61-421: The Rifleman is an American Western television series starring Chuck Connors as rancher Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son Mark McCain . It was set in the 1880s in the fictional town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory . The show was filmed in black and white, in half-hour episodes. The Rifleman aired on ABC from September 30, 1958, to April 8, 1963, as a production of Four Star Television . It
122-700: A science fiction Western called The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. , which lasted for only 27 episodes. In the fall of 1995, the UPN network aired its own science fiction Western, Legend , which ended after 12 episodes. Western TV shows from the 2000s included the Zorro-inspired, syndicated Queen of Swords , starring Tessie Santiago and filmed in Almeria , Spain; Louis L'Amour 's Crossfire Trail starring Tom Selleck ; Monte Walsh ; and Hillerman's Coyote Waits and A Thief of Time . DVDs offer
183-455: A Spanish-made Gárate y Anitúa " El Tigre " lever action, a near-copy of the Model 1892, was modified for use as a knockabout gun. The El Tigre is seen in scenes where the rifle is in a saddle scabbard and is not drawn, and in stunts where the rifle was thrown to the ground, used as a club, or in any stunt where a possibility of damage to the original Winchester 1892s existed. These three rifles were
244-493: A Young Gun". MPI Home Video has released The Rifleman on DVD in Region 1 in a number of versions. It has released single-disc DVDs with five episodes; from 2002 to 2006 it released six sets, each with 20 episodes. The releases are random collections of episodes, rather than the original broadcast order. These releases are out of print, since MPI Home Video no longer owns the rights to the series. Levy-Gardner-Laven Productions,
305-472: A former Confederate soldier who is given a job on the McCain ranch and encounters General William Sheridan, the man who cost him his arm in battle. Learning why the man wants him dead, Sheridan arranges for medical care for his wounded former foe, quoting Abraham Lincoln 's last orders to "... bind up the nation's wounds". Despite his status as the series' protagonist, Lucas McCain is not without fault; he has
366-463: A former Confederate cavalry major states that he was Lieutenant McCain's prisoner after the Battle of Fort Donelson .) Having previously been a homesteader , McCain buys a ranch "about three miles" outside the fictitious town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory, in the pilot episode. His son Mark and he had come from Enid, Oklahoma , following the death of his wife, Margaret (née Gibbs), when his son
427-656: A gunslinger turned doctor; and "Which Way'd They Go?" (April 1, 1963), a comedy-western with Peter Whitney. Chuck Connors briefly played the same character again in 1991's The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw , which featured a number of 1950s and 1960s television Western series leads reprising their roles in quick cameo appearances ( Gene Barry as Bat Masterson , Hugh O'Brian as Wyatt Earp , Jack Kelly as Bart Maverick , Clint Walker as Cheyenne Bodie , Brian Keith as The Westerner , David Carradine as Kung Fu ' s Caine). In late 2011, CBS announced plans to remake
488-510: A late-era Western setting. The low-budget sitcom Dusty's Trail was an Old West adaptation of Gilligan's Island , complete with the star of the earlier show, Bob Denver . Little House on the Prairie was set on the frontier in the time period of the Western, but was essentially a family drama. Kung Fu was in the tradition of the itinerant gunfighter Westerns, but the main character
549-469: A nearly all-Western format in 2022. Several Westerns have episodes that have lapsed into the public domain in the United States , allowing networks and stations to carry them without cost. Yellowstone , a neo-Western that debuted in 2018, jumped in ratings over the course of its third and fourth seasons to become one of cable television's most popular programs. Yellowstone , in turn, inspired
610-463: A ranch. His insistence on violent realism and complex characterizations, as well as his refusal to sugarcoat the lessons he felt the Rifleman's son needed to learn about life, put him at odds with the show's producers at Four Star. Peckinpah left the show and created a short-lived series, The Westerner . The opening theme at the beginning of each episode depicted McCain walking down the street of
671-573: A second life to TV series like Peacemakers , and HBO's Deadwood . In 2002, a show called Firefly (created by Joss Whedon ) mixed the Western genre with science fiction. Breaking Bad , a neo-Western about crystal methamphetamine cooks in Albuquerque, NM , debuted in 2008 on AMC . Series with Western themes that debuted in the 2010s include Justified , about a Western-style vigilante U.S. Marshal based in modern rural Kentucky, which debuted in 2010 on FX ; Hell on Wheels , about
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#1732782611255732-486: A star in his own right. Other B-movie series were Lash LaRue and the Durango Kid . Herbert Jeffreys , as Bob Blake with his horse Stardust, appeared in a number of movies made for African American audiences in the days of segregated movie theaters. Bill Pickett , an African-American rodeo performer, also appeared in early Western films for the same audience. When the popularity of television exploded in
793-411: A tendency to be stubborn and bossy, he has a bit of an inflated ego, and he is extremely protective of his son Mark to the point of being over-protective at times. In "Death Trap", an episode with Philip Carey as former gunman (and old adversary) Simon Battles, he is unwilling to believe the man has changed and become a doctor. It takes a gunfight (with Battles fighting alongside him) to make him admit he
854-418: A town while rapid-firing his Winchester 44-40 1892 model rifle that had been modified at the trigger and lever. The rifle's modification allowed McCain to fire the rifle only by hand pumping the lever, which had a setscrew imbedded in it to trip the weapon's trigger. At various points during the series, episodes would show McCain deftly handling and shooting the rifle ambidextrously. When Connors auditioned for
915-559: A traditionally-set Western prequel, 1883 , in 2021, and another series, 1923 , a year later, both of which were successes. Richard Alexander (actor) Richard Alexander (November 19, 1902 – August 9, 1989) was an American film character actor . Born in Dallas, Texas , Alexander appeared in numerous film serials such as Flash Gordon , Zorro Rides Again and films like Babes in Toyland , The Gladiator , as well as
976-676: A well made toy copy of McCain's Model 1892 known variously as The Rifleman Rifle, the Flip Special, and the Ring Rifle. Marx Toys also marketed a version called the Wild West that was simply the Lone Ranger/Roy Rogers Winchester with the loop lever used by McCain replacing the standard straight lever. Westerns on television Television Westerns are programs with settings in the later half of
1037-418: Is why the rifle sounded so different from the other gunshots on the show. The 1892 Winchester is a top-eject rifle (opening the action by pushing the finger-lever forward moves the bolt rearward and thereby opens the top of the receiver). Loaded rounds or empty cases from the chamber eject straight up when the lever is pushed fully open (forward). When Connors cycled the action by spinning the rifle to his side,
1098-473: Is wrong. In "Two Ounces of Tin", with Sammy Davis Jr. as Tip Corey (a former circus trick-shot artist turned gunman), McCain angrily orders him off the ranch when he finds him demonstrating his skills to Mark. Corey suggests he is a hypocrite, because McCain has an equally deadly reputation in the Indian Territory of Oklahoma, where he first acquired the nickname "the Rifleman". Eight actors played
1159-404: The soap opera genre and put it into a Western setting, with established TV Western star Jim Davis as patriarch Jock Ewing . The 1990s saw the networks filming Western movies on their own. These include Louis L'Amour's Conagher starring Sam Elliott and Katharine Ross , Tony Hillerman's The Dark Wind , The Last Outlaw , The Jack Bull , The Cisco Kid , The Cherokee Kid , and
1220-556: The 19th century in the American Old West , Western Canada and Mexico during the period from about 1860 to the end of the so-called " Indian Wars ". More recent entries in the Western genre have used the neo-Western subgenre, placing events in the modern day, or the space Western subgenre but still draw inspiration from the outlaw attitudes prevalent in traditional Western productions. When television became popular in
1281-597: The British/Australian Western Whiplash set in 1850/60's Australia with four scripts by Gene Roddenberry . Traditional Westerns began to disappear from television in the late 1960s and early 1970s as color television became ubiquitous. With the exception of the short-lived The Cowboys in 1974, 1968 was the last season any new traditional Westerns debuted on television; by 1969, after pressure from parental advocacy groups who claimed Westerns were too violent for television, all three of
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#17327826112551342-517: The TV series Lonesome Dove . Zorro was remade with Duncan Regehr for The Family Channel filmed in Madrid, Spain. Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman was an American Western/dramatic television series created by Beth Sullivan. It ran on CBS for six seasons, from January 1, 1993, to May 16, 1998, and won multiple Emmy awards. Walker, Texas Ranger was a long-running Western/crime drama series, set in
1403-469: The action with one hand using a technique known as "spin-cocking". The series centers on Lucas McCain, a Union veteran of the American Civil War and widower. McCain had been a lieutenant in the 11th Indiana Infantry Regiment , and he had received a battlefield commission at the Battle of Five Forks just before the end of the war. (This conflicts with episode 3/25, "The Prisoner", in which
1464-609: The bartender ( Bill Quinn ), and a half-dozen other residents of North Fork (played by Hope Summers , Joan Taylor , Patricia Blair , John Harmon , and Harlan Warde ). Fifty-one episodes of the series were directed by Joseph H. Lewis (director of 1950's Gun Crazy and known for his film noir style). Ida Lupino directed one episode, "The Assault". Connors wrote several episodes. Robert Culp (star of CBS's Trackdown , another Four Star production), wrote one two-part episode, and Frank D. Gilroy (creator of ABC's Burke's Law , another Four Star production), wrote "End of
1525-441: The bolt and receiver when the gun fires. Winchester originally produced this gun from 1892 to 1941; total production was slightly over 1,000,000; 27 variations in five chamberings were made over the course of production, but the basic design was largely unaltered. As with the earlier Model 1873, the light and handy Model 1892 was chambered for handgun cartridges, favored by many Westerners to simplify ammunition supply problems by using
1586-522: The boom in TV Westerns began, thirty such shows were on television during prime time; none had been canceled that season, while 14 new ones had appeared. In one week in March 1959, eight of the top ten shows were Westerns, and an estimated $ 125 million in toys based on TV Westerns would be sold that year. Many were "four-wall Westerns", filmed indoors in three days or less with scripts of poor quality, and
1647-413: The cartridge in the action could fall out. Therefore, the rifle was modified with a plunger, which would hold the round in place. The Winchester Model 1892 rifle was designed by John Moses Browning , and other than general appearance, it has nothing in common with earlier lever-action rifles using the same class of cartridges. The significant improvement was the addition of vertical lugs that securely lock
1708-546: The construction of the First transcontinental railroad across the United States, which debuted in 2011 on AMC ; and Longmire , about a modern-day Wyoming sheriff, which debuted in 2012 on A&E . The Mandalorian (2019) is a space Western set within the Star Wars franchise and universe, with its lead character, a Mandalorian , roaming the galactic frontier and borrowing character traits from Clint Eastwood . With
1769-430: The episode "The Indian", Buckhart comes to North Fork to look for Indians suspected of murdering a Texas Ranger and his family. He subsequently reappeared in "The Raid". Three episodes of "The Rifleman" served as pilots for Westerns that never became a series. These were: "The Lariat" (March 29, 1960) starring Richard Anderson as a gambler and sharpshooter; "Death Trap" (May 9, 1961) featuring Phil Carey as Simon Battle,
1830-468: The five-year run of the series. Guest stars included veteran actors: John Anderson , Richard Anderson , Lyle Bettger , Whit Bissell , Harry Carey Jr. , John Carradine , Lon Chaney Jr. , Ellen Corby , Royal Dano , John Dehner , Jack Elam , Med Flory , Dabbs Greer , Rodolfo Hoyos Jr. , John Milford , Agnes Moorehead , Denver Pyle , Lee Van Cleef , and Adam West , most appearing multiple times in different roles. Several then-newcomers appeared in
1891-563: The genre's enormous popularity mystified even its creators; TIME quoted one of the about 100 writers for TV Westerns as wondering "I don't get it. Why do people want to spend so much time staring at the wrong end of a horse?" A horse cost up to $ 100 a day, compared to $ 22.05 for an extra; increasing production costs caused most action half-hour series vanishing in the early 1960s to be replaced by hour long television shows, increasingly in color. Two unusual Western series of this era are Zorro , set in early California under Spanish rule, and
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1952-482: The growth of cable television and direct broadcast satellites , reruns of Westerns have become more common. Upon its launch in 1996, TV Land carried a block of Westerns on Sundays; the network still airs Bonanza and the color episodes of Gunsmoke to the present day, which make up several hours of their daytime schedule. Encore Westerns , part of the Encore slate of premium channels, airs blocks of Western series in
2013-432: The late 1940s and 1950s, TV Westerns quickly became an audience favorite, with 30 such shows airing at prime time by 1959. Traditional Westerns faded in popularity in the late 1960s, while new shows fused Western elements with other types of shows, such as family drama, mystery thrillers, and crime drama. In the 1990s and 2000s, slickly packaged made-for-TV movie Westerns were introduced. The Saturday Afternoon Matinee on
2074-490: The late 1940s and 1950s, Westerns quickly became a staple of small-screen entertainment. The first, on June 24, 1949, was the Hopalong Cassidy show, at first edited from the 66 films made by William Boyd . Many B-movie Westerns were aired on TV as time fillers, while a number of long-running TV Westerns became classics in their own right. The earliest TV Westerns were written primarily for a children's audience; it
2135-488: The magazine can hold more of the blanks. The soundtrack contained a dubbed 13th shot, to allow the firing to end with a section of the theme music. The rifle was chambered for the .44-40 Winchester center fire cartridge, which was used in both revolvers and rifles. He could supposedly fire off his first round in three-tenths of a second, which certainly helped in a showdown. Gunsmith James S. Stembridge modified two Model 1892s for use in regular and close-up filming. In addition,
2196-419: The major networks ceased airing new Western series. Demographic pressures and overall burnout from the format may have also been a factor as viewers became bored and disinterested with the glut of Westerns on the air at the time. By 1971, production companies had acknowledged that "the Western idea is out." The two last traditional Westerns, Death Valley Days and Gunsmoke , ended their runs in 1975. While
2257-465: The modern era, in the United States, that starred and later was produced by Chuck Norris . It ran on CBS for nine seasons, from April 21, 1993, to May 19, 2001. For most of their time on air, Dr. Quinn and Walker aired on the same Saturday night lineup. Walker would receive a reboot in 2021, with a prequel, Walker: Independence , following in 2022. In the 1993–1994 season, the Fox network aired
2318-437: The morning and in the afternoon, while the channel airs Western films the rest of the day. MeTV , a digital broadcast channel, includes Westerns in its regular schedule as well, as does sister network Heroes & Icons . The family oriented INSP and Grit , another digital broadcast channel, also carry Westerns on its daytime schedules. INSP, previously a televangelism network, had such success with its Westerns that it adopted
2379-405: The only ones used by Connors during the run of the series. The now-defunct Stembridge Gun Rentals provided the rifles and ammunition. Ammunition was quarter-load 5-in-1 blank cartridges containing smokeless powder , which did not produce the thick clouds of smoke the genuine black powder cartridges of the 1880s did. Most (if not all) of the sound effects for the rifle shots were dubbed, which
2440-456: The original Rifleman series. Chris Columbus was slated to be the executive producer and direct, with Robert Levy , Steven Gardner, and Arthur Gardner (related to original producers Levy-Gardner-Laven ) as executive producers. The remake project was canceled a few months later, without a pilot episode being made. The TV show was also adapted into a comic book by Dan Spiegle , distributed by Dell Comics . American toymaker Hubley produced
2501-536: The original producer, is again the sole copyright owner of The Rifleman series. In late 2013, Levy-Gardner-Laven Productions, Inc. announced it would be the only authorized outlet to offer for the first time all 168 episodes of The Rifleman , the original series, newly restored and assembled in DVD box sets. The episodes were to be released in sequential order, by season, in high-quality boxed sets with exclusive special features. The first boxed set of all Season 1 episodes
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2562-518: The radio were a pre-television phenomenon in the US which often featured Western series. Film Westerns turned John Wayne , Ken Maynard , Audie Murphy , Tom Mix , and Johnny Mack Brown into major idols of a young audience, plus " singing cowboys " such as Gene Autry , Roy Rogers and Dale Evans , Dick Foran , Rex Allen , Tex Ritter , Ken Curtis , and Bob Steele . Each cowboy had a co-starring horse such as Rogers' Golden Palomino, Trigger , who became
2623-405: The rifle by spinning it around his hand. In addition, the screw could be positioned to depress the trigger every time he worked the lever, allowing for rapid fire, emptying the magazine in under six seconds during the opening credits on North Fork's main street. The trigger-trip screw pin was used in two configurations: with the screw head turned inside (close to the trigger), or more often, outside
2684-494: The rifle. It appeared with two different types of levers. The backwards, round-D-style loop was used in the early episodes. Sometimes, the rifle McCain uses has a saddle ring . The lever style later changed to a flatter lever (instead of the large loop) with no saddle ring. McCain fires 12 shots from his rifle during the opening credits - seven shots in the first close-up and five more as the camera switches to another view. The blank cartridges are shorter than standard cartridges, so
2745-541: The same cartridge in both a handgun and a rifle. The Model 1892 was replaced by the Browning-designed Model 1894 , which also had an impressive manufacturing history, with over 7,000,000 produced; it is still being produced to this day by a successor to Winchester. The Model 94's popularity and long production history may be related to its being the first Winchester to be designed for the then-new "smokeless" powder . The pilot episode, "The Sharpshooter",
2806-438: The series, including Claude Akins , Dan Blocker , James Coburn , Mark Goddard , James Drury , Dennis Hopper , L.Q. Jones , Michael Landon , Warren Oates , Marian Seldes , Harry Dean Stanton , and Robert Vaughn . Other notable guest stars and character actors who made cameo appearances were Sammy Davis Jr. , future baseball Hall of Famers Duke Snider and Don Drysdale , comedian Buddy Hackett , Pernell Roberts (who
2867-448: The show's five-year run. Notably, McCain almost never carried a pistol, although he is a good shot with it, especially when he improvised a crude gunstock from a board, when facing a villain who had stolen his rifle. The rifle used on the set of The Rifleman , an 1892 Winchester caliber .44-40 carbine with a standard 20-inch barrel, was an historical anachronism, as the show was set in 1881, 12 years before John Browning had designed
2928-418: The show, the director suddenly threw a rifle at him; the former Major League Baseball player caught it and got the job. Westerns were popular when The Rifleman premiered, and producers tried to find gimmicks to distinguish one show from another. The Rifleman' s gimmick was a modified Winchester Model 1892 rifle, with a large ring lever drilled and tapped for a set screw. The lever design allowed him to cock
2989-424: The spirit of the recently popularized James Bond franchise. F Troop was a satirical sitcom that made fun of the genre. The limited-run McCloud , which premiered in 1970, was essentially a fusion of the sheriff-oriented Western with the modern big-city crime drama. Its companion series Hec Ramsey was a lighthearted who-dunnit mystery series set in the late Western era, starring Richard Boone (previously of
3050-527: The town doctor during the series (usually known as "Doc Burrage"): Paul Fix (first episode only; he returned to the cast as Micah), Edgar Buchanan , Fay Roope , Rhys Williams , Jack Kruschen , Robert Burton, Ralph Moody and Bert Stevens . In addition to Joe Higgins, several actors also played blacksmith Nels (sometimes credited as Nils ) Swenson, including Richard Alexander , John Dierkes , Henry Rowland and Karl Swenson . More than 500 actors made guest appearances in more than 970 credited roles during
3111-440: The traditional Western Have Gun, Will Travel ; Boone described the characters in each series as very similar ) as a retired gunfighter turned detective. Cimarron Strip , a lavish 90-minute 1967 series starring Stuart Whitman as a U.S. Marshal , was canceled after a single season primarily because of its unprecedented expense. Nichols featured former Maverick star James Garner as a motorcycle-riding, unarmed peacemaker in
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#17327826112553172-589: The traditional Westerns mostly died out in the late 1960s, more modernized Westerns, incorporating story concepts from outside the traditional genre, began appearing on television shortly thereafter. A number of the new shows downplayed the traditional violent elements of Westerns, for example by having the main characters go unarmed and/or seek to avoid conflicts, or by emphasizing fantasy, comedy or family themes. The Wild Wild West , which ran from 1965 to 1969, combined Westerns with science fiction (what later would be termed steampunk ) and an espionage-thriller format in
3233-526: The trigger for each shot was not necessary, so he did not have to place his finger in harm's way. A close-up of the rifle's large looped lever and trigger-set screw can be seen in the third season episode "Miss Bertie." The rifle may have appeared in every episode, but it was not always fired; some plots did not require violent solutions (for example, one involving Mark's rigid new teacher). McCain attempts to solve as many problems as possible without resorting to shooting, yet still manages to kill 120 villains over
3294-441: The trigger guard with a locknut on the outside (to secure its position). In some episodes, the screw was removed, when rapid-fire action was not required. When properly adjusted, the screw “squeezed” the trigger when the lever was fully closed. The rapid-fire mechanism was originally designed to keep Connors from puncturing his finger with the trigger as he quickly cycled the action of the rifle. With this modification, Connors pulling
3355-499: Was a Shaolin monk , the son of an American father and a Chinese mother, who fought only with his formidable martial art skill. Bruce Lee had proposed a series with a similar concept, The Warrior , but studios rejected it; it would eventually be produced over 40 years after Lee's death. The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams was a family adventure show about a gentle mountain man with an uncanny connection to wildlife who helps others who visit his wilderness refuge. Dallas took
3416-461: Was made available on December 4, 2013, for $ 69.95. The second season was released on November 28, 2014. Season 3 was released on December 2, 2015. Season 4 was released on December 4, 2016. Season 5 was released on November 27, 2017. The February 17, 1959 episode of The Rifleman was a pilot for an NBC series, Law of the Plainsman , starring Michael Ansara as Marshal Sam Buckhart. In
3477-1036: Was not until the near-concurrent debuts of The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp and the TV version of Gunsmoke in 1955 that adult Westerns appeared on television, and the genre became enormously popular. Notable TV Westerns include The Lone Ranger with Clayton Moore , The Gene Autry Show with Gene Autry , Gunsmoke with James Arness , Cheyenne with Clint Walker , Have Gun – Will Travel with Richard Boone , Sugarfoot with Will Hutchins , Wagon Train with Ward Bond and Robert Horton , Maverick with James Garner and Jack Kelly , Trackdown with Robert Culp , Wanted Dead or Alive with Steve McQueen , Bronco with Ty Hardin , Bat Masterson with Gene Barry , The Rifleman , Rawhide with Eric Fleming and Clint Eastwood , Bonanza with Pernell Roberts and Dan Blocker , Laramie , The Virginian with James Drury and Doug McClure , The Big Valley with Barbara Stanwyck , The High Chaparral , and many others. By 1959, four years after
3538-658: Was on Bonanza at the time), Bobby Crawford Jr. (elder brother of series star Johnny Crawford; himself a star on Laramie from 1959 to 1960), and writer/director/producer Paul Mazursky . The Rifleman was partially filmed in Wildwood Regional Park in Thousand Oaks, California. The series was created by Arnold Laven and developed by Sam Peckinpah , who became a director of Western movies. Peckinpah, who wrote and directed many early episodes, based many characters and plots on his own childhood on
3599-440: Was one of the first primetime series on US television to show a single parent raising a child. The program was titled to reflect McCain's use of a Winchester Model 1892 rifle (a historical anachronism , as the show was set in the 1880s) which had been customized to allow repeated firing by cycling its lever action. He demonstrated this technique in the opening credits, as well as a second modification that allowed him to cycle
3660-406: Was originally telecast on CBS as part of Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre on March 7, 1958; it was repeated (in edited form) as the first episode of the series on ABC. The episode was written by Sam Peckinpah, and guest starred Dennis Hopper . Regulars on the program included Marshal Micah Torrance ( R. G. Armstrong was the original marshal for two episodes, the first and the fourth), Sweeney
3721-473: Was six years old. The series was set during the 1880s; a wooden plaque next to the McCain home states that the home was rebuilt by Lucas McCain and his son Mark in August 1881. A common thread in the series is that people deserve a second chance; Marshal Micah Torrance is a recovering alcoholic , and McCain gives a convict a job on his ranch in "The Marshal". Royal Dano appeared in "The Sheridan Story" as
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