Tales of Wells Fargo

As a child, I watched this series and enjoyed it very much. It had all of the aspects of the old "B" westerns, but the acting and writing was so much better. Dale Robertson made a number of "B" movies in his time and I believe that this series was the best of the group. Up until a few years ago, it was hard to find any of the episodes in this series. So, I am glad that it is now being shown on cable TV and the quality is really better than when I watched them many years ago.

This isn't really a review, but it's the only way I can share. My grandmother, Evelyn Stevens, once worked for a clothing corporation named Blue Bell. Maybe one word, I'm not sure, the company doesn't exist anymore. I live in Goshen, IN, and there used to be a branch in nearby Nappanee according to my mother, but Nana lived in Commerce, GA. She sewed the jacket Dale Robertson wore in the season 1 and 2 intros. Not the one where he was kissing the girl, the one he has on the horse and in the gunfights. The jacket was denim and had Nana's operator tag sewn into the lining. She never bragged to me about this. I know it only because of my mother sharing with me at Nana's funeral.

Watching the first five b&w, 30 minute episodes was pure classic TV Western fun. Dale Robertson is Wells Fargo's special agent, Jim Hardy. Things go south in season 6 when the show expands to 60 minutes and color. Extra regular cast members are added, including William Demarest, Uncle Charlie from My Three Sons and a sidekick named, Bo. Not sure why the changes, but the series became silly and pointless. If The Big Valley had not come out a few years later, I would think they were trying to imitate that show.

Leave it to NBC they bought tales of Wells Fargo which ran for 5 years and was a nice neat 30 minute show. Crisp writing single character show that was well written and had a very good start. Then NBC got their hands on it. Made it an hour long split the story up with 7 people , moved the location to a horse farm and somehow decided a great them music need to be change to something that put you to sleep. Watch the first five seasons and skip this 1061 stew of whatever they made. What a great idea reminds you of a giant company buying a smaller successful one because of a great product they want then changing the ingredients or quality to try and make even more money and destroying what they bought.

Dale Robertson makes this show his own. A boxer, horseman, and war hero before he ever appeared on screen, he never had an acting lesson, but his character somehow shines through in the part he plays. Intense. If he walked toward you in a saloon, you'd definitely step aside. He spits out his lines in a clipped cadence and is totally believable. His narration can add a poetic touch to some episodes, but more often it seems like he's recalling an experience from his own past, effectively setting up the episode before jumping in.

The stories are well-written, packing a lot into each half-hour episode. Though there are bank robberies and stage hold-ups, they also explore fresh territory, like an outlaw who fakes his own death in order to collect the reward, or a gun smuggling ring, or a stage coach that disappears in a ghost town.

The show doesn't rely on a cast of support characters, but with Robertson's presence, the clever plotting, and sharp dialogue, it isn't necessary. And with the character dispatched to a different locale every episode, the show avoids the static feel of most western series.