The Westerner (TV series)

The Westerner is an American Western television series that aired on NBC from September 30 to December 30, 1960. Created and produced by Sam Peckinpah, who also wrote and directed some episodes, the series was a Four Star Television production.[1] The Westerner stars Brian Keith as amiable, unexceptional cowhand/drifter Dave Blassingame, and features John Dehner as rakish Burgundy Smith, who appeared in three episodes.

The Westerner
Brian Keith as Dave Blassingame and Spike as Brown, 1960
GenreWestern
Created bySam Peckinpah
Written byJack Curtis
Bruce Geller
Tom Gries
Robert Heverly
Sam Peckinpah
Directed bySam Peckinpah
André de Toth
Tom Gries
StarringBrian Keith
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes13
Production
Executive producerHal Hudson
ProducerSam Peckinpah
Camera setupSingle-camera
Running time25 mins.
Production companyFour Star Productions
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseSeptember 30 (1960-09-30) –
December 30, 1960 (1960-12-30)

Overview

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Dave Blassingame is a cowboy and drifter who is handy with a gun and his fists, travelling through an often lawless country trying to get enough money together to buy his own ranch.

His dog Brown is played by Spike, trained by Frank Weatherwax and best known for playing the title role in Old Yeller. Brown figures prominently in a number of episodes, appears in all of them, and always appears following Blassingame during the end credits.

Cast

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Main

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  • Brian Keith as Dave Blassingame
  • Spike as Brown
  • Hank Gobble as Digger
  • Jimmy Lee Cook as Band Member
  • Michael T. Mikler as Band Member
  • Marie Selland as Addie McKeen
  • John Dehner as Burgundy Smith

Guest stars

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Guest stars included Malcolm Atterbury, Ben Cooper, Katy Jurado, and John M. Pickard, Sam Jaffe, and one episode (the first, "Jeff") memorably featured Warren Oates as a drunk quietly passing out at a table. Other guest stars, like Ms. Jurado, would later go on to appear in some of Peckinpah's feature films. These included John Anderson (Ride the High Country), R. G. Armstrong (Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid), Dub Taylor (The Wild Bunch, The Getaway), and Mary Murphy (Junior Bonner).

Episodes

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No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
Pilot"Trouble at Tres Cruces"Sam PeckinpahSam PeckinpahMarch 26, 1959 (1959-03-26)
This was episode 24 of season 3 of Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre.
1"Jeff"Sam PeckinpahRobert Heverly,
Sam Peckinpah
September 30, 1960 (1960-09-30)
2"School Days"André De TothRobert Heverly,
Sam Peckinpah
October 7, 1960 (1960-10-07)
3"Brown"Sam PeckinpahBruce GellerOctober 21, 1960 (1960-10-21)
4"Mrs. Kennedy"Bernard L. KowalskiJohn Dunkel,
Sam Peckinpah
October 28, 1960 (1960-10-28)
5"Dos Pinos"Don McDougallE. Jack NeumanNovember 4, 1960 (1960-11-04)
6"The Courting of Libby"Sam PeckinpahBruce GellerNovember 11, 1960 (1960-11-11)
7"Treasure"Ted PostCyril HumeNovember 18, 1960 (1960-11-18)
8"The Old Man"André De TothJack Curtis,
Sam Peckinpah
November 25, 1960 (1960-11-25)
9"Ghost of a Chance"Bruce GellerMilton S. GelmanDecember 2, 1960 (1960-12-02)
10"Line Camp"Tom GriesTom GriesDecember 9, 1960 (1960-12-09)
11"Going Home"Elliot SilversteinJack CurtisDecember 16, 1960 (1960-12-16)
12"Hand on the Gun"Sam PeckinpahBruce GellerDecember 23, 1960 (1960-12-23)
13"The Painting"Sam PeckinpahBruce GellerDecember 30, 1960 (1960-12-30)

Production

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Music

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The musical score was largely the work of Four Star's Herschel Burke Gilbert.

Release

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Broadcast

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The pilot for The Westerner appeared on CBS's Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre.

Syndication as The Westerners

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For rerun syndication it was grouped with three other short-lived Western series from the same company, Black Saddle starring Peter Breck, Johnny Ringo starring Don Durant, and Law of the Plainsman starring Michael Ansara, under the umbrella title The Westerners, bracketed with hosting sequences featuring Keenan Wynn.[2]

Home media

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A two-DVD set of the complete series including the pilot episode was released by Shout! Factory in February 2017.[3]

Reception

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The critically acclaimed series ran for 13 episodes, but it was cancelled because of low ratings (due to being placed in the same time slot as The Flintstones and Route 66).[4]

Spin-offs and remakes

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The Losers (1963)

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An attempt to update and revive the hardbitten series aired as a January 1963 episode of The Dick Powell Theater, "The Losers", directed by Peckinpah and featuring Lee Marvin as Dave Blassingame and Keenan Wynn as Burgundy Smith, but set in the modern West. Rosemary Clooney portrayed the leading lady.

Will Penny (1968)

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One of the episodes of The Westerner, "Line Camp" guest-starring Robert Culp, was the basis for the 1968 film Will Penny starring Charlton Heston. Slim Pickens plays essentially the same role, as a feisty derby-wearing cook, in both the television episode and the movie.

The Gambler Returns (1991)

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Brian Keith briefly played the same character again in 1991's The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw, which featured a number of 1950s and 1960s television Western series leads reprising their roles in quick cameo appearances (Gene Barry as Bat Masterson, Hugh O'Brian as Wyatt Earp, Jack Kelly as Bart Maverick, Clint Walker as Cheyenne Bodie, David Carradine as Kung Fu's Caine, Chuck Connors as The Rifleman, and so on).

References

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  1. ^ "The Westerner". tv.apple.com. Apple TV+. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  2. ^ "New...In Syndication! 5 Great Stars...125 Action Half Hours! Keenan Wynn presents The Westerners (originally seen as: Black Saddle / Johnny Ringo / The Law of the Plainsman / The Westerner)". Broadcasting. May 31, 1965. pp. 12–13. ProQuest 1014491186. Now being filmed in Hollywood! 125 different Keenan Wynn wrap-arounds are being produced and carefully integrated into each of THE WESTERNERS episodes ... giving this series A FIRST RUN LOOK! [...] Fall '65 start! For stripping, once-a-week, or as a back-to-back hour (with special Keenan Wynn bridges). [...] starring Brian Keith as Dave Blasingame, Michael Ansara as Sam Buchart, Peter Breck as Clay Culhane, Don Durant as Johnny Ringo.
  3. ^ "The Westerner: The Complete Series". Shout! Factory. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
  4. ^ Rafferty, Terrence. "Where the Wild Bunch Can Trace Its Birth." The New York Times. 18 July 2004.
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