Rawhide

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.

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.

"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.

Rawhide was a wonderful TV western series. Focusing on a band of trail drovers lead by the trail boss Gil Favor. Most episodes - especially from the first 3 seasons were really character studies of Favor and his men. Guest stars came and went but unlike Wagon Train they seldom dominated the episodes they appeared in. Rawhide was a true, gritty western and Gil Favor stood out as a memorable character never to be forgotten. Thanks to Eric Fleming's performance the show became a massive hit. Of course he was ably supported by a wonderful cast of good actors - Clint Eastwood, Sheb Wooley, Paul Brinegar, Steve Raines, James Murdoch, Rocky Shahan, Robert Cabal. All of these actors left their mark in a piece of television history. Rawhide captured the flavour of that time of the west that no other series has for me, as yet anyhow, managed to do so. Later seasons tended to split the leads and give them individual story lines. For me some of the time this didn't work - the cattle drive and the regulars provided the best stories. However there were still some classic stories and Rawhide remained top drawer affair. The black and white photography added to a bleak, realistic feel that other western series seldom managed to capture. Rustlers, Indians,Commancheroes, beautiful damsels in distress, serial killers, they all showed up to give our heroes problems. The end came for the series quietly when the final season was axed less than half way through. The reason - Eric Fleming had departed and Rawhide was now a head without a body - the gritty realism was gone, Gil Favor commanded respect and exuded authority - he was never infallible and this made him all the more interesting. We shall not see his like again. Watch an episode whenever you can, they seldom disappoint.

TCM have just started showing Rawhide every night recently here in the UK and i've never seen it before, even though i'm a big Clint Eastwood fan, so i thought i'd give it a watch.

What can i say, i'm totally hooked on it now, i think i held some unfounded prejudices about shows from that era being a bit slowly plotted or not hardhitting or dramatic enough, well i was well off the mark there. The plots are really involving, the way Gil and Rowdy get drawn into these situations is really believable.

The moral issues and even social ones that are addressed are always at the forefront of the plots and many are still relevant today. I can see why its been so popular over the years.

I'd recommend this to anyone who likes westerns, beyond that i'd say anyone who appreciates moral dramas, thats twice i've used that word now and thats because the central characters have very admirable morals, particularly Gil Favor.

I hate to sound corny, but i think its a good point, its re-assuring in a way to see that kind of attitude, in amongst the more "morally questionable" entertainment (that i do enjoy as well) of todays TV.

"Head 'em up, move 'em out" awesome.