Outlaws

I only saw a few because they were on rather late and we had no home video players in the UK at that time. However despite this I have very vivid memories of the theme music which I recall as a kid partly putting into words along the lines of "Outlaws go and get your guns" but I don't think I got much further than that! It set new ground in realism. The cowboys actually looked as if they had been on the trail and rather unkempt. Close ups of Don Colllier with deep shadows cast by the brim of his hat over his eyes are also vividly recalled somewhat along the lines of the spaghetti westerns of later years. I am pleased to see some are available on DVD.

Chris Turner

This was one of the better westerns. I forget the main star's name who, with head sheriff Barton McClaine, were the setting for each week's new bad guy's story. Yes, Slim Pickens was in it. And in an odd twist late in the series, there were a few episodes of great comedy and adventure with Neville Brand and 2 other guys as cavalry soldiers. These segments had nothing in common with the regular series of Outlaws but were introduced with a story, as I recall. Too bad TVLand doesn't bring this back plus the even older Cimarron City.

The earlier reviews jarred my memory because I had not noticed the emphasis on the outlaws' point of view. Of course, it was mentioned that the theme shifted to mainstream good guys vs bad. But, come to think of it, the shows I do remember spent an awful lot of time on the "bad guys." Thanks to the reviews, I understand why now.

But irony is what I remember most. In one episode, an embezzling bank teller is blackmailed into helping rob the bank. He feels trapped because he invested in silver only to have it decline in value. As the show wraps up--he and the professional crook caught--a prospector waving a paper gleefully shouts "Silver's up!" The best shows were like that.

This has to be my favorite TV western series. The first season was the better season, as it was rough, tough, and action-packed, with great guest stars (Cliff Robertson, Jack Lord, Jack Chaplain, Martin Landau, Robert Culp, Dean Jones, Robert Lansing, James Coburn, Dean Stockwell, Steve Forrest, etc). My favorite episode from the entire series was Sam Bass. Since I tended to favor the bad guys, this series was right up my alley, as it focused on the bad guys in every episode. The guys at Timeless Media tell me that they are trying to get this series for DVD release, so I can only hope that I live long enough to enjoy it again, after all these years. It will make a terrific box-set.

I vividly remember this show as a kid. It had great music, as noted by others, and had a certain grittiness about it that was compelling. Don Collier had the perfect face for a US Marshal -- tough, weary, cynical, and (occasionally) smiling. That he was not handsome in a typical Hollywood way helped the series. He looked like he'd really just spent the last few days in the saddle on the trail of outlaws. Collier played the role of lawman in a serious and responsible way like all westerns back then, but somehow more realistically. I also remember the show for great shoot-out scenes, usually at the end of the show. TV westerns in the early 60s were going through a brief period of especially graphic shoot-outs, and Outlaws benefited from this. I don't mean blood or screams of pain, of course, but a lot of grazing bullets and fancy gunplay. The bad guys when shot would crash very forcefully through windows behind them, or would flip over the hitching post rail, etc. Great time for stuntmen. Great time to be a kid watching this show. I'd love to see it again.