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The Californians (TV series)

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The Californians
Adam Kennedy as Dion Patrick with Maria Tsien.
StarringRichard Coogan
Art Fleming
Herbert Rudley
Sean McClory
Adam Kennedy
Carole Mathews
Nan Leslie
Theme music composerHarry Warren
Harold Adamson
Opening theme"I've Come to California"
Country of originUnited States
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes69
Production
Running time30 minutes
Production companiesCalifornia Film Enterprises
Louis F. Edelman Enterprises
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseSeptember 24, 1957 (67 years ago) (1957-09-24) –
May 26, 1959 (65 years ago) (1959-05-26)

The Californians is a half-hour Western television series, set during the San Francisco gold rush of the 1850s, which was broadcast by NBC from September 24, 1957, to May 26, 1959, for 69 episodes.[citation needed]

Cast

Adam Kennedy starred in the first year in early episodes as Dion Patrick, an Irish newspaperman who helps the local vigilante committee. Season one episodes also featured Sean McClory as store owner Jack McGivern, who headed the vigilante committee and Nan Leslie as his wife, Martha McGivern. Early season one episodes featured Herbert Rudley as newspaper editor Sam Brennan but Jack McGivern later took over the newspaper. Due to sagging ratings, Richard Coogan was brought in in later season one episodes; his introduction boosted ratings, and led to the departure of Kennedy and McCrory. In season two, Coogan stars as Matthew Wayne, a sheriff and then marshal who organizes the city police, courts a young widow, Wilma Fansler, portrayed by Carole Mathews, and clashes with an ambitious attorney, Jeremy Pitt, played by Art Fleming, later the original host of "Jeopardy!". At the end of season two, Matt departs when the vigilante committee becomes active again, and the last episode has James Coburn as Matt's cousin, Anthony (Pittsburgh) Wayne, taking over as deputy marshal and series lead; however, the show was not renewed for a third season.[citation needed]

Episode list

  • = Overall episode number
  • Ep = Episode number by season

Season 1: 1957–58

Ep Title Original air date
11"The Vigilantes Begin"September 24, 1957 (1957-09-24)
22"All That Glitters"October 1, 1957 (1957-10-01)
33"The Noose"October 8, 1957 (1957-10-08)
44"The Avenger"October 15, 1957 (1957-10-15)
55"The Search for Lucy Manning"October 22, 1957 (1957-10-22)
66"The Lost Queue"October 29, 1957 (1957-10-29)
77"The Regulators"November 5, 1957 (1957-11-05)
88"Man from Boston"November 12, 1957 (1957-11-12)
99"The Barber's Boy"November 19, 1957 (1957-11-19)
1010"The Magic Box"November 26, 1957 (1957-11-26)
1111"Little Lost Man"December 3, 1957 (1957-12-03)
1212"Strange Quarantine"December 10, 1957 (1957-12-10)
1313"Truce of the Tree"December 17, 1957 (1957-12-17)
1414"The PO 8"December 31, 1957 (1957-12-31)
1515"The Coward"January 7, 1958 (1958-01-07)
1616"Panic on Montgomery Street"January 14, 1958 (1958-01-14)
1717"China Doll"January 21, 1958 (1958-01-21)
1818"Mr. Valejo"January 28, 1958 (1958-01-28)
1919"The Alice Pritchard Case"February 4, 1958 (1958-02-04)
2020"The Man from Paris"February 11, 1958 (1958-02-11)
2121"The Duel"February 18, 1958 (1958-02-18)
2222"Sorley Boy"February 25, 1958 (1958-02-25)
2323"Gentleman from Philadelphia"March 4, 1958 (1958-03-04)
2424"The Marshal"March 11, 1958 (1958-03-11)
2525"Death by Proxy"March 18, 1958 (1958-03-18)
2626"The Street"March 25, 1958 (1958-03-25)
2727"J. Jimmerson Jones, Inc."April 1, 1958 (1958-04-01)
2828"Skeleton in the Closet"April 8, 1958 (1958-04-08)
2929"Pipeline"April 22, 1958 (1958-04-22)
3030"The Foundling"April 29, 1958 (1958-04-29)
3131"Second Trial"May 6, 1958 (1958-05-06)
3232"The Inner Circle"May 13, 1958 (1958-05-13)
3333"The Golden Bride"May 20, 1958 (1958-05-20)
3434"Murietta"May 27, 1958 (1958-05-27)
3535"Shanghai Queen"June 3, 1958 (1958-06-03)
3636"Bridal Bouquet"June 10, 1958 (1958-06-10)
3737"Golden Grapes"June 17, 1958 (1958-06-17)

Season 2: 1958–59

Ep Title Original air date
381"Dishonor for Matt Wayne"September 23, 1958 (1958-09-23)
392"Mutineers from Hell"September 30, 1958 (1958-09-30)
403"Lola Montez"October 7, 1958 (1958-10-07)
414"A Girl Named Sam"October 14, 1958 (1958-10-14)
425"The Salted Gold Mine"October 21, 1958 (1958-10-21)
436"Overland Mail"October 28, 1958 (1958-10-28)
447"Prince of Thieves"November 11, 1958 (1958-11-11)
458"Hangtown"November 18, 1958 (1958-11-18)
469"Dangerous Journey"November 25, 1958 (1958-11-25)
4710"Halfway House"December 2, 1958 (1958-12-02)
4811"The Painless Extractionist"December 9, 1958 (1958-12-09)
4912"Old Sea Dog"December 16, 1958 (1958-12-16)
5013"The Long Night"December 23, 1958 (1958-12-23)
5114"The Man Who Owned San Francisco"December 30, 1958 (1958-12-30)
5215"The First Gold Brick"January 6, 1959 (1959-01-06)
5316"The Painted Lady"January 13, 1959 (1959-01-13)
5417"Bella Union"January 20, 1959 (1959-01-20)
5518"Crimps' Meat"January 27, 1959 (1959-01-27)
5619"Corpus Delicti"February 3, 1959 (1959-02-03)
5720"A Turn in the Trail"February 17, 1959 (1959-02-17)
5821"Wolf's Head"February 24, 1959 (1959-02-24)
5922"Cat's Paw"March 3, 1959 (1959-03-03)
6023"Gold-Tooth Charlie"March 10, 1959 (1959-03-10)
6124"Stampede at Misery Flats"March 17, 1959 (1959-03-17)
6225"Guns for King Joseph"March 24, 1959 (1959-03-24)
6326"Deadly Tintype"March 31, 1959 (1959-03-31)
6427"A Hundred Barrels"April 21, 1959 (1959-04-21)
6528"The Fugitive"April 28, 1959 (1959-04-28)
6629"The Fur Story"May 5, 1959 (1959-05-05)
6730"One Ton of Peppercorns"May 12, 1959 (1959-05-12)
6831"The Bell Tolls"May 19, 1959 (1959-05-19)
6932"An Act of Faith"May 26, 1959 (1959-05-26)

Guest actors

Production notes

The Californians theme song was composed by Harry Warren, with lyrics by Harold Adamson, entitled "I've Come to California". Ken Darby, of the Ken Darby Singers, did some of the musical composition for the series.[citation needed]

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.[1]

References

  1. ^ 1957–1958 and 1958–1959 American network television schedules.