Cimarron City is an American one-hour Western television series, starring George Montgomery as Matt Rockford and John Smith as Lane Temple, airing on NBC from October 11, 1958, to September 26, 1959.[1] Cimarron City is a boomtown in Logan County, Oklahoma, north of Oklahoma City. Rich in oil and gold, Cimarron City aspires to become the capital of the future state of Oklahoma, to be created in 1907.
| Cimarron City | |
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| Genre | Western |
| Written by |
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| Directed by | |
| Starring | |
| Theme music composer |
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| Composer | Paul Dunlap |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 26 |
| Production | |
| Producers |
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| Cinematography |
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| Editor | Lee Huntington |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production companies |
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| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | September 27, 1958 – April 4, 1959 |
Synopsis
editMatthew Rockford is the son of an area cattle rancher, who is the founder and mayor of Cimarron City. Lane Temple, the blacksmith, serves also as the deputy sheriff. He maintains the law amid the crooked schemes concocted in Cimarron City.
Audrey Totter played Beth Purcell, the owner of the boarding house.[1] The episodes were supposed to rotate equally among Montgomery, Smith, and Totter. The writers, however, did not give Totter enough stories as promised, and she was phased out in favor of male leads.[2]
Cimarron City also featured Dan Blocker (before Bonanza) in two roles. In the second episode, Blocker plays outlaw Carl Budinger, who is killed. In the fourth episode, he reappears as Carl's good-hearted brother, Tiny Budinger, who becomes one of Rockford's ranch hands.
Production notes
editThe producers were Richard Bartlett and Norman Jolley.[1] Stanley Wilson wrote the theme music.[3]
In its initial run, Cimarron City was placed opposite two half-hour Western programs on CBS, Have Gun, Will Travel and Gunsmoke,[1] from 9:30 to 10:30 p.m. Eastern Time on Saturdays. From June 1960 to September 1960, reruns were shown on Fridays from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time, again on NBC.[4]
Newspaper columnist Erskine Johnson wrote that NBC created Cimarron City expressly "to shoot it out with CBS TV's two guns – the half-hour Have Gun and the top-rated Gunsmoke, in most sections of the country."[5] When the show's ratings failed to meet NBC executives' expectations, Smith's and Totter's roles grew in size and Montgomery "became a wanderer instead of a stay-at-home"; writers and directors were also changed.[5] NBC spent additional money to bring in guest stars while sponsors were leaving the show, with several episodes having no sponsor. Toward the end of the series' original run, NBC found four rotating sponsors, some of whom limited their involvement to purchasing spot announcements.[5]
Cast
edit- George Montgomery as Matt Rockford, Mayor[6] and as narrator[4]
- John Smith as Deputy Lane Temple[6]
- Audrey Totter as Beth Purcell[6]
- Dan Blocker as Tiny and Carl Budinger[6]
- Wally Brown as Jed Fame[6]
- Claire Carleton as Alice Purdy[6]
- Pete Dunn as Dody Hamer
- George Dunn as Jesse Williams[4]
- Tom Fadden as Silas Perry[4]
- Stuart Randall as Sheriff Art Sampson[4]
- Addison Richards as Martin Kingsley[6]
- Fred Sherman as Burt Purdy[6]
- Nesdon Booth as Frank the bartender
Guest stars
editEpisode list
edit| No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "I, the People" | Jules Bricken | Fenton Earnshaw | October 11, 1958 |
| 2 | "Terror Town" | Richard H. Bartlett | Trebor Lewis | October 18, 1958 |
| 3 | "To Become a Man" | Richard H. Bartlett | Norman Jolley | October 25, 1958 |
| 4 | "Twelve Guns" | Richard H. Bartlett | Lew Richards & Norman Jolley | November 1, 1958 |
| 5 | "The Medicine Man" | Richard H. Bartlett | Norman Jolley | November 8, 1958 |
| 6 | "Hired Hand" | John Brahm | Lew Richards | November 15, 1958 |
| 7 | "Kid on a Calico Horse" | Herschel Daugherty | E. Jack Neuman | November 22, 1958 |
| 8 | "The Beast of Cimarron" | Abner Biberman | Norman Jolley | November 29, 1958 |
| 9 | "A Respectable Girl" | Richard H. Bartlett | Leo Townsend | December 6, 1958 |
| 10 | "The Blood Line" | Douglas Heyes | Douglas Heyes | December 13, 1958 |
| 11 | "Cimarron Holiday" | Richard H. Bartlett | Norman Jolley | December 20, 1958[7] |
| 12 | "McGowan's Debt" | Herschel Daugherty | James Charles Lynch | December 27, 1958 |
| 13 | "The Bitter Lesson" | John Meredyth Lucas | Ernest Haycox | January 3, 1959 |
| 14 | "A Legacy of Ossie Harper" | Jules Bricken | Ernest Kinoy Jameson Brewer | January 10, 1959 |
| 15 | "Child of Fear" | Richard H. Bartlett | Virginia Spies | January 17, 1959 |
| 16 | "Burn the Town Down" | Richard H. Bartlett | Ralph Winters | January 24, 1959 |
| 17 | "Runaway Train" | Richard H. Bartlett | Norman Jolley | January 31, 1959 |
| 18 | "The Beauty and the Sorrow" | Richard H. Bartlett | Halsted Welles | February 7, 1959 |
| 19 | "Return of the Dead" | Richard H. Bartlett | Tom Seller | February 14, 1959 |
| 20 | "Blind is the Killer" | John Meredyth Lucas | David Henry Lord | February 21, 1959 |
| 21 | "The Unaccepted" | Jerry Hopper | Cyril Hume | February 28, 1959 |
| 22 | "The Ratman" | Richard H. Bartlett | Richard Carlyle | March 7, 1959 |
| 23 | "Have Sword --Will Duel" | Sidney Lanfield | Tom Seller | March 14, 1959 |
| 24 | "Chinese Invasion" | Justus Addiss | William E. Raynor | March 21, 1959 |
| 25 | "The Town is a Prisoner" | Richard H. Bartlett | Richard Morgan | March 28, 1959 |
| 26 | "The Evil One" | Christian Nyby | David Boehm | April 4, 1959 |
Home media
editOn March 6, 2012, Timeless Media Group released Cimarron City: The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1.[8]
References
edit- ^ a b c d McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television: the Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present (4th ed.). New York, New York: Penguin Books USA, Inc. p. 164. ISBN 0-14-02-4916-8.
- ^ Brode, Douglas (2010-01-01). Shooting Stars of the Small Screen: Encyclopedia of TV Western Actors, 1946–Present. University of Texas Press. p. 202. ISBN 978-0-292-78331-7.
- ^ Burlingame, Jon (March 28, 2023). Music for Prime Time: A History of American Television Themes and Scoring. Oxford University Press. pp. 91–92. ISBN 978-0-19-061830-8. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle F. (June 24, 2009). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present. Random House Publishing Group. p. 254. ISBN 978-0-307-48320-1. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
- ^ a b c Johnson, Erskine (March 21, 1959). "NBC 'Buck'-Shot Fails To Gun Down Two CBS Shows". The Times Herald. Michigan, Port Huron. NEA. p. 11. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Terrace, Vincent (January 10, 2014). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010, 2d ed. McFarland. p. 188. ISBN 978-0-7864-8641-0. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
- ^ Terrace, Vincent (January 27, 2023). Holiday Specials on Television, 1939-2021. McFarland. p. 173. ISBN 978-1-4766-4813-2. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
- ^ "Cimarron City: The Complete Series". Amazon. September 2020.
External links
edit- Cimarron City at IMDb
- http://www.westernclippings.com/remember/gmontgomery_doyouremember.shtml||Western[permanent dead link] Western Clippings George Montgomery interview
- Cimarron City at epguides.com