At one point in time, there were thirty seven westerns airing in primetime. Everyone knows that Gunsmoke was the longest-running of them all [and America’s longest-running TV series – tied just this year by Law & Order] and Bonanza is perhaps the most fondly remembered [as well the second longest-running western]. Coming in third, though, is the first 90-minute western, The Virginian.
Based on characters and situations first featured in Owen Wister’s novel of the same name, The Virginian ran for nine seasons, beginning in 1962. Quite possibly remembered best for its stirring theme music, by Percy Faith, The Virginian was a series that was willing to tell simple stories about complex individuals. The core cast included James Drury [in the title role], Doug McClure [Trampas], Gary Clark [Steven Hill] and Oscar® nominee [for On the Waterfront] Lee J. Cobb [Judge Henry Garth]. The setting was Judge Garth’s Shiloh Ranch and the nearby town of Medicine Bow.
In the series premiere, The Executioners, a stranger comes to Medicine Bow in search of the truth – multi-talented Paul Taylor [Wyatt Earp’s Hugh O’Brien] has come to discover why his father was hanged for murder. His many talents captivate Betsy Garth [Roberta Shore], Judge Garth’s daughter, and his hard work impresses The Virginian [who is always referred to as The Virginian – and the show is good enough that it doesn’t seem odd]. The episode is long on conversation and short on action – though there is a terrific scrap between Paul and The Virginian – setting the model for the series: fighting and gunplay must be integral to the plot and the characters, or it doesn’t happen.
Which is not to say that there aren’t episodes that feature violence. Indeed, my favorite episode of the season, It Tolls For Thee [written and directed by the legendary Samuel Fuller] might feature a philosophical villain [Lee Marvin as Martin Kalek], but there’s gunplay aplenty and more than one fight. It’s all part of the story of a man once convicted by Judge Garth, who kidnaps the judge for ransom but doesn’t set Garth free after the ransom is collected – by keeping the judge alive, Kalek forestalls pursuit. The hitch in Kalek’s plan? A man he thought he’d killed has put together a gang and come after him.
Most episodes, though, fall somewhere in the middle when it comes to violence. Instead, there are character development and actual conversation [well, there’s conversation in It Tolls For Thee, too, but it’s at cross purposes to the violence]. The writing was of a sufficient level to draw some of the biggest names in Hollywood: George C. Scott [as Arthur Lilley, a schoolteacher who thinks of himself as a coward], Bette Davis [Delia Miller, who helps frame Trampas in order to blackmail the real crook], Joan Crawford, Robert Duvall and the aforementioned Lee Marvin and Hugh O’Brien among them.
The series also featured a lot of familiar names from other quality TV series[ DeForest Kelly, Grace Lee Whitney, Howard Duff, Ted Knight], B-movie gods and goddesses [Michael Rennie, Ida Lupino] and pop stars branching out into acting [Fabian, Jeannine Riley].
Another hallmark of the series is its exteriors. Much of the series was shot on location – and it shows. There’s a lot of beautiful scenery in each episode – you don’t drive cattle through towns, as a general rule…
Considering that the cast and crew of The Virginian were turning out a ninety-minute movie every eight days, it’s amazing how the show’s quality was maintained throughout its run.
Features: Interviews with James Drury, Roberta Shore, Robert Fuller, Gary Clark and Robert Brown [star of Laredo, the pilot for which had been an episode The Virginian].
The Virginian: The Complete First Season comes in an embossed tin; the DVDs are held in the pages of a book, the inside cover of which has a brief description of the series and its origin.
Grade: The Virginian: The First Complete Season – A
Grade: Features – C
Final Grade: A-