The Rifleman

[mrsl]

I could have sworn we had a Rifleman thread on this site, but I guess I would have gotten my mouth washed out with soap.

Today was a really good episode. I didn't remember it at all. For certain reasons, Lucas and Mark are taking care of a little girl (about 18 months old) for a lady in town. The writers handled this one as smoothly as sucking jello between your front teeth. None of the ewwww, stuff about diapers, or other stuff you would expect from these frontier guys.

Mark fed the baby, so when her pants needed to be changed, it was a look between father and son, and Mark said "I fed her"! So Lucas changed her, but Mark brought over the powder and clean diaper. They forgot to ask her name, and decided they couldn't keep caling her 'baby' so Mark suggested 'Fancy', so Fancy she became. There was a marvelous shot of Mark holding her, while she poked and pulled at Lucas' face, and he smiled at that baby like he rarely had a chance to smile on the series.

Later after Mom reclaimed her and left town, Mark commented he was going to miss her and that he had never seen such a pretty baby . . . had Lucas? Lucas said, yes, one day after coming in after working in the field all day, there was this little calf who kept following him around. Mark asked what happened to him, and Lucas said he finally put some clothes on him and sent him to school!

This happened to be a Sam Peckinpah direction, and as usual this episode was done with skill and talent. Loads of information packed into about 25 minutes of film, but telling a good story with fine professionalism. How great it would be to see something of this calibre on nowadays.

Anne

[cinemalover]

I've now watched the first 96 episodes of the Rifleman (the rest are recorded, just waiting for me to get to them) and the one thing that really stands out to me is the overall quality of the show. There is never a show that is less than excellent, EVER! That's unheard of in a television series that lasted 168 episodes. The relationship between Lucas and Mark develops over time and grows as Mark gets taller. I've mentioned before that this series worked on an entirely different level for me when I watched it as a child than it does now, revisiting it as an adult. An absolutely amazing, superior show with morale lessons that are even more valuable today.

[MissGoddess]

I'm so disappointed. I went online to see about buying the show on dvd and the first season box set is nowwhere to be found except a used one at Ebay, which I'm not thrilled about. This show is obviously popular so I can't believe it's out of print!

I may have no choice but to add Encore to my lineup after all.

[moira finnie]

Loved the episode that Anne described! I even got my i'm-fed-up-with-the-freakin'-rifleman-theme-song sister to sit down and watch that one with me! She even loved it. I went online to see whose baby that was, but haven't unearthed that factoid yet. I just knew that ol' Sam Peckinpah had his fingerprints all over this episode when John Dehner showed up wearing that bullwhip as an odd accessory to his Western ensemble, (of course, the whip wasn't as odd as the totally fake-looking beard that he dribbled milk on, was it?). The scene when Dehner forces Mark into the smokehouse really gave me the willies, too.

Best of all, though was the interaction of Mark and Lucas with that baby. Here's an "aaaahhh" moment, for those who haven't seen the sight of the 6'5" guy with a little baby. Chuck Connors is pictured speaking with Phyllis Avery, who played the fugitive Mama:


Also, in case anyone's interested here's a website devoted to describing all the episodes, including this one from Season 3, called "The Baby Sitter."

As Cinemalover said, "the one thing that really stands out to me is the overall quality of the show." The one thing I'd add to that is that on what looks like a fairly meager budget, the creators managed to tell such resonant, well-acted stories in 24 minutes with skill utilizing a few basic elements. It's just so thoughtful on several levels and barrels of fun to recognize some actors who became better known in small parts and to see others who never made it to any other level, but were quite effective in the relatively small parts as a visiting varmint or nebbish. I've found myself relieved to discover this program running when I come home--far better than most network or cable programming for me to unwind. Somedays it's "calgon bouquet, take me away" and others, it's "oh, boy, look how much Mark's grown this time."

[Sue Sue Applegate]

I absolutely adore The Rifleman. The overall quality of these ensemble pieces is amazing to me, too.

Great affirmations, all.

[mrsl]

Yesterday the second feature was a semi-comedy, which had me laughing out loud several times.

A lady Northfork resident had written East for a mail-order Husband, and he was to arrive that day. In the meantime, she had been awarded some land that two neer-do-wells wanted, and continued harassing her for. So on this day she asks Lucas to watch out for her intended, probably expecting a Whit Bissell type. However, Peter Whitney showed up. Being as big as he was, he tried to avoid any fights because, by accident, a man had died at his hands back East, and he didn't want to 'hurt' these two jerks. Finally though, he had enough, and the sparks flew. During all of this the 'getting acquainted' love story was very sweetly told, with Mark asking Lucas several questions that Lucas has trouble answering. Naturally it all worked out well but again the episode was carried off with wonderful performances, the embarrassed 'pain' on Lucas' face in trying to answer Mark was priceless. The contained pressure building up in Peter Whitney came through the screen and grabbed you. Oddly, Lucas told Peter that the lady (can't recall her name), had the prettiest smile in all of Northfork, when asked if she was a good looker, and later when she smiled, she really did have a lovely smile although she was a pretty plain woman facially. She was a good example of a 'smile that lights up a room', or a smile that changes the face into a beauty.

I can't get over this show as an adult. Like Cinemalover, my opinion of it, first as a child, and now as an adult has made it one of the most respected TV shows I've ever seen. The stories are all so timeless, and even tho you can find fault with the absence of scars on both Lucas and Mark, you have to remember it was a weekly show that ran for several years, so making excuses for it are reasonable. Taking each episode as a separate entity to be enjoyed thoroughly, makes ignoring its' faults very simple to do.

Anne

[MissGoddess]

I just watched one of the best ones ever, it was directed by Sam Peckinpah and guest-starred Katy Jurado. She's such a fantastic actress and has such a powerful presence. I felt she escalated the episode to another level emotionally. and for the first time I noticed she has quite a deep scar on her left cheek---I wonder what or who put it there?

Encore is going to repeat this episode tomorrow morning at 8:30 (EST) for those who'd like to see it (I'm going to record it, too).

[MissGoddess]

Yay! This show is now on AMC (American Movie Classics) Saturday mornings (6:00 a.m to 9:00 a.m., EST). I can't remember when AMC showed a classic TV series before, and I'm usually asleep when this one airs, but I'm just glad it's on SOMEWHERE that I have access to (I believe it's broadcasting on some other network my cable provider doesn't provide).

[moira finnie]

Seven episodes of The Rifleman (I think in chronological order of the series ) began this morning. AMC seems to be scheduling these each Saturday. Here's the rundown available on their website so far (all times shown are EDT):

April 9th, next Saturday morning the following epis are scheduled on AMC.
# 6:00 am
The Rifleman
A bully challenges a European count to a duel.

# 6:30 am
The Rifleman
Lucas and Micah prevent a bank robbery.

# 7:00 am
The Rifleman
Mark plays cupid.

# 7:30 am
The Rifleman
A criminal threatens to harm Mark unless Lucas sells him the ranch.

# 8:00 am
The Rifleman
Micah's young deputy provokes a gunfight

Sat., April 16th:

# 6:00 am
The Rifleman
Lucas trails outlaws to recover stolen money.

# 6:30 am
The Rifleman
Lucas finds his missing cattle in a neighbor's herd.

# 7:00 am
The Rifleman
An Argentine settler is accused of murder.

# 7:30 am
The Rifleman
Mark is exposed to anthrax.

# 8:00 am
The Rifleman
A broken confederate soldier confronts Gen. Phil Sheridan at the McCain ranch.

# 8:30 am
The Rifleman
Outlaws hunt a retired gunfighter who has settled in North Fork.

# 9:00 am
The Rifleman
A traveling photographer is accused of murder.


Sat. April 23rd

# 6:00 am
The Rifleman
A wedding celebration gets out of hand.

# 6:30 am
The Rifleman
A boy from Brooklyn witnesses a murder.

# 7:00 am
The Rifleman
An Indian U.S. Marshal runs into trouble in North Fork.

# 7:30 am
The Rifleman
A former card dealer opens a boarding house in North Fork.

# 8:00 am
The Rifleman
Lucas is a witness in a murder trial.

Sat., April 30th

# 6:00 am
The Rifleman
An outlaw will surrender if his sweetheart gets the reward.

# 6:30 am
The Rifleman
Lucas owes his life to an outlaw.

# 7:00 am
The Rifleman
Micah's enemy is bent on revenge.

# 7:30 am
The Rifleman
A marshal kills the wrong man to collect a reward.

# 8:00 am
The Rifleman
Lucas faces down an escaped killer.

# 8:30 am
The Rifleman
Mark befriends a stranger who's running from the law.

# 9:00 am
The Rifleman
A young man wants an education despite his uncle's objection.

[MissGoddess]

Thank you so much for posting that schedule, Moira! I hope people tune in.

[movieman1957]

I'm stunned. Haven't they showing infomercials in that slot? I know they do on weekdays.

[klondike]

Some memories I retained about those episodes:

# 7:00 am
The Rifleman
An Argentine settler is accused of murder.

I remember this one because the killer used a gaucho tool/weapon called a bolas, which can capture fleeing livestock, or break a human's neck - and Lucas is very nearly the final victim!

# 8:00 am
The Rifleman
A broken confederate soldier confronts Gen. Phil Sheridan at the McCain ranch.

Great episode - the ex-soldier is played by Royal Dano in a top-notch portrayal of a devastatingly haunted man.

# 7:00 am
The Rifleman
Micah's enemy is bent on revenge.

This episode probes deeply into Micah's past weaknesses, his 'feet of clay', and the issues that unite and divide him from Lucas - his final triumph over his old nemesis is at once simplistic and revelatory.

[Professional Tourist]

For those in the U.S., Hulu has a limited number of episodes from seasons one through four of The Rifleman available to watch for free; fifty episodes total, including my personal favorite Miss Bertie.

[moira finnie]

There's a really good new website put up by the Levy-Gardner-Laven production company for The Rifleman found here:
http://www.therifleman.net/

Some memories I retained about those episodes:

# 8:00 am
The Rifleman
A broken confederate soldier confronts Gen. Phil Sheridan at the McCain ranch.

Great episode - the ex-soldier is played by Royal Dano in a top-notch portrayal of a devastatingly haunted man.

I agree, Klon. This episode, called "The Sheridan Story" with Royal Dano as a maimed Confederate soldier is not just exceptional because of Dano's moving performance, but was just as memorable because of the hard lesson about judging people by their appearance that the father(Chuck Connors) teaches his son (Johnny Crawford). was very powerful.

According to The Rifleman site, Dano made five guest appearances in THE RIFLEMAN, portraying different characters in each episode, including the one mentioned above, as well as Jonas Epps in "A Matter of Faith" (episode 34), Aaron Wingate in "A Case of Identity" (episode 57), Abe in "Honest Abe" (episode 118), and Jamison in "Day of Reckoning" (episode 138).

PT, I like that episode with Agnes Moorehead as the lady looking for a wanted man for an intriguing reason too.