Ahead Of Its Time
In the heyday of the Western, prime time on the small screen was one oater after another. Each tried hard to stand out. Sometimes it was the gimmick of a special gun. THE RIFLEMAN had his Winchester with a large loop and a metal spur. In WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE it was a Mare's Leg. In JOHNNY RINGO it was a LeMat revolver that also shot a shotgun shell. Some shows had unusual music. WYATT EARP, with its barbershop quartet. SHOTGUN SLADE with, of all things, a jazz theme.
Then there were the 'sidekick' shows. Wild Bill Hickok and Jingles. The Cisco Kid and Pancho. The Lone Ranger and Tonto. Many shows had an older lawman/scout/investigator/you-name-it who taught an inexperienced protege the ropes.
Which brings us to THE TALL MAN. In this one the experienced lawman is none other than Pat Garrett, and the youth he tries so hard to bring around to the good side of the law is Billy the Kid. And in this regard, it's unique. Because the dynamic between the...
Timeless Does It Again
A great box set and all 75 episodes are in great quality. Much better than the awful M-SQUAD set they came out with a couple years ago. In fact, the picture quality appears to be from Universal direct, which owns the rights to the series. And the price being about 50 cents an episode is a bargain. I remember paying $20 for a VHS video with three, half-hour episodes. Guest stars on these will surprise you. I saw Martin Landau in two episodes, Leonard Nimoy in two episodes, I counted Kermit Maynard in at least five of them, Andy Clyde in five or six, George Kennedy and George Macready even make appearances. Recommended for people who love TV Westerns guest appearances from celebrities who later became famous.
The Tall Man - the Complete Series
I remember as a small child in the early 1960s watching The Tall Man; it still holds up quite well after nearly 50 years. I find it remarkable that they were able to present a coherent and interesting story in only half an hour, less time for commercials. Clu Gulager is an excellent Billy the Kid, very believable and lots of fun. Watch for the antics of the incorrigible McBean and his miscreant daughters; in one episode they steal Pat's horse and then make a complete monkey out of Billy, stealing his horse and taking his gun, leaving him tied up. If you like old westerns, this one is well worth the money, especially compared to the dreck which is presented by the networks nowadays.
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