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Philip Lindley, England:
A stranger drifts by the camp and is recognized by Rowdy and others as a notable hero from the Civil War. The respect turns to contempt when it emerges that he has taken up bounty hunting, and the drovers begin to urge Favor to be rid of him. When each man - notably Clay - begins to suspect that he is the bounty hunter's quarry, the situation begins to get out of hand. Several drovers quit and Rowdy is shot while restraining one of the others. Rowdy learns who the real quarry is and from his sick bed is able to train his gun and help resolve the situation. The return of most of the drovers persuades the man that his plan is doomed and he departs. Mark Stevens is memorable as the morose bounty hunter determined to regain his stolen lands by his earnings, and Gregory Walcott returns to the series as the drover who accidentally shoots Rowdy. Night camp scenes are effectively used in one of those episodes where suspense is more important than outdoor action.
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Timothy W. Booher, Bristol, TN:
Synopsis: After accidentally killing a man he was trying to rob, starving drifter Jed Trask is scratched across the face by the dead man's blind daughter. Trask escapes into the night and finds his way to the Favor herd to seek both work and refuge. At first Trask seems reclusive and violent natured toward anyone who approaches him, particularly Jim Quince, whom he beats up. The sheriff of the nearest town brings the dead man's daughter to Favor's camp, asking the trail boss to take her into a nearby town where she has relatives. Favor assigns Trask to drive her along the way, and the two become fast friends, eventually falling in love. However, when the blind girl tries to touch his face, Trask must use another drover as a sort of stand in. Trask goes to great lengths to ensure that the young lady doesn't discover his identity, even after he is caught and on his way to trial.
Review: No words could actually do justice to an episode this good. A fine character study, not unlike "Incident of the Silent Web," which featured a relationship between a crippled girl and a man who at first seems evil but who is by the end your oldest, dearest friend. This episode has a wide range of dramatic possibilities, and for once it goes far to explore many of its options. I spent the whole episode trying to guess how it would end, and it kept my mind full of possibilities, which is a rarity for a western, most of which seem to end somewhat predictably. Future Rawhide alumnus John Ireland makes his second appearance, and like his first, some two years earlier, he manages to get into another one of the series' best. It's not hard to see why future Rawhide producer Ben Brady would choose the strong and silent but articulate Ireland to portray Jed Colby, an obvious attempt to replace Eric Fleming's Mr. Favor, during the show's ill fated final season. While many Rawhide fans still tend to spurn the 8th season, there is no denying John Ireland's contribution to Rawhide--long before the series was ever conceived, when he joined John Wayne's Sedalia-bound cattle drive in the film Red River, later, when he guested on two early Rawhide shows, and into the final season, when he found his permanent place on the drive. Nina Shipman is also very warm and charming as the blind young lady who falls for her father's killer, conveying a sense of tenderness. Her strong portrayal of a handicapped person seeking her own place in life and sense of purpose--coupled with Ireland's character as a vagrant wanderer who was drawn into his predicament unwittingly, a man plagued by circumstances beyond him--keeps this episode from falling into weepy melodrama. For Rawhide purists it's also mighty fine to see a show that doesn't leave the drive.
Note: The title credits are the same old long shots of the herd that have been used since the first season, but they now feature a Bonanza-inspired trail map.The map claims to be of the Goodnite Loving trail, but ironically it starts out in Sedalia and seems to be going backwards along the trail taken in the first three seasons. Not being an expert on such trails I cannot call it inauthentic, but it seems a bit superficial and odd.
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4. Incident of the Prodigal Son [TOP]
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Timothy Booher, of Bristol, TN:
Synopsis: An angry young man, the son of a powerful railroad tycoon, is found wandering around in the desert, alone, broke and starved. On the surface, the youth's arrogance seems to stem from a spoiled rich upbringing, but in truth it hides a bitterness towards his wealthy father, who had given him a material childhood rather than a fatherly one. The only friend he can make is a lonely, embittered old drover named Hargus. Hargus had lost his son in the Civil War and blames himself, and now he treats the boy as his own son, causing conflict with several of the drovers, including Rowdy and Favor.
Review: Very gritty, containing excellent performances from Gene Evans and Carl Reindel. Rowdy gets roped and dragged by an angry Hargus in this one.
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5. Incident of the Four Horsemen [TOP]
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Philip Lindley, England:
Favor and Clay arrive in a small and desolate town in hopes of recruiting drovers but are themselves persuaded to act as witnesses at a wedding. A mysterious stranger at the wedding agrees to join the drive but proves to be a trouble-maker. A second, having been sent to return the bride to her angry father and failed, (having also been mistakenly buried alive by the drovers!) also joins the drive. It is clear that the bridegroom and the bride's father are equally stubborn men determined on a range war. Seeking water, Favor stumbles with Clay upon two more mysterious strangers who have been brought low in an abandoned town. One is desperate for food and the other is racked with illness. They too join the drive. Eventually, as the friction builds up between the two forces and as Favor seeks to extracate the drive, it becomes obvious that the four mysterious strangers are together playing the two sides against each other. As the bride and groom find each other across the river, the four strangers decide enough is enough and ride away.
A very odd episode indeed, heavily symbolic and with close-up cinematic menace of the type pioneered by Orson Welles, later developed by Sergio Leone. It's clear the four strangers are a version of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse - work out for yourself which one is which - and the episode has an other-worldly atmosphere not typical of "Rawhide". John Dehner is the stranger who rises from the grave. Claude Akins is underused but typically effective as the stranger at the wedding.
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6. Incident of the Lost Woman [TOP]
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Timothy Booher, of Bristol, TN:
Synopsis: Gil Favor finds a woman and child abandoned and near death. After bringing them to the drovers' camp, the woman initially tells them that her husband had been killed on their journey west. However, a different truth is revealed, that she had in fact run off when her husband was killed and his father tried to force her to marry her brother-in-law to keep the family blood line going. The family of rednecks shows up at the herd wanting the woman and baby back. When Favor refuses to allow them to be taken against the woman's will, the family patriarch vows revenge and makes good on his word when he returns to the herd to stampede Favor's cattle.
Review: This episode is a very good character study, although it may be a bit of a let down after "The Four Horsemen". It does feature good performances by Rawhide occasional Fay Spain and by R.G. Armstrong as the patriarch of one of those hillbilly families transplanted out west--reminiscent of those seen in so many movies and series episodes done by the great Sam Peckinpah. As a curious note, R.G. Armstrong was a Peckinpah favorite, working for the brilliant director several times. Offbeat cult actor Harry Dean Stanton, at the time a fixture in western movies, also appears as Armstrong's son.
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Timothy Booher, of Bristol, TN:
Synopsis: Favor and crew pick up a trio of soldiers, the last survivors of an Indian raid, and offer them protection from hostile chief Broken Bow. The leader of the group is a former confederate who had turned traitor and joined the Union army to avoid being a prisoner of war. The tough sergeant is not well like by the men, especially Rowdy, but his most powerful enemy is Chief Broken Bow. The sergeant had been involved in a massacre that had led to the death of the chief's wife and son.
Broken Bow wants to put the sergeant on a Comanche execution rack. Naturally the Indians aren't happy about Favor helping the soldiers seek refuge and the Indians begin harassing the herd, culminating in the murder of a drover and the burning of a nearby ranch. Broken Bow's warriors kidnap the wife and son of the friendly rancher and hold them hostage, warning that if the sergeant is not turned over to them the woman and child will take his place in the execution rack. Feeling a sense of duty, the sergeant plans a spectacular one-man fight to the death.
Review: A powerful episode heightened by a first-rate performance from James Whitmore, playing a crude and salty but self-sacrificing fighting man. There are two other surprise performances in this one by two well known actors. First, John Doucette playing a Russian infantryman in the old west. The normally jovial character actor turns in a very emotionally charged performance. He is much better than the all too recognizable Ford Rainey as Broken Bow, who delivers his lines as though they were a contract obligation--and they probably were. Still one must give him credit for trying. The end scene in which Whitmore and Doucette charge into a whole nest of angry Indian warriors, content on just taking a few of them down before they are killed themselves, typifies the fighting spirit of the U.S. Military throughout the 227 year history of this great country. Curiously, this is one the few films that I've seen that refuses to take a side, preferring to look at neither white nor Indian as being right or wrong but rather accepting things more like the way they really were as unavoidable conflict. Superbly done and skillfully delivered. If you see this episode and like it, there is a similar and equally excellent episode of Bonanza entitled "The Honor of Cochise," which is readily available on video and fairly easy to find. Check them out and compare them. Either way you won't go wrong.
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Myron King, of Robinson, TX:
Review: Three soldiers are rescued by the drovers. The commanding officer isn't particularly well liked and faces a greater enemy in Indian Broken Bow. Thus, the herd faces an Indian attack.
Written by Gene L. Coon, Incident of the Dogfaces contains excellent performances by guest stars James Whitmore, Ford Rainey and John Doucette. It is action packed and suspensful throughout. Don McDougall directed this Rawhide classic.
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Philip Lindley, England:
Rowdy enlists the aid of a ruthless wolf-hunter when the herd is threatened by wolves. The man rules his two sons and his daughter with a rod of iron, and the scene is set for trouble when his daughter begins to take an interest in the wider world he has always denied her. When, with Rowdy's help, she learns to read and discovers the meaning of a secreted letter concerning her mother's disappearance and death, the wolf-hunter takes drastic steps to keep his family under his control, with tragic results. Dan Duryea, one of America's best and most memorable feature actors, returns to the series to guest star. We may also note that "Rawhide" is trawling back through familiar themes with re-introductions of ravenous wolves.
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10. Incident of the Reluctant Bridegroom [TOP]
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Philip Lindley, England:
When Rowdy is sent into town with Wishbone to pick up supplies, he pays his inevitable visit to the saloon and falls in with the mistress of the powerful owner. Both get drunk and are given doped beer to keep them out of trouble. Unfortunately, there is time for them to get married before it takes effect. An outlaw on the run has disguised himself as a preacher and performs the ceremony. When they realise next morning what they have done, the pair beat a hasty retreat to the herd, where Favor faces off with the saloon owner. Serious trouble seems unavoidable, but the outlaw shows up at the herd looking for work and is recognised, in the nick of time, as the bogus preacher.
The beautiful Ruta Lee stars as Rowdy's rumbustious "wife" and is also a delightful singer. Ed Nelson makes one of several "Rawhide" appearances as the bogus preacher. Other series "occasionals" appear. One particularly comic moment comes when the drovers are turning in for the night and eagerly watch for Rowdy to join his new "wife" in the supply wagon. To their obvious disgust he chooses to bed down with them.
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Timothy Booher, of Bristol, TN:
Synopsis: Gil Favor brings his old pal Lige along for the drive. Lige was once been a wealthy rancher, but he gambled it all away. Now he wants to accompany the drive to Denver, bringing along his Querencias (a Spanish word for domesticated cattle), which don't exactly mix well with the free spirited cattle of the drive. Lige turns out to be trouble every step of the way, slowing the drive's progress and nearly getting Jim Quince fired. However he acquits himself in the end, risking and losing his life to save Favor and crew from the clutches of renegade Comanches.
Review: Fine character study of one of Favor's many worrisome friends, who always wind up going along for the ride, against better judgment. Edward Andrews plays the part of a suave nuisance well, a role he would play again many times in other series. In an odd twist, a cold-hearted Favor makes a sarcastic comment about 'old times sake' after his friend has just died to save the trail boss and crew from certain death. All in all not a great episode, but enjoyable as Rawhide continues to keep a string of quality going strong.
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Timothy Booher, of Bristol, TN:
Synopsis: The drovers are approached by a wild-eyed prospector named Monty Fox. Monty's dream and lifetime goal is to find the lost city of Quivira, where Coranado's gold is buried. He claims to have already staked out the general area but he needs men to help him. The old prospector paints a very dream-like picture in his stories about Quivira, but the only person who believes him is Mushy. The two run off in the middle of the night, taking some of Wishbone's supplies. Favor sends Rowdy to find them. Rowdy corners the duo, only to be taken prisoner by a former militia captain, who had himself once been on the search for Quivira. He now harbors a dark secret and cannot allow anyone who finds his remote desert homestead to leave alive.
Review: Royal Dano steals this tale of greed with his articulate, three-dimensional character Monte Fox. Monte's tales of Quivira almost make the visitor believe they have visited the lost city, despite that it is never found or shown in the episode. Claude Akins underplays much of his character of the doomed militia captain, perhaps in an attempt to make Dano shine all the more, but he winds up bringing a certain needed sadness and depressing quality to the role. Mushy gets to do some of his finest acting here as well. The script is well thought and the direction is deft, with much of the photography done to great effect with a handheld camera. One of the 5th season's finest.
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Timothy Booher, of Bristol, TN:
Synopsis: Rowdy, Quince, and Hey Soos are on an errand for Favor when they come across a spread and decide to buy a small herd of their own. In doing so, Rowdy befriends young Johnny Calvin, a crippled boy with a passion for nursing sick and injured animals. Johnny wants to be a drover and asks Rowdy to take him along back to the drive. Rowdy declines out of concern for the youth, but headstrong Johnny runs away from home to join them after they have departed. Along the way, Johnny is kidnapped by bandits and used as part of a scheme to relieve the trio of their herd. Johnny and the bandit leader manage to become good friends, and when the latter is wounded in a shootout with Rowdy, Johnny uses his knowledge of medicine to save the man's life and determines to devote the rest of his life to becoming a doctor.
Review: Quite a charming and wholesome piece of entertainment. Very well done character study with a minimum of violence. There are no well-known guest stars here and perhaps that is part of the charm, as Johnny and his bandit friend really come alive and spring from the heart. Good family viewing with all the trappings of great western but no gunplay or bloody fights.
Side note: While this isn't the first time that Gil Favor doesn't appear in an episode--Eastwood had proven early on that he could carry the show himself without the help of its top-billed co-star--this is the first time in series history that Eric Fleming's name is absent from the ending credits, a sign of things to come.
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Timothy Booher, of Bristol, TN:
Synopsis: Favor and Yates are burdened with another odd character, an undertaker who loves to play poker and seems to have an unending flow of cash to spread around. Two more strangers show up at the herd and the truth is revealed that they are partners with the buryin' man, who is actually a counterfeiter.
Review: Similar to "Incident of the Golden Calf," and King Donovan almost matches McDonald Carey's performance in the earlier outing. Western fans may recognize slick villain Richard Devon as the buryin' man's partner Cole Striker. (Is it just me or does that name sound like a race car driver?) Unusual story that is lots of fun, particularly in the end when the buryin' man rides away to join a group of Indians and Wishbone makes a classic remark about spreading counterfeit wampum (Indian money).
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Timothy Booher, of Bristol, TN:
Synopsis: Gil Favo'rs old friend, a former trail boss and gunfighter, joins the drive to turn over a new leaf. One of his former hands, whom he had previously fired from a drive, is along for the ride and tries to start trouble with the intention of provoking a gunfight. The old trail boss is forced to let his secret out of the bag, that he is going blind and cannot fight back. When the herd runs short of water, the old man finds a way of proving himself when he finds an out of the way streambed that Clay Forester had previously doubted the existence of.
Review: Good performance by Harold J. Stone, last seen in 'Incident of the Night Visitor,' but overall nothing special. For anyone who wants to dig for a copy, the nearsighted gunfighter theme is much more well explored in a film called 'The Lonely Man' starring Jack Palance and a young Anthony Perkins, a few short years away from 'Psycho' fame.
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Timothy Booher, of Bristol, TN:
Synopsis: Young Judy, the spoiled daughter of a railroad tycoon, has ran away from home and now makes a pitiful living in a saloon as part of a scam fleecing money from drunks. She becomes involved in a plot to rob Favor's drovers when they come to town. When the plan fails, the other girls who work in the saloon mark her for death. Rowdy Yates saves her life, and she is reluctantly forced to join the drive. There she meets and befriends a lonely and illiterate drover who wants her help in writing a letter to his wife. She also arouses the curiosity of a drover named Willy whose intelligence and taste for the finer things causes him to dream up disastrous schemes to escape the pauper's life of a drover.
Review: A fine episode whose excellent storyline and acting is more than matched by the three guest stars around whom the story centers. Judy is played to perfect finesse by Susan Oliver, last seen in 'Incident of his Brothers Keeper'. Lon Chaney Jr. (the Wolfman and the deranged Jesse from 'Incident on the Edge of Madness') is the illiterate drover whose loneliness causes him to create a mental image of the perfect woman. Finally, the real scene stealer here is James Best, who plays an intelligent drover whose dreams of the better life cause him to hurt those around him until he himself meets his own end. Normally Best is cast as a simpleton or imbecile. For a change of pace it's good to see this highly skilled actor who is best remembered for his giggling hick sheriff character prove that he is right up there with some of the finest stage actors. Best also appears in 'Incident of El Toro'. This episode was deemed good enough to be released by CBS on its single episode 'Fast Draw' Rawhide collectors edition tape series. Track down a copy. It's worth it for some fine entertainment.
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Timothy Booher, of Bristol, TN:
Synopsis: Mountain man Josh Green is about to be hanged by the Thomas family when Rowdy, Quince, and Toothless intervene. Not wanting trouble with the Thomas family, Rowdy persuades the family elder to accompany the cattle drive, Green in tow, to the nearest law forty miles away, a decision that doesn't sit well with Mr. Favor. The shifty Green escapes, and Rowdy has to track him down into his beloved mountainous terrain. Green takes Rowdy prisoner but promises to turn him loose if he will forget the whole incident and ride away, leaving Green a free man, but Rowdy remains adamant about taking the mountain man back for trial, and a battle of will ensues which is interrupted by a small band of hostile Indians.
Review: Robert Middleton, one of filmdom's great character players, gives his turn as the dignified mountain man who sees his world being closed by civilization and wants to go down with it. The story here is a bit like the Charlton Heston film titled "Mountain Man," which would come along years later. Poignant in parts, but let down by too many stage interiors substituting for the mountain terrain--it doesn't give the episode the proper breath of fresh air it needs to rejuvenate itself. Middleton's performance elevates it to a great degree, but overall very drab but good.
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Timothy Booher, of Bristol, TN:
Synopsis: Gil's friend, a reformed gunfighter, has just shot and badly injured the younger brother of a wealthy and powerful rancher. Out of decency the two take the boy to his hometown of Crooked Hat to be cared for by a doctor. Big Sam, the boy's brother, wants revenge, and while Favor and company wait for the local sheriff to tell their side of the story, the powerful rancher and his friend converge to wreak havoc.
Review: A story which has been told and retold by every television western in the history of the medium. Nothing new here as the ponderous script is made even worse by normally excellent actors who speak their lines as if they are about to break out into laughter. A great cast including James Gregory, Jeanne Cooper, Arch Johnson, Clifton James, and Jan Merlin give what are perhaps the worst performances of their careers--and perhaps intentionally. The suspense of this over-baked High Noon casserole is ruined by the fact that the characters are supposed to be in peril, but everyone here seems to be having a hard time taking anything seriously. One great scene here is where James Gregory's character gives a long monologue about how a gunfighter is like a well oiled machine. While delivering this speech he launches into a series of jerky body movements as if he is impersonating a robot. Some might call it method acting but whatever it is its damn funny. Also both of the two brothers in this
tale are named Sam (Big Sam and Little Sam). Why would any parent in their right mind give both their sons the same name? Not great television but good for a laugh. Recommended viewing right after a few beers and Cheech and Chong movie.
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Timothy Booher, of Bristol, TN:
Synopsis: Rowdy is taken away from the herd by a group of fellow former prisoners of war to stand trial for alleged treason and war crimes. The group comes to the site of the prison camp, which is now an abandoned ghost town, and meet up with a former judge now an alcoholic. The unscrupulous leader of the group plans to buy a guilty verdict from the judge by supplying him with whiskey, but in spite of his pathetic physical and mental shape, the judge maintains a sense of honesty and duty, which could be the only hope for Rowdy Yates.
Review: Distinguished Claude Rains tops the guest list in this one as the broken down judge trying to regain his honor. This atmospheric episode combines elements of two popular films of its time, 'The Great Escape' and 'Judgment at Nuremberg.' It does well on its own, too, as it shows the complex mental and psychological scars of POWS and veterans, men who were often forced to do regrettable acts under orders from their superiors and were later left alone to face the blame and save the name and face of the high brass. One scene in particular demonstrates to good effect the situation of war prisoners when Rowdy and his fellow inmates reenact an escape attempt in which they had to be buried alive in order to get outside the prison. A riveting episode which makes the hardcore Rawhide fan feel that it has been worthwhile to sit through all those bad or so-so episodes in order to dig out a true gem such as this.
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Mirna Cicioni, Melbourne, Australia:
The episode opens with Jim Quince drunk in the stable of a small town and singing (yet again)"Skip to m'Lou". Although worse for wear, he rides off towards the herd, blissfully unaware that behind the barn door lies the corpse of Major Courtney, the town's most influential citizen. Inevitably, he is arrested by a posse and taken to town. Favor and Rowdy follow him there to make sure that he gets a fair trial, but it doesn't take them long to realise that all the townspeople respected the Major and are seeking revenge rather than justice. Things become more tense when Wishbone, Clay, and most of the drovers also show up, determined to free Quince. A confrontation between the drovers and a lynch mob is about to turn into a shootout when saloon-owner Della turns on the town, exposing the Major (who she was secretly married to) as a thief and a deceiver, and revealing that she had been the one to shoot him.
An average episode, with lots of dialogue and not much action until the last dramatic scene. Steve Raines is convincing and touching as the distressed Quince, but the major's henchmen and the cowardly sheriff are stock characters, and the script gives no hint of the Major's villainy until Della's dramatic (and overlong) last-minute revelations.
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Philip Lindley, England:
The drovers are dumbfounded to discover that a woman saloon-keeper is claiming to be the widow of their live-and-kicking trail boss Gil Favor. Favor is at a loss to explain the photograph of himself over the bar, showing him in Confederate uniform, until the lady herself descends and he recognises her as the wife of an old friend. He recalls being best man at their wedding while still in uniform. In private, Favor gains her confession and learns that her husband became dissolute and eventually committed a murder. Finding herself in another town, she has worked her way to prosperity and respectability by pretending to be the widow of the "late" Captain Favor. Favor agrees to continue to play the part but only long enough to sell the saloon and get her out of town. "Rawhide" experimented from time to time with other genres than the western, and this is essentially a domestic comedy which long-time fans of the show might find hard to take. There's some splendid ensemble playing from regulars and occasionals to compensate and some fruity comic dialogue. Clint Eastwood sings - rather well - an unidentified ballad while accompanying himself at the upright piano.
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Timothy Booher, of Bristol, TN:
Synopsis: Rowdy, Hey Soos, and a drover named Calhoun are sent into a ghost town to send a telegram and pick up supplies. There Rowdy is forced to gun down a would-be robber who tells him before he dies that he will be sorry. Returning to the herd, Favor tells Rowdy that he has hired a new man. Rowdy is shocked to discover that the creepy new drover looks exactly like the man he has just killed in self defense.
Review: Albert Salmi gives a tour de force performance in a dual role as a crusty drunken gunfighter and his doppelganger. In the latter role, which is the more interesting, Salmi is applied with liberal touches of pale makeup to achieve an almost frightening deathlike appearance, and his voice is several shades more shrill than that of his other character. While the story is pretty routine and most of you can guess the relationship between the two men without my letting the cat out of the bag, this episode is nonetheless done with a great deal of style. Particularly effective is the scene where the macabre drover frightens the character Calhoun into a premature death. Without any dialogue the camera slowly follows close-ups of Salmi's feet and switches into a close-up of his shadow spreading over Calhoun, who is lying on the ground--subtle at first but getting greater with every oncoming step until his whole body is covered in shadow, cutting back to Salmi standing above him with a devilish smirk. Thunderstorm and lighting scenes, while typical of the sub horror film genre which this episode borrows heavily from, are also used to great effect, and the ending here is strangely typical but surprisingly different at the same time. It all adds up to a very good episode which, while still not one of the best, nevertheless keeps us on the edge of our seats and glued to what in the wrong hands would have been a boring, routine exercise.
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Joel, of Brooklyn, NY:
Although it is a bit far fetched, I really liked this episode because it had fine acting and an interesting moral tale to tell. What makes this episode so good is the guest star Albert Salmi, who plays two parts. One is a killer named John Day, whom Rowdy kills in self defense; the other is his brother "Rivers," who tries to get Rowdy to kill him so that he (Rowdy) can get hanged for murder. He does, however, succeed in scarying the bejeesus out of Hey Soos and another drover. Clint Eastwood also does a good job of showing fear without screaming and overly emoting. Salmi (who died a few years ago) was an underrated actor who was in a lot of shows as a guest in the 1960's. In this episode he is marvelously spooky with his ghost white pallor. Clint Eastwood does a fine job as does Robert Cabel (Hey Soos). There is also a filmed stampede which was well done. The title "Incident of the Pale Rider" is interesting in that Clint Eastwood made a movie in 1985 called "Pale Rider."
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Timothy Booher, Bristol, TN:
Synopsis: Rowdy and Gil find a scheming gypsy and his daughter alone on the prairie and offer them the protection of the drive. The elder of the duo states that they are not typical gypsies and right from the start they seem to be running away from something. The father gypsy wants to get on Mr. Favor's good side and happens to be a very good cook. The problem is that there is already a camp cook, Wishbone, who doesn't like the gypsy, especially after his pet chicken Emily turns up in the gypsies' cook pot. As part of a scheme to get rid of Wishbone, the gypsy reads him a false fortune, making him believe that he is soon to die and that none of his friends will miss him. Wishbone sets about preparing all kinds of exotic meals and dishes, stuffing the drovers with food to make them appreciate him more.
Meanwhile, an angry rancher and his men show up at the herd claiming that the elder gypsy once sold his daughter to the rancher as a wife, then backed out of the deal, stealing $500 before going on the lam. When Favor refuses to turn the two gypsies over to the rancher and his men, the rancher leaves, swearing to return with a vengeance. Wishbone discovers the truth, that he has been duped by the gypsy and that the drovers have gone along with the scheme in order to get pampered treatment from the ornery cook. With his feelings and pride hurt, Wishbone leaves the drive, only to be kidnapped by the angry rancher's posse and held for ransom until Favor and crew turn over the two gypsies and scrape together the stolen five hundred dollars.
Review: Another great Wishbone episode and another excellent example of how Rawhide utilized the situation structure to get the characters into another sticky predicament and build a story around it. This format was Rawhide's greatest asset and what made it work so well and last for so long. Only with time did a series of crew changes bring in a slate of producers who didn't really understand the show, and changes for the worse were made during the last two seasons of the show. Still, everything holds up well during the 5th and 6th seasons, with an on and off 7th season.
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Timothy Booher, Bristol, TN:
Synopsis: Rowdy and Quince buy some captive Apache children from another tribe by bartering cattle. The children are whites who were actually rescued by the Apaches from white marauders. While the three children are initially afraid of their new friends, they eventually warm up to the drovers, who want to return them to the white man's world. Favor in particular develops a fatherly relationship with the youngest girl, who is a mute, and Rowdy naturally is taken with the older girl, a pretty teenager. Matters are complicated when the feared and deadly Apache chieftain and guardian of the three children shows up at the herd, wanting his wards returned safely or promising bloodshed if they aren't. Headstrong and stubborn, Favor refuses and vows to fight to the death for the children he has grown to love and accept as his own.
Review: Like the first season's 'Incident of the Roman Candles', this episode is shown from the perspective of a child, or in this case of children. Perhaps that is what makes the idea of gruff Gil Favor reading a bedtime story to a sleepy child so doggone touching. A neat device is used here in which ground up camera angles are used to make it look as though the lens is actually the eyes of the children looking up at the drovers whom they first fear, but later come to love. Clint Eastwood would recycle the captive theme over a decade later in his classic western 'The Outlaw Josey Wales,' and this episode perhaps had a lot of influence on that great film. Quite touching and yet another wonderful episode to add to an ever growing list of an enduring television classic.
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Philip Lindley, England:
Another runaway stage, another collection of colourful passengers, and another chance to guess which one the enemy outside are really after. Favor and Hey-Soos are scouting for water when they see the runaway. The driver has been killed by marauding Apaches. Favor agrees to escort the party to the next depot, where they merely find themselves holed up and awaiting the next attack. Heavyweight character actor Nehemiah Persoff transcends the prosaic dialogue as White Eyes, the Mexican killer of the chief's son. Splendid ensemble playing takes care of the rest. It seems we're all fallen, fallible creatures but we've all got a story to tell. This group all get to tell theirs while they're waiting.
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Timothy Booher, Bristol, TN:
Synopsis: Rowdy and Wishbone stop over in the town of Rio Doloroso and wind up having trouble with the powerful Spanish family that controls it. The family members follow them back to the herd and start a stampede. Gil and Rowdy return to Rio Doloroso to straighten out the matter only to be taken prisoner and put on trial for their lives. It seems that one family member had been killed in the stampede and the patriarch blames the two drovers.
Review: Cesar Romero rejoins the cast of Rawhide in his third appearance as the leader of the Maldonado family. Madelyn Rhue is his daughter and Michael Ansara appears, soon to triumph on the series as Iron Bull. All give adequate performances but nothing special. Good study of the tyrannical and selfish family, but nothing new.
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Timothy Booher, Bristol, TN:
Synopsis: A newlywed drover and his young bride are about to leave the drive when Indian trouble complicates their departure. To make matters worse, the father of the bride arrives with objections. It seems that the father had commanded a brigade during the Civil War. The groom had been among his man and had deserted for private reasons. Now the father thinks his son-in-law is a coward and wants to bust up the marriage. With Mr. Favor away in Denver, Rowdy is left to boss the drive, which is getting farther and farther away from water because the army has closed all the trails due to Indian trouble. He is thrust into the middle of a private battle of wills between a stubborn father and his equally rock-headed son-in-law.
Review: As the drive becomes more domesticated, the fifth season seems to be producing a lot of episodes about reluctant bride grooms, married widows who aren't really married, and now a real marriage not mentioned in the title. Of note, gorgeous Ruta Lee returns to the series for the second time as the bride. This time the groom is played by Russell Johnson, soon to become the professor of Gilligan's Island, and Roy Barcroft is the father of the bride. In the 1940's Barcroft had been known as the King of the Western Heavies. However age, major changes in the genre, and the coming of Jack Elam in the 50's served to diminish his title, and by the time this Rawhide episode was filmed, Barcoft was making a comfortable old age living as a contract player on television. For once the series takes the idea of marriage and its values and self worth seriously instead of making a comedy of the idea of drovers marrying and settling down, as it had previously. The sentiment here mixed with wonderful performances and a good script are worth watching. Good but not great.
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Rawhide: 1959-65 (CBS)
Eric Fleming as Gil Favor
Clint Eastwood as Rowdy Yates
Sheb Wooley as Pete Nolan
Paul Brinegar as Wishbone
James Murdock as Mushy
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Theme performed by Frankie Laine
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Eric Fleming movies
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 The Glass Bottom Boat
Doris Day mistaken as a spy! Sounds like a light-hearted 60's romp to me. In addition to our man Eric Fleming, the movie also features Arthur Godfrey (by the way, am I the only one who can sing about dotting the "i" for the inventors?), Paul Lynde, Dick Martin, and Dom DeLuise.
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 Curse of the Undead
Eric Fleming stars as Preacher Dan Young in this, yes, vampire western. How cool is that?
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 Queen of Outer Space
Eric stars with Zsa Zsa Gabor, dahling, in this hilarious sci-fi flick. A reviewer at the Internet Movie Database says the movie "reeks of cardboard sets, silly dialogue, and more phallic symbols, hot babes, and sexual innuendo than you can wave a stick (or laser gun) at."
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 Conquest of Space
Eric stars as Captain Barney Merritt in this story about the first manned expedition to Mars. A reviewer at amazon.com numbers among the movie's merits its inclusion of: "MST3K ready dialog! The obligitory accidental weightlessness scene! ... The first ever burial in space! The first ever snowfall on Mars!" In other words, you can't lose!
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The Rawhide theme
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 Rockin'/Hell Bent for Leather
Head 'em up, move 'em out! Frankie Laine performed the rousing song played over the opening credits of Rawhide. The Rawhide theme is among the 24 tracks on this CD.
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Sheb Wooley Sings
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 The Purple People Eater
31 tracks including the classic title song
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 Wild and Wooley, Big Unruly Me
29 tracks
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 Rawhide/How the West was Won
24 tracks including Sheb's version of the Rawhide theme (this is not the version performed in the opening credits of the show!)
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 That's My Pa
Four box set totaling 47 tracks
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