Black Saddle

Black Saddle is an American Western television series starring Peter Breck as that aired 44 episodes on NBC from January 10, 1959, to May 6, 1960. The half-hour program was produced by Dick Powell's Four Star Television, and the original backdoor pilot was an episode of CBS's Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater, with Chris Alcaide originally portraying the principal character, Clay Culhane.[1]

Black Saddle
Peter Breck as Clay Culhane and Anna Lisa as Nora Travers (1959)
GenreWestern
Created byHal Hudson
John McGreevey
Written byAntony Ellis
George Fass
Gertrude Fass
John Falvo
Richard Fielder
Frederick Louis Fox
Hal Hudson
Jack Jacobs
Stuart Jerome
Paul Kelly
Paul King
Ken Kolb
Richard Levinson
Robert Libott
William Link
John McGreevey
Don Mullally
Rod Peterson
Joseph Stone
John Tucker Battle
Directed byFrank Baur
William F. Claxton
John English
William D. Faralla
Robert Florey
Roger Kay
Francis D. Lyon
Gerd Oswald
David Lowell Rich
Boris Sagal
James Sheldon
Elliott Silvertstein
StarringPeter Breck
Russell Johnson
Anna-Lisa
J. Pat O'Malley
Walter Burke
Theme music composerJerry Goldsmith
Arthur Morton
ComposersMichael Hennagin
Arthur Morton
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes44
Production
Executive producerHal Hudson
ProducersAntony Ellis
Hal Hudson
Camera setupSingle-camera
Running time24 mins.
Release
Original networkNBC (1959)
ABC (1959-1960)
Picture formatBlack-and-white
Audio formatMonaural Stereo
Original releaseJanuary 10, 1959 (1959-01-10) â€“
May 6, 1960 (1960-05-06)

Synopsis

Detailed in the second episode of season two ("The Saddle"), series star Peter Breck's character, Clay Culhane, is a gunfighter who becomes a lawyer after his two brothers are killed in a bushwhack. Clay is seriously injured, but survived thanks to a man who nursed him back to health, whom he finds out was a judge who seems to have retired after sentencing one of his sons to death for murder. Under McKinney, Culhane decides that his life should take a different direction, and studies the judge's law books, and is further taught court procedure by the judge. A year later, having been taught by the ex-judge, he passes a verbal examination and becomes a lawyer. His mentor is then killed by his other son, who hates his father for sentencing his twin brother to death.

Breck starred along with Russell Johnson (several years before his role as the Professor on Gilligan's Island) and Anna-Lisa in the roles of US Marshal Gib Scott and Nora Travers, respectively. Other recurring roles were filled by character actors J. Pat O'Malley in eight episodes as Judge Caleb Marsh and Walter Burke in five segments as Tim Potter.

Russell Johnson as Marshal Gib Scott

In the episode "Client Neal Adams" (May 9, 1959), James Drury (more than three years before the premiere of his own series The Virginian on NBC) guest stars as Neal Adams, an old friend of Culhane's who has robbed a bank of $8,000. Shot in the back by a pursuing bounty hunter, played by Charles Aidman, Adams asks Culhane for help. Adams claims that the bounty hunter is the brother of a man whom Adams had earlier killed in self-defense. From the start, Marshal Scott doubts Adams' story and questions Culhane's judgment in the matter.[2]

In "Client Peter Warren" (October 30, 1959), John Lupton, a year after the close of his Broken Arrow Western series, plays a man accused by townspeople of starting a fire that caused the death of his estranged wife's wealthy and respected aunt. The motive is inheritance of joint property from the aunt's pending estate. Culhane agrees to defend Warren, but instead finds evidence that Warren had been present at the scene of the fire. Ed Nelson portrays Lee Coogan, a hot-headed man and a former suitor of Mrs. Warren, played by Aneta Corsaut. Coogan is also determined to show Warren's guilt.[3]

In "Apache Trail" (November 20, 1959), Culhane and Nora go to an Indian outpost to collect a debt owed to her. There, they encounter Sam King (DeForest Kelley), accused of defrauding tribesmen. King is beaten with a whip, but survives the ordeal, only to be shot and killed.[4]

Cast

Main cast

Guest cast

Some of the Black Saddle guest stars include Chris Alcaide (who portrayed Clay Culhane in the original pilot), John Anderson, Parley Baer, Raymond Bailey, Paul Birch (in the role of U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant in the episode "Mr. Simpson"), Lane Bradford, Paul Burke, James Coburn, John Dehner, Frank Dekova, Buddy Ebsen, Hampton Fancher, James Franciscus, Jack Ging, Dabbs Greer, Clu Gulager, Robert Harland, Stacy Harris, Brett King, Robert Knapp, John Marley, Ann McCrea, Patrick McVey, Vic Perrin, Stafford Repp, Bing Russell, Richard Rust, Robert F. Simon, and Patrick Macnee.

Episodes

Season 1 (1959)

No.
overall
No. in
season
Title Directed by Written by Original air date
11"Client: Travers"John EnglishJohn McGreeveyJanuary 10, 1959 (1959-01-10)
22"Client: Meade"Roger KayJohn McGreeveyJanuary 17, 1959 (1959-01-17)
33"Client: McQueen"John EnglishRobert Yale LibottJanuary 24, 1959 (1959-01-24)
44"Client: Dawes"Roger KayJohn McGreeveyJanuary 31, 1959 (1959-01-31)
55"Client: Starkey"John EnglishRobert Yale LibottFebruary 7, 1959 (1959-02-07)
66"Client: Tagger"John EnglishFrederick Louis FoxFebruary 14, 1959 (1959-02-14)
77"Client: Robinson"John FloreaJack JacobsFebruary 21, 1959 (1959-02-21)
88"Client: Martinez"Francis D. LyonJohn Tucker BattleMarch 7, 1959 (1959-03-07)
99"Client: Northrup"David Lowell RichJohn McGreeveyMarch 14, 1959 (1959-03-14)
1010"Client: Steele"Francis D. LyonRod PetersonMarch 21, 1959 (1959-03-21)
1111"Client: Mowery"David Lowell RichFrederick Louis FoxMarch 28, 1959 (1959-03-28)
1212"Client: Braun"David Lowell RichJohn McGreeveyApril 4, 1959 (1959-04-04)
1313"Client: Banks"John EnglishAntony EllisApril 11, 1959 (1959-04-11)
1414"Client: Jessup"John EnglishStuart JeromeApril 18, 1959 (1959-04-18)
1515"Client: Frome"John EnglishFrederick Louis FoxApril 25, 1959 (1959-04-25)
1616"Client: Nelson"Boris SagalJohn McGreeveyMay 2, 1959 (1959-05-02)
1717"Client: Neal Adams"William D. FarallaKen KolbMay 9, 1959 (1959-05-09)
1818"Client: Brand"Gerd OswaldJoe Stone & Paul KingMay 16, 1959 (1959-05-16)
1919"Client: Reynolds"David Lowell RichJohn McGreeveyMay 23, 1959 (1959-05-23)
2020"Client: Vardon"William D. FarallaFrederick Louis FoxMay 30, 1959 (1959-05-30)

Season 2 (1959–60)

No.
overall
No. in
season
Title Directed by Written by Original air date
211"The Freebooters"William D. FarallaJohn McGreeveyOctober 2, 1959 (1959-10-02)
222"The Saddle"David Lowell RichJohn McGreeveyOctober 9, 1959 (1959-10-09)
233"The Long Rider"David Lowell RichAntony EllisOctober 16, 1959 (1959-10-16)
244"The Hotel"James SheldonAntony EllisOctober 23, 1959 (1959-10-23)
255"Client: Peter Warren"David Lowell RichDonn MullallyOctober 30, 1959 (1959-10-30)
266"The Freight Line"David Lowell RichAntony EllisNovember 6, 1959 (1959-11-06)
277"Murdock"David Lowell RichFred FriebergerNovember 13, 1959 (1959-11-13)
288"Apache Killer"William D. FarallaJoe Stone & Paul KingNovember 20, 1959 (1959-11-20)
299"Four from Stillwater"David Lowell RichGeorge & Gertrude FassNovember 27, 1959 (1959-11-27)
3010"The Deal"David Lowell RichWilliam Link & Richard LevinsonDecember 4, 1959 (1959-12-04)
3111"Change of Venue"William D. FarallaJohn McGreeveyDecember 11, 1959 (1959-12-11)
3212"Blood Money"Frank BaurJohn McGreeveyDecember 18, 1959 (1959-12-18)
3313"The Killer"William F. ClaxtonAntony EllisJanuary 1, 1960 (1960-01-01)
3414"Letter of Death"David Lowell RichFrederick Louis FoxJanuary 8, 1960 (1960-01-08)
3515"Mr. Simpson"David Lowell RichAntony EllisJanuary 22, 1960 (1960-01-22)
3616"Means to an End"Frank BaurJohn McGreeveyJanuary 29, 1960 (1960-01-29)
3717"The Indian Tree"David Lowell RichJohn McGreevey & Antony EllisFebruary 19, 1960 (1960-02-19)
3818"The Apprentice"David Lowell RichJohn McGreeveyMarch 11, 1960 (1960-03-11)
3919"Burden of Guilt"TBATBAMarch 18, 1960 (1960-03-18)
4020"The Cabin"David Lowell RichAntony EllisApril 1, 1960 (1960-04-01)
4121"The Return"David Lowell RichJohn McGreeveyApril 8, 1960 (1960-04-08)
4222"A Case of Slow"David Lowell RichAntony EllisApril 15, 1960 (1960-04-15)
4323"The Penalty"William D. FarallaJohn FalvoApril 22, 1960 (1960-04-22)
4424"End of the Line"William F. ClaxtonRichard FielderMay 4, 1960 (1960-05-04)

Production

Filming

Black Saddle was filmed at the Iverson Ranch in Chatsworth, California. Several years later, Peter Breck starred as Nick Barkley in another, more successful Four Star series, The Big Valley, on ABC.

Scheduling

Black Saddle originally aired on NBC at 9 pm on Saturdays from January 10—May 30, 1959, before moving to ABC in October of that year, where it aired at 10:30 pm on Fridays after another Four Star production, The Detectives, starring Robert Taylor. Its competition on CBS was the interview program Person to Person created by Edward R. Murrow. NBC aired the 45-minute Gillette Cavalcade of Sports in the same time slot.

Theme

Although the Black Saddle TV series was cancelled over 50 years ago, its original theme song, written by Herschel Burke Gilbert and Arthur Morton, has lived on... and is still often performed. Many cover versions of the song have been recorded, some available on YouTube.

Syndication as The Westerners

For syndicated reruns, Black Saddle was combined with three other Western series from the same company: Law of the Plainsman starring Michael Ansara, Johnny Ringo starring Don Durant and Mark Goddard, and The Westerner with Brian Keith, under the umbrella title, The Westerners, with new hosting sequences by Keenan Wynn.

References

  1. Aaker, Everett (2017). Television Western Players, 1960-1975: A Biographical Dictionary. McFarland. p. 54. ISBN 9781476662503. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  2. "Black Saddle: "Client Neal Adams", May 9, 1959". Internet Movie Data Base. Retrieved September 4, 2012.
  3. "Black Saddle: "Client Peter Warren", October 30, 1959". imdb.com. Retrieved September 4, 2012.
  4. "Apache Trail, November 20, 1959". Internet Movie Data Base. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
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