[.ca] Rawhide: Season 1

Head 'em up, and Move 'em out again!:
Ah, teeny lass time! When I came to visit my cousins they were always on about Mr. Favor. They would drag out the cap-pistols and stick horses and play Rawhide. No one wanted be Rowdy Yates. They always forced my younger brother David to play Rowdy and he'd cry. Everyone wanted to be Mr. Favor. Handsome, sexy voiced Eric Fleming was a star on the rise. We saw him in various Sci-Fi flicks in the 50s like that horrid thing with Zaa-Zaa as Queen of Outer Space, and some nifty who dun its, but it was as Ms. Favor he was rising to the top. Hard to recall gravelly-voiced Eastwood was considered a wimp! Favor was filming a flick in the Amazon during summer break and drowned. Hollywood lost a rising star and Rawhide lost Mr. Favor, dooming the series. It lumbered on with Rowdy taking over as trail boss for a time, only the series lack the force without the dominating presence of Fleming. It would be curious if we could turn back time and alter events--one wonders if Eastwood would have finally come out of Fleming's shadow and become the superstar he did had Fleming not died. The series ran for 8 years, and holds up well. There were so many westerns during this period, and when you go back to view them, they are sadly quite dated. NOT Rawhide. The strength of the acting, the vision of the producers and directors, kept Rawhide popular back then, but also gives you stories which stands the test of time. Rawhide dates like a fine wine. You also have the treat of see fading stars and up and coming stars in the stories. It just doesn't get any better than this.

Clint Eastwood is the real star of this series:
For all those Clint Eastwood fans out there! It's amazing that he was so 'craggy' even when he was 'just a kid!' This is a great show to watch, even after all these years. They tackled some touchy issues, including a very sympathetic view of the plains Indians (at least sympathetic for the day). The intro evolves over the course of the series to show different scenes, but the music & song remain unchanged. Rowdy Yates (Eastwood) is excellent in his role, a naive young man with a good heart and sense of right and wrong, while still being willing to get 'talked into things' on occasion. All the regular characters are stereotypical, but played out well by the actors. The sound stage sets are well dressed and are quite convincing. The outdoor scenes really do make you suspend your disbelief and let you see into the hardships of the people who lived and work along the trail that these cowhands traveled. All the central actors are excellent horseman &/or ride well at least (of course, the horses are actors too). And, the stuntwork is well done and 'believable.' Very enjoyable for 8 year-olds and older. (A bit too much for those toddlers and very young kiddies to grasp or appreciate.) All in all, a very collectible series. Can hardly wait for the second half of season two to be issued.