The Westerner

Probably too downbeat and "adult" for its times, the series soon vanished from network screens. At the age of eleven, having been beguiled by advance advertising of the series, I was bewildered when it disappeared before I could locate it on the schedule. In retrospect it seems like the ideal vehicle to make Brian Keith a top star-something that never quite happened.

It seems a brilliant touch of writing to make Dave Blassengame (what a name for a hero) an illiterate, itinerant cowpoke with the soul of a knight errant. He is Palidan without the cultural overlay. Guest appearances by distinguished journeyman actors like Slim Pickens, Michael Ansara, Robert Culp and others too numerous to include in this space make "the Westerner" a treat for me-especially when I had to wait forty-five years for it to appear on cable T.V. .

I became a Peckinpah fan through The Wild Bunch, first saw it probably 1980. I never knew he had his own TV show back in 1960. I found out about The Westerner through a guest star overlap with Have Gun Will Travel. (That's a great show too.)

I found a homemade set of The Westerner DVDs on eBay and decided to take a chance. I'm two episodes into the 13 total episodes. In a word, "Wow!"

The director packs so much into the 25-minute run time. Brian Keith is outstanding as the lead, and the supporting characters have depth. Even the dog Brown has depth, and this has been established in only a few quick scenes over the two episodes. There's violence, but it fits the plot lines and isn't sensationalized or made to look operatic as in later Peckinpah works.

Recommended for western fans who value the steak over the sizzle.

A few of the episodes were weak, yes, but the over-all concept and execution of this show was brilliant. I have always thought that Peckinpah was an extremely erratic director.I am in the minority, but he was at his purest and best early in his career. Ride the High Country, for example, is one of the supreme masterpieces of the western genre.Peckinpah made an well acted, philosophical western, with little violence, and displayed care and craftsmanship making it. True affcionados of the western genre recognize it as one of the few truly original or interesting Television Westerns ever made. It is a shame that no network exists where shows like this can be re-run. Instead we get TV land showing endless reruns of Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie.

This series reminds me another one called THE LONER. Same period, same scenery and atmosphere with a kind of anti hero travelling from a place to another and who meets all kinds of people. As it was in the LONER, you deal here with pretty good characters study all over the show, far from those predictable garbage stuff which you find elsewhere in western series.

A series of shows with Brian Keith being the constant lead actor and hero with various guest stars appearing in the different episodes. Very well acted and interesting to watch, especially if future star spotting is one of the viewers hobbies. Very realistic approach to the western not normally used by directors of the late 1950s and early 60s T. V. shows. The series has Dave Blassingame (Brian Keith) appearing in various situations over the course of the shows usually as a combination drifter turned hero that saves the day or the lady in distress from the villain or villains. Brian Keith plays the part in a very down to earth low key approach that is very refreshing and realistic.