The Rebel

I was an avid fan of "The Rebel" when it first came out and I was in high school. I was a shy, skinny kid who tended to get rammed into the hallway lockers by the beefy kids bruising by, so I liked the image portrayed in "The Rebel". In contrast to the big, imposing guys in the TV westerns of the late 50's and early 60's such as James Garner, Clint Walker, and Chuck Conners, Nick Adams playing Johnny Yuma was a small guy who was even kind of asking for it by wearing a Confederate cap which designated him as someone the big guys would take as a loser and therefore, a temptation to bully. The very first episode introduces Johnny Yuma as a loner riding into a small western town and leading his horse to the water trough. The town toughs immediately see the Confederate cap and start shoving him around. "Don't push," Yuma says not in a whiny voice but with warning menace. "You aught to be used to being pushed by now, Reb," one of the toughs smirks. By the time this episode is over, Johnny Yuma has emptied his Confederate cap and ball pistol into them and blasted them and with his sawed off double barreled shotgun. Then, he grabs from his saddle bag a cluster of dynamite with the fuse already fashioned, lights it, storms to the saloon, and tosses the explosive package over the swinging doors. Boom! Each week, Johnny Yuma encountered another version of bullying by the bad guys and apathy by the onlookers which kind of resembled Will Kane's isolation in "High Noon." And each week Johnny Yuma would fight and blast his way to vengeance and justice. I haven't seen any of "The Rebel" episodes for almost 40 years. On top of that I have been living in Asia since 1969. But in light of what I have read about the recent tendency in American high schools for certain alienated students to keep journals like Johnny Yuma did and to one day march into the cafeteria blasting away, I wonder if "The Rebel" serves as catharsis or provocation. Or just good entertainment.

Character actor Nick Adams was an unlikely choice for the lead on an action-packed television western series where the genre was dominated by "Gunsmoke","Wagon Train","Have Gun Will Travel","The Rifleman",and "Tales of Wells Fargo",and "Cheyenne" just to name a few were the stars that dominated the "western" genre were Ward Bond,Robert Horton,Chuck Connors,not to mention James Arness and Clint Walker. "The Rebel" came out when the television landscape was dominated by "westerns",and "family situation comedies" that ruled the late-1950's and early-1960's. The series portrays the adventures of a young Confederate Army veteran named Johnny Yuma(Nick Adams)who was an inspiring writer who kept details of his activities in his journal. Haunted by the memories of the Civil War,Yuma,in search of inner peace,roams the American West specifically the Texas Hill Country and the South Texas plains who also fights injustice wherever he finds it and takes care of manners in his own hands with a double-barreled sawed off shotgun. Whereas virtually all the others "westerns" consisted of work,romance and adventure,"The Rebel" was about Johnny Yuma "finding himself" and along the way his encounters with ruthless gunslingers,hostile villains,and the like while Johnny Yuma comes out of these episodes "victorious".

Out of the 76 episodes that this series produced,all in classic black-and-white,"The Rebel" had Nick Adams as not only the star of the series,but also was involved with the show's design,inception,and writing,not to mention serving as its creator and executive producer along with producer Andrew J. Fenady(who appeared twice in the series once as United States Army General Philip Sheridan in the episode "Johnny Yuma at Appomattox"). The series was one of the few that producers Mark Goodson and Bill Todman,through their production company Goodson-Todman Productions did outside of their game show ventures. The other series that Goodson and Todman produced was another western called "Branded" starring Chuck Connors that ran for 23 episodes. "The Rebel" originally aired on ABC-TV from October 4,1959 until the series finale on June 18,1961. The show's sponsor was the Proctor & Gamble Company. This series was the first "teenage western" whose audiences were the younger crowd. The show's title song was done by Johnny Cash. It was grand western,but it ended up getting canceled with the powers that be over at ABC entered into a hostile relationship with the company that produced the series,ending up canceling one of their top rated shows. In 1962,"The Rebel" was picked up by NBC in repeats as a mid-season replacement where all 76 episodes were re-runs. After that the series went into syndication in repeats.

THERE SEEMS TO be a nearly eternal popularity deeply entrenched into the very fiber of the stories dealing with "rebels." Be they authentic guerrilla type fighters or those representing restless and idealistic (and often very naïve)individuals. We need only look at some of our most popular movies of the day.

IN GOINGH BACK some years (being ever since WWII), we have had many films with this particular theme. Often categorized as the "Anti-hero", the characters and their stories have had such appeal as we've been talking. Consider: Marlon Brando in THE WILD ONE, Paul Newman in COOL HAND Luke, Tom Laughlin in BILLY JACK and the premier candidate, James Dean in REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE.

AND SPEAKING OF Mr.Dean, it was his meteoric rise and tragic demise that added to both his own personal legend; as well as to the desire to have "rebellious" movie themes. In typical Hollywood fashion, there was a frantic scurrying about in hopes of finding the "New James Dean"; or at least someone who resembles him and could fill the void.

THIS EXHAUSTIVE SEARCH by "Talent Scouts" did manage to bring forth a number of talented individuals; although none really did the impossible by replacing the fallen Star. Among those who were thought to be viable candidates were: Robert Conrad, Martin Sheen, Ty Hardin, Rip Taylor* and Nick Adams.

SO IN THE casting of the youthful Mr. Adams as the lead in THE REBEL TV Series, the producers essentially fulfilled both rebel types. The character of Johnny Yuma was both young and full of blank and vinegar and was also a veteran of the defeated Army of the Confederate States of America. Indeed, what a coup de tat this was for the producers in "killing two birds with one stone", so to speak.

THE SERIES, WHICH did make it successfully through two seasons of brutal ratings wars of its own, traced the adventures lived by the young veteran former foot soldier. We follow his meandering through the Post-Bellum Western United States. He always has to prove himself to somebody; both as a man (because of his young age) and because he is a former "Johnny Reb".

NO MATTER WHERE Yuma 'wandered', the locals were sure to be able to size him up instantly as a Reb. Why, you ask? Well it was probably because he always wore his Gray uniform and rebel flat-topped brimmed cap; being a dead give away.

AS WAS THE custom, the central character in these 1950s 'Horse Operas' had special weapons. Much like Josh Randall (Steve McQueen) on WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE, Johnny's weapon of choice was sawed off. But rather than its being a cut down carbine rifle, This Rebel had a surgically shortened shotgun. OUCH!!!

WE HAVE JUST discovered that in addition to being in front of the camera, Nick Adams was both the co-creator and sometimes writer to the series. He also did own some piece of the series. (Good for you, Nick!)

WHEN ONRE WATCHES one of the episodes of THE REBEL today, there is something very different. The original theme song and signature song, "The Ballad of Johnny Yuma" is not present on these modern day prints. It was very well known and sung by every kid in our neighborhood. It was recorded for the series by a singer named Johnny Cash. It has been replaced on the soundtrack by an instrumental instead. Once again, why you asked?

WELL THIS IS only a guess, but it's probably over either the rights to the song or because it may well require payments of healthy residuals to the Estate of the Late Mr. Cash; a practice abhorred by just about any Hollywood producer.

CAN YOU SAY "bottom line", Schultz?

It's 2022 and I'm watching the Johnny Yuma series with Nick Adams. The episodes are so well written for those times. Johnny is a very complex character writing a journal about his travels. Every episode has a compelling story and Johnny always says something I want to remember. He's small in stature but is every bit a hero and someone to look up to. There are not enough series today that are as good as this one. Every episode tells us something brand new about the human spirit. It's filled with ingenuity and excitement. Every gal can fall in love with Johnny Yuma, I sure did. Today's TV has become very predictable and each show repeats the same plot. Thanks ROKU for all your excellent vintage shows when screen writers could write.

One of the best Western series of all time. Johnny Yuma, The Rebel took no grief from anybody and was quick to help the underdog defeat injustice. I personally like the on going feature of Johnny's writing in his journal of his travels and people he meet along the way. I am proud to have all 76 episodes in my VHS collection.