"Zane Grey Theater" (1956) TV series 1956-1961

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Creators:

Luke Short
Charles A. Wallace

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Release Date:

5 October 1956 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Plot:

An anthology based (earlier moreso than later) on the novels and stories of Zane Grey. Powell was often the star as well as the host.

Plot Keywords:

Anthology

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Dick Powell

...

Himself - Host / ... (60 episodes, 1956-1961)

Also Known As:

"Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater" (USA) (complete title)
"The Westerners" (USA) (rerun title)

Runtime:

30 min (149 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Filming Locations:

Andy Jauregui Ranch - Placerita Canyon Road, Newhall, California, USA

Company:

Four Star Productions

Trivia:

This show was originally developed to be adaptations of short stories and novels by the great Western author Zane Grey. However, the material ran out (the books were far too long for a half-hour show), and later original material was commissioned.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Cleopatra: The Film That Changed Hollywood (2001) (TV)

Episode 21 of Season 2, The Sharpshooter is The Rifleman

Chuck Connors and Johnny Crawford are Lucas and Mark McCain is this excellent half hour western. It was so good they decided to make it a series. Thus "The Rifleman" was born.

This was far better than any subsequent episode of The Rifleman series, which was a bit too "nice" to be realistic.

I cannot recall if McCain's rifle in this Zane Grey episode had the nifty fast-action features of the series' rifle.

I am surprised that there are no other comments on this generally very good western anthology series on TV. It was certainly a popular feature on Friday nights about 60 years ago.

I believe the host, Dick Powell, left the series to host his own hour long Dick Powell Theater on Tuesday nights. This series of individual one hour dramas basically lasted until Powell's death. All of these shows should be issued on DVD while those of us who liked and would buy them are still alive.