The Westerner

1960
The Westerner

Seasons & Episodes

  • 1

EP1 Jeff Sep 30, 1960

Dave is out to kill a man named Danny Lipp, who runs a run down bordertown Saloon. In the End, he leaves after only beating up Danny Lipp.

EP2 School Days Oct 07, 1960

When a man murders a schoolteacher, Dave finds him, and shoots him. But the man still gets away. When Dave finds him, he is dying, with his two brothers by his side. The brothers try to pin his ""murder"" on Dave.

EP3 Brown Oct 21, 1960

A smooth talker ends up with Dave's dog, Brown

EP4 Mrs. Kennedy Oct 28, 1960

Trouble's brewing when Dave is hired to work for a rancher whose wife has eyes for him.

EP5 Dos Pinos Nov 04, 1960

When Dave looks for room and board in a small town, he gets more than his fair share of fun when he learns of the gun happy Cantina named Puak. He also finds a wounded deputy

EP6 The Courting of Libby Nov 11, 1960

Dave courts Libby

EP7 Treasure Nov 18, 1960

Dave and his dog Brown take shelter during a dust storm, and find a bag full of gold coins. But when the prospector who owns the coins comes along, he is anxious to get the gold back from Dave.

EP8 The Old Man Nov 25, 1960

Dave wants his horse and Rifle back after they are stolen by a bunch of land grabbers

EP9 Ghost of a Chance Dec 02, 1960

Dave meets up with a ghost

EP10 Line Camp Dec 09, 1960

Dave and Brown find a dead man on the trail. They take him to a cattle camp, where he meets an old friend of his. But when Daves friend gets drunk and picks a fight with Dave, Dave has no choice to shoot his old friend.

EP11 Going Home Dec 16, 1960

On his way home, Dave sees two women pushing a cart with a adly wounded man inside. Dave helps protect the Trio from the bounty hunters after the $2000 reward out for the man's capture.

EP12 Hand on the Gun Dec 23, 1960

A young man provokes a gunfight between Dave and another cowhand.

EP13 The Painting Dec 30, 1960

When Dave is fired from the ranch, he is hired to track down a very rare and expensive painting. But when Daves friend finds out about it, he tries to snooker it from Dave for considerably less than it is worth.
7.8| 0h30m| NR| en| More Info
Released: 30 September 1960 Ended
Producted By: Four Stars Productions
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Synopsis

The Westerner is an American Western series that aired on NBC from September to December 1960. Created by Sam Peckinpah, the series was produced by Four Star Television. The Westerner stars Brian Keith as Dave Blassingame and features John Dehner as semi-regular Burgundy Smith.

... View More
Stream Online

The movie is currently not available onine

Director

Producted By

Four Stars Productions

Trailers & Images

Reviews

dougdoepke There were so many westerns on TV in 1960 that you could almost smell the phony gunsmoke. Most were forgettably simple-minded tales of good vs.evil, with cardboard characters, predictable outcomes, and no hint of real world complexity. Then along came an anonymous entry on Friday night without the big name stars or glamour of a Wagon Train, Bonanza, or Big Valley and long before the movie-going public had heard of Sam Peckinpah. You had to stumble across the show to even know it was there-- (what little publicity it got dwelled on a gimmick, Keith's 'scoped rifle', which Peckinpah ditched as soon as possible.). Nonetheless, The Westerner, as other reviewers point out, was ground-breaking in its willingness to explore nuance, and bring some realism to that most heavily fictionalized of American genres-- The Cowboy Movie. Instead of the usual cowboy hero as an unbeatable force for good, Bryan Keith's Dave Blassingame is a recognizable human being. He's a cowpoke drifter-- dusty from the trail, who befriends dogs, hookers, and lowlifes, can't read or write, likes to drink and brawl win or lose, and is obviously going nowhere in life. But he has an innate sense of honor that occasionally lifts him above the ordinary. In short, he's one of those rare characters who stands for the rest of us, not as a god, but as a real recognizable human being. It would be a mistake to read too much into the show-- it only lasted 13 weeks. But Peckinpah's willingness to challenge conventions is clearly evident, while the episode titled The Line Camp is as good as any show from that era. In this post-Vietnam period, it may be harder to see what was so special about the series. Still, the episodes wear well and the best are dramas as good now as they were then. I never thought I'd have a chance to share a public salute to what Peckinpah was trying to do, and was never even sure anyone else was watching. The series was simply there one week and gone the next as though it had never existed-- and I never knew why. I think now that the plots and characters were simply too offbeat for the time, and the sponsors and network lost their nerve. But I've never forgotten Dave Blassingame and his big scruffy dog. Thank you, Sam Peckinpah for trying to do something special, and thanks to The Western Channel for reviving this obscure but outstanding series.
barry-mel45 This well done episode of the Westerner with Brian Keith as a laid back cowboy wandering into a Land dispute between a dying old man and his grandson (old man played by that great character actor Sam Jaffe...before Ben Casey fame) against the no good baddies led by that great "heavy" of them all Robert Wilke. It was well acted by all...the old man wouldn't give up his property...Mr. Wilke telling him to give up or die! Brian Keith is as cool as anyone stepping up to help the old man and his grandson...incidentally originally the baddies stole his horse and "Blassingame" was trying to get even! Very well-acted episode of this rarely seen series from 1960-61. I'm glad the western channel has resurrected this old gem of a series from Sam Peckinpah.
Mister-UHF I've seen just two episodes of this series. In one, the hero drifted into a place that turned out to be a viper's nest. I don't remembered much about the plot, but the photography and suspense were excellent.The other was set during a town's Independence Day celebration. The dude played by John Dehner, quite tipsy, offers the hero an amount for his dog. He declines. One takes a swing and they spend the rest of the episode trying to fight amidst marching bands, dancing girls, etc. It was supposed to be funny, but instead was painfully boring.One could say that these episodes reflected Peckinpah's work in general: either great or awful, with little in between.
lone-3 One of the most unusual and sophisticated westerns for its time or any other. Those who have seen it (I was able to see all thirteen episodes in Peckinpah festival in NYC at Walter Reade Theatre) will know how revealing it is about Peckinpah and his developing film technique, and just how plain entertaining it is. Brian Keith is so watchable that it makes you regret the fact he spent so many years doing Family Affair where he was mostly catatonic. If there is any way of getting this series onto home video, I would love to join forces with anyone who had an idea of how to bring this about.