The Westerner (TV series)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
-
- Herschel Burke Gilbert
- Rudy Schrager
- Joseph Mullendore
| The Westerner | |
|---|---|
 Brian Keith as Dave Blassingame and Spike as Brown, 1960 | |
| Genre | Western |
| Created by | Sam Peckinpah |
| Starring | Brian Keith |
| Music by |
|
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Hal Hudson |
| Producer | Sam Peckinpah |
| Production locations | Republic Studios, Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 25 mins. |
| Production company | Four Star Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | September 30 – December 30, 1960 |
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] Brian Keith starred in the lead role of Dave Blassingame, an amiable, unexceptional cowhand and drifter, accompanied by his dog Brown.[1]
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
Main
- 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
Guest stars included Malcolm Atterbury, Ben Cooper, Katy Jurado, and John M. Pickard, Sam Jaffe, and one episode (the first, "Jeff") memorably featured future Peckinpah regular 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
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pilot | "Trouble at Tres Cruces" | Sam Peckinpah | Sam Peckinpah | March 26, 1959 | |
|
This was episode 24 of season 3 of Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre. | |||||
| 1 | "Jeff" | Sam Peckinpah | Robert Heverly, Sam Peckinpah | September 30, 1960 | |
| 2 | "School Days" | André De Toth | Robert Heverly, Sam Peckinpah | October 7, 1960 | |
| 3 | "Brown" | Sam Peckinpah | Bruce Geller | October 21, 1960 | |
| 4 | "Mrs. Kennedy" | Bernard L. Kowalski | John Dunkel, Sam Peckinpah | October 28, 1960 | |
| 5 | "Dos Pinos" | Don McDougall | E. Jack Neuman | November 4, 1960 | |
| 6 | "The Courting of Libby" | Sam Peckinpah | Bruce Geller | November 11, 1960 | |
| 7 | "Treasure" | Ted Post | Cyril Hume | November 18, 1960 | |
| 8 | "The Old Man" | André De Toth | Jack Curtis, Sam Peckinpah | November 25, 1960 | |
| 9 | "Ghost of a Chance" | Bruce Geller | Milton S. Gelman | December 2, 1960 | |
| 10 | "Line Camp" | Tom Gries | Tom Gries | December 9, 1960 | |
| 11 | "Going Home" | Elliot Silverstein | Jack Curtis | December 16, 1960 | |
| 12 | "Hand on the Gun" | Sam Peckinpah | Bruce Geller | December 23, 1960 | |
| 13 | "The Painting" | Sam Peckinpah | Bruce Geller | December 30, 1960 | |
Production
Music
The musical score was largely the work of Four Star's Herschel Burke Gilbert.
Release
Broadcast
The pilot for The Westerner appeared on CBS's Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre.
Syndication as The Westerners
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
A two-DVD set of the complete series including the pilot episode was released by Shout! Factory in February 2017.[3]
Reception
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]
Aftermath and influence
Following the series' cancellation, Peckinpah and Keith made the film The Deadly Companions together, the former's feature directorial debut.[5] Peckinpah was later approached by producer Richard N. Lyons to direct Ride the High Country after the latter was impressed by his work on The Westerner.[6]