26 Men
26 Men | |
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Genre | Western |
Directed by |
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Starring | |
Theme music composer | |
Composers |
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Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 2 |
No. of episodes | 78 |
Production | |
Executive producer | Russell Hayden |
Producers |
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Cinematography |
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Editors |
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Running time | 25 minutes |
Production company | Russell Hayden Productions |
Original release | |
Network | Syndication |
Release | November 1, 1957 June 30, 1959 | –
26 Men is a syndicated American Western television series about the Arizona Rangers, a law-enforcement group limited to 26 active members.[1] By March 1958, the program was carried on 158 stations in the United States.[2] The program was also broadcast on ATN-7 in Australia[3] and on ZBM-TV in Bermuda.[4]
Synopsis and background
[edit]The series is set in the Arizona Territory in the first decade of the 20th century.[3] The rangers were part of the group established by the Arizona Territorial Legislature in 1901.[1] The number of members was limited to 26 "to avoid vigilantism".[5] Information from government archives and newspapers provided the basis of the plots of episodes.[6]
Critical response
[edit]A review in the trade publication Variety said that the premiere episode had "clean action and plot situations", making it different from the era's trend toward adult westerns.[7] It commended the work of Tris Coffin and Kelo Henderson and the pacing of the direction but noted that production values appeared weaker than those of Western programs on networks.[7]
Cast
[edit]Main
[edit]- Tris Coffin as Captain Thomas H. Rynning
- Kelo Henderson as ranger Clint Travis.
Guest stars
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d8/26_Men_%28The_Recruit%29_scene.jpg/240px-26_Men_%28The_Recruit%29_scene.jpg)
- Rico Alaniz
- Rayford Barnes
- Baynes Barron
- Robert Blake
- Edgar Buchanan
- Mason Alan Dinehart
- William Fawcett
- Richard Garland
- Don Haggerty
- Ron Hayes
- Tom Hennesy
- Robert Karnes
- DeForest Kelley
- Lash LaRue
- Forrest Lewis
- Jackie Loughery
- Walter Maslow
- Doug McClure
- William Murphy
- Leonard Nimoy
- Gregg Palmer
- Tex Palmer
- Denver Pyle
- Maudie Prickett
- Richard Reeves
- Kim Spalding
- Glenn Strange
- Dub Taylor
- Carol Thurston
- Gregory Walcott
- Patrick Waltz
- Grant Withers
Episodes
[edit]Series overview
[edit]Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
First aired | Last aired | |||
1 | 39 | October 15, 1957 | July 15, 1958 | |
2 | 39 | October 7, 1958 | June 30, 1959 |
Season 1 (1957–58)
[edit]No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | "The Recruit" | Reg Browne | Unknown | October 15, 1957 |
2 | 2 | "Trouble at Pinnacle Peak" | Reg Browne | Sloan Nibley | October 22, 1957 |
3 | 3 | "The Wild Bunch" | Reg Browne | Buckley Angell | October 29, 1957 |
4 | 4 | "Border Incident" | Reg Browne | Joe Richardson | November 5, 1957 |
5 | 5 | "Destination Nowhere" | Unknown | Dwight V. Babcock | November 12, 1957 |
6 | 6 | "Incident at Yuma" | Reg Browne | Ed Repp | November 19, 1957 |
7 | 7 | "The Slater Brothers" | Oliver Drake | Terence Maples & Sam Roeca & Tom Hubbard | November 26, 1957 |
8 | 8 | "Dead Man in Tucson" | Reg Browne | Tom Hubbard & Sam Roeca | December 3, 1957 |
9 | 9 | "Man on the Run" | Oliver Drake | Sam Roeca & Tom Hubbard & Will George | December 10, 1957 |
10 | 10 | "The Big Rope" | Oliver Drake | John K. Butler | December 17, 1957 |
11 | 11 | "Valley of Fear" | Unknown | Sloan Nibley | December 24, 1957 |
12 | 12 | "Indian Gunslinger" | Reg Browne | Frank Graves | December 31, 1957 |
13 | 13 | "Trail of Darkness" | Unknown | Joe Richardson | January 7, 1958 |
14 | 14 | "Trade Me Deadly" | Oliver Drake | Buckley Angell | January 14, 1958 |
15 | 15 | "Violent Land" | Unknown | Unknown | January 28, 1958 |
16 | 16 | "Panic at Bisbee" | Unknown | Unknown | February 4, 1958 |
17 | 17 | "Insurrection" | Unknown | Dwight V. Babcock | February 11, 1958 |
18 | 18 | "Slaughter Trail" | Unknown | Unknown | February 18, 1958 |
19 | 19 | "Gun Hand" | Unknown | Unknown | February 25, 1958 |
20 | 20 | "Cattle Embargo" | Unknown | Unknown | March 4, 1958 |
21 | 21 | "Badge to Kill" | Unknown | Unknown | March 11, 1958 |
22 | 22 | "Montezuma's Cave" | Unknown | Unknown | March 18, 1958 |
23 | 23 | "Sundown Decision" | Unknown | Unknown | March 25, 1958 |
24 | 24 | "The Parrish Gang" | Unknown | Unknown | April 1, 1958 |
25 | 25 | "Hoax at Globe" | Unknown | Unknown | April 8, 1958 |
26 | 26 | "The Bounty Hunter" | Unknown | Unknown | April 15, 1958 |
27 | 27 | "Apache Water" | Unknown | Unknown | April 22, 1958 |
28 | 28 | "Legacy of Death" | Oliver Drake | Oliver Drake | April 29, 1958 |
29 | 29 | "Chain Gang" | Unknown | Unknown | May 6, 1958 |
30 | 30 | "The Bells of St. Thomas" | Oliver Drake | Oliver Drake | May 13, 1958 |
31 | 31 | "Hondo Man" | Unknown | Unknown | May 20, 1958 |
32 | 32 | "The Vanquisher" | Unknown | Unknown | May 27, 1958 |
33 | 33 | "The Ranger and the Lady" | Unknown | Unknown | June 3, 1958 |
34 | 34 | "Idol in the Dust" | Unknown | Unknown | June 10, 1958 |
35 | 35 | "Runaway Stage" | Unknown | Unknown | June 17, 1958 |
36 | 36 | "Wayward Gun" | Unknown | Unknown | June 24, 1958 |
37 | 37 | "Hole Up" | Unknown | Unknown | July 1, 1958 |
38 | 38 | "Unholy Partners" | Unknown | Unknown | July 8, 1958 |
39 | 39 | "Killer's Trail" | Unknown | Unknown | July 15, 1958 |
Season 2 (1958–59)
[edit]No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
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40 | 1 | "The Glory Road" | Unknown | Unknown | October 7, 1958 |
41 | 2 | "Shadow of Doubt" | Unknown | Unknown | October 14, 1958 |
42 | 3 | "Man in Hiding" | Unknown | Unknown | October 21, 1958 |
43 | 4 | "Cross and Double Cross" | Unknown | Unknown | October 28, 1958 |
44 | 5 | "The Last Rebellion" | Unknown | Unknown | November 4, 1958 |
45 | 6 | "Brief Glory" | Unknown | Unknown | November 11, 1958 |
46 | 7 | "Dog Eat Dog" | Unknown | Unknown | November 18, 1958 |
47 | 8 | "Judge Not" | Unknown | Unknown | November 25, 1958 |
48 | 9 | "My Brother's Keeper" | Unknown | Unknown | December 2, 1958 |
49 | 10 | "Run No More" | Unknown | Unknown | December 9, 1958 |
50 | 11 | "The Manhunt" | Unknown | Unknown | December 16, 1958 |
51 | 12 | "The Avenger" | Unknown | Unknown | December 23, 1958 |
52 | 13 | "False Witness" | Unknown | Unknown | December 30, 1958 |
53 | 14 | "The Torch" | Unknown | Unknown | January 6, 1959 |
54 | 15 | "Trail of Revenge" | Unknown | Unknown | January 13, 1959 |
55 | 16 | "The Hellion" | Unknown | Unknown | January 20, 1959 |
56 | 17 | "Ranger Without a Badge" | Unknown | Unknown | January 27, 1959 |
57 | 18 | "The Showdown" | Unknown | Unknown | February 3, 1959 |
58 | 19 | "The Long Trail Home" | Unknown | Unknown | February 10, 1959 |
59 | 20 | "Death in the Dragoons" | Unknown | Unknown | February 17, 1959 |
60 | 21 | "Ricochet" | Unknown | Unknown | February 24, 1959 |
61 | 22 | "House Divided" | Unknown | Unknown | March 3, 1959 |
62 | 23 | "Profane Masquerade" | Unknown | Unknown | March 10, 1959 |
63 | 24 | "Dead or Alive" | Unknown | Unknown | March 17, 1959 |
64 | 25 | "The Has Been" | Unknown | Unknown | March 24, 1959 |
65 | 26 | "The Unwanted" | Unknown | Unknown | March 31, 1959 |
66 | 27 | "Live and Let Die" | Unknown | Unknown | April 7, 1958 |
67 | 28 | "Trial at Verde River" | Unknown | Unknown | April 14, 1959 |
68 | 29 | "Scorpion" | Unknown | Unknown | April 21, 1959 |
69 | 30 | "The Last Kill" | Unknown | Unknown | April 28, 1959 |
70 | 31 | "Redskin" | Unknown | Unknown | May 5, 1959 |
71 | 32 | "Cave-In" | Unknown | Unknown | May 12, 1959 |
72 | 33 | "Terror in Paradise" | Unknown | Unknown | May 19, 1959 |
73 | 34 | "Fighting Man" | Unknown | Unknown | May 26, 1959 |
74 | 35 | "Tumbleweed Ranger" | Unknown | Unknown | June 2, 1959 |
75 | 36 | "The Tiger" | Unknown | Unknown | June 9, 1959 |
76 | 37 | "Abandoned" | Unknown | Unknown | June 16, 1959 |
77 | 38 | "Bandit Queen" | Unknown | Unknown | June 23, 1959 |
78 | 39 | "Refuge at Broken Bow" | Unknown | Unknown | June 30, 1959 |
Production
[edit]Russell Hayden was the producer[8] of the ABC Film Syndication series. Reg Browne was the director, Sloane Nibley was the writer, and Oliver Drake was the adapter.[9] The theme song was written by Hal Hopper.[5]
Facilities of Cudia City Studios, in Phoenix, Arizona, were expanded to handle filming of 26 Men.[6] When the series filmed on location, local residents often filled some roles in the cast.[5] It was "reportedly the first TV series ever to be filmed completely in Arizona."[10]
Sponsors
[edit]As a syndicated program, 26 Men had different sponsors in different parts of the United States. They included H. P. Hood and Sons (a dairy) for all of New England; Mrs. Smith's Pie Company and Freihofer Baking Company (alternating weekly) in four cities in Pennsylvania; Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company in Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and Buffalo; and Standard Oil of Texas in eight markets in Texas and New Mexico.[11]
Release
[edit]Home media
[edit]Timeless Media Group released a 3-disc best-of set, featuring 20 episodes from the series on DVD in Region 1 on April 12, 2011.[12]
References
[edit]- ^ a b McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television: the Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present (4th ed.). New York, New York: Penguin Books USA, Inc. pp. 870–871. ISBN 0-14-02-4916-8.
- ^ Stern, Harold (March 15, 1958). "26 Men Based on Fact". The Record. New Jersey, Hackensack. p. 37. Retrieved June 26, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "More Western Series". The Sydney Morning Herald. June 16, 1958. p. 15. Retrieved June 25, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Film Clips" (PDF). Broadcasting. December 23, 1957. p. 64. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
- ^ a b c Erickson, Hal (1989). Syndicated Television: The First Forty Years, 1947-1987'. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 101. ISBN 0-7864-1198-8.
- ^ a b "'26 Men' - the Story of Arizona". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. August 2, 1958. p. 74. Retrieved June 25, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "26 Men". Variety. October 16, 1957. p. 52. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
- ^ "Russell (Lucky) Hayden, Romantic Film Cowboy". The New York Times. Associated Press. June 13, 1981. p. 16. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
- ^ "George T. (2-gun) Shupert calls it a Western, son!" (PDF). Billboard. August 19, 1957. p. 10. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
- ^ "'26 Men' Filming begins" (PDF). Broadcasting. September 2, 1957. p. 81.
- ^ "ABC Film's '26 Men' Racks Up $500,000 in Advance Sales" (PDF). Broadcasting. July 22, 1957. p. 62. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
- ^ David Lambert (April 7, 2011). "26 Men - TMG Release a 3-DVD Set about the Old West's Arizona Rangers". Archived from the original on 2011-09-16. Retrieved 2012-05-01.
External links
[edit]- 1957 American television series debuts
- 1959 American television series endings
- Television series set in the 1900s
- Black-and-white American television shows
- American English-language television shows
- First-run syndicated television programs in the United States
- Television shows set in Arizona
- Television shows filmed in Arizona
- Television series by CBS Studios
- 1950s Western (genre) television series