Wild West TV Week: The Rifleman

Day 2 of Wild West TV Week is upon us!!!  Soon the white eye will know the agony of...  okay so I wanted to change it up now and again.   This day I thought we would focus our attention on a show that became a bit of a cliche with widow/widower with a child.  What could be more interesting than Father Knows Best with a 1892 .30-30 or a .44-40 Winchester with a custom action.  This is The Rifleman.

Pa, I'm slipping off the horse again.

Mark McCain: You hit him pretty hard, pa.
Lucas McCain: Well, he was pretty spoiled, son.






Our series is focused around Lucas McCain (Chuck Connors of Geroninmo, Flipper, Arrest and Trial, Branded, Cowboy in Africa, Support Your Local Gunfighter, The Horror at 37,000 Feet, Soylent Green, Roots and Airplane II: The Sequel) a veteran officer of the Union who received more than a few battlefield in the 8th Indiana Infantry Regiment buys a ranch out in the New Mexico Territory in the fictitious town North Fork.  He and his son Mark (Johnny Crawford of Branded, Indian Paint, Village of the Giants, El Dorado, The Naked Ape, The Great Texas Dynamite Chase, William Tell and The Thirteenth Floor).  Trying to avoid trouble and just raise his son as best as possible but this wild territory needs a firm hand and not unlike Wanted: Dead or Alive has the same 1892 rifle with a modified large ring lever allowing him rapid fire as was shown in in the opening credits and standing at 6'5"  and square jawed he cut an imposing figure.

Ladies, I know I'm your type.  I will even take my monthly bath early.

The town U.S. Marshall Micah Torrance (Paul Fix of The Big Valley, Land of the Giants, Death Valley Days, The Undefeated, Young Billy Young, El Dorado, Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid, The City and The Rebels) a recovering alcoholic is on and off the wagon throughout the series.  A broken man filled with tragedy and hurt, you see this secondary character evolve as he goes through his trials and tribulations.  Worried for his son's safety, McCain considers selling the ranch and moving on but sees the benefits to the growing expansion of this territory in spite of the bandits, irritated Native Americans and cattle rustlers, his son feels like they belong here and this could be a true home for them.

A few interesting notions of the series now.  More than 500 actors and celebrities made guest spots on the show such as: John Carradine, Lon Chaney Jr.,  Jack Elam, Agnes Moorehead, Denver Pyle, Lee Van Cleef, Robert Culp, Sammy Davis Jr., and Dennis Hopper.  Hell, Buddy Hackett managed to stay G rated on this show as well.     Director Sam Peckinpah's directorial debut is due to The Rifleman before expanding to the realistic violence of The Wild Bunch.

Shot in sound stage Fox Western Studio for Season 1 they moved out to Paramount Ranch in Agoura California.  Connors turned down the role prior due to the low salary and producers Arthur H. Nadel and Jules V. Levy kicked around sweeting  the pot to keep Connors in the game.  Smart investment for 5 years.

Charles Atlas diet!