Cimarron Strip

When Cimarron Strip first aired I was a young girl of 14. The theme music was wonderful. I would literally sit on the edge of my seat waiting to hear the beginning notes. Stuart Whitman was my first and only TV crush. He epitomized what all western heroes should be, from the way he walked, talked, and wore his black hat. Isn't it funny what stays in you subconscious. I loved him then, and love him still. After all these years I hope he knows what a difference he made in my life. Coincidently my husband grew-up watching Cimarron Strip also. He recalls that he and his brother would pretend to ride the family ottoman as their trusty steed, as Stuart Whitman did in the beginning and the ending of the show.

I still remember the almost mystical episode where a mysterious something was killing folk just outside the perimeter of the town, leaving their bodies so mutilated that no-one could identify whether death was caused by man or beast. Cimarron Strip was like a western version of the Twilight Zone, instead of being the cartoon town which every other show had the Strip was its own place, far removed physically from the rest of the west and far removed in philosophy and execution from the rest of western TV shows. You never knew what complex psychological problem would come riding into town each week. Marshall Jim Crown stalked the Strip like a six-gunned God and town maiden Dulcie was the fairest of the fair. In TV Heaven, they show this every day. They should - there's never been another western like it.

BB

Marshal Jim Crown (Stuart Whiman of Los Comancheros) must enforce the law in the strip of land lying between Kansas Territory and Indian territory in the late nineteenth century. He is accompanied by the stubborn , grizzled Scottish MacGregor (Percy Herbert of Navarone Guns and The Bridge on the River Kwai) and the likeable writer/photographer , Francis Wilde (the famous singer Randy Boone). Along with charming Easterner Dulcey (Jill Towsend of Poldark) who has inherited an inn , saloon restaurant from her late father .

This western adventure contains noisy action , horse pursuits , suspense and a lot of crossfire . The saga of Western life takes an exciting new dimension with Stuart Whitman as an implacable sheriff who delivers peace and order . It is set in Cimarron Strip : a stretch of land located between the Kansas Territory and land owned and occupied by Indian . Furhtermore , Cimarron Strip is full of its share of murderers , rustlers , gamblers , among others . As the sympathetic protagonists become involved in several threats , such as Indian attacks , stranger visitors with dark purports , bank robbers and range wars was always bubbling just beneath the surface . It was shown by CBS in 1971 , three years after it had been canceled and got success enough . It was a nice TV Western , a genre that on the cinema spectacle's tarnished but in television got splendor during the Sixties thanks to successful series as The Virginian , Bonanza , Wagon Train , Maverick , The High Chaparral . An unusual ninety-minute western series , formed by 23 episodes with a good main and support cast . Stars Stuart Whitman as two-fisted , but fair Marshal Jim Crown , assigned one of the West's toughest territories , he dedicates himself to taming the no-man's land known as Cimarron Strip . The agreeable quartet starring : Stuart Whitman , Percy Herbert , Randy Boone , Jill Towsend are supported by an important secondary cast as guest stars , such as : Telly Savalas , David Carradine , John Saxon , Steve Forrest, Warren Oates , Robert J. Wilke , William Bramley , Richard Farnsworth , LQ Jones , Albert Salmi , Mariette Hartley , Robert Lansing , Mark Lenard , James Stacy , Tuesday Weld , John Anderson , Lyle Bettger , Robert Duvall , Royal Dano and many others.

It displays a catching musical leitmotif by the prestigious Maurice Jarre ,who won three Academy Awards for his notorious soundtracks : Lawrence Arabia , Doctor Zhivago , Passage to India . The enjoyable series created by Christopher Knopf was well directed by good professionals and craftsmen, such as : Robert Butler , Lamont Johnson , Don Medford , Boris Sagal , Richard C. Sarafian , Sam Wanamaker, Herschel Daugherty , Vincent McEveety , Gerald Mayer , Bernard McEveety.

This was a great series featuring the tough but tender Jim Crown. Plenty of action and gunplay kept the stories interesting each week. One year a friend and I kept count of the men Crown killed as compared to Matt Dillon. I don't remember which marshall came out on top, but the difference was only 2 bodies. I didn't miss an episode of this one, not only because Jim Crown was so cool, but I also liked looking at "Biscuit". Of course, MacGregor was always good for a laugh or two. Great show.

I recently discovered this show in reruns on Encore Westerns. I honestly never saw this show in its first run, and don't know how I missed it. Some of the best stories I've seen in Westerns, well directed, Stuart Whitman is very believable as Marshal Crown, tough and honest to a fault. I don't know how shows like this didn't last, yet Gunsmoke was on forever it seems. The Encore copies are around 1 hr 17 minutes each, so they appear uncut, and without commercials. The 1 1/2 hr format allows the story to be well developed and to have multiple twists. I am quite genuine in saying shows like this are non existent anymore. The prints are not great, especially when compared to Big Valley or Bonanza which appear to have been restored. Now I wish someone would run "Lancer", "High Chaparral", "Branded", "Have Gun Will Travel" among other old westerns.

Cimarron Strip is top drawer among westerns right up with my personal favorite - "The High Chaparral".