User Reviews

THE RIFLEMAN – The Marshal- 1958

Chuck Connors headlines this 1958 to 1963 western series that ran for 168 episodes. Connors is a world class hand with a Winchester rifle. This of course ends up getting him in no end of trouble. This is episode 4 from the first season. It is the first episode that future North Fork, Sheriff, Paul Fix is in.

Chuck Connors, a new resident to the North Fork area rides into town to grab a few supplies. While having a talk with the North Fork, Sheriff, R.G. Armstrong, a drunk is tossed out of the local beer hall. Armstrong and Connors pick the man out of the dirt and offer him a coffee. Armstrong recognizes the drunk as a former top lawman.

The drunk, Paul Fix had lost his nerve and taken to the bottle. Connors offers the man a job building fence. Three squares and a chance to get sober is all that Connors offers him. Fix agrees and is soon at work on Connor's ranch. The hebbie jebbies are soon at work on Fix as he struggles to detox.

While this is going on, three gunmen, James Drury, Robert Wilke and Warren Oates ride into North Fork. Wilke and Oates are brothers looking to settle a several year old score with former lawman, Fix. They have tracked Fix to North Fork and do not plan on leaving till they kill him. The word soon gets around that the brothers are in town to do a killing, so Sheriff Armstrong pays the pair a visit. He however fails to realize that Drury is also part of the group. This costs him his life as Drury shoots the Sheriff in the back.

When Connors hears about the murder, he grabs his rifle and heads to North Fork. The just barely sober Fix likewise heads to town after arming himself with Connors' big twin barrel.

Connors runs into the brothers right off and lead flies with Wilke being knocked flat for the count. Connors collects a round in his side and goes down wounded. When Oates steps up to finish Connors, Fix walks up and blows Oates damn near in half with both barrels of the shotgun. He reloads and then steps out to meet the survivor, Drury. Drury is likewise soon making an express trip to boot hill.

Connors is patched up by the local doc. Fix has regained his self-esteem and takes over as the new town Sheriff.

A neatly done episode with plenty of gun-play involved. Handling the reins on only his second directing assignment is future big time director, Sam Peckinpah. Peckinpah is of course known to all western fans as the man behind, THE WILD BUNCH. Peckinpah received a best Oscar nomination for his screenplay on that film. Peckinpah also wrote the story for this particular television episode.

The look of the episode is quite sharp with two-time Oscar nominated, Pev Marley doing the cinematography.

This episode also was the beginning of the long time collaboration between actor, Warren Oates, and director Peckinpah.

The fourth episode of The Rifleman sets the groundwork for the series' most successful formula. While series creator Sam Peckinpah had written the first two episodes, this is his first dual writing/directing credit. Previously Lucas was a man unto himself, nearly without flaw – but here Peckinpah reveals McCain's flaws of judgment (which leaves him gunned down in the streets of North Fork) but also provides him with his sounding board, ward, protector and BFF - Micah Torrance.

The first step to the formula is to introduce dangerous interlopers to North Fork, in this case the Sheltin brothers – criminals looking to get even with the man who had put them in jail. Next add the dangerous unknown that provides a true threat to Lucas McCain: the Sheltin's leader Lloyd Carpenter, a gunfighter unafraid to shoot down North Fork's Marshall.

This formula puts Lucas in a situation the viewer can reasonably believe he might not get out of – indeed, a situation Lucas barely survives.

The next element, which Peckinpah had previously instilled in the series, is redemption; here it is the redemption of Micah, whose cool demeanor and judgment of character provides redemption for himself and salvation for Lucas.

This episode also intertwines the doings of North Fork, and the town itself, into the script (along with the first appearance of recurring townsfolk: Sweeney the bartender). The first episode had provided a corrupt and unfamiliar North Fork, while the second and third episodes excluded it almost entirely, but the town we would all come to know took its shape in this episode.

Lastly, after some trademark Peckinpah violence, we get sent off with some good 'ole Mark humor. Put all these elements together and we get the structure that the best episodes of Season 1 through Season 4 followed - once the series returned to the softer violence and infallible Lucas of episodes 2 & 3, as it did in Season 5, the series was over.

Sorry - not a review but needed a place to express my pleasant surprise! Besides, there are some really good reviews already posted here. Probably like most ppl around my age(55), i watched a lot of westerns as a kid. Now in my old age i've become a big fan again! Ok, so what i can't believe is that i (re)watched the Rifleman series (i thought?) not too very long ago but somehow only right now am i recognizing all these talented actors that i love! At first i figured it was a fluke when i immediately recognized Leif Erickson as the antagonist in the very first episode. HOW could i have missed him before?! But now i'm realizing it must've been quite a while ago when i last perused the Rifleman series. First, i saw it was RG Armstrong as the (first unfortunate) sheriff. Then simply heard James Drury's voice & knew it was the (lol baby) Virginian! So handsome as always! Very difficult to see him playing a bad guy! : ( Upon further inspection, hey, that's (usually bad guy) Robert J Wilke! I love these guys! I continue paying closer than usual attention and ... OMGOSH! Isn't that ... YES! Super young Warren Oates! He's one of my absolute all time favorites! Not real sure why i felt compelled to tell anyone who reads this how stupid i am (?!) but i guess it's just that now that i finally KNOW how much incredible talent is in this one single episode - and it's only s1 e4 - now i want to share how excited i am to again watch the rest of the series! Geez what other not yet famous actors did i miss?!? Lol i'm about to find out! Join me? ; )

Ps TY so much for taking the time to read my silliness! : ) <3.

Pss WELCOME to the series MICAH TORRENCE aka Paul Fix irl!