Wanted: Dead or Alive (TV series)
| Wanted: Dead or Alive | |
|---|---|
 Randall pleads with a mother (Virginia Gregg) to obtain medical treatment for her son. (1959) | |
| Genre | Western |
| Starring | Steve McQueen |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 94 |
| Production | |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 25 mins. |
| Production company(s) |
Four Star Television CBS Television |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | CBS |
| Picture format | Black-and-white |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original run | September 6, 1958 – March 29, 1961 |
| Chronology | |
| Followed by | Wanted: Dead or Alive |
| Related shows | Trackdown |
Wanted: Dead or Alive is an American Western television series starring Steve McQueen as the bounty hunter Josh Randall. It aired on CBS for three seasons from 1958–61. The black-and-white program was a spin-off of a March 1958 episode of Trackdown, a 1957–59 western series starring Robert Culp. Both series were produced by Four Star Television in association with CBS Television.
The series launched McQueen into becoming the first television star to cross over into comparable status on the big screen.[1]
Synopsis
McQueen's character of Josh Randall is a Confederate veteran and bounty hunter with a soft heart. He often donates his earnings to the needy and helps his prisoners if they have been wrongly accused. Randall carries a shortened Winchester Model 1892 carbine, called the "Mare's Leg," in a holster patterned after "gunslinger" rigs then popular in movies and television. Randall had the ability to draw and fire this gun with blazing speed, as fast as, or in many cases much faster than, his adversaries with handguns that were much smaller. Two Mare's Legs were used in the series, differing in the shape of the lever, round versus oval.
For several episodes in 1960 Randall had a sidekick named Jason Nichols (Wright King) a former deputy sheriff turned bounty hunter. Their partnership ended after Nichols killed three men, much to the chagrin of Randall who felt the men could have been taken alive.
| “ | Three hard mother-grabbin' years, but I learned my trade and it gave me discipline. | ” |
| —McQueen, commenting about his experience on the series.[2] | ||
Guest stars
Wright King appeared in 1960 as the recurring character, Jason Nichols, in eleven episodes of Wanted: Dead or Alive.
Guest stars included Jay North, Noah Beery, Jr., Lon Chaney, Jr., Alan Hale, Jr., James Best, James Coburn, Lawrence Dobkin, John Dehner, DeForest Kelley, Michael Landon, Warren Oates, Susan Oliver, Luana Patten, Suzanne Storrs, Claire Griswold (wife of Sydney Pollack), Lee Van Cleef, Jay Silverheels and William Schallert.
Production notes
The series was filmed in black and white at the Selznick Studios and produced by Four Star Television. Writers included Samuel A. Peeples and Charles Beaumont.
The first season theme song was written and conducted by Bill Loose. It was replaced by a new theme titled "Wanted". This theme was used until the end of the series and was written and supervised by Herschel Burke Gilbert.
Ratings
- October 1958 – April 1959: No. 16 – 28.0 (tied with Peter Gunn)
- October 1959 – April 1960: No. 9 – 28.7
- October 1960 – April 1961: Not in top 30
Colorized version
In December 1987, Four Star International colorized Wanted: Dead or Alive making it the first vintage TV series to be completely colorized; the colorized version aired on at least 50 independent television stations.[3]
1987 film
In 1987, New World Pictures adapted the series into a low-budget film of the same name;[4] Rutger Hauer played modern-day bounty hunter Nick Randall, Josh's grandson.
DVD releases
On June 7, 2005, New Line Home Video released season 1 of Wanted: Dead or Alive on DVD in Region 1. In 2007, BCI Eclipse acquired the distribution rights to the series and released the final two seasons on DVD. Season 2 was released on July 17, 2007, and season 3 on October 16, 2007. These releases are now out of print as BCI Eclipse ceased operations in December 2008.[5]
In June 2009, Mill Creek Entertainment acquired the rights to the series and have subsequently re-released the first two seasons.[6][7] On August 25, 2009, they released an 11-disc box set featuring all 94 episodes of the series on DVD for the very first time.[8]
| DVD name | Ep# | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| Season One | 36 | August 25, 2009 |
| Season Two | 32 | March 9, 2010 |
References
- ↑ Todd, McCarthy (March 31, 1998). "Steve McQueen: The King of Cool". Variety. Retrieved 2010-07-28. "As Daily Variety editor-in-chief Peter Bart points out, McQueen was the first TV star – "Wanted Dead or Alive" made him one – to cross over to comparable status on the big screen."
- ↑ "Steve McQueen: The King of Cool". Time. June 28, 1963. Retrieved 2010-07-28. "He was TV's Hessian headhunter in Wanted—Dead or Alive, serving what he describes as "three hard mother-grabbin' years, but I learned my trade and it gave me discipline.""
- ↑ Farber, Stephen (June 7, 1987). "Will Colorizing Revitalize Old TV Series". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-07-28. "In December, Four Star International will offer to independent television stations the first completely colorized version of a vintage TV series, Wanted: Dead or Alive, the Steve McQueen western that had been shown on CBS from 1958 to '61. About 50 stations have already bought the package of 94 half-hour episodes."
- ↑ Harmetz, Aljean (February 21, 1987). "Will Colorizing Revitalize Old TV Series". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-07-28. "In Wanted: Dead or Alive, New World turned the character played by Steve McQueen, a bounty hunter roaming the western United States 100 years ago, into a bounty hunter as special agent for hire in 1987. Terrorists were the bounty Rutger Hauer hunted in the $4.5 million film."
- ↑ Lambert, David (December 18, 2008). "Navarre Shuts Down BCI, Makers of He-Man, Day Break, Price is Right and other DVDs". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Retrieved 2009-11-03.
- ↑ Wanted Dead or Alive - Season One
- ↑ Wanted Dead or Alive - Season Two
- ↑ Lambert, David (June 17, 2009). "Wanted: Dead or Alive - Cover Art for Mill Creek's Complete Series and Season 1 Sets". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Retrieved 2009-11-03.