Tales of Wells Fargo

Dale was real and easy to go along with him on the trails. Plots were intriguing. And dale's horse was really talented. Watch every night on grit tv

(IMO) - "Tales Of Wells Fargo" was a first-rate TV Western of the late-1950s that was just as entertaining and action-packed as was the ever-popular "Gunsmoke" of that same era in boob-tube history.

Not only did "Tales Of Wells Fargo" clearly have a sizable budget to work with (which really helped to bring honest period authenticity to this production) - But, on top of that - There was also some real intelligent thought put into this program's scripts, as well (which certainly kept the story-lines interesting and believable without being unnecessarily padded by irksome filler scenes).

And, as an added bonus - I, personally, thought that actor, Dale Robertson (who played the character of cowboy/agent, Jim Hardie) was a very welcome asset to the overall success of this particular TV Western from yesteryear.

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.

The Western Encore channel has only just recently begun to show "Tales of Wells Fargo" here in January of 2016. I haven't watched this black and white cowboy show since it originally aired on network television back in the late Fifties and early Sixties. I must admit that I am really enjoying watching Dale Robertson as the Wells Fargo special agent or troubleshooter. The show brings to mind "Have Gun, Will Travel." Hardie, like Paladin, is a man who would rather use his wits and wiles before resorting to his fists or weapon. Like Paladin, Joe Hardie, travels all over the west and into Canada, tracking down highway agents, frauds and thieves.

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.