Chaparral

This show is one of the best TV shows I have ever seen, and definitely the best western.

This show is ahead of it's time in many ways. I wasn't even born when this show had it's original run but saw it on re-runs during the 80's and 90's and the show still held up to modern TV shows. Where most old TV shows tend to seem a bit dated 25-30 years down the track High Chaparral is still top quality viewing. The stories are well written and the acting is quite good.

The way that the Apache aren't just portrayed as mindless savages is also a very modern outlook. If the show is ever re-run again I will make a point to watch every episode.

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.

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!

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 remember The High Chaparral from when I was a child and rediscovered it as an adult from reruns. What is most noticeable about THC as opposed to other TV westerns are two things; it was actually filmed outdoors instead of on a soundstage, unlike large chunks of other TV westerns such as Rawhide and Gunsmoke and especially The Big Valley. Because of this the show and the actors have an authentic dirty and sweaty look to them appropriate to the period and place. I mean hey, cattle ranching in Arizona now is hard, sweaty and dirty, think about how is was before running water. The other thing I liked about it is that not only did the recurring characters not always get along, some of them flat out just didn't like each other. Kind of like in the real world and unlike other TV westerns. These distinctive features along with superb acting, writing, and technical work (just watching the shows makes me want to sweat) adds to up to one heck of a show.