Man Without a Gun is an American Western television series produced by 20th Century Fox Television and presented on the NTA Film Network and in first-run syndication in the United States from 1957 to 1959. Set in the town of Yellowstone near Yellowstone National Park in the then Dakota Territory during the 1870s, the program starred Rex Reason as newspaper editor Adam MacLean, who brought miscreants to justice without the use of violence or gunplay but through his Yellowstone Sentinel. Mort Mills co-starred as Marshal Frank Tallman, who intervened when the "pen" proved not to be "mightier than the sword". Harry Harvey Sr., was cast in twenty-one episodes as Yellowstone Mayor George Dixon.

The program is considered to have been unique because it showcased MacLean's moral ethicss and common sense to bring outlaws to justice. The show was also used as a schoolroom to teach the youngsters of the 1950s about decency and the difference between right and wrong.

Background

The 20th Century Fox Hour broadcast "Man of the Law", a pilot of Man Without a Gun.

Guest stars

• Chris Alcaide – as Johnny Kansas in two episodes ("Teen-Age Idol", "The Hero")

• John Anderson ("Eye Witness")

• Whit Bissell – as Mark Ryan in the "Aftermath" episode

• Lloyd Corrigan

• Dennis Cross – as Cheotah in the "Indian Fury" episode

• John Doucette – as Dan Kester in "The Fugitive" episode

• James Drury – as Cort Hamish in the "Aftermath" episode

• Stanley Fafara – as Boy in the "Eye Witness" episode

• Stanley Farrar – as Auges in two episodes ("Guilty", "Eye Witness")

• Bruce Gordon – as Wolf Manson in the "Headline" episode

• Don Gordon ("Jailbreak")

• Dabbs Greer – as Ben McLaren in the "Hangtree Inn" episode

• Ron Hagerthy – as Tod Wilburn in the "Witness to Terror" episode

• Myron Healey – as Yank Sullivan in the "Decoy" episode

• Richard Jaeckel – as Rogers in "The Seven Killers" episode

• Diane Jergens – as Ellen in the "Night of Violence" episode

• Robert Karnes – as Jonas in the "Invisible Enemy" episode

• Dayton Lummis – as Fred Hawkins in "The Fugitive" episode

• Carole Mathews – as Rose in the "Lady from Laramie" episode

• Doug McClure – as Albert (or Ollie) Ketchum in "The Kidder" episode

• Patrick McVey – as Forester in the "Special Edition" episode

• James Philbrook – as Troy in the "Decoy" episode

• Dorothy Provine – as Lucy in the "Man Missing" episode

• Denver Pyle ("Shadow of a Gun")

• Victor Rodman ("Devil's Acre")

• Robert F. Simon – as Hamish Sr. in the "Aftermath" episode

• Olan Soule – as Henry Holbrook in the "Daughter of the Dragon" episode

• Ray Teal ("The Day The West Went Wild")

• Robert Tetrick

• Marie Tsien – as Chi Ying in the "Daughter of the Dragon" episode

• Robert J. Wilke – as Hackett in the "Buried Treasure" episode

• Victor Sen Yung – as Ho Wang in the "Daughter of the Dragon" episode

Episodes

Season 1 (1957–1958)

Season 2 (1959)

Production

The series was created by Peter Packer. Fifty-two 30-minute episodes were produced in 1957-1959, with filming at Corriganville Movie Ranch and 20th Century-Fox. Producers included Alan Armer and Mel Epstein. Directors included Douglas Heyes. Writers included Robert Leslie Bellem.

Critical response

The trade publication Variety said in a review that a gun was unnecessary for the show's hero: "Muscles bulge against his clean white shirt and ham-hock fists advertise his fearsome virility, and he can suppy violence when necessary." It added that Reason's brawny appearance sometimes interfered with the character's "brainy type" image, but "he seems to get by a good part of the time".

References

External links

• Classic TV Archive episode listing