The Californians is a half-hour American Western television series, set during the California Gold Rush of the 1850s, which was broadcast by NBC from September 24, 1957, through August 27, 1959.[1]
Premise
The series was set in San Francisco, with episodes focusing on "honest men trying to clean up a wild city overrun by criminals and con men".[1] When episodes began, Sam Brennan owned a newspaper for which Dion Patrick worked as a reporter. Patrick also sought to maintain law and order as a member of a group of vigilantes headed by storekeeper Jack McGivern.[1]
Because the program's sponsors "were uneasy about glorifying vigilantes", the producers changed the characters and cast. In March 1958 Matthew Wayne came to San Francisco. He bought a saloon[2] and soon was elected as the city's sheriff. Wayne became the main character, with McGivern and Patrick being phased out.[1]
The second season began with Wayne as the city marshal, whose efforts were supported by a police department of 50 people. New characters in that season were Wilma Fansler, a widowed young operator of a gambling establishment, and Jeremy Pitt, an attorney who was "friend and foil to the marshal".[1]
Cast
- Dion Patrick - Adam Kennedy[1]
- Jack McGivern - Sean McClory[1]
- Martha McGivern - Nan Leslie[1]
- Sam Brennan - Herbert Rudley[1]
- Matthew Wayne - Richard Coogan[1]
- Schaab - Howard Caine[1]
- Wilma Fansler - Carole Mathews[1]
- Jeremy Pitt - Art Fleming[1]
Guest stars
- Charles Aidman
- Frank Albertson
- Chris Alcaide
- Fred Aldrich
- John Anderson
- John Archer
- R.G. Armstrong
- Rayford Barnes
- Whit Bissell
- Robert Blake
- Willis Bouchey
- George Brenlin
- Edgar Buchanan
- James T. Callahan
- James Coburn
- Fred Coby
- Mike Connors
- Hans Conried
- Russ Conway
- Bill Coontz
- Robert O. Cornthwaite
- Ted de Corsia
- Robert L. Crawford, Jr.
- Frank Dekova
- Troy Donahue
- John Doucette
- Douglass Dumbrille
- Douglas Fowley
- Robert Fuller
- Bruce Gordon
- Herman Hack
- Don Haggerty
- James Hong
- Russell Johnson
- Allyn Joslyn
- Robert Karnes
- Stacy Keach, Sr.
- Ray Kellogg
- Tommy Kirk
- Gail Kobe
- Michi Kobi
- Ethan Laidlaw
- Lyle Latell
- Keye Luke
- Patricia Medina
- Don Megowan
- Gerald Mohr
- Jimmy Noel
- Robert Osborne
- J. Pat O'Malley
- Richard Reeves
- Stafford Repp
- Addison Richards
- Carlos Romero
- Vito Scotti
- James Seay
- Alex Sharp
- Quentin Sondergaard
- Arthur Space
- Bob Steele
- John Sutton
- Ray Teal
- Joan Tompkins
- Sammee Tong
- Audrey Totter
- Maria Tsien
- Lurene Tuttle
- James Westerfield
- Peter Whitney
- Jean Willes
- Marie Windsor
Episode list
Season 1: 1957–58
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "The Vigilantes Begin" | September 24, 1957 |
| 2 | 2 | "All That Glitters" | October 1, 1957 |
| 3 | 3 | "The Noose" | October 8, 1957 |
| 4 | 4 | "The Avenger" | October 15, 1957 |
| 5 | 5 | "The Search for Lucy Manning" | October 22, 1957 |
| 6 | 6 | "The Lost Queue" | October 29, 1957 |
| 7 | 7 | "The Regulators" | November 5, 1957 |
| 8 | 8 | "Man from Boston" | November 12, 1957 |
| 9 | 9 | "The Barber's Boy" | November 19, 1957 |
| 10 | 10 | "The Magic Box" | November 26, 1957 |
| 11 | 11 | "Little Lost Man" | December 3, 1957 |
| 12 | 12 | "Strange Quarantine" | December 10, 1957 |
| 13 | 13 | "Truce of the Tree" | December 17, 1957 |
| 14 | 14 | "The PO 8" | December 31, 1957 |
| 15 | 15 | "The Coward" | January 7, 1958 |
| 16 | 16 | "Panic on Montgomery Street" | January 14, 1958 |
| 17 | 17 | "China Doll" | January 21, 1958 |
| 18 | 18 | "Mr. Valejo" | January 28, 1958 |
| 19 | 19 | "The Alice Pritchard Case" | February 4, 1958 |
| 20 | 20 | "The Man from Paris" | February 11, 1958 |
| 21 | 21 | "The Duel" | February 18, 1958 |
| 22 | 22 | "Sorley Boy" | February 25, 1958 |
| 23 | 23 | "Gentleman from Philadelphia" | March 4, 1958 |
| 24 | 24 | "The Marshal" | March 11, 1958 |
| 25 | 25 | "Death by Proxy" | March 18, 1958 |
| 26 | 26 | "The Street" | March 25, 1958 |
| 27 | 27 | "J. Jimmerson Jones, Inc." | April 1, 1958 |
| 28 | 28 | "Skeleton in the Closet" | April 8, 1958 |
| 29 | 29 | "Pipeline" | April 22, 1958 |
| 30 | 30 | "The Foundling" | April 29, 1958 |
| 31 | 31 | "Second Trial" | May 6, 1958 |
| 32 | 32 | "The Inner Circle" | May 13, 1958 |
| 33 | 33 | "The Golden Bride" | May 20, 1958 |
| 34 | 34 | "Murietta" | May 27, 1958 |
| 35 | 35 | "Shanghai Queen" | June 3, 1958 |
| 36 | 36 | "Bridal Bouquet" | June 10, 1958 |
| 37 | 37 | "Golden Grapes" | June 17, 1958 |
Season 2: 1958–59
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 38 | 1 | "Dishonor for Matt Wayne" | September 23, 1958 |
| 39 | 2 | "Mutineers from Hell" | September 30, 1958 |
| 40 | 3 | "Lola Montez" | October 7, 1958 |
| 41 | 4 | "A Girl Named Sam" | October 14, 1958 |
| 42 | 5 | "The Salted Gold Mine" | October 21, 1958 |
| 43 | 6 | "Overland Mail" | October 28, 1958 |
| 44 | 7 | "Prince of Thieves" | November 11, 1958 |
| 45 | 8 | "Hangtown" | November 18, 1958 |
| 46 | 9 | "Dangerous Journey" | November 25, 1958 |
| 47 | 10 | "Halfway House" | December 2, 1958 |
| 48 | 11 | "The Painless Extractionist" | December 9, 1958 |
| 49 | 12 | "Old Sea Dog" | December 16, 1958 |
| 50 | 13 | "The Long Night" | December 23, 1958 |
| 51 | 14 | "The Man Who Owned San Francisco" | December 30, 1958 |
| 52 | 15 | "The First Gold Brick" | January 6, 1959 |
| 53 | 16 | "The Painted Lady" | January 13, 1959 |
| 54 | 17 | "Bella Union" | January 20, 1959 |
| 55 | 18 | "Crimps' Meat" | January 27, 1959 |
| 56 | 19 | "Corpus Delicti" | February 3, 1959 |
| 57 | 20 | "A Turn in the Trail" | February 17, 1959 |
| 58 | 21 | "Wolf's Head" | February 24, 1959 |
| 59 | 22 | "Cat's Paw" | March 3, 1959 |
| 60 | 23 | "Gold-Tooth Charlie" | March 10, 1959 |
| 61 | 24 | "Stampede at Misery Flats" | March 17, 1959 |
| 62 | 25 | "Guns for King Joseph" | March 24, 1959 |
| 63 | 26 | "Deadly Tintype" | March 31, 1959 |
| 64 | 27 | "A Hundred Barrels" | April 21, 1959 |
| 65 | 28 | "The Fugitive" | April 28, 1959 |
| 66 | 29 | "The Fur Story" | May 5, 1959 |
| 67 | 30 | "One Ton of Peppercorns" | May 12, 1959 |
| 68 | 31 | "The Bell Tolls" | May 19, 1959 |
| 69 | 32 | "An Act of Faith" | May 26, 1959 |
Production
Producer Louis F. Edelman initially offered The Californians to ABC-TV. After that network was unable to obtain sponsors, Edelman offered it to NBC.[3] Robert Bassler was the show's first producer. Felix Feist replaced him in January 1958.[2] The Californians initially was broadcast on Tuesdays from 10 to 10:30 p.m. Eastern Time. In April 1959 it was moved to 9 - 9:30 p.m. E. T. on Tuesdays, and in July 1959 it was moved to Thursdays from 7:30 to 8 p.m. E. T.[1]
The Californians theme song, "I've Come to California", was sung by the Ken Darby Singers.[4] Darby also scored the program.[5]
The Californians had competition from The West Point Story, which was broadcast by the American Broadcasting Company, and The $64,000 Question by CBS. In its second season, the western competed with The Garry Moore Show on CBS and the crime/police reality show Confession, hosted by Jack Wyatt, on ABC.[6]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle (1999). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present (7th ed.). New York: The Ballentine Publishing Group. p. 153. ISBN 0-345-42923-0.
- ^ a b McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television: the Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present (4th ed.). New York, New York: Penguin Books USA, Inc. pp. 137–138. ISBN 0-14-02-4916-8.
- ^ Adams, Val (June 13, 1957). "N. B. C. Purchases Western Series: Buys 'The Californians' Film". The New York Times. p. 63. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
- ^ Terrace, Vincent (January 10, 2014). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010, 2d ed. McFarland. p. 153. ISBN 978-0-7864-8641-0. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
- ^ Burlingame, Jon (2023). Music for Prime Time: A History of American Television Themes and Scoring. Oxford University Press. p. 88. ISBN 978-0-19-061830-8. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
- ^ 1957–1958 and 1958–1959 American network television schedules.
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