Iron Horse (TV series)

Iron Horse
Cast from left: Bob Ransom, Gary Collins and Dale Robertson, 1966.
Genre	Western
Created by	James Goldstone Stephen Kandel
Starring	Dale Robertson Robert Random Gary Collins Ellen Burstyn
Theme music composer	Dominic Frontiere
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	47
Production
Executive producers	Matthew Rapf Charles Marquis Warren
Producers	Fred Freiberger Stephen Kandel
Running time	60 minutes
Production companies	Dagonet Productions Screen Gems
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	September 12, 1966 (1966-09-12) – January 6, 1968 (1968-01-06)

Iron Horse is an American Western television series that appeared on ABC from 1966 to 1968 and starred Dale Robertson as fictional gambler-turned-railroad baron Ben Calhoun. Costars included Gary Collins, Robert Random and Ellen Burstyn (who was billed as Ellen McRae). The series pilot was released as the film Scalplock.

Synopsis

The plot centered on Calhoun's poker game-win of the incomplete Buffalo Pass, Scalplock, & Defiance Railroad and his attempts to finish the line despite ever-present obstacles.

A running subplot was Calhoun's frequent and (for TV at that time) flagrant sexual dalliances with his many attractive female guest stars, as well as his steadier on and off arrangement with Julie Parsons, played by Ellen Burstyn. Though he was never shown in bed with any of them, there was little doubt about what was happening between scenes; and marriage was never proposed as a possibility. The second season minimized Calhoun's sexual exploits somewhat, perhaps in response to viewer complaints.

Much of the external footage involving trains was shot on the historic Sierra Railroad in and around Jamestown and Sonora, California. ^[1]

The filming was produced by Screen Gems.

Cast

Guest stars

• Walter Maslow, as Dimas Mott in "Right of Way Through Paradise" (1966)
• Hoyt Axton, as Slash Birney in "Right of Way Through Paradise" (1966)
• Karen Black, as Patricia Dunne in "The Prisoners" (1967)
• Ahna Capri, Angie in "Steel Chain to a Music Box" (1967)
• Pat Conway, formerly Sheriff Clay Hollister on the ABC and then syndicated western, Tombstone Territory .
• Dennis Cross as Jim Vail in "Town Full of Fear"
• Sharon Farrell as Carrie in "The Pembrooke Blood" (1967)
• Celia Kaye as Emily in "Decision at Sundown"
• Don Keefer as Blake and Barbara Stuart as Lil Kane in "Sister Death" (1967)
• Douglas Kennedy, as Adam Preston in "The Bridge at Forty-Mile" (1967), with X Brands as Juanito in the same episode
• John M. Pickard, as Sergeant Terry in "War Cloud" and as Bulwer in "Through Ticket to Gunsight" (both 1966)
• Judson Pratt as Brady in "Wild Track" (1967)
• Mike Ragan as Cantley in "The Prisoners' (1967)
• Arthur Space as Andy in "Gallows for Bill Pardew" (1967)
• Lurene Tuttle as Mrs. Emerson in "Sister Death" (1967)
• Michael Witney as Jared Hobson in "The Execution" (1967)
• Tony Young appeared three times, as Shad in "No Wedding Bells for Tony" (1966), Red Shirt (uncredited) in "Hellcat" (also 1966), and as Tower in "Banner with a Strange Device (1967).

Episode list

Pilot: 1966

• Scalplock / April 10, 1966 (1966-04-10)

Season 1: 1966–67

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
1	1	"A Joy Unconfined"	James Goldstone	Stephen Kandel	September 12, 1966 (1966-09-12)
2	2	"A Dynamite Drive"	Claudio Guzmán	Stephen Kandel	September 19, 1966 (1966-09-19)
3	3	"High Devil"	Samuel Fuller	Samuel Fuller	September 26, 1966 (1966-09-26)
4	4	"Right of Way Through Paradise"	Richard Benedict	Mort Lewis	October 3, 1966 (1966-10-03)
5	5	"The Pride at the Bottom of the Barrel"	Jesse Hibbs	John O'Dea & Arthur Rowe	October 10, 1966 (1966-10-10)
6	6	"Broken Gun"	Jesse Hibbs	John O'Dea & Arthur Rowe	October 17, 1966 (1966-10-17)
7	7	"Cougar Man"	Robert Totten	Robert Sabaroff	October 24, 1966 (1966-10-24)
8	8	"War Cloud"	Joseph Kane	T : Richard & Esther Shapiro; S/T : Richard C. Meyer & Norman T. Herman	October 31, 1966 (1966-10-31)
9	9	"No Wedding Bells for Tony"	Harmon Jones	Peter Germano	November 7, 1966 (1966-11-07)
10	10	"The Man from New Chicago"	Samuel Fuller	Mort Lewis	November 14, 1966 (1966-11-14)
11	11	"Explosion at Waycrossing"	Murray Golden	Robert Dennis	November 21, 1966 (1966-11-21)
12	12	"Through Ticket to Gunsight"	Herb Wallerstein	Preston Wood	November 28, 1966 (1966-11-28)
13	13	"Town Full of Fear"	László Benedek	T : John O'Dea & Arthur Rowe; S/T : Robert Hamner	December 5, 1966 (1966-12-05)
14	14	"Big Deal"	Earl Bellamy	Bernard Rothman & Norman Klenman	December 12, 1966 (1966-12-12)
15	15	"A Dozen Ways to Kill a Man"	Herb Wallerstein	T : Peter Germano; S/T : Louis Vittes	December 19, 1966 (1966-12-19)
16	16	"Hellcat"	Samuel Fuller	Story by : Oliver Crawford Teleplay by : Samuel Fuller & Oliver Crawford	December 26, 1966 (1966-12-26)
17	17	"Welcome for the General"	Alan Crosland Jr.	Sherman Yellen	January 2, 1967 (1967-01-02)
18	18	"The Pembrooke Blood"	Herb Wallerstein	Richard & Esther Shapiro	January 9, 1967 (1967-01-09)
19	19	"Volcano Wagon"	Samuel Fuller	Ken Trevey	January 16, 1967 (1967-01-16)
20	20	"The Bridge at Forty-Mile"	Herb Wallerstein	Thomas W. Blackburn	January 23, 1967 (1967-01-23)
21	21	"Shadow Run"	Paul Henreid	Peter Germano	January 30, 1967 (1967-01-30)
22	22	"Banner with a Strange Device"	Samuel Fuller	John O'Dea & Arthur Rowe	February 6, 1967 (1967-02-06)
23	23	"Appointment with an Epitaph"	Herbert Hirschman	Harold Livingston	February 13, 1967 (1967-02-13)
24	24	"The Red Tornado"	Samuel Fuller	Warren Douglas	February 20, 1967 (1967-02-20)
25	25	"Decision at Sundown"	Herb Wallerstein	Stephen Kandel	February 27, 1967 (1967-02-27)
26	26	"The Passenger"	William J. Hole Jr.	Irving Cummings & Charles Marion	March 6, 1967 (1967-03-06)
27	27	"The Execution"	Herbert Hirschman	Ken Kolb	March 13, 1967 (1967-03-13)
28	28	"Death by Triangulation"	Otto Lang	Louis Vittes	March 20, 1967 (1967-03-20)
29	29	"The Golden Web"	Herb Wallerstein	Stephen Kandel	March 27, 1967 (1967-03-27)
30	30	"Sister Death"	Herbert Hirschman	Mann Rubin	April 3, 1967 (1967-04-03)

Season 2: 1967–68

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
31	1	"Diablo"	Herb Wallerstein	Jeri Emmett & Terence Maples	September 16, 1967 (1967-09-16)
32	2	"Consignment: Betsy the Boiler"	Richard C. Sarafian	Bob Duncan & Wanda Duncan	September 23, 1967 (1967-09-23)
33	3	"Gallows for Billy Pardew"	Gene Nelson	Bob Duncan & Wanda Duncan	September 30, 1967 (1967-09-30)
34	4	"Five Days to Washtiba"	Lazlo Benedek	Milton S. Gelman	October 7, 1967 (1967-10-07)
35	5	"The Silver Bullet"	Anton Leader	Oliver Crawford	October 14, 1967 (1967-10-14)
36	6	"Grapes of Grass Valley"	Paul Henreid	Stanley Adams & George F. Slavin	October 21, 1967 (1967-10-21)
37	7	"Leopards Try, But Leopards Can't"	Leo Penn	Jeri Emmett & Norman Katkov	October 28, 1967 (1967-10-28)
38	8	"The Return of Hode Avery"	Gene Nelson	Harry Kronman	November 4, 1967 (1967-11-04)
39	9	"Four Guns to Scalplock"	Murray Golden	Robert Leslie Bellem	November 11, 1967 (1967-11-11)
40	10	"Steel Chain to a Music Box"	Charles R. Rondeau	Herman Groves	November 18, 1967 (1967-11-18)
41	11	"Six Hours to Sky High"	Paul Henreid	Jack Hawn	November 25, 1967 (1967-11-25)
42	12	"T is for Traitor"	Tony Leader	Milton S. Gelman	December 2, 1967 (1967-12-02)
43	13	"Dealer's Choice"	Herb Wallerstein	Stanley Adams & George F. Slavin	December 9, 1967 (1967-12-09)
44	14	"Wild Track"	Gene Nelson	Gilbert Ralston	December 16, 1967 (1967-12-16)
45	15	"Death Has Two Faces"	Paul Henreid	Gilbert Ralston	December 23, 1967 (1967-12-23)
46	16	"The Prisoners"	Leo Penn	John Kneubuhl	December 30, 1967 (1967-12-30)
47	17	"Dry Run to Glory"	Herb Wallerstein	Donald S. Tait	January 6, 1968 (1968-01-06)

Home media

On October 2, 2012 Sony Pictures Home Entertainment was due to release the first season of the series on DVD through an online manufacture-on-demand program via Amazon.com and Warner Bros, Archives, but this release has been delayed. ^[2]

References

1. Jensen, Larry (2018). Hollywood's Railroads: Sierra Railroad. Vol. Two. Sequim, Washington: Cochetopa Press. p. 43. ISBN   9780692064726.
2. Lambert, David (July 27, 2012). "The Iron Horse - Release Date Revealed by Sony for 'The Complete 1st Season'". TVShowsOnDVD.com . Archived from the original on July 30, 2012. Retrieved July 28, 2012.

• The Movie Railroads . Jensen, Larry (1981 - Darwin Publications)

External links

• The Iron Horse at IMDb
• The Iron Horse at epguides.com