Laredo (TV series)

Laredo is an American Western television series that aired on NBC from 1965–67, starring Neville Brand, William Smith, Peter Brown, and Philip Carey as Texas Rangers. It is set on the Mexican border about Laredo in Webb County in south Texas. The program presented fifty-six episodes in color. It was produced by Universal Television. The series has a comedic element, but, like another NBC series that premiered in 1965, The Wackiest Ship in the Army, it was an hour in length, had no laugh track, and characters were not infrequently killed in it, thus going against three unofficial rules for sitcoms at the time.

Laredo
Title card
Genre	Western
Starring	Neville Brand William Smith Peter Brown Philip Carey
Theme music composer	Russell Garcia
Composer(s)	Stanley Wilson
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	56
Production
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	60 minutes
Production company(s)	Universal Television
Distributor	MCA TV
Release
Original network	NBC
Audio format	Monaural
Original release	September 16, 1965 (1965-09-16) – April 7, 1967 (1967-04-07)
Chronology
Related shows	The Virginian

The pilot episode of Laredo aired on NBC's The Virginian under the title, "We've Lost a Train" (April 21, 1965; Season 3, Episode 30). In 1969, the pilot was released theatrically under the title Backtrack. Three episodes from the first season of the series were edited into the 1968 feature film Three Guns for Texas.[1]

Synopsis

Laredo combines action and humor with the focus on three fictitious Texas Rangers. Ranger Reese Bennett (Neville Brand) is older than his two partners, Chad Cooper (Peter Brown) and Joe Riley (William Smith). Reese was previously an officer of the Union Army during the American Civil War. Originally from New Orleans, Chad was in the Border Patrol during the war, and joined the Rangers to search for gunrunners who had ambushed fellow border patrolmen. Joe was a gunfighter who was at times on the wrong side of the law. He joined the Rangers to obtain protection from a sheriff. Chad and Joe tease Reese about his "advanced" age: he was in his forties.

The three Rangers are led by the stern and disciplined Captain Edward Parmalee (Philip Carey). The character of Ranger Erik Hunter (Robert Wolders) joined the others in the second season as Erik Hunter, while Ranger Cotton Buckmeister (Claude Akins) worked with Reese and the others in five episodes.

Peter Brown recalled that the producers of the show wanted the three stars to have the same relationship and camaraderie as did the stars of Gunga Din, and had Brand, Brown and Smith watch the film three times.[2]

Cast

Neville Brand, Peter Brown, William Smith and Philip Carey (l. to r.)

Main cast

• Neville Brand...Reese Bennett
• Peter Brown...Chad Cooper
• William Smith...Joe Riley
• Philip Carey...Captain Edward Parmalee
• Robert Wolders...Erik Hunter, rookie Ranger (26 episodes, 1966-1967)
• Claude Akins...Cotton Buckmeister (5 episodes, 1966-1967)

Guest cast

• George Kennedy
• Eve Arden
• X Brands
• Chad & Jeremy
• Ahna Capri
• Ellen Corby
• Robert O. Cornthwaite
• Bruce Dern
• Richard Devon
• Mimsy Farmer
• Shug Fisher
• Byron Foulger
• Gina Gillespie
• Leo Gordon
• James Griffith
• Julie Harris
• Myron Healey
• Rodolfo Hoyos, Jr.
• I. Stanford Jolley
• DeForest Kelley
• Jack Kelly (two episodes)
• Fernando Lamas
• Jack Lord
• Marlyn Mason
• Mort Mills
• Shelley Morrison
• Stuart Nisbet
• Cliff Osmond
• Gregg Palmer
• William Phipps
• Mike Ragan (three episodes)
• Donnelly Rhodes
• Roy Roberts
• Diane Roter
• Kurt Russell
• Robert F. Simon
• Dub Taylor
• Lyle Talbot
• Lee Van Cleef
• Doodles Weaver
• Jack Weston

Episodes

Season 1: 1965–66

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	1	"Lazyfoot, Where Are You?"	Paul Stanley	Teleplay by: Calvin Clements Story by: Lewis Reed & Calvin Clements	September 16, 1965 (1965-09-16)
2	2	"I See By Your Outfit"	Harvey Hart	John D.F. Black	September 23, 1965 (1965-09-23)
3	3	"Yahoo"	David Lowell Rich	John D.F. Black	September 30, 1965 (1965-09-30)
4	4	"Rendezvous at Arillo"	Harvey Hart	Calvin Clements	October 7, 1965 (1965-10-07)
5	5	"Three's Company"	Bernard McEveety	John McGreevey	October 14, 1965 (1965-10-14)
6	6	"Anybody Here Seen Billy?"	Lawrence Dobkin	John McGreevey	October 21, 1965 (1965-10-21)
7	7	"A Question of Discipline"	R.G. Springsteen	Archie Lawrence	October 28, 1965 (1965-10-28)
8	8	"The Golden Trail"	Earl Bellamy	Gene L. Coon & Bloise N. Coon	November 4, 1965 (1965-11-04)
9	9	"A Matter of Policy"	R.G. Springsteen	Edward J. Lasko	November 11, 1965 (1965-11-11)
10	10	"Which Way Did They Go?"	Leon Benson	Gerry Day	November 18, 1965 (1965-11-18)
11	11	"Jinx"	Paul Stanley	John D.F. Black	December 2, 1965 (1965-12-02)
12	12	"The Land Grabbers"	R.G. Springsteen	Ric Hardman	December 9, 1965 (1965-12-09)
13	13	"The Pride of the Rangers"	Tony Leader	John McGreevey	December 16, 1965 (1965-12-16)
14	14	"The Heroes of San Gill"	Paul Stanley	Calvin Clements	December 23, 1965 (1965-12-23)
15	15	"A Medal for Reese"	Lawrence Dobkin	Teleplay by: Edward J. Lasko Story by: Edward J. Lasko & George Bast	December 30, 1965 (1965-12-30)
16	16	"The Calico Kid"	Lawrence Dobkin	Teleplay by: Gene L. Coon Story by: S.S. Schweitzer	January 6, 1966 (1966-01-06)
17	17	"Above the Law"	Richard Benedict	John McGreevey	January 13, 1966 (1966-01-13)
18	18	"That's Noway, Thataway"	Howard Morris	Vincent Bogert & Gene L. Coon	January 20, 1966 (1966-01-20)
19	19	"Limit of the Law Larkin"	William Witney	Ric Hardman	January 27, 1966 (1966-01-27)
20	20	"Meanwhile Back at the Reservation"	Bernard McEveety	John D.F. Black	February 10, 1966 (1966-02-10)
21	21	"The Treasure of San Diablo"	William Witney	Teleplay by: Gerry Day Story by: Gerry Day & B.W. Sandefur	February 17, 1966 (1966-02-17)
22	22	"No Bugles, One Drum"	Earl Bellamy	John D.F. Black	February 24, 1966 (1966-02-24)
23	23	"Miracle at Massacre Mission"	Bernard McEveety	John T. Dugan	March 3, 1966 (1966-03-03)
24	24	"It's The End of the Road, Stanley"	Leon Benson	Gene L. Coon	March 10, 1966 (1966-03-10)
25	25	"A Very Small Assignment"	Paul Stanley	Edward J. Lasko	March 17, 1966 (1966-03-17)
26	26	"Quarter Past Eleven"	Irving J. Moore	John D.F. Black	March 24, 1966 (1966-03-24)
27	27	"The Deadliest Kid in the West"	Leon Benson	Gerry Day	March 31, 1966 (1966-03-31)
28	28	"Sound of Terror"	William Witney	John McGreevey	April 7, 1966 (1966-04-07)
29	29	"The Would-Be Gentleman of Laredo"	Earl Bellamy	John T. Dugan	April 14, 1966 (1966-04-14)
30	30	"A Taste of Money"	William Witney	John D.F. Black	April 28, 1966 (1966-04-28)

Season 2: 1966–67

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
31	1	"The Legend of Midas Mantee"	Hollingsworth Morse	Gerry Day & B.W. Sandefur	September 16, 1966 (1966-09-16)
32	2	"The Dance of the Laughing Death"	Jerry Hopper	Fred Freiberger	September 23, 1966 (1966-09-23)
33	3	"A Double Shot of Nepenthe"	Abner Biberman	Gene L. Coon	September 30, 1966 (1966-09-30)
34	4	"Coup de Grace"	R.G. Springsteen	William Raynor & Myles Wilder	October 7, 1966 (1966-10-07)
35	5	"The Land Slickers"	Sherman Marks	William Hellinger & Clint Young	October 14, 1966 (1966-10-14)
36	6	"Finnegan"	Alexander Singer	Edward J. Lasko	October 21, 1966 (1966-10-21)
37	7	"Any Way the Wind Blows"	John English	John McGreevey	October 28, 1966 (1966-10-28)
38	8	"The Sweet Gang"	Ezra Stone	Walter Black	November 4, 1966 (1966-11-04)
39	9	"One Too Many Voices"	William Witney	John McGreevey	November 18, 1966 (1966-11-18)
40	10	"Road to San Remo"	Irving J. Moore	Calvin Clements	November 25, 1966 (1966-11-25)
41	11	"The Last of the Caesars - Absolutely"	R.G. Springsteen	Teleplay by: Joseph Bonaduce & Jay Simms Story by: Jay Simms	December 6, 1966 (1966-12-06)
42	12	"A Prince of a Ranger"	Charles R. Rondeau	Joseph Bonaduce	December 9, 1966 (1966-12-09)
43	13	"Oh Careless Love"	Charles R. Rondeau	Gilbert Ralston	December 23, 1966 (1966-12-23)
44	14	"Leave It to Dixie"	Abner Biberman	Marty Roth	December 30, 1966 (1966-12-30)
45	15	"The Seventh Day"	Irving J. Moore	Teleplay by: Joel Murcott Story by: Alvin Boretz	January 6, 1967 (1967-01-06)
46	16	"Scourge of San Rosa"	Joseph Pevney	Calvin Clements	January 20, 1967 (1967-01-20)
47	17	"The Short, Happy Fatherhood of Reese Bennett"	Ezra Stone	Leonard Praskins & Barbara Merlin	January 27, 1967 (1967-01-27)
48	18	"The Bitter Yen of General Ti"	Charles R. Rondeau	John T. Dugan	February 3, 1967 (1967-02-03)
49	19	"The Other Cheek"	Ezra Stone	Gene L. Coon	February 10, 1967 (1967-02-10)
50	20	"Enemies and Brothers"	Gene Nelson	Teleplay by: Brian Barstu and Tom Adair & John Elliotte Story by: Tom Adair & John Elliotte	February 17, 1967 (1967-02-17)
51	21	"Hey Diddle Diddle"	William Witney	Gerry Day	February 24, 1967 (1967-02-24)
52	22	"The Small Chance Ghost"	Richard Bartlett	Marty Roth	March 3, 1967 (1967-03-03)
53	23	"A Question of Guilt"	Leo Penn	Joseph Bonaduce	March 10, 1967 (1967-03-10)
54	24	"Like One of the Family"	Robert Gist	John McGreevey	March 24, 1967 (1967-03-24)
55	25	"Walk Softly"	William Witney	Edward J. Lasko	March 31, 1967 (1967-03-31)
56	26	"Split the Difference"	Alan Rafkin	Paul Mason	April 7, 1967 (1967-04-07)

Selected episodes

In "The Would-Be Gentleman of Laredo", with Donnelly Rhodes as Don Carlos, three swindlers use Reese Bennett as a dupe in a land fraud scheme by which they claim ownership of most of Laredo.[3]

In "Meanwhile Back at the Reservation", Joe Riley comes across Grey Smoke, an Indian boy portrayed by then 14-year-old Kurt Russell, who has been working for an outlaw gang. Joe and Chad take Grey under their wing, and the boy proves helpful when gunslingers try to occupy Laredo.

"The Calico Kid" focuses on a character used eleven years earlier in the syndicated western series Buffalo Bill, Jr. In the Laredo version, the Kid is Sam Lowell, who has matured in to a respected citizen of the fictional town of Guarded Wells, Texas. Chad and Joe try to help Lowell continue the deception of his true identity. Meanwhile, a businessman plots to steal gold bullion from the bank while the citizenry is distracted.[3]

In "The Golden Trail", Jeanette Nolan is cast as "Ma Burns", who investigates the progress of a gold shipment that Reese Bennett is supposedly transporting from St. Louis to Laredo. Jim Davis appears in this episode as a sheriff.[3] Nolan also appeared as Martha Tuforth in "It's the End of the Road, Stanley" (1966), and as Vita Rose in "Like One of the Family" (1967).

Lane Bradford was cast five times in different roles: as 3-Finger Jake in "Rendezvous at Arillo" and as Amos Slaughter in "Which Way Did They Go?" (both 1965), as Ben Slick in "The Treasure of San Diablo" and as Charley Smith in "Road to San Remo" (both 1966), and as Lyle in "Walk Softly" (1967).

John Russell appeared as Robert in the episode "Enemies and Brothers" (1967), reuniting him with his Lawman former co-star Peter Brown.

DVD releases

Timeless Media Group released the entire series on DVD in Region 1 on November 24, 2009. The 12-disc box set features all 56 episodes of the series as well as bonus features.[4]

As of May 2016, Laredo is airing on the GetTV network.

References

1. Brian W. Fairbanks (November 2005). I Saw That Movie, Too: Selected Film Reviews. Lulu.com. pp. 401–. ISBN 978-1-4116-3535-7.
2. p. 31 Brown, Peter & Sturt, Alesx The Fastest Gun in Hollywood 2013 Wild Horse Press
3. Billy Hathorn, "Roy Bean, Temple Houston, Bill Longley, Ranald Mackenzie, Buffalo Bill, Jr., and the Texas Rangers: Depictions of West Texans in Series Television, 1955 to 1967", West Texas Historical Review, Vol. 89 (2013), pp. 115-116
4. Lambert, David (2009-09-24). "Laredo - Timeless Release of The Complete Series as a 12-DVD Set this November". tvshowsondvd.com. Archived from the original on 12 October 2012. Retrieved 28 November 2012.

External links

• Laredo on IMDb
• Laredo at TV.com