The Man With No Name Revealed

Am Shooting Journal ^ | 3/22/2018 | R Alexander

[w1n1]

The Virginian was a Western TV show that ran from 1962 to 1971. It was based on the 1902 Owen Wister novel, “The Virginian, A Horseman of the Plains.” The star was the foreman of the Shiloh Ranch, played by James Drury. He was known only as The Virginian, the man with no name. The series circled around the foreman’s quest to maintain an orderly lifestyle at Shiloh. It was set in Medicine Bow, Wyo., around the year 1898. The Shiloh ranch was named after the two-day American Civil War Battle of Shiloh, Tenn.

The Virginian ran for nine seasons; it was television’s third longest running Western after Bonanza and Gunsmoke. Towards the end of its run, spaghetti Westerns were becoming popular, so the format was changed in the final season and it was renamed to The Men From Shiloh. Sadly, it was discontinued along with other Western shows in what was known as the “rural purge” of 1969 to 1971. CBS had become known as the “country broadcasting system” and sought to change its image.

Drury grew up on a ranch in Salem, Ore., and moved to Houston, Texas in 1974. Besides The Virginian, he appeared on Walker Texas Ranger, Kung Fu, The Red Skelton Show, Perry Mason, Rawhide, Gunsmoke, Forbidden Planet and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. In 1991, he was inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. I had an opportunity to talk to him about the show, and discovered that he is a real authentic Old West individual, who doesn’t just talk the talk but grew up in an outdoors lifestyle with guns and horses. Read the rest of the Man with no Name story here.

[VietVet876]

That show debuted when I was 11 years old and I must have watched every episode and the re-runs. I loved how Chuck would rapid fire his rifle and I really wanted a lever action .22 but had to settle for a bolt action with tube mag and an early 1900’s Sears Hamilton single shot break action with smooth bore. I sawed the barrel off on that single shot and used to keep it in the jack and lug wrench storage box in the farm’s 1961 International Scout that was my high school car.

[GoldenPup]

”True, the old days and the old ways are but treasured memories,
And the old trails have grown dim with the ravages of time,
But the spirit of the cowboy lives on. When the cowboy rode into
The pages of American history, he left behind a legacy that lives
Within the hearts of us all.”

RALPH COMPTON

[TopDog2]

The Rifleman is on Amazon Prime. It’s interesting that God is referred to often. They sure wouldn’t write a script like that today.

[Mr Rogers]

“He said that if “gunsmoke” was truly authentic, they’d have had a human waste ditch running through the town.”

In 1860, the local people would have barely noticed a waste disposal. People in modern times would be distracted from the story by the novelty of what was, to those living in the time, too ordinary to mention. And people in cites back then had a bigger problem due to more people in less space.

PS: http://www.lemen.com/qa317.html

[Lurker]

Thanks for the post.

L

[robroys woman]

Very interesting link.Thanks!

[DeFault User]

‘Gunsmoke’ featured stories where the hero failed to save the day,...

I remember one episode, which I have not seen in reruns, involving Matt and Chester trailing a bad guy across the prairie. After days and days of riding, running low on food and water, they lose the trail. Matt turns to Chester and says something like, "Lets' go back to Dodge. We can't catch them all."

I can't remember any episode of any other show depicting a scene in which the good guys give up. It was not only memorable, but a refreshing change.

[Tennessee Conservative]

The old movies usually represented good vs evil with good always winning. There were a lot of gun fights but people watching those shows knew better than to shoot people without good cause (self-defense). I liked Little House on the Prairie, The Waltons, Andy of Mayberry, and good wholesome shows even though a lot of the actors turned out to be libs in their personal lives. It didn’t come out in the shows. They kept their politics to themselves. I like the old westerns too. Men were men and criminals usually got what they deserved.

[pgkdan]

Exactly, and the moral underpinnings of a free society were always affirmed. Today’s ‘entertainment’ is the exact opposite. Good is evil, evil is good, chaos is best.

[jeffersondem]

“If you guys are so upset about “sanitized” 50s westerns, you all should check out The Rifleman which was produced by...Sam Peckinpah. I used to keep a pad next to me on Saturday mornings a few years ago to keep track of how many men Chuck Conners blew away in the first ten minutes.”

Chuck Conners’ rifle was designed to kill as many people as quickly as possible.

No one needs a rifle like that. Except government officials that run society.

[miss marmelstein]

I just don’t understand why Lucas had so many enemies showing up on his ranch!

[MosesKnows]

sanitized the whole experience in the western US in the 19th century

These shows provided stories about people’s experiences without providing detailed insight about the history of the West.

There are numerous books and documentaries to fill in the gaps for those so inclined.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

***the “rural purge” of 1969 to 1971.***

I remember that. Many a good TV show for
Flyover Country disappeared, including comedies aimed at more mature and aged audiences.
It was said the new shows were designed for the hip urban youth with MONEY to spend.

It also came on the tail of the Bobby Kennedy assassination and TV shows began to do away with gunfighter movies and westerns as they were accused of “glorifying violence”. Adult Westerns (still safe for kids) like GUNSMOKE were dumbed down to kiddie shows.
He Haw was another one. it was a hit in Texas and other parts of Flyover country but failed to gain an audience in the ONLY TWO AREAS THAT MATTERED back then. New York and California. So it was dropped like a hot rock and went into syndication where it remained on for years.

[Southside_Chicago_Republican]

bookmark

[Sans-Culotte]

If you guys are so upset about “sanitized” 50s westerns, you all should check out The Rifleman which was produced by...Sam Peckinpah. I used to keep a pad next to me on Saturday mornings a few years ago to keep track of how many men Chuck Conners blew away in the first ten minutes. The show was criticized for its violence.

I am not really bothered by the lack of realism in 50's westerns, or in movies. Well, I guess I get a little annoyed with the fact that so many of them are shot on sound stages, and you can see the cyclorama in the background when someone rides into town. I see movies and TV shows as heightened reality. Lack of realism for me would be if a guy in a western could fly or walk on walls. I just think it would have been interesting to see a long-running show depict the passage of time in some way, sort of like the movie versions of Cimmarron.

If you really want to see a lot of violence in a 50's western, watch the episode of The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp when he first comes to Dodge City at the beginning of the second season (Season 2, episode 2 - "Dodge City Gets a New Marshal"). Earp kills more guys in that episode than the real Wyatt Earp killed in his whole life.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

***those shows and movies were a large part of the makeup of my character. ***

I believe many of us can relate to that as we have a connection to those old times. I still remember my great-grand father who was born in 1868, when Custer made his raid on the Washita, The Santa Fe Trail was closed due to Indian raids, bison still covered the plains, cattle drives were starting to move north, the Trans-Continental Railroad still was being built. He lived long enough to see the B-52 Bomber go into service.

Today’s youth are connected in their past to what! Hippies, Woodstock, Drugs. They have no connection to HARD TIMES and survival. One girl not long ago was complaining about how hard life was today because she had no AIR CONDITIONING in her car.

[robroys woman]

Exactly. I really enjoy old episodes of Twilight Zone on Amazon Prime. I’ve noticed that they were often shot in 16mm and are crystal clear. So clear, in fact, that you can see serious flaws in the sets that TV back in the day just masked. It’s ok, I still really enjoy them.

Time has not been kind to some of those old shows, but Twilight Zone is still amazing. It’s about the stories.

[IronJack]

You didn’t miss much. Except the hanging of The Swede.

[Little Bill]

I know what your saying. My family went west in the 1840’s and 50’s by ox train.

My GGreat grandfather worked as a contractor on the Trans Continental, fought as volunteer in several Indian up risings, ran a general store and founded a water company. Died in 1930 at 80 things went to hell in the west after that.

[Political Junkie Too]

You should see the 1946 movie starring Joel McRea.

It's the same characters, but in a much more gritty story. Spoiler... the TV series sanitized some of the characters.

-PJ