Rawhide on the Starz Encore Western Channel

Every now and then, while channel surfing you’ll come across one of those great little surprises in life.  The Starz Encore Western Channel is broadcasting one of those little surprises now.  Since the beginning of this new year, the channel has broadcasted daily the hour-long 1950’s TV show, Rawhide. So, if you get the Starz Encore Western Channel make a point of watching this show because it is such a treat.

Today, Rawhide is known primarily for its catchy theme song sung by Frankie Laine and for being the launching point of actor Clint Eastwood.  But the 217 episode show about a cattle drive from San Antonio, Texas to Sedalia, Missouri in the late 1860’s was so much more than that.  First of all, it was well written. It was initially directed and produced by Charles Marquis Warren who was also the producer and director for the first two seasons of Gunsmoke.   But that is not the most interesting thing about this show.  Nor is it, that Rawhide featured actor and comedian, Sheb Wooley as scout Pete Nolan. Wooley, who had gained fame for his work in the Gary Cooper classic movie, High Noon, also wrote and sung the novelty song, Purple People Eater.

It was the show’s lead, Eric Fleming who as trail boss Gil Favor, was the most interesting part of Rawhide.  Fleming  had made several bad B movies prior to getting Rawhide, including the horrible Zsa Zsa Gabor vehicle, Queen of Outer Space.  The website, Eric Fleming Information Base has much detail on his life, but it is his death during the filming of the TV movie, High Jungle that indirectly made Clint Eastwood the star that he would later become.

Before he died,  Fleming had been offered the lead in an Italian western being made by Italian director Sergio Leone.  Fleming turned it down.  Before Leone could get Fleming to reconsider, the actor died.  Leone then rewatched the episodes of Rawhide that had drawn him to Fleming, this time concentrating on the second lead actor, Clint Eastwood. He offered Eastwood the lead role in his remake of Akira Kurosawa’s samurai adventure Yojimbo. The name of the movie?  A Fistful of Dollars and Clint Eastwood’s career as “the man with no name” was well underway.

The rebroadcast of Rawhide, gives us a chance to watch Fleming and Eastwood together and imagine what could’ve been, had Fleming taken the role in Leone’s film instead of Eastwood.