A-Z of Westerns | Vital Football

A-Z of Westerns

Lindum

Lindum

Vital Football Hero
I resisted for a while and then thought, What the heck! Choices can be either Western Films or TV Series. A "The" at the beginning can be ignored. Please feel free to add any alternatives for any letter at any time.

A - Appaloosa. 2008 film with Ed Harris, Viggo Mortensen and Renee Zellweger. I thought it was very good.
 
B Bonanza - popular , long-running 60's tv series. The adventures of a father and three sons running the Ponderosa ranch. Well-known theme tune too.
 
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Alternative B - Bronco. 1958-1962 starring Ty Hardin as Bronco Layne. Another not-to-be-missed favourite of my childhood.
Interestingly (or not) although Ty Hardin had a long career the only other thing I really remember him in was playing a German soldier masquerading as an American in the film The Battle of the Bulge
 
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David "Bronco" Layne was the 1950's Millers player, who later played for Sheffield Wednesday and was banned from playing for participating in match-fixing in the 1960's.
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C Cheyenne - 1950's/60's tv series . Clint Walker played the main character Cheyenne Bodie, a white cowboy who had been raised by the Cheyenne tribe as a child. Another one with quite a memorable theme tune.
 
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The character of Bronco Layne originally appeared in Cheyenne when Clint Walker temporarily left over a contract dispute. He was Cheyenne's cousin. When Walker returned to the series they gave Ty Hardin his own series.
The Cheyenne episode I best remember was about a killer Grizzly bear. I suspect this episode inspired the 1966 film with Clint Walker called The Night of the Grizzly.
 
Alternative C - Based on the James A. Michener book and aired as a 12 part miniseries in 1978-9 about earliest settlers in the American West, Centennial. I thought it was pretty good but haven't watched it again since.
 
D "Des P. Rado - a man with a quest" . It was a regular feature of the Basil Brush tv show, where Mr. Rodney (Bewes) or Mr. Derek (Fowlds) would read out the cowboy story, from a book, to Basil. Each instalment usually finished at a "cliffhanging" point, and with a daft song about what had happened in the chapter of the story. Good fun!
 
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mikemiller said:
D "Des P. Rado - a man with a quest" . It was a regular feature of the Basil Brush tv show, where Mr. Rodney (Bewes) or Mr. Derek (Fowlds) would read out the cowboy story, from a book, to Basil. Each instalment usually finished with a daft song about what had happened in the chapter of the story. Good fun!
Click to expand...
Yes, that rings a bell.
 
Alternative D - not in the Des P Rado class admittedly but I thought Deadwood was pretty good. Ian McShane brilliant.
 
Well, that's new one for me, Caz. Richard Egan also starred. It sounds like an early version of Yellowstone?
 
Alternative E - El Dorado. 1966 film with John Wayne, Robert Mitchum and James Caan. This seemed like a remake of Rio Bravo which also starred John Wayne and had Dean Martin in the Mitchum role and Ricky Nelson in the James Caan role. I frequently mix up scenes from the two films.
 
Got to go back to B for a classic that we looked forward to in late 1960s. - (The) Big Valley. Ran for four seasons and starred Barbara Stanwyck, Linda Evans and Lee Majors. A bit like Bonanza in theme.
 
Alternative F - Watched this in late 1960s but don't remember too much about it even though it lasted two years. F Troop spoof series about US cavalry starring Forrest Tucker, Larry Storch and Melody Patterson.
 
G - Gunsmoke seemed to be on TV for ever! James Arness as Matt Dillon and memorable characters like Miss Kitty, Chester (Dennis Weaver) and Festus. A true classic series.

Alternative G and a miniseries I really enjoyed and ran for 7 episodes in 2017 was Godless. Unusually Jeff Daniels plays a real villain and also stars Jack O'Connell and Michelle Dockery.
 
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