Laramie (TV Series) Stage Stop (1959) User Reviews

Where it all began

[sallybahnsen · 9/10 · 15 April 2013]

This episode sets up the scene and informs the viewer as to what Laramie is about. The information is cleverly woven into the dialogue by the writers so we are able to see a basic back story to some of the characters and why they are in the situation they are in. In this episode we meet the heroes of the show Slim Sherman (played by John Smith) and Jess Harper (Robert Fuller). If you've come this far then you probably have some idea of what Laramie is about. Slim Sherman inherits his ranch after his parents die. He lives there with his younger brother Andy (Robert Crawford Jr.) and a family friend Jonesy (Hoagy Carmichael). There lives are disrupted by the arrival of a drifter, Jess Harper. And while things do not start out smoothly for this unlikely pair, this is the start of what will become a strong friendship forged between the two men. I love this episode because it is the beginning of a great TV show that was first aired back in 1959 and is still going strong now, 53 years later, amongst its die-hard fans. The two main characters are quite different but there is a special bond between them that grows and strengthens over the four seasons. It's the kind of friendship that I think we would all like to have at one time or another. If you like action, drama, humour and a good dose of old-fashioned values, then I can not recommend this TV show highly enough. I think it has something for everyone, a show the whole family can enjoy.

Jess Harper comes to Sherman Station

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 28 November 2017]

The first meeting between Slim Sherman and Jess Harper ain't a friendly one in this inaugural episode of Laramie. That's because it is rumored that notorious outlaw Dan Duryea is around and looking to free one of his men, John Mitchum from the Laramie jail. In fact Mitchum is the person that Robert Fuller is also looking to settle a score with.

Young Robert Crawford, Jr. takes a liking to Fuller right away. But it takes a bit of warming up for John Smith to do so. When both go after Duryea and his men they find they work well together.

As Bogey said to Claude Rains this was the start of a beautiful friendship. And Jess Harper finds a home.

Slim and Jess Form a Lasting Friendship

[csmith-99615 · 9/10 · 27 April 2020]

Sometimes it's fun to watch the pilot episode long after you'd seen several later entries. As you would expect Slim and Jess did not hit it off right away. Pretty much the opposite although by the end of the show you could definitely see the " beginning of a great friendship". My only problem here Was The instant attraction that young Andy had towards Jess. Within five minutes of meeting him he was begging Jess to partner up with him. Even though it was 1959 it was kinda creepy. The role of Andy was eventually written out the next season. All and all a very good pilot episode that propelled the series into a successful four year run.

Question About This Episode

[bcrd500 · 10/10 · 24 December 2015]

I did not watch Laramie much when it was on TV in the late 1950s-early 1960s but viewing it on Encore Westerns it easy to see why it was popular.

One question that I have not been able to find on the internet is why the first episode (this one) is in color but NBC filmed the next two seasons in black and white? Another question which applies to all the 1960s western series is why most of them (Virginian, Bonanza, etc) use all of the main characters in the first year and then slowly begin having episodes featuring one or two (multi-character co-stars) and rarely bringing the entire cast back for an episode.

Bonanza and Virginian were the most guilty but Laramie rarely had episodes in seasons 3 and 4 featured Smith and Fuller for the entire episode rather than all the characters together at the beginning or end of episode.

To bcrd500

[Justcantstopthemovies · 10/10 · 3 June 2022]

This is the pilot episode and was filmed in color for the studio executives to view. Once it was picked up to a series it was filmed in black and white because very few homes had color televisions. It wasn't until the mid 1960's that enough homes had color televisions to start filming everything in color.

terrible for an opener

[sandcrab277 · 8/10 · 11 November 2020]

Guest star dan duryea is pathetic as usual trying to be the outlaw tough and gordon jones and john mitchum are pretty much the same ... robert fuller demonstrates why this series becomes a favorite and john smith has a new friend

Sorry but i had to tell someone ..

[davislaurie · 9/10 · 14 July 2023]

Sorry not a review - just a comment. Lol i'm alone & feel compelled to share my stupidity with someone .. who better than Laramie fans?! No good reason why but i had never watched Laramie. Happened to see a still shot of the boy (Andy) starring in the series & thought "that looks like Mark McCain from the Rifleman!" .. let the idiocy commence! Instead of immediately checking IMDb for Laramie, i watched this first episode - & drove myself INSANE - "that IS Mark! No way, it's not. Wait, weren't Laramie & the Rifleman filmed around the same time? Was he acting in both?! But i watched Johnny Crawford grow up on the Rifleman - did he do Laramie after that?? Hmmn .. same hair, same voice, same face - almost." FINALLY i thought to check Laramie cast (Andy - Robert Crawford) NAH that's not him, omG i STILL didn't put it all together! UGH! So this is reminding me of an episode of Bewitched starring a boy who seemed just like Jerry Mathers (the Beav) but it was actually his little brother James ... OOOOOHHH!! .. don't worry, even "i" cannot believe how dumb i can be. Anyhoo, i did watch the episode, thought it was great & i will be binging the series now!

Ps Pretty sure that one big reason i was sure it had to be Johnny Crawford on Laramie was because he was such a wonderful young actor, surely there couldn't be two?? But there were! His name is Robert Crawford & he was a terrific actor too!

An attractive introduction to what would be a good series

[kitteninbritches · 9/10 · 22 February 2024]

As previous reviewers have described, this sets the scene for the whole series, introducing us to the cast as it would stand for season 1. Slim and his young brother Andy, plus Jonesy the elderly friend of their father, and Jess Harper, the newcomer to the ranch who would make his home there. The main relationship, between Slim and Jess, begins with some antipathy which becomes a growing friendship during their first adventure together overcoming the bad guys. It's a rapid process (of necessity, given the 48 or so minutes it's told in) beginning with Slim first of all trying to kick Jess off his land, and later off the ranch and ending with him offering Jess a job and place to stay. The beginning of a beautiful friendship as an earlier reviewer has quoted, though the relationship wasn't without its rocky moments as the series went on. However the bond between these two very different but complementary characters proved unbreakable and it was this relationship the series was built on. I don't remember any other western of the period being structured in quite the same way. I think it was the main part of its appeal. However I did wonder why Jess initially stopped at the Sherman ranch after his prickly encounter with Slim and why Andy took such a fancy to him. And why he thought teaching a young boy how people cheated at cards would be regarded as desirable!