Colt .45 (TV series)
Colt .45 (also known as The Colt Cousins) is an American Western series originally starring Wayde Preston which aired on ABC between October 1957 and September 1960.[1]
| Colt .45 | |
|---|---|
 Wayde Preston as Christopher Colt, 1959 | |
| Also known as | The Colt Cousins |
| Genre | Western |
| Created by | Based on the film by Thomas W. Blackburn |
| Developed by | Roy Huggins |
| Starring | Wayde Preston Donald May Kenneth MacDonald |
| Theme music composer | Mack David Jerry Livingston |
| Opening theme | Performed by Hal Hopper |
| Composers | Paul Sawtell Bert Shefter |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 67 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | William T. Orr |
| Producers | Roy Huggins Harry Tatelman Cedric Francis Mack David Joseph Hoffman Oren W. Haglund (production manager) Gordon Bau (make-up) |
| Editor | James Moore |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company | Warner Bros. Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Picture format | Black-and-white |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original release | 18 October 1957 – 27 September 1960 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Colt .45 |
| Related shows | Maverick Shotgun Slade Sugarfoot |
The half-hour program is loosely based on the 1950 Warner Bros. film of the same name, starring Randolph Scott. Colt .45 was part of the William T. Orr-produced array of westerns which Warner produced for ABC in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Overview
Roy Huggins developed the series with Wayde Preston in the part of undercover government agent Christopher Colt, who takes the cover of a traveling Old West pistol salesman, hence the title of the series. Colt .45 also featured fictionalizations of actual historical characters including Edwin Booth (brother of John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln), Sam Bass, Billy the Kid, Lew Wallace, Judge Roy Bean, Buffalo Bill Cody, Ned Buntline, and Calamity Jane.
During this period of time, Colt .45 was one of several ABC/WB western productions, along with Cheyenne, Sugarfoot, Lawman, Maverick and Bronco. Various series leads occasionally did crossover episodes on some of the other WB programs. One of the most imaginative was the "Hadley's Hunters" episode of Maverick, in which Bart Maverick (Jack Kelly) comes upon Christopher Colt's sales satchel, abandoned in a room and covered with dust since the series had been cancelled the previous season.
In 1958, series star Wayde Preston left the series because he claimed he was made to do stunts that required a stunt man. Preston was also reportedly unhappy with the show's low budget which caused other problems. Because of Preston's departure, producers were forced to air repeats of the series along with a few new episodes to complete the 1958–1959 season.[1]
In 1959, Donald May assumed the lead role as Sam Colt, Jr., the cousin of Christopher Colt.[2] After leaving the series, Warner Bros. prevented Preston from obtaining other acting jobs. He eventually returned briefly to the series but was demoted to a co-starring role with May.[3] Due to the casting changes, the series was eventually marketed in the United Kingdom as The Colt Cousins.
Guest stars
|
|
Episode list
Season 1: 1957–58
| No | Ep | Title | Directed by: | Written by: | Air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Judgment Day" "The Peacemaker" | Douglas Heyes | S : Roy Huggins; T : Marion Hargrove | 18 October 1957 |
| 2 | 2 | "A Time to Die" | Douglas Heyes | Leo Gordon | 25 October 1957 |
| 3 | 3 | "The Three Thousand Dollar Bullet" | Franklin Adreon | Eric Freiwald, Robert Schaefer | 1 November 1957 |
| 4 | 4 | "Gallows at Granite Gap" | Franklin Adreon | S : Joseph Chadwick; T : William F. Leicester | 8 November 1957 |
| 5 | 5 | "Small Man" | Edward Bernds | Frederick Brady | 15 November 1957 |
| 6 | 6 | "Final Payment" | Franklin Adreon | Wells Root | 22 November 1957 |
| 7 | 7 | "One Good Turn" | Edward Bernds | John McGreevey | 29 November 1957 |
| 8 | 8 | "Last Chance" | Edward Bernds | S : Harold Shumate; T : Gil Doud | 6 December 1957 |
| 9 | 9 | "Young Gun" | Walter Grauman | T : Daniel B. Ullman; S/T : William Driskill, Joel Rapp | 13 December 1957 |
| 10 | 10 | "Rebellion" | Walter Grauman | S : Anthony Coldeway; T : James Gunn | 20 December 1957 |
| 11 | 11 | "The Gypsies" | Alan Crosland Jr. | S : Wesley Haynes; T : Frederick Brady | 27 December 1957 |
| 12 | 12 | "Sign in the Sand" | Alan Crosland Jr. | Frederick Brady | 3 January 1958 |
| 13 | 13 | "The Mirage" | Montgomery Pittman | Montgomery Pittman | 10 January 1958 |
| 14 | 14 | "Blood Money" | Abner Biberman | David Lang | 17 January 1958 |
| 15 | 15 | "Dead Reckoning" | Abner Biberman | Jack Harvey | 24 January 1958 |
| 16 | 16 | "Decoy" | Leslie H. Martinson | S : Albert Aley, William MacLeod Raine; T : James Edmiston | 31 January 1958 |
| 17 | 17 | "Rare Specimen" | Leslie H. Martinson | Gene Levitt, Eugene Manlove Rhodes | 7 February 1958 |
| 18 | 18 | "Mantrap" | TBA | Montgomery Pittman | 14 February 1958 |
| 19 | 19 | "Ghost Town" | Lee Sholem | S : Nelson Nye; T : James Gunn | 21 February 1958 |
| 20 | 20 | "The Golden Gun" | Richard L. Bare | Frederick Brady | 28 February 1958 |
| 21 | 21 | "Circle of Fear" | Leslie H. Martinson | S : Ben Markson; T : Howard Browne | 7 March 1958 |
| 22 | 22 | "Split Second" | Leslie H. Martinson | S : Orville H. Hampton; T : William F. Leicester | 14 March 1958 |
| 23 | 23 | "Point of Honor" "Woman on the Stagecoach" | William J. Hole Jr. | Steve Fisher | 21 March 1958 |
| 24 | 24 | "The Deserters" | Leslie H. Martinson | S : Norman Daniels; T : Tony Barrett, Frederick Brady | 28 March 1958 |
| 25 | 25 | "The Manbuster" | Oliver Drake | S : Richard Wormser; T : Oliver Drake | 4 April 1958 |
| 26 | 26 | "Long Odds" | Franklin Adreon | S : Joseph Hoffman; T : David Lang | 11 April 1958 |
Season 2: 1959
| No | Ep | Title | Directed by: | Written by: | Air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | 1 | "The Escape" | Lee Sholem | T : Irwin Winehouse, A. Sanford Wolfe | 5 April 1959 |
| 28 | 2 | "Dead Aim" | Lee Sholem | S : Sid Harris; T : Wells Root | 12 April 1959 |
| 29 | 3 | "The Magic Box" | George Waggner | Irwin Winehouse, A. Sanford Wolfe | 19 April 1959 |
| 30 | 4 | "The Confession" | Harold Daniels | Dwight V. Babcock | 26 April 1959 |
| 31 | 5 | "The Man Who Loved Lincoln" | Arthur Ripley | S : James Barnett, Jack Emanuel; T : Leonard Lee | 3 May 1959 |
| 32 | 6 | "The Sanctuary" | Jodie Copelan | S : Jack Emanuel; T : Frank Gruber, Dean Riesner | 10 May 1959 |
| 33 | 7 | "The Saga of Sam Bass" | William J. Hole Jr. | T : Irwin Winehouse, A. Sanford Wolfe | 17 May 1959 |
| 34 | 8 | "Amnesty" | William J. Hole Jr. | S : James Barnett, Jack Emanuel; T : Irwin Winehouse, A. Sanford Wolfe | 24 May 1959 |
| 35 | 9 | "The Pirate" | Montgomery Pittman | S : Day Keene; T : Finlay McDermid | 31 May 1959 |
| 36 | 10 | "Law West of the Pecos" | Alan Crosland Jr. | John Tucker Battle | 7 June 1959 |
| 37 | 11 | "Don't Tell Joe" | TBA | S : Peter Dixon; T : Maurice Zimm | 14 June 1959 |
| 38 | 12 | "Return to El Paso" | Lee Sholem | T : Irwin Winehouse, A. Sanford Wolfe | 21 June 1959 |
| 39 | 13 | "Night of Decision" | Leslie H. Martinson | Irwin Winehouse, A. Sanford Wolfe | 28 June 1959 |
Season 3: 1959–60
| No | Ep | Title | Directed by: | Written by: | Air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | 1 | "Queen of Dixie" | Herbert L. Strock | Irwin Winehouse, A. Sanford Wolfe | 4 October 1959 |
| 41 | 2 | "The Reckoning" | TBA | Carl Onspaugh | 11 October 1959 |
| 42 | 3 | "The Devil's Godson" | Herbert L. Strock | S : James Barnett, Jack Emanuel; T : Malcolm Stuart Boylan | 18 October 1959 |
| 43 | 4 | "The Rival Gun" | TBA | S : Mack David; T : Malcolm Stuart Boylan | 25 October 1959 |
| 44 | 5 | "The Hothead" | Paul Guilfoyle | S : Mack David; T : Milton Raison, Dean Riesner | 1 November 1959 |
| 45 | 6 | "A Legend of Buffalo Bill" | Emory Horger | S : James Barnett, Jack Emanuel; T : William Driskill | 8 November 1959 |
| 46 | 7 | "Yellow Terror" | Herbert L. Strock | Irwin Winehouse, A. Sanford Wolfe | 15 November 1959 |
| 47 | 8 | "Tar and Feathers" | Emory Horger | Irwin Winehouse, A. Sanford Wolfe | 22 November 1959 |
| 48 | 9 | "Alias Mr. Howard" | Herbert L. Strock | T : A. Sanford Wolfe | 6 December 1959 |
| 49 | 10 | "Calamity" | Paul Guilfoyle | Dwight Newton | 13 December 1959 |
| 50 | 11 | "Under False Pretenses" | TBA | S : Elmer Kelton; T : Dwight Newton | 10 January 1960 |
| 51 | 12 | "Impasse" | Paul Landres | Lee Loeb, Rudy Makoul | 31 January 1960 |
| 52 | 13 | "Arizona Anderson" | George Waggner | Mack David, Lee Loeb | 14 February 1960 |
| 53 | 14 | "The Cause" | H. Bruce Humberstone | Irwin Winehouse, A. Sanford Wolfe | 28 February 1960 |
| 54 | 15 | "Phantom Trail" | Lew Landers | S : James Barnett, Mack David; T : Nat Tanchuck | 13 March 1960 |
| 55 | 16 | "Breakthrough" | TBA | Kenneth Gamet | 27 March 1960 |
| 56 | 17 | "Chain of Command" | Lew Landers | S : Roy Huggins; T : Howard Browne, Dean Riesner | 5 April 1960 |
| 57 | 18 | "Alibi" | Lew Landers | S : Edmund Morris; T : W. Hermanos | 12 April 1960 |
| 58 | 19 | "Absent Without Leave" | TBA | S : Hugh Benson; T : William F. Leicester | 19 April 1960 |
| 59 | 20 | "Strange Encounter" | Herbert L. Strock | S : Irving Rubine; T : W. Hermanos, William F. Leicester | 26 April 1960 |
| 60 | 21 | "Trial by Rope" | Herbert L. Strock | W. Hermanos, William F. Leicester | 3 May 1960 |
| 61 | 22 | "The Gandy Dancers" | TBA | T : David Lang, Edmund Morris | 10 May 1960 |
| 62 | 23 | "Martial Law" | William J. Hole Jr. | T : W. Hermanos, Clair Huffaker | 17 May 1960 |
| 63 | 24 | "Attack" | William J. Hole Jr. | T : W. Hermanos, Dean Riesner | 24 May 1960 |
| 64 | 25 | "Bounty List" | Lee Sholem | T : W. Hermanos, Finlay McDermid | 31 May 1960 |
| 65 | 26 | "Appointment in Agoura" | Lee Sholem | T : W. Hermanos, Edmund Morris; S/T : William F. Leicester | 7 June 1960 |
| 66 | 27 | "Showdown at Goldtown" | Lee Sholem | S : Kenneth Perkins; T : W. Hermanos, William F. Leicester | 14 June 1960 |
| 67 | 28 | "The Trespasser" | Lee Sholem | T : Clair Huffaker | 21 June 1960 |
Reception and cancellation
Upon its debut in October 1957, Colt .45 was a respectable ratings draw for ABC. It helped ABC win its timeslot against NBC and CBS.[4]
By season two, however, behind the scenes problems caused a dip in viewership. After series star Wayde Preston left the series due his dissatisfaction with working conditions, producers were forced to repeat episodes to fill out the second season. There were also problems with the show's sponsorship which changed repeatedly. According to author Alvin H. Marill, the choice to cast Donald May in the lead role after Preston's departure was not explained in the storyline.[5] Wayde Preston eventually returned to the series but by then, ratings had dropped off and ABC canceled the series in 1960. The final episode aired on 27 September 1960.
Production notes
Theme song
The Colt .45 opening theme music was composed by Hal Hopper with lyrics by Douglas Heyes.
Merchandising
The TV show was adapted into a comic strip by Dan Spiegle, distributed by Dell Comics.[6]
References
- Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle F. (17 October 2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present (9 ed.). Ballantine Books. p. 273. ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4.
- Abbott, Doug; Jackson, Ronald (2009). 50 Years of the Television Western: A Pictorial History. AuthorHouse. p. 80. ISBN 978-1-434-35925-4.
- Moore, Barbara A.; Bensman, Marvin R.; Van Dyke, Jim (2006). Prime-Time Television: A Concise History. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 146. ISBN 0-275-98142-8.
- "Sunset Trailblazer in All-Out Race to Grab Adult Western Pull". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc.: 2 28 October 1957. ISSN 0006-2510.
- Marill, Alvin H. (2011). Television Westerns: Six Decades of Sagebrush Sheriffs, Scalawags, and Sidewinders. Scarecrow Press. p. 46. ISBN 978-0-810-88132-7.
- https://www.lambiek.net/artists/s/spiegle_d.htm
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Colt .45 (TV series). |