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Mirna Cicioni, of Melbourne, Australia:
A great episode, where plot and character interaction are focused on moving cattle, fast.
The opening line is "Mr Favor, you're wrong". Rowdy, yet again, challenges Favor's workplace relation strategies, and, not unpredictably, quits - but this time he means it. Favor, although disgruntled, behaves fairly and recommends Rowdy to a cattleman who needs a trail boss to drive his herd to Abilene. Wishbone decides to go along with Rowdy, just for this drive. Rowdy hires some men and a ramrod called Weed, and plans to beat Favor's herd to the railhead. Favor accepts the challenge.
The two herds stay close together, with mounting, silent tension between Favor and Rowdy, and with some tension (solved with a punch-up) between Rowdy and Weed. Rowdy makes a couple of blunders, but proves to be determined and competent. Near the end of the drive, Rowdy makes a bold decision: he takes his herd through a very dry fork of a canyon, gambling that a rainstorm will come and refresh the cattle. The gamble pays off and he wins the race.
Favor, always the gentleman, is a good loser. Rowdy, although he seems to have acquired enough leadership skills to be able to manage a herd of his own, turns down an offer and (again, not unpredictably) chooses to eat crow and get his old job back with Favor.
Both Fleming and Eastwood are fully convincing in this episode. Eastwood is good at portraying Rowdy as impulsive and occasionally naive, but also intelligent, resourceful, and willing to admit his mistakes. Fleming, however, has the edge: his acting is a wonderful blend of anger, concern, gloating, affection, loss, pride in himself, and pride in "our boy". Warren Oates is great as Weed, Rowdy's forthright, sensible, and happy-go-lucky ramrod.
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Timothy Booher, Bristol, TN:
Note: The opening credits are now a mixture of old and new. They start out with the familiar scenes of the herd moving north intermingled with clumsily staged action scenes of Favor, Rowdy, and Wishbone which fade into statues of the actors while introducing their characters. The statues, which appear to be bronze, are an attempt to capture the feel of Russell and Remington busts and figures, but were obviously hastily done. While the sculptures of Favor and Wish are pretty good likenesses, Rowdy winds up looking somewhat like Doug McClure with James Dean hair. Most likely his statue now resides in the private collection of some devoted Eastwood fan.
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Mirna Cicioni, of Melbourne, Australia:
Five men, led by the elderly Piney Kenny, rent a room and start playing a poker game, which goes on for days. The game is a cover: Piney is a rancher who has lost his land, his savings, and most of his cattle to a bank, and he has decided to take the money he needs to start over from another bank. He and his accomplices dig under the floor of their room, enter a network of former mining tunnels, get into the bank, and take off with $90,000, which they hide in an old mattress.
Piney is another of Favor's many old friends who sooner or later ask him if they can join the drive. Favor explains his decision to Rowdy and unbends a little as he talks about Piney with respect and affection, and Rowdy responds by saying wistfully that he hopes that someone, somewhere, some day will talk about him in the same terms. However, things go wrong soon after Piney and his gang turn up: his accomplices are hopeless as drovers, a sheriff questions the drovers about the robbery, and eventually a fight breaks out during which Piney draws on Favor and dies in bitter defeat.
Favor and Co. don't have a lot to do in this episode: writer Clyde Ware and director Philip Leacock are more interested in showing the bank robbery and developing Piney's character. Ed Begley is very effective as the single-minded, authoritative Piney. Elisha Cook is Piney's loyal sidekick, and a young Lee Van Cleef is the gang's safecracker. My favourite moment is a bit of dialogue between Favor and Piney in which Favor, worried about the missing Rowdy, describes him to Piney as "a big, rangy, clumsy kid with a shoved-up nose."
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Timothy Booher, of Bristol, TN:
Synopsis: After a major judgment error, Favor loses the entire herd and arrives at the railhead empty handed. To make matters worse, his attempt to get a bank loan is hampered by the fact that the local banker is an old enemy. Busted flat and unable to pay his men, the stressed out Favor is called before the Stockmen's Association president to answer for his mistake. With the threat of losing his job looming over his head, word goes out that the powers that be are thinking of replacing Favor, making Rowdy a trail boss. This conflicts with Favor's testimony that his ramrod had let the drag come loose during a storm and thus caused the entire incident. This adds extra tension as Rowdy is faced with the decision of whether to better himself by keeping his mouth shut or to tell the truth and stick by his boss.
Review: A very intricate episode and a highly realistic situation that reminds one of day to day life on any given job. Not at all escapism or fantasy, this bare bones story features very human characters and excellent writing. Eric Fleming is given one of his best turns as Favor, who nearly becomes a destitute alcoholic, far from the defender of justice that he had become in episodes like "Incident at Zebulon." Much as he did in many earlier episodes, the trail boss is forced to bend, compromise, and even beg--a character that anyone who has ever worked a minimum wage job can identify with. While some may think that this heavy-handed episode has too much going on at one time, the small details and intricate plot devices used here are what made Rawhide stand out head and shoulders above almost all other western shows of its era. Other standout performances include Harry Townes as the spiteful banker and Rawhide occasional Royal Dano as the tough but fair-minded representative of the herd owners. Eastwood also shows his spunk here, and we are a bit relieved to know that he will make a good trail boss all too soon. A fine episode, bar none.
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Myron King, Waco, TX:
A group of Gypsies talk Mushy into giving them the drovers' horses and supplies. When Rowdy informs Favor of what has happened, Gil is furious and orders him to fire Mushy. Mushy overhears the argument Gil and Rowdy are having and jumps off the train. When Mushy is discovered missing, Rowdy goes after him. Gil calms down and joins Rowdy and Wishbone in search of Mushy.
Nice episode, which provides more insight into Mushy's character. It is superbly written, directed, and acted.
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Myron King, Waco, TX:
Gurd Canliss is a gunfighter and reluctanly hires out for one more killing, despite his wife's misgivings.
Excellent character study of Canliss as played by Dean Martin, who makes his dramatic television debut. It is written by co-creator of Route 66, Stirling Silliphant, and Jack Arnold's direction is great. Martin, Laura Devon, Michael Ansara, and Thedore Bikel give excellent performances, even though the episode doesn't center around the drive.
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Myron King, Waco, TX:
Jonathan Damon's men walk out because they haven't been paid. Therefore, he needs men to work on his railroad. He plots to use the drovers by having them framed on trumped-up charges.
Much of this episode is just absolutely outragous, though a little better than part two, but not by much. Enough said about this flop!
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Timothy Booher, Bristol, TN:
Synopsis: Railroad entrepreneur Jonathan Damon is having a string of bad luck. His payroll hasn't arrived yet, a week after it was scheduled, his men have quit, and he has a limited amount of time to get tracks laid. Just when he is about to give up, he comes across 28 able-bodied men led by two dumb guys named Gil Favor and Rowdy Yates.
Review: Up until this time Rawhide had produced a mere handful of bad episodes and many unremarkable ones, but the good still outweighed the bad. This is the first truly horrible episode. Perhaps 'GODAWFUL' would be a better term. All of the actors are wasted in perhaps the worst performances of their careers. Talented Fritz Weaver is shamefully hammy in his role as Damon. Perhaps intentionally. Barbara Eden acts as though she wishes she could disappear into a bottle, and Eastwood and Fleming give their worst readings of Favor and Yates. The scene in which Favor stares at Eden and makes some of the most over exaggerated doe-eyed expressions of love and lust are ignorant beyond anything I can describe, and the 1960's bedroom innuendo between the two is overplayed beyond perfection. Yes folks, this same trail boss only a few years earlier regularly made mistakes which cost his men their lives and without fault put his herd over the safety and well being of his crew. But wait it gets worse, in part 2 Favor loses his boots and....
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Myron King, Waco, TX:
Gil Favor is behind bars and Jonathan Damon has the drovers working on his railroad. Favor is determined to get the drovers back. Quince is the only other drover who isn't working on the railroad.
The second part of Damon's Road is worse than part one. Not only do I find the "comedy" unfunny, but the whole premise is incredibly stupid. Rawhide was never intended to be an all-out comedy. Eric Fleming was quoted in TV Guide as saying that the team of Geller and Kowalski "produced bombs." Perhaps this was one of the episodes Fleming was referring to. The ultimate example of why CBS chairman William Paley was not happy with the way the team was producing the series. Maverick it ain't! (Although I'm giving this episode 1 cow, it really doesn't deserve it.)
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Timothy Booher, Bristol, TN:
Synopsis: Damon has Favor jailed on trumped-up charges and then manages to connive his men into forced contract labor. Favor breaks out of jail and tries to get his men back, only to learn that they are content and in fact happy to be working for Damon. An irate Favor then sets about organizing an uprising using the angry unemployed ex-railroad workers to fight against Damon and his own crew.
Review: In the last episode Favor lost his boots, but in this one he loses his manhood. I'm sure that Eric Fleming was extremely embarrassed by this stink bomb, the supreme example of why Geller and Kowalski weren't with the herd very long. Too many bad aspects to name here, but perhaps the worst is the ending where the classic "Head 'em up move 'em out" scene is redone comically (if you want to call it that). Even worse, the scene is repeated twice. Unbelievably this episode was released on the CBS Collectors edition series. If any of you have children and want to show them a Rawhide episode, for god's sake make sure this isn't the first episode they see! A total embarrassment to television's finest western series.
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Timothy Booher, Bristol, TN:
Synopsis: A wandering outlaw saves Rowdy Yates' life after he is thrown from his horse and badly injured on the trail. Yates befriends the young outlaw, who is shot in the back by an unknown assailant. Rowdy takes the body into a nearby town to collect the reward, only to find that the townsfolk, who were fond of the deceased wanted man, believe him (Rowdy) to be the backshooter. Rowdy must wait until noon of the following day for the Wells Fargo office to issue the reward money. In the meantime, the other members of the outlaw's gang are getting together for the funeral of their friend, at 11:00 a.m. the following day, and are preparing for a high noon showdown with the back hooter. As the day progresses, Rowdy begins to put together clues as to who really shot the young outlaw, who was a former Wells Fargo agent.
Review: This episode could be called "High Noon Redux". Actually this was one of the better variations of the theme of that influential adult western, which was redone by nearly every TV western in the history of the medium. Rawhide was no exception to that rule as this wasn't even the first time the show had tried the story format. This episode is distinguished by unique camera angles, close-ups, and a well done ending showdown. Also, the first few scenes in this one were filmed in the legendary Monument Valley, where many classic western movies were shot, among them "Stagecoach" and "The Searchers". Most Rawhide episodes were filmed on movie ranches and closed locations that were used repeatedly in the series run--often enough to make it look as though the drives progressed at a snail's pace, which in actuality they did. The Monument Valley location is a sign that new producers Geller and Kowalski, though unwise in many of their decisions for the series, were trying to rejuvenate the show, which was slipping in the ratings by this time but still had a big enough fan following to keep it on the air. Slim Pickens makes an appearance as the town sheriff, and he refers to Rowdy as an 'owl hoot'.
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Myron King, Waco, Texas:
Corporal Dasovik, an experienced officer, suddenly finds himself in charge of a group of soldiers following the death of Lieutenant Allbright. Private Harry Eccles knows more about leading a group than the corporal. The soldiers, who are to take a tribe of Indians to a reservation, steal some of Gil Favor's cattle. Favor is furious and demands full payment for the cattle.
Although this episode won a Western Heritage award, and contains an excellent character study of the corporal, "Corporal Dasovik" is a classic example of why CBS chairman William S. Paley was unhappy with the way Bruce Geller and Bernard Kowalski were producing the series.
He felt that the series had gone far away from its original premise.
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Myron King, Waco, Texas:
Gil is very annoyed with photographer Taylor Dickson's picture taking, as he is causing havoc with the drive. Rowdy is ordered to take him to a canyon where he wants to photograph Indians. Taylor and Rowdy are confronted by outlaws, who take them hostage.
Not as bad as Damon's Road, but bad enough. The dramatic moments add much needed tension and Eddie Albert is excellent as the obnoxious Dickson. The comic moments, for the most part, are too hokey for my taste.
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Timothy Booher, Bristol, TN:
Synopsis: Favor's new drive arrives in Junction City to close a deal with the local cattlemen. While the trail boss is wined and dined by the powers that be in the town, his men are refused room and board, bed and bath by the snobbish aristocrats in town who look down their nose at drovers.
Review: No Dogs or Drovers is a very fine episode in the fact that it explores how railroad towns wanted the business of the cattlemen but weren't exactly enamored of the idea of working-class individuals associating with the upper class of the cattle industry. A highly realistic situation which is presented half comedy half drama.
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Myron King, of Waco, Texas:
Gil Favor is abducted by outlaws who lead him to a shack for a meeting to be headed by Rian Powers.
Although containing good performances, this episode could have made its point regarding the meeting much earlier in the show. "The Meeting" is paced too slowly, and makes me want to ask "Can you get to the point?"
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Myron King, of Waco, Texas:
Rowdy is tricked by the schemes of Pop Starke, who trains gunfighters and, using a book, bets on whether they will make it through a battle alive or not.
Despite an excellent performance by J.D. Cannon and Pat Hingle as Pop Starke, and despite a couple of good camera movements and a surprising climax to the gunfight between a drover and another gunfighter, Cliff Gould's script is too talkative. Moreover, this story takes place away from the drive. In short, "The Book" can best be summarized in one word: BORRRRRING!
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Timothy Booher, Bristol, TN:
Synopsis: In a fit of rage, Favor fires Josh, a 70-year-old drover well past his prime who is too stubborn to quit but is making a nuisance of himself to everyone around. Favor recants his decision and feels bad, but an adamant Josh refuses to accept his offers of charitable help. After being faced with a string of near good luck gone awry, Josh begins to blame all of his problems on Favor, and in a drunken rage he calls the trail boss out to a showdown.
Review: If anyone out there has heard the old phrase "They don't make men like they used to", then Josh is a must-see episode. Albert Dekker is unforgettable in the role of Josh, the hopelessly antiquated drover who is not content to sit out his twilight years in a rocking chair. One of Rawhide's finest character studies is unashamedly un-glossy, and even the expected happy ending for Josh is mixed with sentiment and tears. Here we also get to see Favor at his most unlikable, but also his most kindhearted. Jay C. Flippen makes his third appearance on the show, this time in a cameo appearance as Josh's former saddle pal who is now senile and makes up lies for attention. A fine episode made even finer by the talented Mr. Dekker, who would return to the series a year later for its final episode, 'Crossing at White Feather.'
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Timothy Booher, Bristol, TN:
Synopsis: Rowdy is summoned to a nearby fort by his old friend Captain Ballinger, who is sentenced to hang for murdering a sergeant. Rowdy's testimony helped convict his old friend, but Ballinger isn't angry, he simply wants some company while he awaits his execution. Favor doesn't want Rowdy to leave, but the ramrod goes anyway. While at the fort, which is under threat of Indian attack, Rowdy and Ballinger rehash old memories and a series of flashbacks tell of how Ballinger's wife and son had been killed in an accident involving the sergeant. In a drunken rage the captain had murdered the sergeant. Now Ballinger wants to live, and he tries to talk Rowdy into changing his testimony in order to get him a stay of execution.
Review: A real nail biter and quite a character study. In the course of an hour we come to know the condemned man Captain Ballinger and his fear of death, and by the end we are almost hoping, as is Rowdy, that some accident of fate will spare his life. George Grizzard, a prestigious stage actor, gives a chilling performance as Ballinger, who cries and prays at the end of the episode, and we pray with him. The cavalry here is presented once more John Ford-style, with a lot of guitar-carrying, serenading drunks a la Fort Apache and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon. Although it's a bit far from reality, it makes great fun and serves to break the tension of this episode which is oddly reminiscent and perhaps influenced by the Susan Hayward film 'I Want to Live'. One of the best from the gradually degenerating 7th season and a must-see for Grizzard's performance if nothing else.
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Myron King, of Waco, Texas:
Marshal Royal K. Shaw, Jr. arrests Reed McCuller, a western Robin Hood who has helped his neighbors, who are farmers. Shaw has escorted Favor through a pass for three years, and Gil rebukes Shaw for lying to them about the identity of McCuller, whom Shaw initally calls a chicken theif. Shaw plans to take McCuller to Denver for trial. The marshal's motive is to move to a bigger town and get his name in the papers. There is, too, McCuller's younger brother Lindsay, who has own ambitions as well.
The premise of a person gambling with people's live for personal gain was dealt with in The Captain's Wife. This time, in Moment In The Sun, the drovers, the herd, and the neighbors are put at risk. This outstanding episode boasts an intense performance by Gene Evans. Also, the ballad "A Moment In The Sun" is sung by Bud and Travis. Bruce Geller and Van McCoy wrote the song. Bernard Girard wrote and directed the episode, and Gerald Fried wrote and conducted the music.
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Myron King, of Waco, Texas:
Pete Nolan is arrested and sentenced to hang for a murder he didn't commit. It's up to Gil Favor to find out the truth.
Endre Bohem returns as producer, and returns the series back to its basics. Also returning are Rocky Shahan, Robert Cabal, and Sheb Wooley. This is an excellent episode, with superb performances by all. Royal Dano guests. Harmon Jones direction and John Dunkel's writing are fantastic.
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Myron King, of Waco, Texas:
A man and his grandson join the drive. One of the drovers, Cable, is unaware that the man is his father. Cable is plotting with two other drovers to rob Favor of the herd ownership papers and take them to an Army fort.
This is a suspenseful yarn abely acted by Tom Tully and Steve Forrest. The script was written by Walter Black. The direction by Justis Addiss is great throghout. The story contains another fine example of Favor's interaction with chidren.
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Myron King, of Robinson, Texas:
Pete returns to camp and gets into a fight with new drover Mace, whom Nolan says is a Comanchero. Mace denies it and says he and another man were shadowing the Indians in search for a white girl named Abby Conroy, who was caught by the Mascaleros. Rowdy encounters its cheif, Yuma. Some of his tribe have taken cattle but Yuma says they will be returned. Later, Rowdy is wounded by some tribesman. Yuma takes Yates to a teepee, where a white girl, Finah, gives him water. Yates is able to determine that Finah is Abby and....
Need I say more? No. Sounds like a rehash of an earlier episode, Incident of the Valley in Shadow? You bet your bottom bell trousers it is. Buckley Angell wrote the earlier effort and rewrote this one, changing certain characters and adding a little dialogue here and there. Harmon Jones directed the earlier effort as well as this one. This one is not nearly as picturesque as the earlier effort.
While it does have fine performances by Michael Forest and Davey Davidson as well as suspense, Endre Bohem's decision to remake Valley in Shadow into The Violent Land was a serious error. I don't think Buckley Angell and Harmon Jones should be blamed.
In fairness to Bohem, however, time pressures may have been involved, since he replaced the team of Geller and Kowalski in the latter half of season 7. There probably was not enough time for writers to come up with originals. Even so, this effort is a serious error in judgment. |
Myron King, of Robinson, Texas:
Hap Johnson, a winter soldier, deserts the Army and goes to Favor's camp. When he reveals that he is not in the army, Johnson leaves and goes to the camp of a father and daughter who were temporarily travelling with the drive. Gil and Hey Soos are arrested for being in possession of stolen Army property--which was planted by Johnson--and Indians are on the warpath.
Robert Blake plays Johnson well, but this effort leaves much to be desired. We don't see Hey Soos and Favor being released from the Army and cleared of the charges against them. |
Myron King, of Robinson, Texas:
As acting trail boss, Rowdy must get the herd through buffalo territory. A group of men who hunt buffalo are standing in Yates' way. Mushy must get rid of some calves that are slowing down the herd. He encounters Emma Teall and her younger sister. They are happy to take the calves to their calf wagon, where they will be sold later in the east. The calves lead the rest the herd away from camp. The drovers, thinking rustlers were responsible, destroy the calf wagon. Rowdy apologizes and allows the women to travel with them for a while.
There are some subplots here that hurt the story somewhat, but it does have fine performances, particularly from Julie Harris. Anton M. "Tony" Leader's direction keeps the story moving and there is a fine music score by Lyn Murray. All in all, not too bad.
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Myron King, Robinson, TX:
Review: Dr. Merritt, his friend Phinn, and a group of men are looking for Spanish treasure. In so doing, they have dammed the only stream and that has cut off the herd's water supply. Anticipating a stampede, the drovers keep watch at night. Phinn accidentally causes Wishbone to fall and be seriously injured.
A combination of great character studies and suspense make this an excellent show that you don't want to miss. The performances of Brock Peters and John Ireland are great. Little did Ireland know that he would soon be joining the cast as a regular during the eighth season.
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Timothy Booher, Bristol, TN:
Synopsis: Favor and Mushy are below the border buying breeding stock when they get mixed up in open war between the Mexican army and revolutionaries. The duo winds up helping the great revolutionary El Hombre Bravo in his private quest to get a group of homeless, war-orphaned children across the border to safety.
Review: Favor's last great outing on the series once again shows the trail boss's affinity for children and his tender side. Frank Silvera gives a whimsical but serious turn as 'Hombre,' and the whole affair is great fun.
Note: Favor appears hatless during the entire episode.
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Timothy Booher, Bristol, TN:
Synopsis: When several of Favor's men turn up sick, the trail boss and crew members leave the drive and head for the nearest doctor. Before they reach their destination they wind up in the ghost town of Gray Rock. They seek refuge in the town hotel and wind up getting treatment from a very twisted and evil woman who is hiding from a band of outlaws. Still extremely sick, the drovers wind up defending their twisted hostess from her predators.
Review: The actual last episode to feature both Favor and Mushy is a rather odd but interesting suspense story with a lot of wasted potential and a very effective guest appearance by Lola Albright. Too many indoor scenes, apparently to heighten tension, coupled with some of the worst dialogue in series history make for a stagey but inspired outing with many fine moments. No formal ending to Mr. Favor's story is made here; he simply doesn't come back for the next season. Perhaps we were meant to believe that the supposedly immune trail boss actually had the mystery fever his men shared (the mystery illness or its causes are never revealed and it ends with all the men still sick) and didn't live to see the doctor.
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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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