Man Without a Gun is an American Western television series produced by 20th Century Fox Television and presented on the NTA Film Network and in first-run syndication in the United States from 1957 to 1959. Set in the town of Yellowstone near Yellowstone National Park in the then Dakota Territory during the 1870s, the program starred Rex Reason as newspaper editor Adam MacLean, who brought miscreants to justice without the use of violence or gunplay but through his Yellowstone Sentinel. Mort Mills co-starred as Marshal Frank Tallman, who intervened when the "pen" proved not to be "mightier than the sword".Alex McNeil, Total Television, New York: Penguin Books, 1996, 4th ed., p. 515 Harry Harvey Sr., was cast in twenty-one episodes as Yellowstone Mayor George Dixon.
The program is considered to have been unique because it showcased MacLean's moral ethics and common sense to bring outlaws to justice. The show was also used as a schoolroom to teach the youngsters of the 1950s about decency and the difference between right and wrong.
Background The 20th Century Fox Hour broadcast "Man of the Law", a pilot of Man Without a Gun.
Guest stars
Chris Alcaide – as Johnny Kansas in two episodes ("Teen-Age Idol", "The Hero") John Anderson ("Eye Witness") Whit Bissell – as Mark Ryan in the "Aftermath" episode Lloyd Corrigan Dennis Cross – as Cheotah in the "Indian Fury" episode John Doucette – as Dan Kester in "The Fugitive" episode James Drury – as Cort Hamish in the "Aftermath" episode Stanley Fafara – as Boy in the "Eye Witness" episode Stanley Farrar – as Auges in two episodes ("Guilty", "Eye Witness") Bruce Gordon – as Wolf Manson in the "Headline" episode Don Gordon ("Jailbreak") Dabbs Greer – as Ben McLaren in the "Hangtree Inn" episode Ron Hagerthy – as Tod Wilburn in the "Witness to Terror" episode Myron Healey – as Yank Sullivan in the "Decoy" episode Richard Jaeckel – as Rogers in "The Seven Killers" episode Diane Jergens – as Ellen in the "Night of Violence" episode Robert Karnes – as Jonas in the "Invisible Enemy" episode Dayton Lummis – as Fred Hawkins in "The Fugitive" episode Carole Mathews – as Rose in the "Lady from Laramie" episode Doug McClure – as Albert (or Ollie) Ketchum in "The Kidder" episode Patrick McVey – as Forester in the "Special Edition" episode James Philbrook – as Troy in the "Decoy" episode Dorothy Provine – as Lucy in the "Man Missing" episode Denver Pyle ("Shadow of a Gun") Victor Rodman ("Devil's Acre") Robert F. Simon – as Hamish Sr. in the "Aftermath" episode Olan Soule – as Henry Holbrook in the "Daughter of the Dragon" episode Ray Teal ("The Day The West Went Wild") Robert Tetrick Marie Tsien – as Chi Ying in the "Daughter of the Dragon" episode Robert J. Wilke – as Hackett in the "Buried Treasure" episode Victor Sen Yung – as Ho Wang in the "Daughter of the Dragon" episode
Episodes Season 1 (1957–1958)
Season 2 (1959)
Production The series was created by Peter Packer. Fifty-two 30-minute episodes were produced in 1957-1959, with filming at Corriganville Movie Ranch and 20th Century-Fox. Producers included Alan Armer and Mel Epstein. Directors included Douglas Heyes. Writers included Robert Leslie Bellem.
Critical response The trade publication Variety said in a review that a gun was unnecessary for the show's hero: "Muscles bulge against his clean white shirt and ham-hock fists advertise his fearsome virility, and he can suppy violence when necessary." It added that Reason's brawny appearance sometimes interfered with the character's "brainy type" image, but "he seems to get by a good part of the time".
References
External links
Classic TV Archive episode listing