| The Adventures of Jim Bowie | |
|---|---|
| Genre |
|
| Starring | Scott Forbes |
| Theme music composer | Ken Darby |
| Opening theme | "Jim Bowie" by The King's Men |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 76 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Louis F. Edelman |
| Producers |
|
| Editor | John Woodcock |
| Running time | 25 minutes |
| Production companies |
|
| Original release | |
| Network | ABC |
| Release | September 7, 1956 – August 29, 1958 |
The Adventures of Jim Bowie is an American Western television series that aired on ABC from 1956 to 1958. Its setting was the 1830s-era Louisiana Territory. [1] The series was an adaptation of the book Tempered Blade, by Monte Barrett. [2]
The series stars Scott Forbes as the real-life adventurer Jim Bowie. The series initially portrayed Jim Bowie as something of an outdoors-man, riding his horse through the wilderness near his home in Opelousas, where he would stumble across someone needing his assistance. He was aided by the Bowie Knife, his ever-present weapon. He designed it in the first episode, The Birth of the Blade. Although Bowie used the blade quite a bit in early episodes, its prominence was downplayed as the show went on.
Gradually the series shifted from the country to the city, having Bowie instead spend the majority of his time in New Orleans. He was frequently shown looking to invest his money in real estate, or coming to the aid of someone who had been swindled.
Storylines focused on the exploits of Bowie before he moved to Texas (then part of Mexico), and his death at the Alamo in 1836. During the series's two season run, Bowie encountered many historical figures of the era, such as President Andrew Jackson, Jefferson Davis, John James Audubon, Sam Houston, and Davy Crockett.
Among the actors and actresses who guest-starred more than once on the series were William Schallert, Denver Pyle, Michael Landon, Chuck Connors, Walter Coy, June Carter Cash, and Lurene Tuttle. Jimmy Noel made walk-on appearances in six episodes. Those making single guest appearances included Yvonne Lime Fedderson, Douglas Kennedy, and Carole Mathews.
Jim Bowie did not appear in the last episode of the series. Instead, he was said to be away on an important assignment, and the attention was placed on criminal Jess Miller. Miller was given the task to retrieve a great sum of money, and the episode focused on whether Miller would complete his assignment or take the money for himself. At the end there is an indication that Miller would join up with Bowie on further adventures, but no further episodes were produced.[ citation needed ]
Douglas Brode wrote in his book, Shooting Stars of the Small Screen: Encyclopedia of TV Western Actors, 1946–Present, that Scott Forbes, who had the title role, "stormed off the set" when he learned that the series was being canceled after two seasons, when he had understood that it would run for five seasons. [3] He added, "In desperation, the writers fashioned the final script" without the star. [3]
The program was sponsored by Chesebrough-Ponds. [4]
Use of the knife in the initial episode led a reviewer for The New York Times to write, "[I]t would seem like a wise idea for parents to keep young viewers away from the television set when the show is on." [5] The show was one of the first TV programs criticized for on-screen violence. [6]
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "The Birth of the Blade" | Unknown | Unknown | September 7, 1956 |
| 2 | 2 | "The Squatter" | Unknown | Unknown | September 14, 1956 |
| 3 | 3 | "An Adventure with Audubon" | Unknown | Unknown | September 21, 1956 |
| 4 | 4 | "Deputy Sheriff" | Unknown | Unknown | September 28, 1956 |
| 5 | 5 | "Trapline" | Unknown | Unknown | October 5, 1956 |
| 6 | 6 | "Broomstick Wedding" | Unknown | Unknown | October 12, 1956 |
| 7 | 7 | "Natchez Trace" | Unknown | Unknown | October 19, 1956 |
| 8 | 8 | "Jim Bowie Comes Home" | Unknown | Unknown | October 26, 1956 |
| 9 | 9 | "The Ghost of Jean Battoo" | Unknown | Unknown | November 2, 1956 |
| 10 | 10 | "The Secessionist" | Unknown | Unknown | November 9, 1956 |
| 11 | 11 | "Land Jumpers" | Unknown | Unknown | November 16, 1956 |
| 12 | 12 | "The Select Females" | Unknown | Unknown | November 23, 1956 |
| 13 | 13 | "Bowie and His Slave" | Unknown | Unknown | November 30, 1956 |
| 14 | 14 | "Outlaw Kingdom" | Unknown | Unknown | December 7, 1956 |
| 15 | 15 | "The Swordsman" | Unknown | Unknown | December 14, 1956 |
| 16 | 16 | "The Return of the Alcibiade" | Unknown | Unknown | December 21, 1956 |
| 17 | 17 | "Monsieur Francois" | Unknown | Unknown | December 28, 1956 |
| 18 | 18 | "A Horse for Old Hickory" | Unknown | Unknown | January 4, 1957 |
| 19 | 19 | "The Beggar of New Orleans" | Unknown | Unknown | January 11, 1957 |
| 20 | 20 | "Osceola" | Unknown | Unknown | January 18, 1957 |
| 21 | 21 | "Master of Arms" | Unknown | Unknown | January 25, 1957 |
| 22 | 22 | "Convoy Gold" | Unknown | Unknown | February 1, 1957 |
| 23 | 23 | "Spanish Intrigue" | Unknown | Unknown | February 8, 1957 |
| 24 | 24 | "Bayou Tontine" | Unknown | Unknown | February 15, 1957 |
| 25 | 25 | "German George" | Unknown | Unknown | February 22, 1957 |
| 26 | 26 | "An Eye for an Eye" | Unknown | Unknown | March 1, 1957 |
| 27 | 27 | "The Captain's Chimp" | Unknown | Unknown | March 8, 1957 |
| 28 | 28 | "Jackson Assassination" | Unknown | Unknown | March 15, 1957 |
| 29 | 29 | "Rezin Bowie, Gambler" | Unknown | Unknown | March 22, 1957 |
| 30 | 30 | "Thieves' Market" | Unknown | Unknown | March 29, 1957 |
| 31 | 31 | "The Pearl and the Crown" | Unknown | Unknown | April 5, 1957 |
| 32 | 32 | "The General's Disgrace" | Unknown | Unknown | April 12, 1957 |
| 33 | 33 | "The Lottery" | Unknown | Unknown | April 19, 1957 |
| 34 | 34 | "The Intruder" | Unknown | Unknown | April 26, 1957 |
| 35 | 35 | "Country Cousin" | Unknown | Unknown | May 3, 1957 |
| 36 | 36 | "The Bound Girl" | Unknown | Unknown | May 10, 1957 |
| 37 | 37 | "Bounty Hunter" | Unknown | Unknown | May 17, 1957 |
| 38 | 38 | "Gone to Texas" | Unknown | Unknown | May 24, 1957 |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 39 | 1 | "Epitaph for an Indian" | Unknown | Unknown | September 6, 1957 |
| 40 | 2 | "Flowers for McDonough" | Unknown | Unknown | September 13, 1957 |
| 41 | 3 | "The Irishman" | Unknown | Unknown | September 20, 1957 |
| 42 | 4 | "Counterfeit Dixie" | Unknown | Unknown | September 27, 1957 |
| 43 | 5 | "Bullet Metal" | Unknown | Unknown | October 4, 1957 |
| 44 | 6 | "Quarantine" | Unknown | Unknown | October 11, 1957 |
| 45 | 7 | "A Fortune for Madame" | Unknown | Unknown | October 18, 1957 |
| 46 | 8 | "House Divided" | Unknown | Unknown | October 25, 1957 |
| 47 | 9 | "The Whip" | Unknown | Unknown | November 1, 1957 |
| 48 | 10 | "Pearls of Talimeco" | Unknown | Unknown | November 8, 1957 |
| 49 | 11 | "Charivari" | Unknown | Unknown | November 15, 1957 |
| 50 | 12 | "Hare and Tortoise" | Unknown | Unknown | November 22, 1957 |
| 51 | 13 | "The Bridegroom" | Unknown | Unknown | November 29, 1957 |
| 52 | 14 | "The Alligator" | Unknown | Unknown | December 6, 1957 |
| 53 | 15 | "Country Girl" | Unknown | Unknown | December 13, 1957 |
| 54 | 16 | "Mexican Adventure" | Unknown | Unknown | December 20, 1957 |
| 55 | 17 | "Silk Purse" | Unknown | Unknown | December 27, 1957 |
| 56 | 18 | "Choctaw Honor" | Unknown | Unknown | January 3, 1958 |
| 57 | 19 | "Close Shave" | Unknown | Unknown | January 10, 1958 |
| 58 | 20 | "Pirate on Horseback" | Unknown | Unknown | January 17, 1958 |
| 59 | 21 | "Curfew Cannon" | Unknown | Unknown | January 24, 1958 |
| 60 | 22 | "Home Sweet Home" | Unknown | Unknown | January 31, 1958 |
| 61 | 23 | "Deaf Smith" | Unknown | Unknown | February 7, 1958 |
| 62 | 24 | "Ursula" | Unknown | Unknown | February 14, 1958 |
| 63 | 25 | "Apache Silver" | Unknown | Unknown | February 21, 1958 |
| 64 | 26 | "A Grave for Jim Bowie" | Unknown | Unknown | February 28, 1958 |
| 65 | 27 | "Up the Creek" | Unknown | Unknown | March 7, 1958 |
| 66 | 28 | "The Lion's Cub" | Unknown | Unknown | March 14, 1958 |
| 67 | 29 | "Horse Thief" | Unknown | Unknown | March 21, 1958 |
| 68 | 30 | "Jim Bowie, Apache" | Unknown | Unknown | March 28, 1958 |
| 69 | 31 | "The Brothers" | Unknown | Unknown | April 4, 1958 |
| 70 | 32 | "Patron of the Arts" | Unknown | Unknown | April 11, 1958 |
| 71 | 33 | "Bad Medicine" | Unknown | Unknown | April 18, 1958 |
| 72 | 34 | "A Night in Tennessee" | Unknown | Unknown | April 25, 1958 |
| 73 | 35 | "Bowie's Baby" | Unknown | Unknown | May 2, 1958 |
| 74 | 36 | "The Cave" | Unknown | Unknown | May 9, 1958 |
| 75 | 37 | "Man of the Streets" | Unknown | Unknown | May 16, 1958 |
| 76 | 38 | "The Puma" | Unknown | Unknown | May 23, 1958 |
The theme song was "Adventurin' Man", performed by the Ken Darby Singers. [7] The series' music was unusual in that it was primarily vocal, provided by Ken Darby and The King's Men (save for a few episodes in season two).
A two-DVD set containing 13 episodes of the program has been published. [6]
The TV show was also adapted into a comic book by Dan Spiegle, distributed by Dell Comics. [8]
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