American western television series
Tales of Wells Fargo
|
---|
Dale Robertson as James "Jim" Whitcomb Hardie, 1958
|
Genre
| Western
|
---|
Created by
| |
---|
Directed by
| |
---|
Starring
| |
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Theme music composer
| |
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Composers
| |
---|
Country of origin
| United States
|
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Original language
| English
|
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No.
of seasons
| 6
|
---|
No.
of episodes
| 201
(
list of episodes
)
|
---|
|
Producers
| |
---|
Running time
|
- 30 minutes (1957?1961)
- 60 minutes (1961?1962)
|
---|
Production companies
| |
---|
|
Network
| NBC
|
---|
Release
| March 18, 1957
(
1957-03-18
)
?
June 2, 1962
(
1962-06-02
)
|
---|
Tales of Wells Fargo
is an American
Western television series
starring
Dale Robertson
that ran from 1957 to 1962 on
NBC
. Produced by
Revue Productions
, the series aired in a half-hour format until its final season, when it expanded to an hour and switched from
black-and-white
to
color
.
[1]
[2]
Synopsis
[
edit
]
Set in the 1870s and 1880s, the series starred
Oklahoma
native Dale Robertson as
Wells Fargo
special agent Jim Hardie, noted at the time as "the left-handed gun". The character was fictional, but the series' development was influenced by the biography of Wells Fargo detective
Fred J. Dodge
. Agent Hardie was shown working cases in many areas of the
Old West
, occasionally interacting with legendary outlaws such as
Jesse James
and
Belle Starr
, as well as with other American historical figures. Hardie's own history was rarely discussed, but one episode gave a detailed backstory, portraying him as a Louisiana-born drifter who almost became an outlaw before finding his true mission in life.
In the final season, when episodes were longer, Hardie was given a base of operations, in a town called Gloribee, and four regular supporting characters were added. Hardie usually rode a chestnut gelding with a white blaze on his face and four white stockings. The horse actually belonged to Dale Robertson, and was named "Jubilee".
[3]
[4]
Cast
[
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]
Lead
[
edit
]
Recurring
[
edit
]
Notable guest stars
[
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]
Episodes
[
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]
Production
[
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]
Nat Holt
was the producer of
Tales of Wells Fargo
, and Les Martinson was the director. N. B. Stone Jr. was the writer. It initially was broadcast on Mondays from 8:30 to 9 p.m. Eastern Time.
Pall Mall
and
General Foods
were the sponsors.
[9]
Critical response
[
edit
]
A review of the series's first episode in the trade publication
Variety
described the show as "strictly formula, with none of the characterization or human values that have embellished the better class of TV westerns to date."
[9]
It said that Robertson seemed "authoritative enough" in his role but compared the overall product to the lesser of two films in a double feature.
[9]
In summary the review said that the show was better suited for syndication because "network exposure implies the willingness to depart from the routine."
[9]
Release
[
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]
Broadcast
[
edit
]
The pilot for
Tales of Wells Fargo
originally premiered as an episode of the anthology series
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
.
In the 1960?61 season,
Wells Fargo
was scheduled opposite
ABC
's
detective series
Surfside 6
and
CBS
's new
sitcom
Bringing Up Buddy
, starring
Frank Aletter
.
Home media
[
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]
Timeless Media Group
released the first two seasons on DVD in
Region 1
.
[10]
DVD name
|
Ep #
|
Release date
|
The Complete First and Second Seasons
|
52
|
October 25, 2011
|
Ratings
[
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]
For its first two years, the series was in the top 10 of the Nielsen Ratings. During the 1957?58 season, it was ranked number three,
[11]
and during the 1958?59 season, it was ranked number seven.
[12]
Merchandise
[
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]
The television series also spawned a number of publications for young readers, including the hardcover book
Danger at Dry Creek
(Golden Press, 1959), and a series of
Dell Comics
and
Little Golden Books
. One of the artists who created this comic-book adaptation was
Russ Heath
.
[13]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Brooks, Tim
; Marsh, Earle F. (2007).
The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946?Present
. New York:
Ballantine Books
. p. 1003.
ISBN
978-0-345-49773-4
. Retrieved
May 28,
2021
.
- ^
McNeil, Alex (1996).
Total Television: the Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present
. New York:
Penguin Books
. p. 901.
ISBN
0-14-02-4916-8
. Retrieved
May 28,
2021
.
- ^
Mullins, Jesse, Jr. (August 2002).
Good Guys Finish First
. Active Interest Media, Inc. pp. 54?57.
{{
cite book
}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link
)
- ^
Robertson, Susan (April 12, 2019).
Bucking Hollywood
. Page Publishing Inc.
ISBN
978-1-64424-801-0
.
- ^
Lentz, Harris (1996).
Western and Frontier Film and Television Credits 1903-1995: Section I. Actors and actresses. Section II. Directors, producers, and writers
. McFarland. p. 56.
ISBN
9780786402175
– via
Google Books
.
- ^
"Tales of Wells Fargo: The Branding Iron"
.
Video Detective
.
- ^
"TV Ratings: 1957-1958"
.
ClassicTVguide.com
. Retrieved
March 31,
2023
.
- ^
"TV Ratings: 1958-1959"
.
ClassicTVguide.com
. Retrieved
March 31,
2023
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Tales of Wells Fargo"
.
Variety
. March 20, 1957. p. 39
. Retrieved
July 2,
2023
.
- ^
Lambert, David (September 9, 2011).
"Tales of Wells Fargo ? 'The Complete 1st and 2nd Seasons' 6-DVD Tin"
.
TV Shows On DVD
. Archived from
the original
on September 3, 2017
. Retrieved
July 6,
2017
.
- ^
"TV Ratings: 1957?1958"
. classictvhits.com.
- ^
"TV Ratings: 1958?1959"
. classictvhits.com.
- ^
"Russ Heath"
.
lambiek.net
.
External links
[
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]