Wanted: Dead or Alive (1958-1961)/ The Rebel (1959-1961)

It has been months since I posted on this blog. The main reason for the lack of activity is pure laziness on my part: I moved into a new apartment in August, and I am now living on my own – this disadvantage of living by yourself is that you’re not as motivated to do things as you are when you have other people pressuring you. I have been writing an epic post about Korean Soap Operas – I have watched half a dozen of them in the last few months, but I am currently suffering from writer’s block when it comes to this entry, so I thought I would do short post about two old school westerns that I recently began watching – Wanted: Dead or Alive (starring Steve McQueen) and The Rebel (starring Nick Adams).  These are two shows that I began watching at dialysis (I go in at five in the morning and the only thing worth watching at this time is old westerns and Perry Mason). Since I have seen almost every episode of Perry Mason, I decided to give these two westerns a watch. Both of them immediately drew me in that I started watching them on Tubi and YouTube. I also own the first season of Wanted: Dead or Alive – my dad gave me his copy after he bought the entire series on DVD. 

Wanted: Dead or Alive helped springboard Steve McQueen into superstardom – it was his role as bounty hunter, Josh Randall, that got him cast in the 1960 western (and Seven Samurai remake) The Magnificent Seven. It should also be noted that Wanted: Dead or Alive premiered four days (September 6, 1958) before the cult classic The Blob (September 10, 1958) opened in movie theaters – meaning that McQueen may have been the first Hollywood actor to have a hit TV show and hit movie in theaters showing at the same time.  Yes, The Blob was a hit movie. Josh Randall was a departure from the tall, square jawed males that populated westerns at the time (John Wayne, Randolph Scott, Joel McCrea, to name a few). Josh Randall was an early example of the anti-hero – he was a bounty hunter, who was motivated by money instead of individual responsibility, though there are episodes where you see his softer side (like when a little boy pays him eight cents to find Santa Claus). He was also a man who loved his vices – gambling, alcohol, and women. He wasn’t the first western anti-hero – James Stewart in The Naked Spur (where he also plays a bounty hunter) and John Wayne in The Searchers (as the racist, Ethan Edward) are two earlier examples of anti-heroes, but it was the role that helped McQueen craft his “King of Cool” persona. The other iconic aspect of Wanted: Dead or Alive was Josh Randall’s gun, “Mare’s Leg” – a sawed off .44-40 caliber Winchester 92.

Wanted: Dead or Alive was a spin-off of the western, Trackdown (starring Robert Culp). The character of Texas Ranger, Hoby Gilman, was more in line with the western heroes of time – tall, handsome, and a morally upstanding individual. He would fit right in with the cast of Rio Bravo, while Josh Randall would probably be comfortable hanging around Will Kane in High Noon. For the record, I regard both films as two of the best westerns ever made.  Just like Wanted: Dead or Alive catapulted McQueen to superstardom, Trackdown launched the long career of Robert Culp (who exudes charisma in his portrayal of Hoby Gilman). I have only seen a few episodes of Trackdown, but it deserves a brief mention in this review. 

The show often followed “The Villain of the Week” format – Josh Randall would be hunting down a “baddie” and would often rely on help from a local to capture the villain. In some episodes, the villain might be a third party who is also interested in collecting the bounty on Randall’s prisoner. There was the occasional episode that would stray away from the formula; in season three, there is a charming episode called “The Voice of Silence” where Josh is hired to look after a deaf-mute girl while her father is a way on business. There is very little dialogue in the episode, but McQueen and the actress, Carolyn Kearney, have great chemistry and able to convey so much emotion with the small of gestures. It’s one of the few times that Randall contemplates settling down with a woman. There is part of me that would like to think Randall returned to the girl (he promises to do so at the end) and married her. The episode was also directed by future blockbuster filmmaker, Richard Donner.

While Wanted: Dead or Alive marked the beginning of Steve McQueen’s career, The Rebel was the peak of Nick Adams’ career – he is probably best known for his role as Astronaut Glenn in the Japanese Monsterfest, Invasion of Astro-Monster (or Godzilla vs. Monster Zero as it commonly known as). Interestingly, McQueen and him would co-star in the war movie, Hell is for Heroes. Prior to The Rebel, Nick Adams was a star on the rise – he was a close friend of James Dean and appeared in Rebel Without a Cause in a supporting role (he played a Chick, a member of the gang that harasses Dean’s character throughout the movie). He appeared in various movies and television credits (including the pilot episode of Wanted: Dead or Alive, where he, along with the pre-fame Michael Landon, played the villains of the week) before landing the role of Johnny Yuma (a character he co-created) in The Rebel. If The Rebel is remembered, it is mainly due to theme song that was sung by Johnny Cash (“Johnny Yuma was the rebel.....")

The Rebel was one of the first existential westerns – the show revolves around Johnny Yuma, an ex-Confederate soldier, roaming the west to find inner peace, and often finds himself getting involved with a local dispute. He also keeps a journal of his travels and sends pages to a newspaper editor from his hometown. Johnny Yuma anticipates anti-heroes like Billy and Wyatt in Easy Rider, and John Rambo in First Blood (before the character turned into a G.I. Joe action figure come to life) – disillusioned individuals who wander aimlessly across the country looking for a place to call home.

Even though, The Rebel and Wanted: Dead or Alive have similar premises, their two leading men are worlds apart- McQueen brings an easy-going charm to his portrayal of Josh Randall, who always finds away to get the upper hand. On the other hand, there is a lot of anger in Adams’ portrayal of Johnny Yuma – he is the kind of character who can explode at any moment. He was a soldier for the losing side of the Civil War (probably suffering from PTSD) and now is an aimless drifter trying to find his place in the world. He works the occasional job to help pay for his lifestyle but there is no place he can call home. He doesn’t seek trouble, but rather trouble seems to find him. The phrase “No good deed goes unpunished” applies to Johnny Yuma – he often has the best intentions, but the locals misunderstand him and believe he has ulterior motives. In School Days, Yuma agrees to be a temporary schoolteacher, but one of the locals, Troy Armbuster (Warren Oates) believes that Johnny is making a move on his girl, Peggy O’ Shea. Though, this is a rare episode that has a happy ending – Troy finally confesses his love to Peggy, the two get married, and Troy buries his grudge against Johnny. Plus, Warren Oates rules!

A name associated with The Rebel that Star Wars might recognize is Irvin Kershner – he directed a huge bulk of the series and would later helm The Empire Strikes Back. The Rebel was a good training ground was Kershner to hone his skills for later projects. Wanted: Dead or Alive and The Rebel were starting point for many future stars (both in front of behind the camera): Richard Donner (director of The Omen, Superman, The Goonies and Lethal Weapon, to name a few) helmed six episodes of Wanted: Dead Alive. Verna Fields (who later won on Oscar for her editing on Jaws) was the sound editor on Wanted: Dead or Alive. Warren Oates was a guest star on both shows. Wanted: Dead or Alive had a more impressive talent for spotting future talent: Michael Landon, James Coburn, James Best (Sheriff Roscoe), Richard Anderson (A face you recognize even if you don’t know the name), Martin Landau, Dyan Cannon, Mary Tyler Moore, and others popped up in guest roles.

Wanted: Dead or Alive and The Rebel often highlight the advantages of episodic television. Most modern television shows are serialized – there is an overarching storyline that runs through the entire series. Most of these television shows are built on a Mystery Box – the show opens on a mystery and then slowly unravels it as the series progresses. Each episode ends on a cliff hanger to set up the next episode – if the show is executed well, this well leave the viewers wanting to watch more and can result in endless hours of binge watching. The one fatal flaw to the serialize format is that often one bad episode (or a weak finale) can derail the entire series. The most recent example is the final episode of Stranger Things, which left a lot of plot threads hanging. This is the moment that series has been building up for the last decade and it ends on a wet fart.  The advantage of the episodic format is that each episode is its own self-contained story (beginning-middle-end) and a few bad episodes is not going to ruin your overall enjoyment of the series. The episodic format also allows for a greater flexibility for story telling – since the show is not beholden to telling one storyline, it allows the showrunners to do different genres: one episode might be somber piece about the social issues of the day, while the next could be a  more light hearted affair (like Josh Randall being hired to find Santa Claus). There is a famous episode of Bonanza where the Cartwrights encounter Leprechauns – it would be out of place in a serialized television show, but in an episodic series like Bonanza, you’re response would likely be, “Well, that was a weird episode,” then you would shrug your shoulders and tune in next week to watch the further adventures of the Cartwrights.  If Leprechauns randomly showed up in Strangers Things or Game of Thrones, you would scratch your head and wonder how it is relevant to the main storyline. It might even dissuade from watching the rest of the series.