gordon, with no evidence of doubles.

DVD OFFICIAL RELEASES -

TELEVISION FAVOURITES (2005) - Probably put out as a sampler - 3 episodes

SEASON 1 - (2006) - The complete 1st season

Some mistaken reviews on Amazon complained that the episodes were cut & the theme removed. Not so . The 1st season episodes only ran about 40 minutes, the balance being made up by Warner promotional items. The theme tune was not introduced until S2.All episodes were actually based on Warner Bros. properties.

As sales were apparently not as high as hoped no further releases were forthcoming although a season 2 set had been scheduled.

SEASON 2 (2010)

Eventually Warners discovered MOD (Made on Demand) which seems to have been successful for them with their films, although I would quibble at the price.They have now extended this to TV series.

In any event S2 was released under this system in 2010 as Season 2 Pts 1 & 2.Two sets of 5 discs each on single layer discs.It has been re-released as a 5 discs set in 2011 as a dual layer.

Made on Demand (aka BOD )means the shows are burnt onto DVD-Rs rather than pressed discs. Some sources have questioned the quality or durability of this method.

Time will tell about durability, I have personally not noticed any deterioration as far as quality is concerned although I have not sampled the dual layer discs yet.

As the prints all emanate fronm Warners vaults quality is very good. A few specks here & there but generally excellent. The 1st episode of S2 'The Dark Rider' appears to be a leftover from S1 as it is of the shorter running time & minus the thems song.

SEASON 3 (2012) has just been released in Jan 2012. Warners say they have now cleared all music rights for the series & further releases (if there are any) should be more frequent.

The Gray Market -

As it was so popular, Cheyenne ran for many years around the USA in syndication.Consequently many people videoed them & eventually transferred them to disc. Somtimes, of course, the episodes were cut. Complete sets of the series have always been around, usually made up of old video copies ,in particular from the Goodlife Channel, sometimes multi-gen + a mixture of old 16mm TV prints,often in very bad shape, too dark & practically unwatchable. Fortunately, since Encore has run the whole series uncut, without ad breaks, it is possible to obtain the complete run in decent ,if not pristine quality. Warners do make some efforts to protect their copyrights & often warn off pirate dealers on EBay & IOffer ,however a lot slip through.

SUMMARY

TV Favourites disc - Available-Of the 3 episodes two appear on the S2 set.

Season 1 - Available

Season 2 - Available as MOD

Season 3 - Available as MOD

Further releases - Quite likely, though the Encore showings & the ridiculous high price for MOD will deter many would be purchasers.

Chris

Netflix is presenting 6 seasons until the end of the month when Netflix and Starz part company. There aren't many episodes per season so I don't know if these were all of the episodes but I watched them all several months ago. Quality was great.

Chris,my ole Pard,
As a "lifelong fan" of Cheyenne/Clint,I have to say a BIG THANKS!!!!!! to you ,that is GREAT information on what,s available for Cheyenne.
I have Series 1,GREAT picture quality,I also have quite a few other episodes from diffirent Series,special THANKS to Gerard,and again the pq is very good,although I really want Season 2,and 3,on official dvd,I have to totally agree with you Chris,the price for Season 2,on demand,is just about "daylight robbery",I will wait till,hopefully,the price comes down to a "reasonable" standard.
Chris,once again Pard,THANKS for the great info,AND,the HARD work you have done to get that info,KEEP IT UP Pard!!!!
Davy,westernnut.

CHEYENNE nb.

For Reference the number of episodes per season of Cheyenne was as follows -

S1 -(15 )
Some S1 episode guides list an episode 'The Black Hawk War', this is actually another title for the episode 'Decision'

S2- (20 ),S3-(20,) S4-(13),S5-(13).S6-(13).S7-(13)

The picture quality on the MOD releases is excellent, every bit as good as the pressed S1 release.

Chris

MAVERICK -

As my old pappy used to say

Marriage is the only game of chance in which both players can lose !

Flattery is like perfume,smell it but don't swallow it !

A penny earned isn't worth much anymore !

Maverick remains one of the best loved & well remembered of all TV westerns. Due in no small part to the engaging personality of its main star, James Garner,who fitted the part like a glove.

Bret Maverick was a different kind of western hero .He was not especially quick on the draw, quite happy to leave town rather than face down the villain & earned his living as a professional gambler.His solution to problems was to employ his wits rather than his gun. Not actually a coward so much as cautious.This made him popular with viewers who didn't normally watch westerns.

The series, created by Roy Huggins, had a 5 season run commencing in 1957.

In order to keep up with the hectic shooting schedules Warners decided to split the lead role & introduced another character, brother Bart Maverick.Stuart Whitman & Don Durant were amongst those considered for the part but eventually Jack Kelly was selected & made his debut in the 8th episode 'Hostage'. From there on the Maverick Bros. would sometimes ride alone ,or sometimes together.

The other asset the series had was humour. This light touch went down particularly well in the first few seasons but fell away a bit in the later stages when Huggins left. Whereas once the humour arose from the characters personalities, later segments seemed to be written as comedies & didn't always work. James Garner, of course, left after the 3rd season which definitely hurt the show. Roger Moore, under contract to Warners, who seemed to see him as another Errol Flynn, was drafted in,(somewhat reluctantly,) as another Maverick, Cousin Beau from Britain. Moore did his best but the magic was diminishing & he stayed only one season. Briefly Robert Colbert , a Garner lookalike .replaced him for two episodes but was then dropped. He actually wasn't bad but the programme was running out of steam by this time. For the 5th & final season Kelly rode alone. Curious that such a popular series is only just getting a DVD release.

No. of seasons 5

No. of episodes 124 (inc. 1 two parter)

Copyright - Warners

Network ABC (UK - ITV)

Books -LEGEND OF THE WEST by Ed Robertson- The history of Maverick.
Excellent book explaining the origins of the show, how it developed & episode guide with summaries & comments. Out of print but you might find a copy on Ebay. Recommended.

JACK KELLY - A MAVERICK LIFE by Linda J Alexander - the story of Maverick's co-star.
Available on Amazon & other outlets.

1957/8 Season 1 - 27 Episodes
1958/9 Season 2 - 26 Episodes
1959/60 Season 3 - 26 Episodes
1969/1 - Season 4 32 Episodes
1961/2 Season 5 - 13 Episodes

Kelly reprised the role of Bart in the Kenny Rogers TV movie 'The Gambler-Luck of the Draw in 1991.

There have been, of course, attempted revivals,

Garner returned to the role in the 1 season 'Bret Maverick'in 1981/2. Kelly guest starred in the final episode. There was also a 'New Maverick' TV movie in 1978 which led to the short lived 'Young Maverick' series. Finally Garner returned to the role for the final time in the big screen 'Maverick' movie with Mel Gibson in 1994. Actually not a bad movie. Mention should also be made of the Garner series 'Nichols' in 71/72, something of a Maverick clone & the two features 'Support Your Local Sheriff' & 'Support Your Local Gunfighter' which both used the Maverick style.

Notable episodes - There are a few celebrated episodes, in particular 'Gun Shy, a spoof of 'Gunsmoke' & 'Shady Deal at Sunny Acres' in which Bret enlists a number of recurring characters (mostly confidence tricksters) to recover his money from a swindler. However, I wouldn't agree that these are the best ones . I recommend -

'Stampede' - Bret becomes involved in a prize fight (& the first appearance of Efrem Zimbalist Jnr.as Dandy Jim Buckley)

Stage West to Fury - good story

Cruise of the Cynthia B - Agatha Christie style murder mystery on a riverboat.

& two Bart episodes -

'Spanish Dancer' Bart & Gentleman Jack Darby (Richard Long) outwit a swindler

'Prey of the Cat' - quite dramatic story in which Bart is almost hanged,

Warners brought out a couple of tapes each with one episode on in the VHS days, & in the 90's Columbia House Video licensed & released nearly all the Garner shows + at least one Kelly segment on a series of tapes (2 episodes per tape) through their subscription service. Quality was excellent & utilised the original broadcast prints.

OFFICIAL DVD RELEASES

TELEVISION FAVOURITES (1995) - 3 EPISODE SAMPLER

SEASON 1 - Being released in May 2012 - Up for preorder at Amazon & other sites.This is a pressed set not MOD.

The episode 'Duel at Sundown' which featured an early appearance by Clint Eastwood ,was included as an extra on the DVD release of 'The Unforgiven' - at least in the UK.

THE GRAY MARKET

Like 'Cheyenne' , 'Maverick was heavily syndicated & played for many years around the USA. Often though, the prints were severely cut. A lot of these were videoed & eventually found there way onto disc, sometimes mixed with the Columbia House episodes. Complete series runs can be found on Ebay & Ioffer of varying quality. Once again Encore has come to the rescue by running Maverick in recent years uncut.Copies of these are also now appearing on the gray market. If you go this route be sure to ascertain where the set emanated.

The theme tune -the 1st season episodes had only an instrumental version of the theme.The lyrics were added from S2, although the opening segment of this season'The Day They Hanged Bret Maverick' has a different version.The only time it was used. For S5 a more robust arrangement which added riverboat horns & bells was introduced. This is sometimes dubbed over the instrumental only 1st season shows.

Further Releases - Quite possible if sales for S1 are satisfactory.Warners have been considering this release for over 4 years so hopefully Maverick will finally gets its well deserved DVD release.

Chris

SUGARFOOT

'A rifle & a volume of the law'

'Sugarfoot' was another Warner series which struck a chord with viewers & had a 4 season run from 1957/61. Starring Will Hutchins as Tom Brewster, a mild mannered young man whose ambition was to be a lawyer. He traveled the west working as a cowhand, teacher or whatever jobs came along in order to support himself whilst studying his law books.Owing to his knowledge in this field, he frequently found himself in court drafted in to defend or help someone who had run afoul of the law. His easy going manner, however,belied the fact that he was pretty useful with a gun when the law books failed to provide a solution.

Some of the most popular episodes introduced a cousin 'The Canary Kid' Tom's exact double. The kid was the complete antithesis of Brewster, a mean , wild outlaw who caused Tom plenty of trouble. Both parts,of course, were played by Hutchins who seemed to relish the opportunity to be a bad guy. A couple of last season shows also featured 'Toothy Thompson', as a deaf & dumb character who befriended Tom although causing him further problems. 'Toothy was portrayed by the great Jack Elam.

Hutchins had come to the role after Warners executives were impressed by his performances in a couple of their other series & felt he was ideal for the part of Tom Brewster.Will recalls one of his main problems on the show was that in real life he is extremely short sighted. Characters would say to Brewster " See that indian on the hill over there" - Heck I couldn't even see the hill let alone the indian !

No of seasons- 4

No of episodes- 69

Copyright - Warner Bros -

(although 1 episode 'The Return of the Canary Kid' may have fallen into the public domain as it has appeared on numerous compilations put out by companies who specialise in PD material.)

Network - ABC

UK - First shown by ATV in the Midlands region only. Later seasons were picked up by the BBC who retitled it 'Tenderfoot', possibly to distinguish it from the Midlands area screenings & because they assumed British viewers would have no idea what a Sugarfoot was. Although they changed the title card they retained the Sugarfoot song. The tune, incidentally, had first been used in the 1951 Randolph Scott film 'Sugarfoot'. Those in the UK who recall the series still refer to it as 'Tenderfoot' & the various annuals that came out all bore this title.

Season 1 - 1957/58 -20 episodes ( alternated with Cheyenne )

Season 2 - 1958/9 - 20 episodes (alternated with S1 of Bronco)

Season 3 - 1959/60 -20 episodes (alternated with Bronco)

Season 4 - 1960/61 - 9 episodes (alternated with Cheyenne & Bronco).

Notable episodes - I haven't seen enough of 'Sugarfoot' in recent times to recommend any but the 4 with the 'Canary Kid' character are well thought of.

OFFICIAL DVD RELEASES

Nothing has been released other than the PD episode mentioned above.

Unlike Cheyenne, Maverick & Bronco - Warners never put out any VHS tapes of 'Sugarfoot 'either.

Possible releases - ? - If there are any, it will almost certainly be under Warners MOD programme, knowing Warners general disinterest in their old B/W series I have very strong doubts we will ever see anything. Warners also claim there are difficult 'music rights' with the series to clear, I find it curious there woulds be any problems with a 50 year old show that utilised mainly library music .Whatever !

THE GRAY MARKET

Similar to 'Cheyenne' & 'Maverick' - 'Sugarfoot' played for quite a while in syndication. Consequently many episodes found there way onto video & subsequently DVD.Complete sets can be found without much difficulty, most commonly utilising prints from the Goodlife channel, mixed with a number from other sources, usually battered old 16 mm prints.Bear in mind in watching these 'pirate' sets you may find odd advert snippets & station announcers etc. Some episodes may also be cut.

Overall, Sugarfoot was a good fun series in the Warner canon, & Will Hutchins was very convincing as the likeable Tom Brewster

Chris

BRONCO

Tearing across the Texas plain

When Clint Walker went into dispute with Warner Bros & took a hike from 'Cheyenne' the studio responded by creating another western series in similar vein to fill the gap,Thus Ty Hardin as Bronco Layne was born.


The story goes that Ty got the part when he was spotted by a Warners producer whilst visiting the studio in order to borrow a prop six-gun for a costume party. He was invited to do a screen test & immediately handed the role of Bronco. This sounds like so much Hollywood bunkum to me. Hardin already had some limited acting experience, notably in the 50's cult sci-fi film, the wonderfully titled 'I Married a Monster from Outer Space' where he can be seen in a few scenes & apparently also played the role of one of the monsters.

In any event at Warners, he swiftly became Bronco Layne, former civil war veteran now drifting around the west. Like Cheyenne he had no set occupation, usually working as a scout, deputy sheriff or taking undercover roles for the government,All the Warner series had plots which could (and were) transfered around their various series, somtimes being updated to fit their detective genre shows.

At first Ty recalls he was somwhat resented by viewers annoyed that he was trying to fill the boots of the popular Cheyenne, but eventually Bronco became a success in its own right.In due course Clint Walker settled his dispute with the studio & returned to Cheyenne so all in all it was a win-win situation for Warners.

No of seasons - 4

Copyright - Warner Bros.

Network ABC - UK BBC -(Bronco was particularly popular in Britain, running in a prime time slot. When the BBC decided to repeat it in the 'dead slot' of Sunday afternoons it surprisingly still made the top ten programmes.)

No of episodes - 68

Season 1 - 1958/9 20 episodes - replacing Cheyenne & alternating with Sugarfoot

Season 2 - 1959/60 -20 episodes - alternated with Sugarfoot

Season 3 - 1960/61 -10 episodes - alternated with Cheyenne & Sugarfoot as ;The Cheyenne Show'

Season - 4 -1961/2 - 18 episodes - alternated with Cheyenne.

Notable episodes - 'Four Guns & a Prayer' (S1) - Bronco hires some gunmen to help protect a town .

' The Bodyguard' (S2 ) Bronco is hired to protect a man who is then mysteriously murdered & he has to find the culprit.

DVD RELEASES -There have been no official releases of Bronco' There were two VHS tapes with one episode on each put out in the 90's.

Possible releases - Very much the same as 'Sugarfoot' , if at all it would be MOD.As mentioned in the Sugarfoot thread , I don't have a lot of faith in Warners doing anything with their old series but remain hopeful.

THE GRAY MARKET The situation here is more or less the same as 'Sugarfoot'. The series did play a bit in syndication & VHS recordings eventually found their way to DVD, mixed with a number of old 16mm prints to make up the full run. The first 'complete' 'Bronco' set going the rounds was of particularly poor quality & should be avoided at all cost. In the last couple of years a further set has emerged with prints mostly from showings on the Goodlife channel ,& these are more acceptable.As always with these home made affairs expect a few instances where ad breaks have been left in & some episodes will be cut.If you do go this route always enquire the source.

Bronco was a good show, with lots of action & should provide an hour of undemanding entertainment.

If WB does choose to release these shows on MOD....I hope that they do it per season....not the dreaded Vol 1..2..etc.....

They have announced that the Ron Ely Tarzan will be MOD...but it will be in the Volume sets.... ....at about 39.95 each I bet.....

LAWMAN

A badge & a gun

This more or less sums up 'Lawman' , another solid & successful Warners western.Running for 4 years from 1958 'Lawman' was a dependable, no frills series. John Russell as Dan Troop, marshal of Laramie & Peter Brown as his young deputy Johnny McKay, The first episode saw Troop arrive as the new law officer & appoint McKay as his full time deputy after some misgivings. The chemistry worked well, McKay was suitably respectful of Troop, always refering to him as Mr Troop & eager to learn from his experience. Troop was tough, fearless & always in control.

As the show was a 1/2 hour format it did not allow the story development of the other Warner series, nevertheless it maintained a good standard througout its run & scripts were quite character driven. Russell & Brown had agreed that the series would not exploit fights & excessive gunplay above story content & in this they suceeded.

Russell had previously starred in the Revue series 'Soldiers of Fortune' (available on DVD) & portrayed mostly heavies on several Warner shows. Peter Brown had also guested on WB productions.In contrast to other Warner series,the production was trouble free & even today Peter Brown expresses the great respect he had for John Russell.

The 1st season also featured Bek Nelson as owner of the 'Blue Bonnet' cafe. For the 2nd season ,however, Peggie Castle arrived as owner of the Birdcage saloon. Perhaps as a nod to 'Gunsmoke' she carried a torch for Troop who was too dedicated to his job to indulge in heavy romancing.

Some years after 'Lawman' left the air, Peter Brown & John Russell considered reviving it, with Brown now as a full fledged marshal, & Russell as a judge.Interesting concept but nothing came of it.

No of Seasons - 4

No of episodes -156 (most episodes of any Warner western series)

Copyright - Warners

Network ABC - UK - ITV -Some episodes were certainly shown in the UK,though possibly on a regional basis.

Not seen too much of 'Lawman' recently to recommend notable episodes but the opener'The Deputy' sets the show up nicely.

Season 1 (1958/9) - 39 episodes

Season 2 - (1959/60) - 37 episodes

Season 3 - (1960/1) - 39 episodes

Season 4 - (1961/2) - 41 episodes.

OFFICIAL DVD RELEASE - There have been no official releases of 'Lawman'

Possible releases - Again, this might be a possibilty in the Warner MOD programme.

THE GRAY MARKET

There have always been episodes of 'Lawman' around, old 16mm prints & various segments transfered from VHS when syndicated. Curiously there were 3 episodes which never surfaced in the collectors market, even the most ardent 'Lawman' fan couldn't find them'. Therefore some dealers offering 'the complete collection 'were not being strictly truthful. However, once again Encore rides to the rescue, they have recently shown all 156 segnments including the 'lost ' three. So reasonable decent quality sets are out there, be sure to confirm the number of episodes & source if you go this route.

Rocky Lane wrote:

If WB does choose to release these shows on MOD....I hope that they do it per season....not the dreaded Vol 1..2..etc.....

They have announced that the Ron Ely Tarzan will be MOD...but it will be in the Volume sets.... ....at about 39.95 each I bet.....

Bronco & Sugarfoot usually had 20 or less episodes per season, so unlikely they would split them The last 4 seasons of 'Cheyenne' were 13 episodes only. Might even put two together. This assumes (and its a big assumption) they decide to release anything.

Thanks Chris for a great job here! I just purchase "The Wide Country" starring Earl Holliman and Andrew Prine from Sam's Club for $19.96. Its the entire run of the series. Good picture quality from Timeless. Sam's Club locally carries many of the Timeless sets. I previously purchased "The Texan" for the same price. They also had "Whispering Smith" and the second season of "Laramie" and others. Now if someone would release an official set of "Stoney Burke"!

THE DAKOTAS

'The Dakotas' was the last & least successful of the Warner Bros. westerns from the 'classic' era. It starred Larry Ward as Marshal Frank Ragan, with his deputies Chad Everett as Deputy Del Stark, Michael Greene as Deputy Vance Porter & Jack Elam as former gunslinger turned lawman Deputy J.D. Smith. Their territory was the Dakota badlands.

Elam, after years of playing 'mean; finally had the opportunity to be a good guy & was really the stand out of the series. Larry Ward was good as Ragan but the other two didn't add much except as beefcake, Chad Everett in particular.

In later years Elam began to spoof his bad guy image ,such as in the two James Garner 'Support Your Local Gunfighter/Sheriff'' films & an episode of 'Paradise'. A former accountant, blind in one eye in real life, he drifted into acting & played villains in dozens of TV shows & films. He summed up his career as follows

1-Who is Jack Elam ?
2 - Get Jack Elam
3 -Get Me a Jack Elam type
4 - Get me a younger Jack Elam
5 Who is Jack Elam ?

'The Dakotas' was a much darker & more sombre series than the other Warner shows, displaying the west as a harsh & dangerous place. A forerunner perhaps of the "long hair & mud' westerns of today. Unfortunately by 1963, the TV western was in decline, there had been simply too many of them.There was also a growing backlash from anti-violence groups who (having seen off horror comics) ,saw the genre as responsible for all the evils of society at the time, The 18th episode of the series -'Sanctuary at Crystal Springs' featured a shoot-out in a church.The network was besieged with complaints from outraged campaigners who considered this to be in bad taste. One more segment was shown & the series was pulled.

In truth ,by this time nearly all the Warner shows on ABC were in ratings decline ,or had been cancelled and 'The Dakotas' brought the era to a close.

No of seasons- 1 -1963

Copyright - Warners

Network -ABC (UK - ITV)

Notable episodes - Well, the controversial 'Sanctuary at Crystal Springs' & 'Reformation at Big Nose Butte' with Telly Savalas are well regarded.

No of episodes 21 - including the pilot. There is a lot of confusion on the various episode guides on the internet regarding the number of episodes. Just to clarify - the pilot 'A Man Called Ragan' appeared as the final segment of season 6 of 'The Cheyenne Show'. In that season Cheyenne & Bronco had been rotating under the banner heading of 'The Cheyenne Show'.The Dakotas pilot was merely dropped into that slot. A lot of folk seemed surprised Cheyenne was not featured, he was never intended to be & it was just a good opportunity for Warners to try out the new series.

To further confuse matters , the pilot was shown in 1962, then 19 episodes of 'The Dakotas' were screened in 1963. As the series was abruptly pulled ,the last filmed episode 'Black Gold' was never shown.

OFFICIAL DVD RELEASE - None.

Likely DVD release - Well, probably unlikely. As it was not a great success I would imagine Warners would have it way down their schedule even on MOD.I do know that a year or so back, Timeless Media approached Warners about licensing the series. Unfortunately, last I heard that no agreement had been reached.

THE GRAY MARKET -

Actually it is not too difficult a series to obtain. Most "complete" runs I have come across feature only the 19 broadcast episodes & omit the pilot & final unscreened segment. Quality , is usually quite watchable as the sets all seem to emanate from 16mm prints. The pilot can be obtained but all the copies I have seen are of dreadful quality, I have not come across the unscreened episode but it may well be out there.

'The Dakotas', if it had been a year or so earlier would probably have gotten an extended run, sadly it was just a little too late,

Chris,

short and sweet Pard,

You are doing a marvellous job/service with this TV Westerns on dvd section,GREAT INFO!!!!!!

KEEP IT UP Chris,

Davy,westernnut.

Howdy Chris!!

Thanks to a pard on the forum here, I've been able to watch several episodes of The Dakotas. As you say Chris, it was an exceptional western t.v. series. Larry Ward was the star of the series, but Jack Elam as a former gunslinger, turned Deputy, J.D. Smith kinda marched to the beat of his own drum. Elam knew how to project the cold personna of a gunslinger into his character and as a result, it separated him from the others. I havn't watched Sanctuary At Crystal Springs yet, but am looking forward to it.
B.T.W, thank for doing such a good job, keeping us updated on when these wonderful old western t.v. series become available on dvd. I anxiously await each and every one of them's release on dvd. It's like stepping into a time machine!!

Ed

THE ALASKANS

Got the Gold Fever

For whatever reason ,series featuring the frozen north have never been particularly successful on TV. 'The Alaskans' is a prime example as it never achieved the status of the other Warner shows & is pretty much forgotten today.

The series featured Roger Moore as 'Silky Harris' , smooth talking adventurer & trader, not unllke Maverick, his partner Reno McKee (Jeff York) a 'strong as an ox man' & Dorothy Provine as singer 'Rocky Shaw'.

Warners claimed this was their most expensive series at the time,with much money spent on sets.Unfortunately it didn't show on screen much & maybe some cash should have been diverted to scripts, a lot of which were rehashes from some of their other shows. Roger Moore was generally unhappy about the series & has little positive to say about it today. It was also rumoured he had an affair with Dorothy Provine during the filming but we are not into gossip on this forum. !

Dorothy Provine, (I always found her quite attractive) was to achieve more success on her next Warner series 'The Roaring 20's' as flapper Pinky Pinkham. Jeff York appeared in various Warner shows but Alaskans was his only starring role & he left before the show ran its course, Provine meantime,capitilsed on her "20s" image, had a couple of hit records & made a few films. She once visited the UK to top the bill on "Sunday Night at the London Palladium' , the No 1 show in the UK at the time .It featured everyone from Crosby to the Beatles as headliners over the years. The US equivalent would probably be 'The Ed Sullivan Show'.Unfortunately, she lost her voice & became the only bill topping artist to mime.

One other character on the 'Alaskans' who re-occured was Ray Danton as 'Nifty' Cronin. A double dealing con man who usually found himself outsmarted by Silky.

No of seaasons 1

No of episodes 36 (1959/60)

Copyright -Warners

Network - ABC - The series never played in the UK. Leslie Halliwell, noted film critic was the procurer of US TV material for ITV at the time. He claimed 'The Alaskans ' was the most amateurish & worst TV show he had seen.

Official DVD release - None

Possible release - I would say zero. As Dorothy Provine often belted out a few songs in various episodes there would probably be music rights to clear. Hardly anyone remembers it anyway, so I doubt Warners would be interested even as MOD.Only hope is someone else to licence it or Encore to screen it. (Iheard they once enquired),

THE GRAY MARKET

Though not 'lost' (I assume Warners have the prints) this is one of the most difficult western series to obtain. Despite much searching & enquiries I' ve only been able to track down 5 episodes sourced from 16mm. Of these only two can be construed as being in decent condition.As it never played in syndication & more or less disappeared after its initial run, nothing has surfaced. You should be able to pick the 5 available shows up on Ebay or IOffer but beware the quality.

In conclusion- this is series I would really like to see more of - if anyone out there has episodes or knows of sources I would be delighted to hear from them.



Chris

When Jack Elam was asked how it was he could transition from bad guy to good guy he responded that since he was blind in his left eye he couldn't see the badge so he played the good character just as he had the bad.


I remember Dorothy Provine from two of the funniest movies I've ever seen: It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and The Great Race, with Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, Natalie Wood and a hilarious Peter Fauk. 'Push the button, Max'. Her saloon sequence with Larry Storch was outstanding, including the biggest bar room brawl since Dodge City.

Howdy Nightlinger!!

You said it, pard!! I don't know who was the funniest, Jack Lemon as Professor Fate or Peter Falk as his bumbling assistant, Max!! I shall never forget Dorothy Provine as Lilly O'Lay and the complete destruction of the saloon in the bar brawl with Larry Storch. When Storch says"Now will ya give me sum fightin room" and steps out of the 2nd story room into thin air, because the balcony is no longer there and does a header onto the floor below has got to rank as one of the most hilarious stunts ever!!!!! The Great Race!! A classic!!

Ed

COLT 45.

Colt 45. was a somewhat unique show for Warners in that it was created almost overnight when the studio received a call from ABC , who had a beer company anxious to sponsor a half hour western . The 1950 movie Colt 45., starring Randolph Scott had been a success for Warners & seemed an ideal property on which to base a series.

For the TV show Chris Colt would be an undercover agent operating as a gun salesmen. This gave him a good reason to move around to wherever he was needed. For the lead role they cast strapping 6.4" Wayde Preston & the series went into immediate production.

Unfortunately, just like some other Warner shows there were moans on the range,rather than home on the range.(Sorry !) After the initial run of 26 episodes both the sponsor & network said they were dropping the show. Preston blamed poor promotion & lack of budget. Executive producer William T Orr later admitted they used Colt 45. as a 'tryout' show for new producers, assistants & directors. In any event a 2nd series was comissioned, albeit with many repeat episodes.Filming became more fraught when Preston refused to undertake a scene on top of a stagecoach ,claiming it was a stunt & a stuntman should be used. After an exchange of words he eventually walked off the set. Warners response was to bring in contract player Donald May, who had previously appeared on the series as cousin Samuel Colt & promote him to lead.

Somehow the series actually made it to a third season, but was one of the first Warner Bros westerns to bite the dust.

No of seasons 3

No of episodes 67

Copyright Warners

Network ABC - UK - 26 episodes were shown by the BBC in 1966 ,who strangely, put it into a childerns hour slot. They reportedly retitled it 'The Colt Cousins' but I'm sure the odd episode I saw it was under Colt 45.

Season 1 - 1957/8 - 26 episodes

Season 2 -1958/9 -13 episodes

Season 3 - 1959/60 -28 episodes

OFFICIAL DVD RELEASE - None

Presumably another candidate for MOD but I suspect it would be way down the line.Another series I think Timeless enquired about licensing without success.

THE GRAY MARKET

Has not played as widely in syndication as some other Warner shows.Quite a number of episodes are available mostly dubs from 16mm. Quality varies from reasonable to poor.I know of no complete sets but they could be out there.

Not a bad little western by any means & one I hope will see the light of day sometime. Would probably be a good acquisition for Encore westerns.

Howdy Chris!!

I remember this ole series, starring Wade Preston. It was filmed in b/w and the thing that struck me about it, was Wade Prestons 2 gun rig. Arvo Ojala invented the first steel lined cutaway rig in 1955 and by the time that Colt .45 was aired, Hugh O'Brian, Clint Walker and many of the other western t.v. stars were already wearing his rigs, in both single and double configuration. Arvo basically made 2 rigs. One for the 4 &3/4 and 5 & 1/2 inch barreled Colts and one like Richard Boone/Paladin and James Arness/Matt Dillon's for the 7 & 1/2 inch barreled Colts. As I said earlier on another thread, the holster that Arvo made for Hugh O'Brian's Buntline Special, was a special order replacement holster for the right hand side of O'Brian's 5 & 1/2 inch Ojala rig. The thing that always bugged me, is that Wade Preston wore a 2 gun rig for the 5 & 1/2 inch barreled Colt's, and yet he stuffed two 7&1/2 barreled Colts in the holsters and all you could see, was gun barrels stickin outta the holsters on the side of each leg!!! I don't know what the plan here was, but it shore made sumbuddy look like they didnt know what they were doin!!!!! If you get a chance to see any of the episodes of the Wyatt Earp/O'Brian t.v. series, AFTER he adopted the Buntline Special and BEFORE Ojala made the replacement holster, you will notice the jack leg holster that O'Brian used for it. It left about 6-8 inches of barrel stickin outta the holster and everytime he dismounted, the barrel hung up on his saddle. Looked kinda stupid and that's what Wade Preston's guns looked like.

Ed

Hi Ed you old brush popper!
I still have all of the westerns talked about here. Hope you are still enjoying those I sent you way back when.
Finally Grit is showing some good ones, like Tales of Wells Fargo. As well as some pretty good movies. See ya on the trail.

I’m watching the old tv series, Centennial, and I’m enjoying it very much.  Very good cast, well acted.