Ai confini dell'Arizona

The High Chaparral was an excellent western. The show had it all-- superb acting, awesome writing, great storylines, characters that had a sense of humor, and gorgeous horses.

Cameron Mitchell was clearly outstanding as Buck Cannon. Never one to back away from a fight, Buck always came to the rescue when needed.

Henry Darrow also did a wonderful job of portraying Manolito Montoya.

Although other westerns were on the air longer than The High Chaparral, I loved this one more than the other ones that did run longer. The characters were more lovable and more believable.

This television series originally aired on NBC-TV on September 10,1967 as part of its Sunday Night Lineup of shows where it aired at 10:00e/9:00c right after the long-running "Bonanza",and faced stiff competition with "Mission:Impossible",and the "ABC Sunday Night Movie" for all 28 color episodes of Season One that aired from September 10, 1967 until March 31,1968. Then from Season Two onward the network moved the series to a different time slot from Sunday nights to Friday nights for the remainder of its four-year run from September 20,1968 until the series finale on March 12,1971 where it aired at 7:30e/6:30c on its Friday night schedule(where it replaced the action-adventure series "Tarzan" after 2 seasons and 57 episodes) right before another one of television's greatest programs,"The Name Of The Game",and the wildly popular science-fiction series "Star Trek". "The High Chaparral",was produced by David Dortort,the creator of the successful "Bonanza" television series where Dortort was the creator and executive producer that ran for four seasons and produced 98 episodes all in color.

The show revolved around "Big" John Cannon(Leif Erickson),a rancher who lived in the Arizona Territory in the 1870's. He ran the ranch with his brother Buck Cannon(Cameron Mitchell),and son Billy "Blue Boy" Cannon (Mark Slade). Blue Boy's mother Annalee(Joan Caulfield)was killed in the first episode by an Indian arrow,and John Cannon then married Victoria Montoya(Linda Cristal),the daughter of the powerful neighbouring rancher Don Sebastian Montoya(played by Frank Silvera,who was one of several African-American actors who played "ethnic" roles for this series)in what is initially a marriage of convenience. His marriage to Victoria brought her brother Manolito Montoya(Henry Darrow) into the picture,and he also not came to live with the family but becoming a hired hand for the ranch. The stories for this series were impeccably written and directed by some of the best in the business while the series was filmed entirely on location. While doing much the same as "Bonanza" would do alternative between high drama and humor with the mix of action-packed and high adventure each week.

The guest stars that were on "The High Chaparral" were some of Hollywood's best ranging from William Windom to Adam West along with Scott Brady, Anthony Caruso, Chief Dan George, Roberto Contreras, Dennis Cross, John Dehner, Paul Fix, Ron Foster, Yaphet Kotto, to Connie Hines, Cesar Romero, William Conrad, Joanna Moore, Dub Taylor, Barry Sullivan and Morgan Woodward. Even Robert Loggia and Ricardo Montalban made guest appearances on this show. Several episodes of this series do stand out as sheer brilliance were the two-part pilot episode "Destination Tucson",and to "The Arrangement" not to mention "The Firing Wall",and "Champion of the Western World","A Time To Laugh,A Time To Cry","A Man To Match The Land", not to mention the two-part episode "The New Lion of Sonara".

When this series was canceled on March 12,1971 after 98 episodes,the powers that be at NBC-TV moved the show around different time slots resulting in its cancellation where it went opposite two powerhouse shows "The Wild,Wild West",and "The Brady Bunch" were it got clobbered on that same Friday night schedule. On September 12,1971, the show that replaced "The High Chaparral" after four seasons was the Jack Webb produced drama "The D.A." starring Robert Conrad(formerly of "The Wild,Wild West" fame),and on January 22,1972,the show that replaced both "The D.A.",and "The High Chaparral" was the comedy "Sanford and Son".

The High Chaparral is now under investigation for a release 2008 on DVD by Paramount/CBS! This is really good news for all of us that have been waiting for this wonderful TV Western series to be released on DVD. For me it has been the best ever TV Western series. I grew first up with the old classic Bonanza and the Cartwrigh brothers, in the beginning of the sixties. But when this series began to be sent on Swedish television, I were sitting in my chair waiting the program to appear on Friday evenings. It had all a real western series should have. The people that were playing their rolls were almost perfect to this and still they are before my eyes. It was very realistic and had all different kinds of episodes included. It were a very good show of how the life were in the western during the time the shows happened.This is the first western TV series not played in a studio, but in open air. I can already hear the The High Chaparral melody when I am waiting for the worldwide release of this wonderful show. The dust from the horses and ....well all...If you like westerns your only need to see The High Chaparral. And then you will agree! This is western when it is as best as it can be. Paramont/CBS- Hurry up we are waiting!!! If you would like to be updated with very good information about the show, go to the website for The High Chaparral - you will have most of what you want there.

From David Dortort, one of the producers of the popular "Bonanza," "The High Chaparral" told the story of two families, The Cannons and The Montoyas, brought together by a marriage of convenience. Leif Ericson played "John Cannon," the patriarch of the family that lost his wife when they were making their way west. Linda Crystal played "Victoria," the headstrong daughter of Don Sebastian de Montoya (Frank Silvera) and brother to Don Sebastian's equally assertive son, Manolito (Henry Darrow). Mark Slade played John's son, "Blue," while perennial heavy Cameron Mitchell played John's brother "Buck." Rounding out the cast were frequent western performers Don Collier and Rodolfo Acosto.

What set the program apart from other "sagebrush sagas" of the period were its strong portrayals of Native Americans, as well as non-condescending looks at life among our Mexican neighbors. Set against the sprawling American southwest, the stories were engaging, filled with brilliant character studies, along with typical western situations.

It had a great casting coup by having black actor Frank Silvera assay the role of Don Sebastian. Silvera made a career out of playing a variety of "ethnicities," a tribute to his talent, as well as his "chameleon-like" appearance.

Another noteworthy bit of casting would be that of Crystal, Darrow, and Acosto, all Hispanic actors.

I recently watched recordings of this western and thoroughly enjoyed the shows. The cast was wonderful. But I was especially impressed with the talents of Henry Darrow and Cameron Mitchell. A couple of episodes showcase their comedic talents and are a scream. This western holds it own today - much better than Bonanza in my opinion. The writing was good and the location settings make for a much more realistic presentation. And the conflicts with the Apache and the whites are more historically presented. Some of the episodes are better than others, of course, but the series holds up well 40 years later. It's not on the level of Lonesome Dove but LD was a mini series and not episodic TV from the late 1960s. I do wish old westerns had refrained from false eyelashes and excessive makeup on the women. But this show is wonderful. Makes me want to see other work by Cameron Mitchell and Henry Darrow especially as they really did steal the show!