Westerns of the 1950s

by Don Ensign

In 1953 my parents purchased a television. As a 5-year old child I was fascinated by a genre that seemingly captured the airwaves—the TV western.
 
Some early westerns that I watched faithfully were the Adventures of  Rin-Tin-Tin (1954-1964),
the exploits of a young boy growing up in Fort  Apache, AZ with his wonder dog.

Another was Fury (1955-1966), the story of  a young boy and his amazing black stallion.

The Cisco Kid (1950) was a shorted-lived ethic western I fondly remember ( “Hey, Cisco, Hey Poncho”  not politically correct, but very funny.)

Roy Rogers, movie western hero, moved to TV (1951-1964, with Dale Evans)
and was very successful.

Also eagerly watched were Guy Madison (and comical sidekick Andy Devine), in
Wild Bill Hickok (1952, 1957)

and the long-running Long Ranger (1949-1961).

More than thirty western series emerged from the 1950s —the following are
my five favorites.

The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (1955-1961) starring Hugh O’Brian. I
liked it because Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday actually lived. In later
years I’ve learned that Wyatt may not have been the pristine good guy as
portrayed by O’Brian. But Wyatt became a good 1950s role model. I loved
the show and when we kids played cowboys and I would be Wyatt or Doc
Holliday. As an asthmatic I sympathized with Doc Holliday’s TB condition.

Even though Gunsmoke (1955-1975) was fictional it was probably more true
to how the Wild West really was. Gunsmoke followed the exploits of Matt
Dillon, US Marshall in Dodge City, Kansas. Dillon (James Arness) was a no
nonsense tough guy in the John Wayne mode. This gritty western outlasted
them all

Have Gun Will Travel (1957-1963) was the thinking man’s western. The hero
Paladin was an ethical and highly educated “hired gun” (though not a hired
killer) played with very strong screen presence by Richard Boone. He was a
decisive man who often encountered difficult moral dilemmas. Paladin was
 “a knight without armor in a savage land.”

One of the very best and most enjoyable westerns was Maverick (1957-1962).
Maverick told the (mis)-adventures of the brothers Bret (James Garner)
and Bart Maverick, two very sophisticated gamblers. This show subtly poked
fun at the clichés of TV westerns. I remember wanting to stay home on
Sunday nights from evening church service to watch Maverick.

Bonanza (1959-1973) was about the wealthy Cartwright family (Ben
Cartwright and his three adult sons) set in Virginia City, Nevada
initially before and during the Civil War. America was celebrating the
centennial and interest was high concerning the Civil War. Bonanza was an
early prime time show broadcast in full color and hastened the advent of
color television.

The Rifleman, Wanted: Dead or Alive (Steve McQueen), Wagon Train,
Rawhide (Clint Eastwood), The Restless Gun, The Rebel, Tombstone
Territory and numerous others competed for viewers and but were mostly
 gone by the mid-1960s. The 1950’s Western TV craze eventually spent
 itself as viewer habits changed.