The Bounty Hunter

Steve McQueen rose to national stardom thanks to his ground-breaking TV series, Wanted : Dead or Alive. In this episode of Trackdown, we are first introduced his Josh Randall, the Bounty Hunter. On the strength of this appearance , McQueen went on to embody the essence of cool and remains today a legend among movie stars.

Josh Randall was probably the first realistic character on TV, western or otherwise. McQueen here nailed down the strong,driven, good-natured tough guy that he went on to play in so many great films.

The series Trackdown was average at best, but produced a classic TV character, series and legendary movie star. Not bad for such a short run series.

See this one to discover McQueen in the role that brought him to screen prominence!

I thoroughly enjoyed this Wanted -Dead or Alive "pilot" as it were. McQueen must have know that this was his episode. In Trackdown, I always enjoyed Robert Culp's solid performance. However, it was sometimes understated and almost brooding. With McQueen, they elevated each other and it really played like an early buddy movie. Several good supporting cast members made this fun to watch. McQueen has most of the best dialogue even to the end credits. It is too bad that 4-Star Productions didn't team them up again in a Wanted episode. You can see hints of his style that got him through his early career. This episode, Wanted- Dead or Alive and Magnificent 7 could be hybrids of Steve McQueen's acting chops. I won't be deleting this from the DVR for a while. Catch it if you can.

The origin of Josh Randall begins here. Steve McQueen gets his second big break (The Blob being the first one). A few months later Wanted: Dead or Alive would hit the TV screens and make history! The legend of Steve McQueen was born!

Trackdown featured the humorless and generally sour Robert Culp as Hoby Gilman. He was a Texas Ranger, and while most cowboys in a TV show had a girlfriend, Hoby was always alone and sullen. I found this show to be a bit boring, and I did not like Robert Culp much. It was a blast to see Steve McQueen guest star and steal the show!

I wish this episode was included with the Wanted: Dead or Alive dvd set. It is really the pilot episode for that show.

Of course we all know who Josh Randall is, at least I hope we do...Josh Randall is the famous bounty hunter of the West, known for being nice to those he was after, even allowing them to live...Josh was famous for using money he collected for good...

With the reputation of bounty hunters, it's no wonder that Hoby was a bit leery about letting Josh Randall capture his prisoner...

It's always nice to see how "it all began." I did notice that he dressed a little different, and his manners were a bit different...I think I definitely like the changes they incurred on him in the show...

Like Trackdown, Wanted Dead or Alive ended way too soon...Josh Randall would forever be remembered as the bounty hunter with a heart.