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*The Westerner*
The Westerner
	Brian Keith as Dave Blassingame and Spike as Brown, 1960
Genre	Western
Created by	Sam Peckinpah
Written by	Jack Curtis; Bruce Geller; Tom Gries; Robert Heverly; Sam Peckinpah
Directed by	Sam Peckinpah; André de Toth; Tom Gries
Starring	Brian Keith
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	13
Production
Executive producer	Hal Hudson
Producer	Sam Peckinpah
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	25 mins.
Production company	Four Star Productions
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	September 30 –; December 30, 1960

The Westerner is an American Western television series that aired on NBC from September 30 to December 30, 1960. Created and produced by Sam Peckinpah, who also wrote and directed some episodes, the series was a Four Star Television production.^[1] The Westerner stars Brian Keith as amiable, unexceptional cowhand/drifter Dave Blassingame, and features John Dehner as rakish Burgundy Smith, who appeared in three episodes.

Overview

Dave Blassingame is a cowboy and drifter who is handy with a gun and his fists, travelling through an often lawless country trying to get enough money together to buy his own ranch.

His dog Brown is played by Spike, trained by Frank Weatherwax and best known for playing the title role in Old Yeller. Brown figures prominently in a number of episodes, appears in all of them, and always appears following Blassingame during the end credits.

Cast

Main

Brian Keith as Dave Blassingame
Spike as Brown
Hank Gobble as Digger
Jimmy Lee Cook as Band Member
Michael T. Mikler as Band Member
Marie Selland as Addie McKeen
John Dehner as Burgundy Smith

Guest stars

Guest stars included Malcolm Atterbury, Ben Cooper, Katy Jurado, and John M. Pickard, Sam Jaffe, and one episode (the first, "Jeff") memorably featured Warren Oates as a drunk quietly passing out at a table. Other guest stars, like Ms. Jurado, would later go on to appear in some of Peckinpah's feature films. These included John Anderson (Ride the High Country), R. G. Armstrong (Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid), Dub Taylor (The Wild Bunch, The Getaway), and Mary Murphy (Junior Bonner).

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
Pilot	"Trouble at Tres Cruces"	Sam Peckinpah	Sam Peckinpah	March 26, 1959 (1959-03-26)
This was episode 24 of season 3 of Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre.
1	"Jeff"	Sam Peckinpah	Robert Heverly, Sam Peckinpah	September 30, 1960 (1960-09-30)
2	"School Days"	André De Toth	Robert Heverly, Sam Peckinpah	October 7, 1960 (1960-10-07)
3	"Brown"	Sam Peckinpah	Bruce Geller	October 21, 1960 (1960-10-21)
4	"Mrs. Kennedy"	Bernard L. Kowalski	John Dunkel, Sam Peckinpah	October 28, 1960 (1960-10-28)
5	"Dos Pinos"	Don McDougall	E. Jack Neuman	November 4, 1960 (1960-11-04)
6	"The Courting of Libby"	Sam Peckinpah	Bruce Geller	November 11, 1960 (1960-11-11)
7	"Treasure"	Ted Post	Cyril Hume	November 18, 1960 (1960-11-18)
8	"The Old Man"	André De Toth	Jack Curtis, Sam Peckinpah	November 25, 1960 (1960-11-25)
9	"Ghost of a Chance"	Bruce Geller	Milton S. Gelman	December 2, 1960 (1960-12-02)
10	"Line Camp"	Tom Gries	Tom Gries	December 9, 1960 (1960-12-09)
11	"Going Home"	Elliot Silverstein	Jack Curtis	December 16, 1960 (1960-12-16)
12	"Hand on the Gun"	Sam Peckinpah	Bruce Geller	December 23, 1960 (1960-12-23)
13	"The Painting"	Sam Peckinpah	Bruce Geller	December 30, 1960 (1960-12-30)

Production

Music

The musical score was largely the work of Four Star's Herschel Burke Gilbert.

Release

Broadcast

The pilot for The Westerner appeared on CBS's Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre.

Syndication as The Westerners

For rerun syndication it was grouped with three other short-lived Western series from the same company, Black Saddle starring Peter Breck, Johnny Ringo starring Don Durant, and Law of the Plainsman starring Michael Ansara, under the umbrella title The Westerners, bracketed with hosting sequences featuring Keenan Wynn.^[2]

Home media

A two-DVD set of the complete series including the pilot episode was released by Shout! Factory in February 2017.^[3]

Reception

The critically acclaimed series ran for 13 episodes, but it was cancelled because of low ratings (due to being placed in the same time slot as The Flintstones and Route 66).^[4]

Spin-offs and remakes

The Losers (1963)

An attempt to update and revive the hardbitten series aired as a January 1963 episode of The Dick Powell Theater, "The Losers", directed by Peckinpah and featuring Lee Marvin as Dave Blassingame and Keenan Wynn as Burgundy Smith, but set in the modern West. Rosemary Clooney portrayed the leading lady.

Will Penny (1968)

One of the episodes of The Westerner, "Line Camp" guest-starring Robert Culp, was the basis for the 1968 film Will Penny starring Charlton Heston. Slim Pickens plays essentially the same role, as a feisty derby-wearing cook, in both the television episode and the movie.

The Gambler Returns (1991)

Brian Keith briefly played the same character again in 1991's The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw, which featured a number of 1950s and 1960s television Western series leads reprising their roles in quick cameo appearances (Gene Barry as Bat Masterson, Hugh O'Brian as Wyatt Earp, Jack Kelly as Bart Maverick, Clint Walker as Cheyenne Bodie, David Carradine as Kung Fu's Caine, Chuck Connors as The Rifleman, and so on).

References

^ "The Westerner". tv.apple.com. Apple TV+. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
^ "New...In Syndication! 5 Great Stars...125 Action Half Hours! Keenan Wynn presents The Westerners (originally seen as: Black Saddle / Johnny Ringo / The Law of the Plainsman / The Westerner)". Broadcasting. May 31, 1965. pp. 12–13. ProQuest 1014491186. Now being filmed in Hollywood! 125 different Keenan Wynn wrap-arounds are being produced and carefully integrated into each of THE WESTERNERS episodes ... giving this series A FIRST RUN LOOK! [...] Fall '65 start! For stripping, once-a-week, or as a back-to-back hour (with special Keenan Wynn bridges). [...] starring Brian Keith as Dave Blasingame, Michael Ansara as Sam Buchart, Peter Breck as Clay Culhane, Don Durant as Johnny Ringo.
^ "The Westerner: The Complete Series". Shout! Factory. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
^ Rafferty, Terrence. "Where the Wild Bunch Can Trace Its Birth." The New York Times. 18 July 2004.