The meat pie Western financed by Americans set in Australia with Peter Graves running a stagecoach. Not a bad idea and not a bad series. Fascinating for Australians.
"Solid Gold Brigade" - the first episode filmed, apparently. Written by Don Ingalls. For a meat pie Western there's a lot of scenes on the coast. Graves is body surfing on the way to Fury Creek when he's shot and left for dead by villain John Gray who impersonates him. Gray kills a lot of people - like about five or something. Decent ep. Lots of scenes by the beach. Aussie miners try to lynch Graves.
"The Actress" - the opening bit plays tribute to Oz actors like Judith anderson, Merle Oberon, Errol Flynn and Peter Finch. There's strolling playes. Graves has a girlfriend played by Cherie Butlin. Written by Gene Rodenberry. Jennifer Jayne is an actress Lew Luton a bushranger. I liked the parallels between bushranging and acting that are drawn - they could have more fun with the strolling players. There's another attempted lynching here. I did like how the girl realised she wanted to be an actor and didn't go off with the guy.
"Episode in Bathurst" - three brothers take over Bathurst and run riot. The brothers are Texan and this feels very American with outlaws running riot and it being unconvincingly explained that the constabulary is away. There's a shoot out between Graves and Richard Meikle with Graves wins via the help of a nearby boomerang hanging on a wall! There's a final shoot out in the main street of town... where Graves uses a whip to smack the gun out of his hands which feels awfully risky for a strategy. Joe McCormick is a decent baddy. It's cool to hear Aussie accents.
"The Other Side of the Swan" - Graves is asked to look for the brother of the governor of Victoria who is wanted for murder. Nigel Lovell is in this. And Reg Lye and Margo Lee.
"Convict Town" - an intriguing set up... Alex Cann runs a small township of ex convicts. His son Dan wants a new life and leaves the town... Dan became a regular on the show. Not a terribly dynamic actor but not bad. It's a decent ep, very American in feel but at least it pays attention to Australia's convict past.
"Rider on the Hill" - this is such a violent show... in the first few minutes bushrangers cause Peter Graves' coach to crash and he shoots dead two bushrangers. Graves is then sent a death stick from the "abos". There's an aboriginal actor in the cast. Delia Williams was the girl. Gordon Glenwright is one of the guys. This is actually a well plotted decent story - there's plenty going on. It's treatment of aboriginality is a little ripe, to put it politely, but at least it is there.
No comments:
Post a Comment