Branded (TV series)
Branded | |
---|---|
Connors as Jason McCord and guest star Anna Morrell, 1965 | |
Genre | Western |
Created by | Larry Cohen |
Starring | Chuck Connors |
Opening theme | "Branded" by Dominic Frontiere and Alan Alch |
Composers | Dominic Frontiere Richard Markowitz (1.13) |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 2 |
No. of episodes | 48 |
Production | |
Executive producer | Harris Katelman (1965) |
Producers | Cecil Barker (1965) Andrew J. Fenady |
Running time | 30 minutes |
Production companies | The Branded Company (1965) Goodson-Todman Productions Sentinel Productions |
Original release | |
Network | NBC |
Release | January 24, 1965 – September 4, 1966 |
Branded is an American Western series that aired on NBC from 1965 through 1966. It was sponsored by Procter & Gamble in its Sunday night, 8:30 p.m. Eastern time period. The series is set in the post Civil War old west. The show starred Chuck Connors as Jason McCord, a United States Army cavalry captain who had been court-martialed and drummed out of the service following an unjust accusation of cowardice.
Description
The opening title credits of each episode in the series feature a depiction of McCord's cashiering and drumming out of the military. He is then sent out of the fort where this ceremony occurred, and the gates are closed behind him. Although the exact date of McCord's cashiering is never given, events and people depicted in episodes place the events of the series itself as sometime during the first administration of President Ulysses S. Grant (1869–72) and after William Seward negotiated the Alaska purchase. The name and location of the fort are also not given; but since Bitter Creek, where the battle that caused McCord's discharge took place, is in southern Wyoming, the location of the fort is presumably within what was in 1869 the Wyoming Territory. U.S. military forts known to be in operation at that time in the territory included Fort Bridger, Fort Fetterman, and Fort Laramie.
In the pilot episode, "The Vindicator", McCord is confronted by a newspaper reporter (Claude Akins) who wants a follow-up story on the Bitter Creek massacre. McCord refuses to cooperate. He knows that General James Reed, McCord's mentor, was on a peace mission to meet representatives of the Cheyenne nation at Bitter Creek. His unit of 31 men was attacked by a group of renegade Indians known as Dog Soldiers. During the attack, McCord realized that the old general had taken leave of his senses. McCord assumed command, but it was too late. McCord was wounded in the battle and left for dead, the only survivor. He remained in a coma for 10 days after the attack. McCord was later charged with desertion, convicted at court-martial, and cashiered out of the Army.
The reporter tracks down a widow of the Bitter Creek massacre (June Lockhart). Her husband was third in command and had written several letters questioning Reed's mental state. Those letters would have been enough to grant McCord a new trial and possibly exonerate him, but McCord convinced the widow to burn the letters to protect Reed's reputation. McCord feared that if Reed's reputation were damaged, certain people in Washington, DC, would try to start a new war with the Apaches. McCord chose never to speak about what really happened at Bitter Creek.
McCord retained the handle of his broken saber with attached pommel. He had the remaining blade sharpened into a long knife, which he used in many episodes. He traveled throughout the Old West, continually confronted by people who refused to believe his innocence, requiring him to prove them wrong.
John M. Pickard appeared in six episodes as General Phil Sheridan. Other notable guest stars included Chris Alcaide, Russ Conway, Don Collier, Burgess Meredith, John Carradine, Pat Conway, Alex Cord, Janet De Gore, Dolores del Río, Chad Everett, I. Stanford Jolley, Martin Landau, June Lockhart, Gregg Palmer, Larry Pennell, Burt Reynolds, Lee Van Cleef, Bruce Dern, and Michael Rennie.
Production
Created by Larry Cohen, the show was co-produced for most of its run by Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions in association with Sentinel Productions, Inc. Goodson-Todman was primarily known for game and panel shows such as What's My Line?, The Price Is Right, and Match Game; those are under Fremantle now. Present-day U.S. rights to Branded came into the ownership of King World before it became CBS Television Distribution. Many stations that carry Branded today usually schedule the program alongside others about drifters in the Old West including Aaron Spelling's The Guns of Will Sonnett, which starred Walter Brennan and Dack Rambo; as with Branded, King World / CBS also distributed Will Sonnett in syndication.
Parts of the series were filmed at the Kanab movie fort and Kanab Canyon in Utah.[1]
The series followed Connors's series The Rifleman, but it did not have that show's longevity, lasting only 48 episodes over two seasons. The first season was shot in black and white (with the exception of the three-part story "The Mission", which was shot in color); the second season of 32 episodes was made in color.
Andrew J. Fenady served as the producer, later executive producer, on the series. Fenady was also the producer of The Rebel.
Episode list
Season 1 (1965)
No. overall |
No. in season |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | "Survival" | Richard Whorf | Larry Cohen | January 24, 1965 | |
2 | 2 | "The Vindicator" | Joseph H. Lewis | Larry Cohen | January 31, 1965 | |
3 | 3 | "The Test" | Leonard Horn | John Wilder & Jerry Ziegman | February 7, 1965 | |
4 | 4 | "The Rules of the Game" | Lawrence Dobkin | Larry Cohen | February 14, 1965 | |
5 | 5 | "The Bounty" | Harry Harris | Larry Cohen | February 21, 1965 | |
6 | 6 | "Leap Upon Mountains..." | Harry Harris | Andrew J. Fenady | February 28, 1965 | |
7 | 7 | "Coward Step Aside" | Harry Harris | Teleplay by: John Wilder & Jerry Ziegman Story by: Larry Cohen | March 7, 1965 | |
Guest star: Johnny Crawford, Connors's co-star from their earlier series, The Rifleman | ||||||
8 | 8 | "The Mission*: Part 1" | Bernard McEveety | Teleplay by: Jameson Brewer Story by: Larry Cohen | March 14, 1965 | |
9 | 9 | "The Mission*: Part 2" | Bernard McEveety | Teleplay by: Jameson Brewer Story by: Larry Cohen | March 21, 1965 | |
10 | 10 | "The Mission*: Part 3" | Allen Reisner | Frank Chase | March 28, 1965 | |
11 | 11 | "The First Kill" | Alex March | Frank Chase | April 4, 1965 | |
12 | 12 | "Very Few Heroes" | Bernard McEveety | John Wilder & Jerry Ziegman | April 11, 1965 | |
13 | 13 | "One Way Out" | Bernard McEveety | Jameson Brewer | April 18, 1965 | |
14 | 14 | "That the Brave Endure" | Ron Winston | Teleplay by: Michael Dunn & John Wilder & Jerry Ziegman Story by: Michael Dunn | April 25, 1965 | |
15 | 15 | "Taste of Poison" | Ron Winston | Teleplay by: William Putnam & Nicholas Rowe Story by: Larry Cohen | May 2, 1965 | |
16 | 16 | "Price of a Name" | Leonard Horn | Teleplay by: Nicholas Rowe Story by: Larry Cohen | May 23, 1965 |
*In color
Parts One, Two and Three of the color episode "The Mission" were later released as a movie titled Broken Sabre, with new footage. According to Western Clippings, the re-edited movie version ends with Jason "regaining his commission and resuming his army career," thus giving an ending to the series. It also ends with Jason asking a woman to marry him and she says yes. The movie was released to theaters on May 30, 1965.
Season 2 (1965–66)
No. overall |
No. in season |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
17 | 1 | "Judge Not" | Vincent McEveety | Jerome B. Thomas | September 12, 1965 |
18 | 2 | "Now Join the Human Race" | Harry Harris | Ken Pettus | September 19, 1965 |
19 | 3 | "Mightier Than the Sword" | Vincent McEveety | Frank Chase | September 26, 1965 |
20 | 4 | "I Killed Jason McCord" | Larry Peerce | Joseph Hoffman | October 3, 1965 |
21 | 5 | "The Bar Sinister" | Larry Peerce | Jack Paritz | October 10, 1965 |
22 | 6 | "Seward's Folly" | Larry Peerce | George W. Schenck & William Marks | October 17, 1965 |
23 | 7 | "Salute the Soldier Briefly" | Lee H. Katzin | Frederick Louis Fox | October 24, 1965 |
24 | 8 | "The Richest Man in Boot Hill" | Larry Peerce | Elon Packard | October 31, 1965 |
25 | 9 | "Fill No Glass For Me: Part 1" | Vincent McEveety | Frederick Louis Fox | November 7, 1965 |
26 | 10 | "Fill No Glass For Me: Part 2" | Vincent McEveety | Frederick Louis Fox | November 14, 1965 |
27 | 11 | "The Greatest Coward on Earth" | Lee H. Katzin | Nathaniel Tanchuck | November 21, 1965 |
28 | 12 | "$10,000 for Durango" | Larry Peerce | Jerome B. Thomas | November 28, 1965 |
29 | 13 | "Romany Roundup: Part 1" | Lee H. Katzin | Teleplay by: Lou Shaw & Jameson Brewer Story by: Lou Shaw | December 5, 1965 |
30 | 14 | "Romany Roundup: Part 2" | Lee H. Katzin | Teleplay by: Lou Shaw & Jameson Brewer Story by: Lou Shaw | December 12, 1965 |
31 | 15 | "A Proud Town" | Larry Peerce | Paul L. Freedman | December 19, 1965 |
32 | 16 | "The Golden Fleece" | Lee H. Katzin | Jay Selby & Jessica Benson | January 2, 1966 |
33 | 17 | "The Wolfers" | Larry Peerce | Frank Paris | January 9, 1966 |
34 | 18 | "This Stage of Fools" | Lee H. Katzin | Ken Trevey | January 16, 1966 |
35 | 19 | "A Destiny Which Made Us Brothers" | Allen Reisner | Andrew J. Fenady | January 23, 1966 |
36 | 20 | "McCord's Way" | William Witney | Borden Chase | January 30, 1966 |
37 | 21 | "Nice Day for a Hanging" | Allen Reisner | Frank Chase | February 6, 1966 |
38 | 22 | "Barbed Wire" | Harry Harris | Ken Trevey | February 13, 1966 |
39 | 23 | "Yellow for Courage" | Harry Harris | Frederick Louis Fox | February 20, 1966 |
40 | 24 | "Call to Glory: Part 1" | Allen Reisner | John Wilder & Jerry Ziegman | February 27, 1966 |
41 | 25 | "Call to Glory: Part 2" | Allen Reisner | John Wilder & Jerry Ziegman | March 6, 1966 |
42 | 26 | "Call to Glory: Part 3" | Allen Reisner | John Wilder & Jerry Ziegman | March 13, 1966 |
43 | 27 | "The Ghost of Murietta" | William Witney | Frank Paris | March 20, 1966 |
44 | 28 | "The Assassins: Part 1" | William Witney | Jameson Brewer | March 27, 1966 |
45 | 29 | "The Assassins: Part 2" | William Witney | Jameson Brewer | April 3, 1966 |
46 | 30 | "Headed for Doomsday" | Edward Ludwig | Peter Barry | April 10, 1966 |
47 | 31 | "Cowards Die Many Times" | Bernard McEveety | Frank Chase | April 17, 1966 |
48 | 32 | "Kellie" | Marc Daniels | Frank Chase | April 24, 1966 |
Home media
Timeless Media Group released both seasons of Branded on DVD in Region 1 in 2004–2005. Season 1 was released on August 3, 2004,[2] and season 2 was released on February 8, 2005.[3] On February 16, 2010, Timeless Media Group released Branded: The Complete Series, a six-disc box set featuring all 48 episodes of the series and several bonus features.[4] More-recent prints cut for syndication are used for the set, and as a result, three minutes are missing from each episode. Broken Saber (the film re-editing of "The Mission Parts One, Two, And Three") is not included.
References
- ^ D'Arc, James V. (2010). When Hollywood came to town: a history of moviemaking in Utah (1st ed.). Layton, Utah: Gibbs Smith. ISBN 9781423605874.
- ^ "Branded: Season One". Timelessvideo.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2012. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
- ^ "Branded: The Complete Second Season". Timelessvideo.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2012. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
- ^ "Branded DVD news: Announcement for Branded - The Complete Series". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on March 17, 2014. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- 1960s Western (genre) television series
- 1960s American television series
- 1965 American television series debuts
- 1966 American television series endings
- NBC original programming
- Television series by CBS Television Studios
- Television series by Fremantle (company)
- Television series by Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions
- Black-and-white American television shows
- English-language television shows
- Television shows filmed in Utah