Wichita Town 1959 T.V. Series colourized season 1 episode 5: Drifting

Wichita Town was a 1959 T.V. series with Joel McCrea (Known for the western movies The Tall Stranger, The Stranger On Horseback, and Wichita ) playing the part of Marshal Mike Dunbar and Jody McCrea (His son) playing the part of his deputy Ben Matheson, as they maintain law and order in the ruff 'N' tumble town of Wichita.
Click the link below to check out where I downloaded this episode.
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[@BarryBakwy]

Thank God for these old westerns Todays programs just don't have what it takes

[@martincull4914]

Joel McCrea is my favourite western hero…..many great westerns that I never tire of watching. Sent

[@RealClassics277]

Yep, when it comes to western movies him and john wayne are about as good as it gets.

[@abigailjames935]

Great show and actors. Enjoyed greatly

[@Franklin-pc3xd]

Agreed - he had pretty formidable cattle operation in Ventura County California as I understand. Among his many great performances, I enjoyed him as the Texas Ranger in the radio series.

[@maskedmarauder3278]

Forgiveness is what we give to others so that we may heal.

[@georgezayer2934]

Good character actors ...Nice disloque with good dtory line...

[@soniafajardo2366]

Great actor joell😊😊

[@tommysfather]

Joel McCrea was one of the best Western actors, but he was also very good in other genres. such as comedic and drama. He married actress Francis Dee and was his life long spouse. He was one of the very few actors that I would have liked to have a sit-down conversation with.

[@Baskerville22]

John Larch plays the stranger, Gant. Jody McCrae (Joel's son) plays Ben Matheson. L,Q. Jones as Walter. John McIntire as Frank Matheson I had the thought that maybe Joel McCrae agreed to do this TV series in order to help his son get a start in the industry. The near-absence of Joel in this episode, and the main role played by his son, tends to confirm my heory....though this is the first i've see of the Wichita Town series.

[@actionsub]

True, McCrea had avoided TV for years, not wanting to be tied down. Dick Powell had initially approached him in the early 50s to be one of the operating partners in his "Four Star" television venture, something Joel declined as he preferred films. (Four Star was involved in the production of this series, however.) Joel and his co-producer Walter Mirisch had been trying to get this series on the air for four years. This started out as a TV adaptation of Joel McCrea's 1955 film "Wichita", in which he played Wyatt Earp. Jody had also played a bit role in that film. That said, Jody was moderately established as an actor by the time the "Wichita Town" series hit the air; the concept of father and son being the two series leads was a bit of an innovation, though. What really sent Jody's career into another gear was his appearances in the "Beach Party" series of movies, where he found more of a voice as a comic actor. There was already one "Wyatt Earp" TV series at the time along with a host of Westerns with similar concepts (ex. "Gunsmoke"), so McCrea and Mirisch went back and regrouped a bit, changing the character names, etc. with this being the final result. This was an unusual episode of the series in that Jody carried the episode; Joel took the lead in the majority of episodes.

[@Baskerville22]

@@actionsub Thanks for that background. I'm afraid that they don't make Western stars today like Joel, Randolph, John Wayne & Jimmy Stewart.

[@joselopezmoya9786]

I NEVER KNEW THAT JOEL McCREA STARRED IN ANY WESTERN T.V. SERIES.

[@actionsub]

This one was lost in the surplus of Western TV shows in the 59-60 TV season and buried in a bad time slot during its network run.

[@exDFAcharliesmith9035]

Any of you ever listen to Joel on the radio westerns, the Texas rangers ? Good radio program.

[@edwardgoering1237]

Well JD ,s voice

[@zackschooley5858]

😀👍🏼

[@lazyk8262]

Aloha

[@RealClassics277]

Aloha

[@tomcowley1682]

Not a patch on his dad

[@RealClassics277]

Agreed, his acting is best for side characters, though I think he became kinda popular in some beach movies later on, so maybe this just wasn't his genre, but your right at the end of the day he definitely can't hold a candle to old J. McCrea

[@vc5232]

Leave these great movies Black and White 👎🏼

[@exDFAcharliesmith9035]

What a rip off@ Joel McCrea 2 minutes in this movie !!

[@RealClassics277]

LOL, ya bit of a bummer that he wasn't in this episode more, but I guess this episode was more for the son.

[@jacktheglide9411]

Wrong! 😑 the kid was good.