Laramie (1959–1963)

It is the 1870s in Wyoming Territory. Slim Sherman and his 14-year-old brother Andy try to hang on to their ranch after their father is shot by a land grabber. They augment their slight ... See full summary »

Stars:

John Smith, Robert Fuller, Spring Byington

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
John Smith	...	Slim Sherman (121 episodes, 1959-1963)
Robert Fuller	...	Jess Harper (121 episodes, 1959-1963)
Spring Byington	...	Daisy Cooper (58 episodes, 1961-1963)
Dennis Holmes	...	Mike Williams (57 episodes, 1961-1963)

Storyline

It is the 1870s in Wyoming Territory. Slim Sherman and his 14-year-old brother Andy try to hang on to their ranch after their father is shot by a land grabber. They augment their slight cattle ranch income by serving as a stagecoach station near Laramie.

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Plot Keywords:

ranch | 1870s | wyoming | one word title

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Genres:

Western

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 September 1959 (USA)

Also Known As:

Am Fuß der Blauen Berge

Filming Locations:

Corriganville, Ray Corrigan Ranch, Simi Valley, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Revue Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min 60 min (124 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White (September 1959 - August 1961) Color (September 1961 - September 1963)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The main musical theme, written by Cyril J. Mockridge, also was used as the main theme in the 1945 film, "Thunderhead~Son of Flicka".

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Connections

Referenced in The O'Reilly Factor: Episode dated 8 July 2008 (2008)

User Reviews

Two brothers (John Smith & Robert Crawford) run a ranch near Laramie, Wyoming.

When it first premiered in 1959, Laramie seemed to be shaping up as something a bit different in what had become (quite quickly) the monotonous world of TV westerns, which had more or less degenerated into endless shows about either a loner or a couple of buddies riding the west. Here was an attempt to do something far more intriguing: a focus on two brothers, young Slim (John Smith), the nearest thing that the show had to a conventional lead, and confused kid brother (Robert Crawford, Jr., whose brother Johnny played Chuck Connors' son on the long-run Rifleman series). Their relationship was believable and complex and not quite like anything else on a western at that time, leading to many unexpected and intriguing plots. Also impressive were the two other main characters - Robert Fuller as a rather unpleasant loner who wandered in to the area and was accepted, with qualifications, as part of the group, though the brothers couldn't quite understand his melancholy personality, and Hoagy Charmichael, that wonderful musical star from the big band era, as a strangely cynical and always ironic Greek chorus-like commentator on the action. The show didn't quite take off, had only mediocre ratings, and NBC had to decide to either cancel it or 'reimagine' it. If they had done the latter, this might be recalled as one of those great one-season classics that was too 'different' to survive. Instead, NBC decided to keep it on the air but remove everything that made the show special. So gone were both the little brother and Hoagy; Slim, the conventional lead, was relatively unchanged, and Robert Fuller's "anger" was "toned down" to the point that it didn't really add up to anything any more. The show, now in color, was one more ordinary series about two cool guys riding the west together. If there was anything at all different about it now, that was the addition of Spring Byington as a sweet old lady who cared for them, like the aunt who oversees Batman and Robin in the mansion, though this only brought a 'December Bride' sentimentality to the series. Wouldn't you know it - the moment that the show became more conventional, it picked up in the ratings quite considerably and ran for three more mostly mediocre years.