Over the years, a great many movies have suffered from how they’re seen on TV — incomplete, beat-up, pan-and-scan prints (sometimes not even in color as they once were). That mistreatment eventually impacts the film’s overall reputation, as TV became how entire generations experienced older movies. (Right now, I’m thinking of how awful the Regalscope pictures have looked since they left theaters. Thank goodness for DVD and Blu-ray.)
I think TV shows have suffered a similar fate over the years, with faded prints hacked to bits to make room for more commercials. The Rebel (1959-61), now that we have the new set from Timeless Media Group, illustrates my point.
The Rebel follows Johnny Yuma (Nick Adams), a restless young Confederate veteran after the Civil War. With nothing to return to (we learn in the first episode that his lawman father’s dead), he “wanders the West” for 76 episodes — getting pulled into various situations as he rides from town to town in search of peace.
Nick Adams is very good as Yuma, bringing the right mix of intensity and sensitivity to the part. He’s believable as a young man who’d beat the crap out of a guy, then write about it in his journal. It could’ve come off terribly. Like so many of these 5os Western TV shows, the supporting cast each week is incredible. The first episode alone features Strother Martin, Dan Blocker and John Carradine. And over the run of the show, you’ll also find Claude Akins, Robert Blake, Elisha Cook, Jr., Royal Dano, John Dehner, Jack Elam, Virginia Gregg, L.Q. Jones, George Macready, Patricia Medina, Agnes Moorehead, Leonard Nimoy, Warren Oates, Paul Picerni, Tex Ritter, Soupy Sales, Bob Steele, Peggy Stewart, Robert Vaughn, Yvette Vickers and Marie Windsor. Adams’ wife Carole Nugent is terrific in an early episode. Johnny Cash is in one, too.
Producer Andrew J. Fenady (from a good interview here): “We would shoot one day on location. Vasquez Rocks, and a lot in Thousand Oaks. And the second day we would shoot on the lot — the (western) street at Paramount. The third day we would do the interiors, whether it was someone’s house, or a shack, or a hotel or a jail. A sheriff’s office. So that was really the formula: first day out, second day on the street, and the third day interiors.”
About half the episodes were directed by Irvin Kirshner. He does a good job, to be sure, but there’s nothing in this to indicate that this is the guy who’d eventually direct The Empire Strikes Back (1980), maybe the last truly epic film I can remember. The size of the screen was obviously not an issue for him. Bernard L. Kowalski, Bernard McEveety, Robbert Ellis Miller and Frank Baur handled the rest.
Some episodes were transferred from slightly worn 16mm prints with changeover cues punched in them here and there; others look like a million bucks. What’s important is that The Rebel, The Complete Series gives us all 76 episodes, complete. Johnny Cash’s vocals have been restored to the titles (the theme was replaced for syndication, which is how we’ve been seeing and hearing it for years). While the quality varies from episode to episode, and 16mm can be a little soft, to have them all looking this good is a revelation. There are plenty of extras, from interviews to stills to commercials — even the pilot for the proposed companion series The Yank. This is a good set, and a good show, ready to be rediscovered. Highly recommended.
Thanks for this, Toby. I’ve read comments here on this series before and it’s good to hear it’s looking pretty good overall.
I am a big fan of all three of Andrew J. Fenady’s series (THE REBEL, BRANDED, HONDO; in fact, I’m doing a HONDO episode guide on my blog as a continuing feature) and am really glad to see this classic finally coming out in proper form. Just great news. MeTV is airing it on Saturday mornings.
I’ve seen episodes on Youtube — enough to know that I would be very interested in a complete set that looked fairly good. I’ve always liked Adams — even in his Toho pictures! I recently saw the first episode and was shocked to see Carradine in it for just a few minutes — these 50s westerns were a bonanza (no pun intended) for character players.
I pre-ordered THE REBEL from Amazon, having missed the slightly cheaper pre-order price importcds had for awhile. Not having the Cash vocal might have been a deal breaker for me, but on the other hand even the famous Warner TV westerns didn’t use the vocals on their series theme song every season.
Amazon has finally started carrying the Timeless Media release of TOMBSTONE TERRITORY: The Complete Series. It was a Walmart in-store exclusive for two years and also available at the Timeless site.
Yes, I was recently able to now order the complete ‘TOMBSTONE TERRITORY’ series though Timeless would not mail outside the USA (I worked round that). It’s terrific and recommended.
“TOMBSTONE TERRITORY’ still remains my favorite TV western. But why, after watching TV westerns for 40 years do I still confuse Mort Mills with Robert Wilke? And if that isn’t frustrating enough, it’s nothing compared to time and again confusing Virginia Christine with Virginia Gregg. Aaaargh!!
I had a fun time last night, I watched the next YANCY DERRINGER episode and it featured none other than Nick Adams as a Russian (with over done accent) royalty type guy. First I wasn’t sure if it was Nick or not then the closer I looked I could tell it was Nick under the make up. Good show.
To Bob G, the original Johnny Cash vocal theme to The Rebel IS on the commercially available Rebel set. I had the Rebel on DVD already but mine all have the lousy replacement theme syndicated TV used. So I’ve got to get the new commercial set too, just to hear Cash on each episode the way it was meant. The Cash theme is available on CD though.
Thanks for this review, Toby! This is high on my wish list and I plan to pick it up soon when I’m back in the States later this month. Good to hear the transfers are pretty good. Also planning to get LAWMAN season one and THE DAKOTAS from Warner Archive.
Thanks Johnny G, I knew that. I guess my sentence structure was ambiguous.
Hey, Jeff F, LAWMAN: The Complete Season Two is said to be coming August 25, 2015.
LAWMAN is one of my absolute favourites of the classic TV western series. It was well-made, the stories were taut and tense and John Russell was terrific as Marshal Dan Troop, perhaps in much the same competent way that Eric Fleming played Gil Favor. Those performances stand up so well today.