"Rawhide" (1959) TV series 1959-1966

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

Release Date:

9 January 1959 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Western

Plot:

Gil Favor is trail boss of a continuous cattle drive; he is assisted by Rowdy Yates. The crew runs into characters and adventures along the way.

Plot Keywords:

Cattle | Cattle Drive | One Word Title | Cult TV | Cult Western

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 5 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Clint Eastwood	...	Rowdy Yates (217 episodes, 1959-1965)
Paul Brinegar	...	Wishbone (215 episodes, 1959-1965)
Steve Raines	...	Jim Quince (214 episodes, 1959-1965)
Eric Fleming	...	Gil Favor (202 episodes, 1959-1965)
James Murdock	...	Mushy (202 episodes, 1959-1965)
Rocky Shahan	...	Joe Scarlet (181 episodes, 1959-1965)
Robert Cabal	...	Hey Soos (114 episodes, 1959-1965)
Sheb Wooley	...	Pete Nolan (110 episodes, 1959-1965)

Runtime:

60 min (217 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS)

Trivia:

Soon after Clint Eastwood made his Italian westerns, Jolly Films (which produced Per un pugno di dollari (1964)) came out with a film called (in English) "The Magnificent Stranger", which was actually two episodes of "Rawhide" (1959) edited together ("The Backshooter" and "Incident of the Running Man"). Clint Eastwood sued and the film was withdrawn.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In some episodes Gil Favor is seen wearing Wrangler jeans - rivets and the trademark "W" on two pockets. The Wrangler brand wasn't sold until 1947.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Shrek 2 (2004)

Soundtrack:

Rawhide Theme

Another one from TV's best days.

These were simple, friendly stories about the same Old West you may have read about as a kid. Did it really exist? Who cares? The time and place these video plays were set in is made of the same clay and light as the one where "The Twilight Zone" was set. Both relied on a degree of attention to plot and character by the viewer as necessary to the presentation of morality plays you don't see anymore. What do you do when the local sherriff threatens to hang your man when his townfolk are desperate to find the rustler taking their livestock, but you know he's not guilty? How do you cope with a proud boss when you need his best judgment, but only you know his wife has run off with another man? This is where the stories that, for a while, we thought of as "cliche'" originally came from. That was before we thought of anything not based on jiggle or teen angst as too much trouble to think about. (Though, lately, "reality" shows have relieved us of having to think at all.)

If you want to be reminded of just what a great storytelling medium TV can be, watch this show (currently on the Hallmark Channel, c. 2003). Be warned, though: you'll be spoiled for such fare as "Fear Factor" and "Dawson's Creek," thereafter. Maybe even for "Buffy," though I know you don't believe that.