Gli uomini della prateria

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' . . . "

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.

"Rawhide" was one of the grandest westerns to ever grace the tube from the golden age of the television genre. From its premiere episode on January 9th,1959-to the last and final episode of the series on January 4th,1966,ran on the CBS network for eight seasons and from there producing an astounding 217 episodes,all filmed and broadcast in black and white. The year 1959,the peak year for the genre,the networks were producing over 23 shows,mostly Westerns and most of them were in the top ten of the Nielsen ratings,and despite what the critics said about this series and whatever else,the show stood shoulder to shoulder behind some of the best Westerns of their day. During its premiere episode,it reached the top 20 in the Nielsen ratings,where CBS guaranteed the family audience it needed,but still it was simply an "adult" TV Western aimed at mature audiences. During its run it rosed steadily in popularity until toward the end of the series' run,it was one of America's top ten shows. It was destined to become the fourth longest-running TV western,beaten only by nine years of "The Virginian",fourteen years of "Bonanza",and twenty years of "Gunsmoke".

The typical "Rawhide" story involved ther drovers coming upon people on the trail and getting drawn into solving whatever problem they presented or were confronting. Sometimes one of the members of the cattle drive or some of the others would venture into a nearby town and encounter some trouble or other from which they needed to be rescued. Some of the stories were obviously easier in production terms but the peak form of the show was convincing and naturalistic,and sometimes brutal. Its situations could be from the apocalyptic-parched plains,anthrax,ghostly riders,wolves,cattle rustlers,bandits,murderers, and so forth. Some of this were just simple,friendly in some aspects stories about the same Old West you read as a kid,but lets face it,during those times,especially if you're a drover in charge of a cattle drive in the Old West,you had to deal with some tough issues and face tough challenges--which is something the contestants on these reality shows like "Survivor" or "Fear Factor"-wouldn't have a clue about,especially with the conditions that those cattle drovers had to go through....for instance....What do you do when the local townsfolk are set to hang a cattle rustler who is guilty of taking their livestock,but you know he is innocent? What do you do when a disease comes between the livestock and threatens not only the herd,but one of your own? How do you cope with a slaughter of innocent people during an Indian raid and the only thing that is there is the only survivor--a child who is frighten to death and does not know that the identity of the parents? How do you cope with a proud boss when you need his best judgment whose wife has ran off with another man? What do you do when the local Sheriff is set to hang your man who is found guilty of murder,but do know he did not commit the crime?

These were stories that were powerful,and sometimes emotional drama,since this is a Western. The stories relied on an attention of plot and character by the viewer as necessary to the variety of presentation of morality that nowadays are a memory of the past,and those types of plays you don't see anymore. Since "Rawhide" was very realistic in its time,it was more on the endless cattle drive and it placed more emphasis on character study development and less emphasis on the degree of violence,since it was more rugged and more like another Western of its time:Wagon Train. The men on those drives encounter drought,plague,sickness,poison water,fatigue,strain of command,temperatures(heat and dust,not to mention the cold),and a host of characters. For eight seasons Trail Boss Gil Favor(Eric Fleming),and his assistant foreman,Rowdy Yates(Clint Eastwood)encounter a host of characters;a horse opera of guest stars that would appear which include:Barbara Stanwyck,Buddy Ebsen,Lon Chaney,Jr.,Frankie Avalon, Claude Akins,Robert Culp,Mary Astor,Earl Holleman,Alan Hale,Jr.,and Duane Hickman,along with regulars Sheb Wooley,Paul Brinegar,John Ireland,and during its run others including Raymond St. Jacques.

It was from this show that "Rawhide" launched the career of Clint Eastwood,whom when on the star in several features films and also become a Oscar-winning director and producer(for 1992's Unforgiven) and as a jazz musician as well. Yes,Clint Eastwood was the man! Currently,after years out of circulation,and the last time that "Rawhide" was seen was back in the early 1970's in syndication,cable's The Hallmark Channel is rerunning this legendary series every Saturday Afternoon during its Western Theatre Hour,so check local listings.

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.

These were simple, friendly stories about the same Old West you may have read about as a kid. Did it really exist? Who cares? The time and place these video plays were set in is made of the same clay and light as the one where "The Twilight Zone" was set. Both relied on a degree of attention to plot and character by the viewer as necessary to the presentation of morality plays you don't see anymore. What do you do when the local sherriff threatens to hang your man when his townfolk are desperate to find the rustler taking their livestock, but you know he's not guilty? How do you cope with a proud boss when you need his best judgment, but only you know his wife has run off with another man? This is where the stories that, for a while, we thought of as "cliche'" originally came from. That was before we thought of anything not based on jiggle or teen angst as too much trouble to think about. (Though, lately, "reality" shows have relieved us of having to think at all.)

If you want to be reminded of just what a great storytelling medium TV can be, watch this show (currently on the Hallmark Channel, c. 2003). Be warned, though: you'll be spoiled for such fare as "Fear Factor" and "Dawson's Creek," thereafter. Maybe even for "Buffy," though I know you don't believe that.