I haven't seen an episode of Cheyenne since I was nine years old, and I'm well over fifty now. Mostly what I remember about it was its horrendous violence: shootings, beatings, hangings, Indian tortures, and any amount of deliberate mayhem. This was very strong stuff, and every bit as violent as modern TV shows.
What this show had going for it was Clint Walker, who may well have been the most astonishing looking human being ever to appear in front of a camera. I have seen very few professional athletes who were bigger and stronger, but none who were as handsome. Walker, whom I've seen in other movies, was also at least competent as an actor, even though he was hired on the basis of his striking good looks. He was at least as good as the young Clint Eastwood, and far superior to the truly appalling Arnold Schwarzenegger.
An interesting fact about Walker is that he once fell on an upturned ski pole, whose point pierced his heart. He pulled the pole from his chest and walked down the ski hill. He survived and is still alive in 2006. You couldn't invent somebody like this in a movie and have people believe it.
