Trackdown
| Trackdown | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Western |
| Written by | D.D. Beauchamp Frank Burt Fred Freiberger Norman Jacobs Christopher Knopf Sidney Marshall John McGreevey John Robinson Sam Peckinpah |
| Directed by | Thomas Carr Lawrence Dobkin Richard Donner Don McDougall R.G. Springsteen |
| Starring | Robert Culp Ellen Corby Peter Leeds |
| Theme music composer | William Loose John Seely |
| Composer(s) | Harry King |
| Country of origin | USA |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 70 plus pilot |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Vincent M. Fennelly |
| Cinematography | Guy Roe |
| Running time | 30 mins. |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | CBS |
| Picture format | Black-and-white |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original run | October 4, 1957 – September 23, 1959 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater Wanted: Dead or Alive |
Trackdown is an American Western television series starring Robert Culp that aired on CBS between 1957 and 1959. The series offered more than seventy episodes and was produced by Dick Powell's Four Star Television and filmed at the Desilu-Culver Studio. The series was itself a spin-off of Powell's anthology series Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater.
Contents |
[edit] Pilot and Synopsis
The series stars Robert Culp as Texas Ranger Hoby Gilman, a gunslinger hunting down criminals throughout the West Texas and the Old West. Culp's character was based in the real life town of Porter, Texas, an unincorporated community near Houston, where he served as the de facto sheriff. Occasionally, his duties as a Texas Ranger took him out of town. He uses his fast gun to apprehend wanted criminals throughout the Lone Star State. His friends included Henrietta Porter, portrayed by Ellen Corby, later a regular on The Waltons. She is a widow of the town's founder and owns The Porter Enterprise, the local newspaper. Peter Leeds plays Tenner Smith, the owner of the local saloon and a former gambler and gunslinger whose past was shrouded in mystery. Other series regulars included Norman Leavitt (as Ralph, Gilman's deputy), James Griffith, and Gail Kobe.
The pilot episode, "Badge of Honor", debuted Zane Grey Theater on May 3, 1957. The director was Arthur Hiller; the writer, John Robinson, The pilot concerned Hoby Gilman and an ex-Confederate cavalary officer, returning to his hometown after the war. He finds Porter under the control of an unsavory character played by Gary Merrill. The town sheriff is portrayed by Tom Tully, only a drunken shell of the man that Gilman once knew. A Texas Ranger who tries to arrest Merrill is shot in the back, and his badge is tossed on the dirt road. Culp picks up the badge to begin the symbolic quest to finish the job.
[edit] Guest stars
Guest stars included Chris Alcaide, Phyllis Avery, Whit Bissell, Vic Morrow, Nick Adams, Walter Coy, Dennis Cross, Don Durant, James Best, Strother Martin, DeForest Kelley, Paul Birch, James Coburn, Russ Conway, Beverly Garland, Michael Landon, Scott Forbes, Rita Moreno, John Anderson, Johnny Crawford, Stuart Whitman, Warren Oates, Forrest Lewis, and Lee Van Cleef.
[edit] Spin-off
Steve McQueen first appeared as bounty hunter Josh Randall in an episode which served as the pilot of his own subsequent series, Wanted: Dead or Alive, a spin-off of Trackdown launched the following year. Both series were presented in a half-hour format and filmed in black and white.
[edit] Production notes
Trackdown included several noted directors including Richard Donner, who directed three installments of McQueen's series. Sam Peckinpah wrote one episode, "The Town", but never directed for Trackdown. Robert Culp wrote one episode entitled "Back To Crawford", which featured his then-wife Nancy, and many installments were based on actual case files of the Texas Rangers, adding to the series' realism. It was this series that first brought Culp to national public attention, several years before he starred with Bill Cosby in I Spy. Also notable is Hoby's use of the Smith & Wesson .44 Schofield revolver instead of the more-popular Colt Peacemaker
Syndicated reruns of this series have been broadcast in the early 2000s on T.V. Land and other cable networks.
Unlike the series that spawned it , Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater , and the series it spawned , Wanted: Dead or Alive, Robert Culp's Trackdown has yet to see an official DVD release.
