"Wanted: Dead or Alive" (1958) TV series 1958-1961

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3

Release Date:

6 September 1958 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Plot:

A Civil War veteran with a sawed-off rifle as a holstered weapon makes a living as a bounty hunter in the Wild West of the 1870s.

Plot Keywords:

Bounty Hunter | Cult TV | Anti Hero | Gunslinger | Warrior

Cast

Steve McQueen

...

Josh Randall (94 episodes, 1958-1961)

Series Directed by
Thomas Carr		(26 episodes, 1958-1960)
Don McDougall		(24 episodes, 1958-1960)
Murray Golden		(10 episodes, 1960-1961)
George Blair		(10 episodes, 1960)
Harry Harris		(9 episodes, 1960-1961)
Richard Donner		(6 episodes, 1960-1961)
R.G. Springsteen		(5 episodes, 1959)
Arthur Hilton		(2 episodes, 1960)

Series Writing credits
Norman Katkov		(14 episodes, 1960-1961)
Ed Adamson		(12 episodes, 1960-1961)
D.D. Beauchamp		(9 episodes, 1959-1960)
John Robinson		(8 episodes, 1958-1960)
Mary M. Beauchamp		(8 episodes, 1959-1960)
Don Brinkley		(6 episodes, 1958-1960)
Fred Freiberger		(6 episodes, 1958-1960)
John Tomerlin		(4 episodes, 1959-1960)
David Lang		(3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Samuel A. Peeples		(3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Ray Buffum		(3 episodes, 1959)
Wells Root		(2 episodes, 1958-1960)
Tony Barrett		(2 episodes, 1958-1959)
Ellis Marcus		(2 episodes, 1958-1959)
Frank D. Gilroy		(2 episodes, 1958)
Christopher Knopf		(2 episodes, 1958)
Tom Gries		(2 episodes, 1959-1960)
Charles Beaumont		(2 episodes, 1959)
Robert Leslie Bellem		(2 episodes, 1959)
Richard H. Landau		(2 episodes, 1959)

Series Produced by
John Robinson	....	producer (68 episodes, 1958-1960)
Ed Adamson	....	producer (26 episodes, 1960-1961)

Series Original Music by
Rudy Schrager		(58 episodes, 1959-1961)

Series Cinematography by
Guy Roe		(30 episodes, 1958-1959)
Frank G. Carson		(13 episodes, 1960-1961)
Harry J. Wild		(12 episodes, 1959-1960)
Charles Burke		(11 episodes, 1958-1961)
Gordon Avil		(6 episodes, 1960-1961)
George E. Diskant		(4 episodes, 1958-1961)
Howard Schwartz		(4 episodes, 1959-1960)
Glen MacWilliams		(4 episodes, 1959)
Carl E. Guthrie		(3 episodes, 1959)
Buddy Harris		(2 episodes, 1958)
Stanley Cortez		(2 episodes, 1960)

Series Film Editing by
Lyle Boyer		(10 episodes, 1959-1961)
Desmond Marquette		(9 episodes, 1958-1961)
Lester Orlebeck		(9 episodes, 1958-1959)
Arthur Hilton		(6 episodes, 1958-1960)
Sherman Todd		(6 episodes, 1958-1959)
Frank Sullivan		(6 episodes, 1959-1961)
J. Frank O'Neill		(5 episodes, 1959-1961)
Chandler House		(5 episodes, 1959-1960)
Edward A. Biery		(5 episodes, 1960-1961)
Ellsworth Hoagland		(4 episodes, 1959)
Elbert K. Hollingsworth		(4 episodes, 1960-1961)
Samuel E. Beetley		(3 episodes, 1958-1960)
Joseph Silver		(3 episodes, 1958)
Harry Marker		(3 episodes, 1959-1961)
Jerry Young		(3 episodes, 1960)
Milton Shifman		(2 episodes, 1959-1960)
Fred MacDowell		(2 episodes, 1959)
Robert B. Hoover		(2 episodes, 1960)
Jack Wheeler		(2 episodes, 1960)

Series Casting by
Marjory McKay		(90 episodes, 1958-1961)
Harvey Clermont		(3 episodes, 1958)
Marvin Schnall		(3 episodes, 1958)

Series Art Direction by
Bill Ross		(94 episodes, 1958-1961)
Jan Van Tamelen		(34 episodes, 1959-1961)
Edward C. Jewell		(16 episodes, 1959-1960)
William Glasgow		(10 episodes, 1960)
Russell C. Forrest		(4 episodes, 1961)
Frank T. Smith		(3 episodes, 1958-1961)
Edward L. Ilou		(3 episodes, 1959)

Series Set Decoration by
Chester L. Bayhi		(73 episodes, 1958-1961)
Budd Friend		(32 episodes, 1958-1959)
Robert C. Bradfield		(15 episodes, 1959-1960)
Frank Wade		(11 episodes, 1960-1961)
John Burton		(8 episodes, 1960-1961)
Patrick Delany		(7 episodes, 1959-1961)
Anthony D. Nealis		(6 episodes, 1960)
Alfred Kegerris		(3 episodes, 1959)
Glen Daniels		(2 episodes, 1960)

Series Makeup Department
Carlie Taylor	....	makeup artist (84 episodes, 1958-1961)
Karl Herlinger	....	makeup artist (5 episodes, 1958-1959)

Series Production Management
Jack Sonntag	....	production supervisor / production manager (71 episodes, 1959-1961)
Lloyd Allen	....	production manager (26 episodes, 1960-1961)
Norman S. Powell	....	production manager / unit manager (24 episodes, 1959-1960)
Don Torpin	....	production manager (3 episodes, 1960)

Series Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Barry Crane	....	assistant director (16 episodes, 1958-1959)
Grayson Rogers	....	assistant director (12 episodes, 1958-1959)
Mike Salamunovich	....	assistant director (11 episodes, 1959-1961)
Howard Joslin	....	assistant director (5 episodes, 1959)
Cy Brooskin	....	assistant director (4 episodes, 1959-1961)
Lloyd Allen	....	assistant director (4 episodes, 1959)
Edward O. Denault	....	assistant director (4 episodes, 1960-1961)
Mike Moder	....	assistant director (4 episodes, 1960-1961)
John C. Chulay	....	assistant director (4 episodes, 1960)
Bruce Fowler Jr.	....	assistant director (3 episodes, 1958-1959)
Robert Vreeland	....	assistant director (3 episodes, 1959-1960)
Nathan Barragar	....	assistant director (3 episodes, 1960-1961)
Marty Moss	....	assistant director (3 episodes, 1960-1961)
Don Torpin	....	assistant director (3 episodes, 1960)
William A. Calihan Jr.	....	assistant director (2 episodes, 1959-1960)
William D. Faralla	....	assistant director (2 episodes, 1959)
Bob White	....	assistant director (2 episodes, 1960-1961)
Harry R. Sherman	....	assistant director (2 episodes, 1960)
Ray Taylor Jr.	....	assistant director (2 episodes, 1960)

Series Art Department
Harold W. Johnson	....	property master (4 episodes, 1958-1959)

Series Sound Department
Albert E. Kennedy	....	sound effects (27 episodes, 1959-1960)
Verna Fields	....	sound effects (25 episodes, 1960-1961)
Stephen Bass	....	sound (24 episodes, 1959-1961)
James Graham	....	sound effects (23 episodes, 1958-1959)
Woodruff H. Clarke	....	sound (18 episodes, 1960-1961)
Bernard Freericks	....	sound (16 episodes, 1958-1959)
Don Rush	....	sound (14 episodes, 1959)
Earl Gille	....	sound (7 episodes, 1958-1959)
Norval D. Crutcher	....	sound effects (4 episodes, 1959)
Earl Snyder	....	sound (4 episodes, 1960)
Alfred Bruzlin	....	sound (2 episodes, 1958)
Tommy Thompson	....	sound (2 episodes, 1959-1961)
W.D. Flick	....	sound (2 episodes, 1959)
Clarence Peterson	....	sound (2 episodes, 1960)

Series Stunts
Carol Daniels	....	stunts (8 episodes, 1959-1960)
Jack N. Young	....	stunts (3 episodes, 1958-1959)

Series Costume and Wardrobe Department
Robert B. Harris	....	wardrobe (91 episodes, 1958-1961)
Robert L. Wolfe	....	wardrobe (2 episodes, 1958)

Series Editorial Department
Bernard W. Burton	....	editorial supervisor (72 episodes, 1958-1960)
Samuel E. Beetley	....	editorial supervisor (22 episodes, 1960-1961)

Series Music Department
Herschel Burke Gilbert	....	music supervisor (58 episodes, 1959-1961)
Aubrey C. Lind	....	music editor (52 episodes, 1959-1961)
Harry King	....	music supervisor (36 episodes, 1958-1959)

Series Other crew
Frank Baur	....	production executive (36 episodes, 1958-1959)
Richard Michaels	....	script supervisor (2 episodes, 1960)

Production Companies

• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS)
• Four Star Productions
• Malcolm Enterprises

Distributors

• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1958-1961) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Super Channel (2001) (Japan) (TV)
• BCI Eclipse (2007) (USA) (DVD) (seasons two & three)
• Universal Pictures Finland Oy (2007) (Finland) (DVD)
• Mill Creek Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD) (season two)
• Mill Creek Entertainment (2010) (USA) (DVD) (complete series)
• Mill Creek Entertainment (2010) (USA) (DVD) (season three)
• Echo Records Direct (????) (USA) (DVD)
• Lonestar (????) (Canada) (TV)
• WoWow (????) (Japan) (TV)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

30 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | USA:Approved | Finland:K-18 (self applied) (DVD) (2007) | Australia:G (some episodes) | Australia:PG (some episodes)

Filming Locations:

Apacheland Studios - 4369 S. Kings Ranch Road, Gold Canyon, Arizona, USA

Company:

Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS)

Trivia:

Initially, the creators of the series had a hard time selling the show because bounty hunters were thought to be unsavory characters and have been portrayed as such in numerous western shows and movies. The creators overcame this obstacle by having Josh Randall give most, sometimes ALL, of his earnings to help people such as the families of people murdered by the men Randall brings in, thus making Randall a sympathetic and likable character.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Hollywood Mouth 2 (2013)

Great fun despite the impossibilities/improbabilities

I'm just old enough to remember when Wanted Dead or Alive was first run, when I first went to the show to see The Magnificent Seven, and when I first realized Steve McQueen was on his way to being a "star".

I received the boxed set of the first season of this groundbreaking show this past Christmas and have been having great fun with it ever since. McQueen is the real star of the show, honing his craft for later career moves, with the truly offbeat story lines and resolutions coming in a close second.

Forget that it's 1877, he was in the Union Army in 1864, which would make him 8-10 years older than his real age at the time. Forget that his sawed off Winchester 1892 didn't exist in this time frame, that it fired short pistol ammunition like .44-40 and possibly .45 Colt, that it couldn't possibly accept the long .30-30 cartridges on his belt that weren't developed until the Winchester 1894 came along. In the first episode he has to bury a murdered doctor and he pulls a U.S. military shovel circa 1944 from under his saddle. While he puts 19th century cuffs on some prisoners, ties some with rope, on one occasion he puts old fashioned leg irons on a prisoner's hands, way too dangerous and way too stupid for a pro like Josh Randall. In a feat too fantastic to believe, an outlaw takes away his sawed off Winchester and removes the firing pin without the aid of tools and without so much as removing the bolt from the receiver. Of course there's also that sawed off rifle of his that sometimes has a D-ring on the lever and sometimes a teardrop ring, a gun barrel that changes from round to hexagon, and a gun barrel that always has a bigger bore than the .30 caliber slug in a .30-30 shell. And let's not forget that the outdoor scenes seldom match the geography of the story lines and that more times than not they use the same western street sound stage for towns ranging from Wyoming to Arizona to Texas with just the store front names changing! All this in just the first half of the first season. LOL

The show is all about watching McQueen, watching the offbeat stories that sometimes beg for more time for storytelling, and watching for all the goofs. It's great fun and well worth the time even 50 years later!