Thursday, December 14, 2023

Cheyenne (1962)

 

After seven years in the saddle, wandering into all kinds of trouble but remaining the most popular TV western ever produced by Warner Brothers, Cheyenne came to the end of the trail in December 1962. As we noted in our post on the 1960 episodes, Cheyenne was TV's first 1-hour drama and one of the first three series Warner Brothers debuted in their initial foray into television in 1955. TV Guide covered the impending finale in an August 4, 1962 feature story, "'Just Clint and the Cactus,'" which surprisingly quoted Warner Brothers executives speaking dismissively of their most profitable star Clint Walker, with one calling him "that big, dumb farmer." The article additionally notes that the same executives considered the show's success, placing in the top 30 in the ratings from 1955-61, as due more to the formula than Walker's ability. And yet despite Walker's intention to leave at the end of Season 7, he was still being called into Jack Warner's office on a regular basis to try to get him to sign a new contract. Walker had clearly had enough of his indentured servitude at Warners, having already gone on strike for an entire season in 1958-59 and having expressed, as we noted in our post on the 1961 episodes, that he felt the character had already played itself out.

But since they thought they had a successful formula, the producers made no real changes in the 1962 episodes from the latter half of Season 6 and all those for Season 7, though they teased bringing the series to a resolution in the final episode, "Showdown at Oxbend" (December 17, 1962). In this story Cheyenne drives his wagon into the titular town and tells longtime friend Sheriff Ben Jethro that he has come to look into buying a horse ranch from Perly Wilkins with the intention of finally settling down. He tells Jethro he has had his fill of wandering about and wants to permanently put down roots. But we've seen this tease before in plots that seem ready to end Cheyenne's peripatetic lifestyle, and this one is no exception--perhaps driven by Jack Warner's optimism in being able to sign Walker to a new contract. Because when Cheyenne talks to Wilkins about buying his ranch, he considers the selling price too low for a ranch that has everything he wants, and he refuses to take advantage of a man driven to desperation. The desperation comes from an impending sheep drive that is expected to devastate all the grazing in the area and launch a full-out range war with the local group of cattle ranchers, led by the abrasive Ed Foster. Buried in the sheep drive is another favorite theme in the Cheyenne canon--misguided revenge for a sin committed many years ago, in this case the daughter of a sheep-herding man lynched by Foster and his mob some 20 years ago. Even though Cheyenne is able to avert the seemingly inevitable range war at the last minute, he decides to once again move on, telling Jethro that perhaps he will find his final resting place somewhere farther down the line.

Revenge is the main driving force in several other 1962 episodes: "The Bad Penny" (February 26, 1962), again featuring a young woman whose father was lynched many years ago, "Vengeance Is Mine" (November 26, 1962), in which a friend of Cheyenne's took the prison rap for another man in exchange for money to help his mother, which was never delivered, "Johnny Brassbuttons" (December 3, 1962), in which a Mescalero chief tries to sabotage a brave who married the squaw he wanted for himself, and "Wanted for the Murder of Cheyenne Bodie" (December 10, 1962), in which an outlaw gang tries to frame Cheyenne for a murder as revenge for his role in seeing their younger brother hung for another murder.

The other deadly sin dominating the Cheyenne universe is greed , as demonstrated in the episodes "The Wedding Rings" (January 8, 1962), where a small-town Mexican dictator tries to bleed his citizens dry before ascending to a larger role in the revolutionary capitol, "Satonka" (October 1, 1962), in which a mining company agent runs afoul of a local mythical beast in his pursuit of his company's interests, "Sweet Sam" (October 8, 1962), in which a man pretends to be a Good Samaritan to fool everyone in a small town so that he can rob the bank, "Man Alone" (October 15, 1962), where a young man who participated in a bank robbery suffers amnesia after falling from his horse while escaping with the stolen money but then tries to start a new life on the straight and narrow only to be pursued by the other bank robbers, "Indian Gold" (October 29, 1962), in which several citizens in a small settlement defy a U.S. Government treaty to go onto Indian land in search for a legendary treasure, "Dark Decision" (November 5, 1962), in which a greedy gambler kills a casino owner to rob his safe and preys upon a blind singer he has been courting to provide him with an alibi, "The Vanishing Breed" (November 19, 1962), in which a state senator corruptly uses his office to decimate the buffalo population to benefit his secret hide and tanning business, and the aforementioned "Showdown at Oxbend," in which the range war between sheep herders and cattle ranchers is secretly orchestrated by the largest landowner, Foster, to drive smaller ranchers to sell out before the war starts.

Though all these episodes are essentially repetitive variations on a single theme, the most interesting of the lot is "Indian Gold" because one of the greedy gold-seekers is a kind of anti-Cheyenne. Like our hero, Sheriff Matt Kilgore is a white man raised by Indians, in this case the Sioux, the very tribe whose legendary treasure other residents, such as town cook Charlie Feeney, are trying to steal. Kilgore initially appears to be on the side of good, working side-by-side with Cheyenne after showing him his Sioux brand to thwart the efforts of men like Feeney and avoid a full-scale Indian war. But once Feeney has learned where the gold is hidden and is forced to tell Kilgore, who then shoots him in the back, Cheyenne has to try to prevent Kilgore from stealing the gold for himself. Cheyenne reminds Kilgore that he will be betraying the very tribe that raised him and the chief who took him in as his own son, but Kilgore spits back at Cheyenne that despite any kindness he may have received from the Sioux, he is still white, a damning indictment because whiteness is linked to betrayal, murder, and greed. Though most of the true villains on Cheyenne are white men, we also see evil Native Americans, such as the covetous Mescalero chief Chato in "Johnny Brassbuttons." We also get greedy and ruthless Mexicans in "The Wedding Rings" and slave-trading, duplicitous Chinese in "Pocketful of Stars" (November 12, 1962), so essentially no race is singled out for villainy--there is plenty to go around.

As for our hero Clint Walker, the previously mentioned TV Guide article described his future plans, post-Cheyenne, to include acting in movies as well as singing on records, both of which he had done during his tenure on Cheyenne. But while Walker would indeed appear in such feature films as Send Me No Flowers, None But the Brave, and The Dirty Dozen, the singing career never materialized, though he would reprise his role as Cheyenne Bodie in a 1995 episode of Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, his last on-screen appearance. He passed away from congestive heart failure 5 years ago at the age of 90.

The Actors

For the biography of Clint Walker, see the 1960 post for Cheyenne.

Notable Guest Stars

Season 6, Episode 10, "The Wedding Rings": Harold J. Stone (shown on the left, played John Kennedy on The Grand Jury, Hamilton Greeley on My World and Welcome to It, and Sam Steinberg on Bridget Loves Bernie) plays Contadora, Mexico dictator Perez. Roberto Contreras (Pedro on The High Chapparal) plays his henchman Ortega. Margarita Cordova (Rosa Andrade on Santa Barbara and Carmen Torres on Sunset Beach) plays widow Alita Rodriguez. Nestor Paiva (Theo Gonzales on Zorro) plays the local padre. Cyril Delevanti (Lucious Coin on Jefferson Drum) plays a doctor.

Season 6, Episode 11, "The Idol": Jeff Morrow (shown on the right, starred in Sign of the Pagan, This Island Earth, Pardners, and The Giant Claw and played Maj. Bart McClelland on Union Pacific and Dr. Lloyd Axton on The New Temperatures Rising Show) plays notorious gunman turned Creek Point lawman Ben Shelby. Jean Byron (see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis) plays new Creek Point school teacher Deborah Morse. Roger Mobley (Homer "Packy" Lambert on Fury) plays her young son Gabe. Robert B. Williams (see the biography section for the 1962 post on Hazel) plays Creek Point citizens council representative Clem Peters. Leo Gordon (appeared in Gun Fury, Hondo, Quantrill's Raiders, and Big Top Pee-wee and played Big Mike McComb on Maverick) plays outlaw gang leader Greg Kirby. Craig Duncan (Sgt. Stanfield/Banfield on Mackenzie's Raiders) plays his brother Daws. Billy M. Greene (appeared in The Shrike, Never Steal Anything Small, and The Cape Canaveral Monsters and played Skrag on Captain Video and His Video Rangers) plays bartender Joe.

Season 6, Episode 12, "One Way Ticket": Philip Carey (shown on the left, starred in I Was a Communist for the FBI, Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison, Calamity Jane, Mister Roberts, Dead Ringer, and Three For Texas and played Lt. Michael Rhodes on Tales of the 77th Bengal Lancers, Philip Marlowe on Philip Marlowe, Capt. Edward Parmalee on Laredo, and Asa Buchanan on One Life to Live) plays notorious outlaw Cole Younger. Judson Pratt (Billy Kinkaid on Union Pacific) plays his associate Vince Harper. Robert Anderson (Park Street, Jr. on The Court of Last Resort and Aeneas MacLinahan on Wichita Town) plays U.S. Marshal Johnny Warren. Charles Irving (Judge Blanchard on Perry Mason and Admiral Vincent Beckett on The Wackiest Ship in the Army) plays traveling salesman Orville C. Jones. Roxanne Arlen (former wife of Red Buttons, appeared in Hot Rod Girl, Bachelor Flat, and Gypsy) plays flirtatious train passenger Flo Gibson. Ronnie Dapo (Flip Rose on Room for One More and Andy on The New Phil Silvers Show) plays young boy train passenger Roy Barrington. Lillian Bronson (Mrs. Drake on Date With the Angels) plays his grandmother Mrs. Frazier. Harry Harvey (Sheriff Tom Blodgett on The Roy Rogers Show, Mayor George Dixon on Man Without a Gun, and Houghton Stott on It's a Man's World) plays train conductor Wilbur Crane.

Season 6, Episode 13, "The Bad Penny": Susan Seaforth Hayes (shown on the right, played Carol West on The Young Marrieds, Julie Olson Williams on Days of Our Lives, JoAnna Manning on The Young and the Restless, Patricia Steele on Sunset Beach, and Ms. Preston on Venice the Series) plays new Calista resident, widow Penelope Piper. Richard Webb (Captain Midnight on Captain Midnight and Deputy Chief Don Jagger on Border Patrol) plays rancher Clay McConnell. Carol Nicholson (Laurie Rose on Room for One More) plays his young daughter Nancy. Robert Hogan (Gilly Gillespie on The Young Marrieds, Rev. Tom Winter on Peyton Place, Asst. DA Stephens on Bright Promise, Scott Banning on Days of Our Lives, Sheriff Paul Tate on The Manhunter, Sgt. Ted Coppersmith on Richie Brockelman, Private Eye, Lt. Cmdr. Haller on Operation Petticoat, Nathan Welsh on Secrets of Midland Heights, Greg Stemple on Alice, Vince McKinnon on Another World, and L.J. McDermott on As the World Turns) plays Penelope suitor Billy Hay. Don Haggerty (Jeffrey Jones on The Files of Jeffrey Jones, Eddie Drake on The Cases of Eddie Drake, Sheriff Dan Elder on State Trooper, and Marsh Murdock on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays businessman Tod Kimball. Richard Collier (Harry Price on Many Happy Returns) plays town photographer Symes. Maurice Manson (Frederick Timberlake on Dennis the Menace, Josh Egan on Hazel, and Hank Pinkham on General Hospital) plays circuit Judge Stone. Bill Idelson (Babcock on The Bill Dana Show and wrote screenplays for multiple episodes of The Andy Griffith Show, Gomer Pyle, USMC, and The Odd Couple as well as many other programs) plays the hotel clerk.

Season 7, Episode 1, "The Durango Brothers":  Ellen Corby (Henrietta Porter on Trackdown and Esther Walton on The Waltons) plays outlaw matriarch Hortense Durango. Jack Elam (Deputy J.D. Smith on The Dakotas, George Taggart on Temple Houston, Zack Wheeler on The Texas Wheelers, and Uncle Alvin Stevenson on Easy Street) plays her son Calhoun. Mickey Simpson (Boley on Captain David Grief) plays her son Homer. Sally Kellerman (shown on the left, starred in Reform School Girl, MASH, Brewster McCloud, Slither, and The Player and played Lola on Chemistry, Constance Bingham on The Young and the Restless, Toni Maron on Maron, and Janet Davidson on Decker) plays her daughter Lottie. Warren Douglas (wrote screenplays for 11 episodes of Sugarfoot, 10 episodes of Cheyenne, and 5 episodes of Bronco) plays drummer Donald Gardner. Chuck Hicks (LaMarr Kane on The Untouchables) plays a traveling salesman.

Season 7, Episode 2, "Satonka": Andrew Dugan (shown on the right, played Cal Calhoun on Bourbon Street Beat, George Rose on Room for One More, Major Gen. Ed Britt on 12 O'Clock High, and Murdoch Lancer on Lancer) plays mining company agent Mark Kendall. Harvey Stephens (starred in Maid of Salem, Swing High, Swing Low, and Abe Lincoln in Illinois) plays missing anthropologist Dr. Clark Dana. Susan Seaforth Hayes (see "The Bad Penny" above) plays his daughter Carol. James Best (Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane on The Dukes of Hazzard and The Dukes) plays Desolation Mountains resident Ernie Riggins. Bill Zuckert (Arthur Bradwell on Mr. Novak and Chief Segal on Captain Nice) plays fellow resident Ed Parker. King Moody (Starker on Get Smart and Ronald McDonald on McDonaldland) plays fellow resident Frank.

Season 7, Episode 3, "Sweet Sam":  Robert McQueeney (shown on the left, played Conley Wright on The Gallant Men) plays Rock Springs Samaritan Sam Pridemore. Denver Pyle (Ben Thompson on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Grandpa Tarleton on Tammy, Briscoe Darling on The Andy Griffith Show, Buck Webb on The Doris Day Show, Mad Jack on The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams, and Uncle Jesse on The Dukes of Hazzard) plays banker Cyrus Burton. Frank Ferguson (Gus Broeberg on My Friend Flicka, Eli Carson on Peyton Place, and Dr. Barton Stuart on Petticoat Junction) plays blacksmith Eli Zachary. Roger Mobley (see "The Idol" above) plays his crippled son Billy. Ronnie Haran (owns and operates a film location service and was the original booking agent at the Whiskey A Go-Go who helped get The Doors signed to Elektra Records and took the photograph on the back cover of the band Love's LP Forever Changes) plays town drunk's daughter Mary DeLieu. Joseph Gallison (appeared in All the Young Men, The Wackiest Ship in the Army, and PT 109 and played Bill Matthews on Another World and Dr. Neil Curtis on Days of Our Lives) plays a cruel anonymous gunman. Owen Orr (Pvt. Wally Blanchard on No Time for Sergeants) plays Rock Springs deputy Smitty. Richard Reeves (Mr. Murphy on Date With the Angels) plays gang member Jingles Clark. Dan Sheridan (see the biography section for the 1960 post on Lawman) plays bartender Shorty.

Season 7, Episode 4, "Man Alone": Carl Reindel (shown on the right, appeared in Bullitt, The Cheyenne Social Club, and The Andromeda Strain) plays amnesia victim Terry Brown. Steve Brodie (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays his uncle Buck Brown. Robert Karnes (see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Lawless Years) plays Buck's gang member Matt Walsh. John Milford (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays gang member Johnny Duggan. Sherwood Price (Gen. Jeb Stuart on The Gray Ghost) plays Johnny's brother Jimmy. Oliver MacGowan (Harvey Welk on Empire) plays Cattlemen's Association president Jed Belden. Lee Van Cleef (starred in High Noon, The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms, For a Few Dollars More, and The Good, The Bad and the Ugly and played John Peter McAllister on The Master) plays bartender Harry. Sarah Selby (see the biography section for the 1962 post on Gunsmoke) plays Buck's mother Sarah.

Season 7, Episode 5, "The Quick and the Deadly": Ray Teal (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Bonanza) plays Travis County Sheriff Matt Corbin. Chris Alcaide (was once married to Cher's mother, Georgia Holt) plays his deputy Gary Thomas. John Litel (starred in Back in Circulation, On Trial, Murder in the Blue Room, four Nancy Drew films, and eight Henry Aldrich films and played the Governor on Zorro and Dan Murchison on Stagecoach West) plays banker Mike Ainley. Mike Road (Marshal Tom Sellers on Buckskin, Lt. Joe Switolski on The Roaring 20's, and provided the voice for Race Bannon on Johnny Quest and Ugh on Space Ghost) plays his son Jud. William Mims (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays Jud's defense attorney. Charles Irving (see "One Way Ticket" above) plays the trial judge. Jeanne Cooper (shown on the left, played Grace Douglas on Bracken's World and Katherine Chancellor Murphy on The Young and the Restless) plays bar maid Molly Spencer. Michael Greene (Deputy Vance Porter on The Dakotas) plays Jud's henchman Cobb. John Harmon (hotel clerk Eddie Halstead on The Rifleman) plays card dealer Jake. Frank Cady (see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet) plays bank teller Wayne.

Season 7, Episode 6, "Indian Gold": Peter Breck (shown on the right, played Clay Culhane on Black Saddle, Doc Holliday on Maverick, and Nick Barkley on The Big Valley) plays Cheyenne's old friend Sheriff Matt Kilgore. Frank De Kova (Chief Wild Eagle on F Troop and Louis Campagna on The Untouchables) plays Sioux chief War Cloud. H.M. Wynant (Lt. Bauer on The Young Marrieds, Frosty on Batman, and Ed Chapman on Dallas) plays one of his braves White Claw. Arline Martel (Tiger on Hogan's Heroes and Spock's Vulcan bride on Star Trek) plays White Claw's sick wife Little Fawn. Trevor Bardette (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays town cook Charlie Feeney. George Petrie (Nathan Wade on Search for Tomorrow, Freddie Muller on The Honeymooners, Don Rudy Aiuppo on Wiseguy, Harv Smithfield on Dallas, and Sid on Mad About You) plays local physician Doc Farnsworth. Lane Chandler (Tom Pike on Lawman) plays general store owner Bailey. Norman Leavitt (Ralph on Trackdown) plays miner Pete. Joe Higgins (see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Rifleman) plays his partner Joe. Clyde Howdy (Hank Whitfield on Lassie) plays Indian hater Smith.

Season 7, Episode 7, "Dark Decision": Dianne Brewster (shown on the left, starred in Courage of Black Beauty, The Invisible Boy, Torpedo Run, and The Young Philadelphians and played Miss Canfield on Leave It to Beaver and The New Leave It to Beaver, Samantha Crawford on Maverick, and Wilhelmina Vanderveer on The Islanders) plays blind singer Constance Mason. Amanda Rudolph (Mama on The Amos 'n' Andy Show and Louise on The Danny Thomas Show) plays her maid Cleo. Peter Breck (see "Indian Gold" above) plays gambler Tony Chance. James Griffith (Aaron Adams on Trackdown and Deputy Tom Ferguson on U.S. Marshal) plays his partner Joe. Barry Kelley (starred in The Asphalt Jungle, The Manchurian Candidate, and The Love Bug and played Charlie Anderson on Big Town, Jim Rafferty on The Tom Ewell Show, Mr. Slocum on Pete and Gladys, and Carol's father on Mister Ed) plays saloon owner Nathan Alston. John Pickard (Capt. Shank Adams on Boots and Saddles and Sgt. Maj. Murdock on Gunslinger) plays cattle drover Ben Cask. Robert Brubaker (Deputy Ed Blake on U.S. Marshal and Floyd on Gunsmoke) plays Galesburg Sheriff Matt Silvers. Gregg Palmer (see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays casino houseman Nick.

Season 7, Episode 8, "Pocketful of Stars": Peter Brown (shown on the right, see the biography section for the 1960 post on Lawman) plays surveyor Ross Andrews. Weaver Levy (Oliver Kee on Adventures in Paradise) Chinese railroad worker Wang. Lisa Lu (see the biography section for the 1960 post on Have Gun--Will Travel) plays another worker's daughter Mei Ling. Nelson Olmsted (Captain Masters, MD on The Phil Silvers Show and Dr. Harkins on Days of Our Lives) plays railroad executive James Melville. Robert Foulk (Ed Davis on Father Knows Best, Sheriff Miller on Lassie, Joe Kingston on Wichita Town, Mr. Wheeler on Green Acres, and Phillip Toomey on The Rifleman) plays his foreman Tom Fanshaw. Robert Anderson (see "One Way Ticket" above) plays freighter John Bishop. Frank De Kova (see "Indian Gold" above) plays Shoshone chief Red Knife.

Season 7, Episode 9, "The Vanishing Breed": Roy Roberts (Capt. Simon P. Huxley on The Gale Storm Show, Admiral Rogers on McHale's Navy, John Cushing on The Beverly Hillbillies, Mr. Cheever on The Lucy Show, Frank Stephens on Bewitched, Norman Curtis on Petticoat Junction, and Mr. Botkin/Bodkin on Gunsmoke) plays state Senator Matson. Harry Lauter (Ranger Clay Morgan on Tales of the Texas Rangers, Atlasande on Rocky Jones, Space Ranger, and Jim Herrick on Waterfront) plays his assistant Walt Taylor. Regis Toomey (shown on the left, starred in Alibi, Other Men's Women, The Finger Points, His Girl Friday, and The Big Sleep and played Joe Mulligan on The Mickey Rooney Show, Lt. Manny Waldo on Four Star Playhouse, Lt. McGough on Richard Diamond, Private Detective, Bill Cochran on Shannon, Det. Les Hart on Burke's Law, and Dr. Barton Stuart on Petticoat Junction and Green Acres) plays former state senator Pat Evans. Pat Woodell (Bobbie Jo Bradley on Petticoat Junction) plays his daughter Gail. Vaughn Taylor (starred in Jailhouse Rock, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Psycho, and In Cold Blood and played Ernest P. Duckweather on Johnny Jupiter) plays Matson cohort Judge Kincaid. Marshall Reed (Inspector Fred Asher on The Lineup) plays Indian agent Ab Carter. Paul Mantee (starred in Robinson Crusoe on Mars, Blood on the Arrow, and A Man Called Dagger and played Det. Al Corassa on Cagney & Lacey and Commander Clayton on Hunter) plays Arapahoe brave Johnny Crow. Benny Baker (appeared in Blonde Trouble, Stage Door Canteen, and Paint Your Wagon and played Pete the bartender on F Troop) plays physician Doc Johnson. Robert Carson (Mr. Maddis on The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show) plays Senate Speaker Cleaver. Lane Chandler (see "Indian Gold" above) plays state Sen. Maple.

Season 7, Episode 10, "Vengeance Is Mine": Van Williams (shown on the right, played Kenny Madison on Bourbon Street Beat and Surfside 6, Pat Burns on The Tycoon, Britt Reid on The Green Hornet, and Steve Andrews on Westwind) plays Cheyenne's old friend Ray Masters. George Gaynes (Frank Smith on General Hospital, Henry Warnimont on Punky Brewster, and Arthur Feldman on The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd) plays former gun runner Rod Delaplane. Leo Gordon (see "The Idol" above) plays his gunman Dan Gibson. Roberto Contreras (see "The Wedding Rings" above) plays Gibson's henchman Constanza. Jean Willes (appeared in Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Ocean's 11, and Gypsy) plays saloon owner Meg Stevens. Denver Pyle (see "Sweet Sam" above) plays rancher John Hanson.

Season 7, Episode 11, "Johnny Brassbuttons": Tony Young (shown on the left, son of actor Carleton G. Young, played Cord on Gunslinger) plays Indian scout for the U.S. Army Johnny Brassbuttons. Victoria Vetri (appeared in Kings of the Sun, Chuka, Rosemary's Baby, and Invasion of the Bee Girls) plays his wife White Bird. Philip Carey (see "One Way Ticket" above) plays lawman Marshal Frank Nolan. Adam Williams (appeared in Flying Leathernecks, The Big Heat, Fear Strikes Out, and North by Northwest) plays his deputy Jeb Quinn. Yale Summers (Jack Dane on Daktari) plays greenhorn Army Lt. Jackson. Michael Pate (starred in Face to Face, Julius Caesar, Hondo, and Tower of London and played Chief Vittoro on Hondo and Det. Sgt. Vic Maddern on Matlock) plays Mescalero chief Chato. Booth Colman (Zaius on Planet of the Apes, Prof. Hector Jerrold on General Hospital, and Dr. Felix Burke on The Young and the Restless) plays Army fort commander Col. Travers. Adrienne Marden (Mary Breckenridge on The Waltons) plays Army wagon traveler Miss Bolton.

Season 7, Episode 12, "Wanted for the Murder of Cheyenne Bodie": Ruta Lee (shown on the right, appeared in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Funny Face, and Witness for the Prosecution and played Rona on 1st and Ten: The Championship and Pauline Spencer on Coming of Age) plays Walton Gang sister Lenore Hanford. Richard Webb (see "The Bad Penny" above) plays gang leader Bill Walton. Gregg Palmer (see "Dark Decision" above) plays his brother Hal. Dick Foran (Fire Chief Ed Washburne on Lassie and Slim on O.K., Crackerby!) plays Highmore Sheriff Bigelow. Robert Knapp (Ben Olson on Days of Our Lives and SAC Noel McDonald on The F.B.I.) plays his deputy Rankin. Charles Fredericks (Pete Albright on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays bartender Sam. Benny Rubin (see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Dick Tracy Show) plays a hotel clerk. Clyde Howdy (see "Indian Gold" above) plays Jefferson City Marshal Masters.

Season 7, Episode 13, "Showdown at Oxbend": Andrew Duggan (see "Satonka" above) plays Oxbend cattle rancher Ed Foster. Owen Orr  (see "Sweet Sam" above) plays his hired gun Hub Clayton. Ray Teal (see "The Quick and the Deadly" above) plays Oxbend Sheriff Ben Jethro. Joan Caulfield (shown on the left, appeared in Duffy's Tavern, Blue Skies, The Unsuspected, and The Lady Says No and played Liz Cooper on My Favorite Husband and Sally Truesdale on Sally) plays newly arrived widow Darcy Clay. James Griffith (see "Dark Decision" above) plays hired gunman Milt Krebs. Jim Boles (appeared in The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, The Trouble With Angels, Angel in My Pocket, The Love God?, and The Apple Dumpling Gang and  played Joe on One Man's Family) plays rancher Perly Wilkins. James Stacy (see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet) plays his future son-in-law Luther James.

 

Saturday, November 11, 2023

The Bullwinkle Show (1962)

 

Despite being moved into a 7:00 prime-time slot by NBC in an attempt to cash in on the sudden interest in "adult-oriented" cartoons like The Flintstones, The Bullwinkle Show could not crack the top 30 in the ratings because it was scheduled opposite the more popular Lassie. This caused friction between the network and Bullwinkle producer Jay Ward as well as the show's sponsor General Mills. The always irreverent Ward also antagonized NBC by ridiculing its push for more color TV sets, telling children viewers to pull the knobs off their TV sets in the show's opening Bullwinkle hand-puppet skits, and in several of his relentless publicity stunts, one of which took place outside the offices of rival CBS. The ongoing feud between network and producer even generated  a feature story about the skirmish in the August 11 issue of TV Guide, which probably counted as a win for Ward who considered any publicity--good or bad--a victory.

However, Ward seemed more devoted to his publicity stunts and side projects, like commercials for Quaker Oats, than he was on actually producing his television program. He sent out a weekly newsletter to some 2000 industry insiders (including FCC Chairman Newton Minnow, who was a big fan) offering spurious movie and TV production deals and staged numerous public stunts, such as sending missionary-clad actors to the CBS building urging pedestrians to repent and watch The Bullwinkle Show, holding an elaborate "picnic" for media contacts in the ballroom of the swank Plaza Hotel, and leasing a tiny island in the Lake of the Woods, dubbing it Moosylvania--Bullwinkle's birthplace, and launching a petition for statehood for the island. Needless to say, all of these activities consumed a great deal of time and money and didn't have any impact on the show's ratings. Executive producer Peter Piech also felt they were unnecessary because the show's sponsor was powerful enough to keep it on the air. TV Guide also covered Ward's publicity antics in a feature story in the January 20, 1962 issue, which ended with this warning: "It's all very funny and fine. There's only one thing that should be worrying Ward and [Bill] Scott. People may decide that Bullwinkle Moose isn't as funny there on the screen as he is in his [publicity] handouts." In a sense, Ward had ironically become like Boris Badenov in the 1961 story arc, "The Last Angry Moose," an entertainment promoter whose every move is to promote himself rather than his client.

The warning proved to be spot-on because the 1962 episodes, which comprise the end of Season 3, all of Season 4, and the beginning of Season 5, seem to trod the same ground as those from earlier years, and if anything have less satiric bite. There are the usual, by now tired, digs at the U.S. Congress in the "Topsy Turvy World" story arc in which Bullwinkle is able to keep their fuel-empty airplane aloft by reading from The Congressional Record into a tube that connects to the fuel tank, thereby supplying the plane with sufficient hot air, and in the "Goof Gas Attack" story arc where Rocky and Bullwinkle decide that the nefarious agent turning the nation's top minds into babbling idiots will have no effect on politicians because they are already goofy enough.

Many of the other stories are based around Boris and Fearless Leader's attempt to take over the world or, at the least, degrade America, or around Boris's vow to himself to eliminate all goody-goodies like Rocky and Bullwinkle, as he espouses in the opening segment of "The Guns of Abalone" (June 29, 1962), which is essentially saying the rationale for the story is because he is a bad guy and Rocky and Bullwinkle are good guys. This story illustrates how empty the Bullwinkle formula had become by this point, because while the title is an obvious spoof of the then-popular feature film The Guns of Navarone, the plot is a simple attempt by Boris to kill Rocky and Bullwinkle that fails when he turns all the guns on each other with Rocky and Bullwinkle in the middle, who simply bend down to avoid being hit, and the guns end up blowing each other up. Ironically, the title for the third segment of this thankfully short story arc is "I'm All Out of Bullets." "Bumbling Brothers Circus" is another story arc based simply on Boris trying to kill Bullwinkle, in this case by disguising himself as a lion tamer who initially plans to turn loose his most vicious lion. The previously mentioned "Topsy Turvy World" starts out like a seemingly prescient prediction of climate change but turns into a ploy for Boris to impersonate Santa Claus so that he can easily rob every house in the world on Christmas Eve. Likewise, "Treasure of Monte Zoom" (July 10, 1962) is predicated on a simple theft with Boris trying to recover the buried treasure of a deceased race car driver from the bottom of a lake. This story re-uses the gag of Boris as shady used car dealer seen earlier in an installment of Mr. Know-It-All in 1961. The aforementioned "Goof Gas Attack" depicts Boris and Fearless Leader trying to take over the U.S. missile program by turning all the nation's scientists into babbling idiots. The story includes a gentle dig at mindless TV programs by having one addle-brained egghead addicted to watching the sit-com Pete and Gladys, though he also admits that his favorite part of the show is the commercials. And "Banana Formula" has Boris and Fearless Leader trying to steal the secret formula for a silent explosive that Bullwinkle has ingested when it was written on a banana. This story has another mild TV-related barb when Boris disguises himself as host of Candied Camera Allen Fink and asks Bullwinkle to speak into a giant lollipop with a hidden camera, telling what he ate an hour ago so that he will recite the Hush-a-Boom formula he just ate on a banana. These passing references to current TV fare seem more like winks to a knowing audience than any kind of substantial satire. Some story arcs name-drop contemporary little-known TV series such as Thriller and Cain's Hundred, while other pop culture allusions are even more obscure, such as a mention of the early 1950s TV series Martin Kane in "Topsy Turvy World," 1940s popular singer Ella Mae Morse in "The Guns of Abalone," and a parody of the TV series Zorro (which had ended in 1959) in the story arc "Mucho Loma." Making fun of a TV show that has been off the air for 3 years is hardly cutting-edge comedy. While Ward and Scott largely depict pop culture as a vast wasteland (to borrow a phrase from the FCC chairman mentioned above), these in-jokes expect the viewer to have committed the minutiae of this wasteland to memory in order to get the humor.

One of the show's better satires of current TV fare is the Aesop & Son segment about a frightened rabbit (which in the DVD release is included between episodes 3 and 4 of "Mucho Loma") who is advised by a frog to develop a gimmick to intimidate anyone who might challenge him, just as Bat Masterson has his cane and The Rifleman has his repeating rifle. Being a rabbit he is able to wiggle his ears upon command, and for some inexplicable reason, this unnerves other more ferocious animals. Granted, making fun of TV westerns was a common comic trope in the early 1960s because the TV landscape was overrun with them. And this multitude made it necessary for show creators to come up with a different angle to make their show stand out from all the others, which is what eventually gave us, for example, Frontier Circus. What's surprising is that Ward and Scott didn't mock this series, as it seems tailor-made for their brand of humor and could have been a much funnier story than the rather tame "Bumbling Brothers Circus" story arc.

Easily the best Rocky and Bullwinkle story of 1962 is "Painting Theft" in which Boris and Natasha steal 10 old master paintings from a French museum and decide to hide them in Frostbite Falls, where they fall into the hands of Bullwinkle who first uses them to decorate his chicken coop and then whitewashes them when they seem to upset his chickens. The art world is another topic ripe for ridicule, and many other shows of the era take their jabs at it, though usually at "modern art" as something that any unskilled hack could produce. When Boris shows up incognito to reclaim his stolen paintings, he has to bargain with Bullwinkle to buy them back, but Rocky becomes suspicious of his initial offer and decides to have some art experts appraise them to ensure that Boris is offering a fair price. Initially, the critics are unimpressed, until Boris, in a panic that someone else may snatch his stolen masterpieces, keeps increasing his offer. Given that somebody is willing to pay a reasonable price suddenly makes the paintings valuable to the critics, who immediately claim Bullwinkle is a new genius in the world of art. Ward and Scott have exposed the art market's real motivation--profit--in assigning value to works of art (think Banksy's recent mockumentary Exit Through the Giftshop), and the outsize role that such "critics" have in determining which artists are true visionaries and which are hacks.

This story, like many others in the series, also demonstrates Ward and Scott's anti-authority beliefs. The fact that Captain "Wrong Way" Peachfuzz keeps turning up as a high-ranking government agent, as in "Topsy Turvy World," and wisecracks like the term "military intelligence" is a contradiction further illustrate this view, while the heroes of the show are ordinary citizens of the midwest who aren't very bright and are easily misled. But the cynicism runs even deeper as many episodes from 1962 have Bullwinkle and Rocky commenting on the fact that they are cartoon heroes and therefore have to behave a certain way even if it makes no sense. In short, no one seems to have a clue about anything, which, depending on your point of view, could be hilarious or deeply depressing. However, no matter how dark things may seem, there is always Dudley Do-Right to cheer us up. Despite the other segments of the show becoming more watered-down and repetitive, the Dudley Do-Right segments always seem fresh and funny, perhaps because they are more rare--he appears in only about 1 out of every 4 episodes. It's possible more Dudley and less Peabody, Fractured Fairy Tales, and Aesop & Son would have made The Bullwinkle Show a bigger hit. In 1969 the Dudley Do-Right segments were repackaged with segments of "The World of Commander McBragg," "Tooter Turtle," and "The Hunter" and billed as The Dudley Do-Right Show. It ran only 13 episodes and contained no new Dudley Do-Right material, still leaving us wanting more.

The Actors

For the biographies of Bill Scott, June Foray, Paul Frees, Daws Butler, Walter Tetley, Hans Conried, William Conrad, Edward Everett Horton, and Charlie Ruggles, see the 1960 post on Rocky and His Friends.

Notable Guest Stars

Season 5, Episode 2 "A Red Letter Day": Julie Bennett (voiced Cindy Bear on The Yogi Bear Show, Yogi's Gang, and The New Yogi Bear Show, Lois Lane on The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure, Kitty Jo and Chessie on Cattanooga Cats, Lady Constance and Queen Anne on The Banana Splits Adventure Hour, Monica on Dinky Dog, and Aunty May Parker on Spider-Man: The Animated Series) voices the fisherman's wife on Fractured Fairy Tales.