Rawhide

Rawhide was a wonderful TV western series. Focusing on a band of trail drovers lead by the trail boss Gil Favor. Most episodes - especially from the first 3 seasons were really character studies of Favor and his men. Guest stars came and went but unlike Wagon Train they seldom dominated the episodes they appeared in. Rawhide was a true, gritty western and Gil Favor stood out as a memorable character never to be forgotten. Thanks to Eric Fleming's performance the show became a massive hit. Of course he was ably supported by a wonderful cast of good actors - Clint Eastwood, Sheb Wooley, Paul Brinegar, Steve Raines, James Murdoch, Rocky Shahan, Robert Cabal. All of these actors left their mark in a piece of television history. Rawhide captured the flavour of that time of the west that no other series has for me, as yet anyhow, managed to do so. Later seasons tended to split the leads and give them individual story lines. For me some of the time this didn't work - the cattle drive and the regulars provided the best stories. However there were still some classic stories and Rawhide remained top drawer affair. The black and white photography added to a bleak, realistic feel that other western series seldom managed to capture. Rustlers, Indians,Commancheroes, beautiful damsels in distress, serial killers, they all showed up to give our heroes problems. The end came for the series quietly when the final season was axed less than half way through. The reason - Eric Fleming had departed and Rawhide was now a head without a body - the gritty realism was gone, Gil Favor commanded respect and exuded authority - he was never infallible and this made him all the more interesting. We shall not see his like again. Watch an episode whenever you can, they seldom disappoint.

Gil Favor is the trail boss of a cattle drive. His and his drovers' job is to drive cattle to market. This involves several hundred kilometres and several months of hard toil. Along the way they encounter all manner of trials, tribulations and adventures.

One of the greatest western TV series produced. It is largely remembered as where Clint Eastwood got his big break but is far, far better than just that. Great stories, all very plausible, all grittily told. No gung ho theatrics.

Moreover, it's not a straightforward shoot-'em-up drama. In fact, gunfights are kept to a minimum, a last resort and most things are sorted out in other ways (sometimes to my irritation!).

No, it's more about life on a cattle drive, the characters involved and the adventures they have. We also occasionally get to see what happens between drives, the preparations and aftermaths of drives and the drovers' home lives. The episodes midway through Season 3 where Gill Favor visits his daughters in Philadelphia are the best of the lot, showing another aspect to his work, especially the sacrifices he must make and how this affects him.

Consistent with the less bellicose approach to a western drama, many of the stories involve potentially controversial subject, sensitively told. Native Americans are not necessarily the villains, this, long before it became fashionable to show a more balanced view on the subject. Other subjects, e.g. Drug abuse, women's rights, racism, injustice, are also handled in a sensitive and balanced manner.

The show was absolutely brilliant for 3½ seasons. When Sheb Wooley left halfway through Season 4 more than his character, Pete Nolan, was lost. The series revolved around the four main characters - Favor (played by Eric Fleming), Rowdy Yates (Clint Eastwood), Wishbone (Paul Brinegar) and Nolan (Wooley). The four characters complemented each other well and the chemistry between the four was great, giving the series a character-based as well as plot-based feel to it. With Wooley leaving the stories became more plot- and less character-orientated.

Even worse, Pete Nolan was initially replaced by Clay Forrester (played by Charles H Gray), a generally irritating sort of character. The producers quickly saw the error of their ways and reduced Forrester/Gray's screentime (and eventually phased him out altogether) while increasing the weight towards other characters like Mushy (James Murdock), Quince (Steve Raines) and Hey Soos (Robert Cabal) but the vibe of the Favor-Yates-Wisbone-Nolan partnership was never recaptured.

Towards the end, the writers also resorted to making some of the characters one-dimensional, e.g. Mushy the klutz, Wishbone the curmudgeon, Favor the hard-nosed, single-minded boss. This allowed the writers to essentially recycle the same scenes and dialogue over and over again, e.g. Wishbone overreacting and yelling at Mushy for something he's done wrong, Favor yelling at his drovers for slowing up the drive. The character side of the writing became quite lazy.

The plots also became rather formulaic. There were essentially about five or so broad plots that got recycled with some adjustments and character changes. The nice little touches of Season 3 - the non-trail stuff - are nowhere to be seen.

The final few seasons were still decent viewing but the brilliance of the first 4 seasons was gone. The series should probably have ended after about six seasons but the show kept going until the producers decided to get rid of Favor/Fleming and make Yates (Eastwood) the main character. Several other long-serving characters were also removed making for a new look but empty-feeling Season 8. The CEO of CBS, the network that owned the show, was so appalled at the thought of Rawhide without Eric Fleming that he pulled the plug only 13 episodes into Season 8.

Season ratings: S1-2 9/10, S3 10/10, S4 9/10, S5-6 8/10, S7-8 7/10.

Keep rollin', rollin', rollin'.... Keep those doggies movin'....

If you're looking for a really enjoyable Western show, then, TV's "Rawhide" (1959-1965) is a series that I think is well-worth checking out.

Get into the saddle with trail boss, Gil Favor, his right-hand man, Rowdy Yates, and a whole herd of legendary guest stars.

This Old West series features villains who will rob you blind and heroes who will steal your heart.

Believe me - "Rawhide" is a show that's sure to please any fan of the Western genre.

Currently on METOO's new schedule at 4 pm on weekdays, right after "Maverick" and right before "Wild, Wild West" (followed by "Star Trek").

Don't know if I ever actually saw an episode of it when it was originally on, but I'm really captivated by it. Offbeat, unusual, surreal stories set in a mythical West. Kind of the "Naked City" of Westerns.

And the guest stars are there: Dan Duryea, Lyle Bettger, Brian Donlevy, MacDonald Carey, Rick Jason (as a treacherous Mexican), a young Dick Van Patten, Jack Lord, Noah Berry, Jr. (as a colorful Mexican), Martha Hyer, Marguerite Chapman, even Ann Robinson ("War of the Worlds"), Gloria Talbott ("I Married a Monster from Outer Space")

It ran for EIGHT SEASONS, over 200 episodes, from January, 1959, to December, 1965.

Eric Fleming is quite remarkable as trail boss Gil Favor, the most stolid man that's ever lived, with the code of honor of a Samurai, and just the right balance between toughness and open-handedness. I would vote for him for President any day. (P.S. He had a very interesting biography: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0281661/ )

And a young Clint Eastwood is quite striking as his impulsive right hand, "Rowdy" Yates. Also, veteran Western actor and country music figure (the immortal "One-eyed, One-horned, Flying Purple People Eater") Sheb Wooley is there as seasoned scout Pete Nolan. And Paul Brinegar makes the most cantankerous character of a cook you could ask for as "Wishbone".

And then there's that great theme song, performed by the immortal Frankie Laine. (Between that and the "Maverick" theme, I've got Western theme songs running through my head all day.)

I look forward to every episode; I'm collecting the whole set. A good time (not to mention a moo-ving experience) is always guaranteed, as one waits to see if the boys will get their difficulties straightened out before the commercial.

"Rollin', rollin', rollin' . . . "

In the Hollywood west those trail hands were a rough bunch who when they came to town, partied pretty hardy. After all trail driving was a lonely business back in the day before railroads got to all parts of the USA.

The drovers who worked for trail boss Gil Favor as played by Eric Fleming were no different. But Fleming was a man of all business, he had a job to do and hired a top crew to do it.

With the long run of Rawhide and the fact that the regulars stayed with it for the most part, we got to know all the drovers at some point. A some point story lines were focused around all of them, though the bulk were with Fleming and Clint Eastwood's character Rowdy Yates, the number 2 guy with the herd.

Clint Eastwood's western image was molded by Rawhide, it's a shame that these are not shown more often. Probably because they were done in black and white. Had this been an NBC show, this would have been done in color like Bonanza and be running as often as those shows are. We'd get to see a lot more of a man who became a move legend.

Ironically enough it was Eric Fleming who left the show before it closed to do films. He did a few them and was hoping the show would give him a bankable movie name. Sadly he was killed on a movie location doing an action film, drowned in a river. Had he lived he might have become a name like Eastwood's.

Clint took over as trail boss in the last season and then the show completed its run. And he of course became the icon he is today and not just in the western genre.

Rawhide was a tough western who had some tough guys in it. No frills in this one, these were working cowboys just doing a job and battling the elements and whatever situations they were thrown into every year.

They really don't make television series like these any more. What a pity.