The Loner (TV series)

Last updated
The Loner
Lloyd Bridges The Loner 1965.JPG
Lloyd Bridges as William Colton, 1965
Genre Western
Created by Rod Serling
Starring Lloyd Bridges
Theme music composer Jerry Goldsmith
Composers
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes26 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer William Dozier
Producers
  • Bruce Lansbury
  • Andy White
Production companiesGreenway Productions, in association with Interlaken Productions and 20th Century-Fox Television
Release
Original network CBS
Original releaseSeptember 18, 1965 (1965-09-18) 
March 12, 1966 (1966-03-12)

The Loner is an American Western television series that ran for one season on CBS from 1965 to 1966, under the alternate sponsorship of Philip Morris and Procter & Gamble. The series was created by Rod Serling a year after the cancellation of The Twilight Zone . It was one of the last TV series on CBS to air in black-and-white.

Contents

Synopsis

The series was set in the years immediately following the American Civil War. Lloyd Bridges played the title character, William Colton, a former Union cavalry captain who headed to the American west in search of a new life. Each episode dealt with Colton's encounters with various individuals on his trek west.

Rod Serling was the series' creator. Longtime TV Guide critic Cleveland Amory wrote that Serling "obviously intended The Loner to be a realistic, adult Western," but the show's ratings indicated it was "either too real for a public grown used to the unreal Western or too adult for juvenile Easterners." Serling had expressed an open distaste for some of the television Westerns of the time in an editorial that set up the premise for "Showdown with Rance McGrew", an episode of The Twilight Zone in which a primadonna Western actor encounters the ghost of Jesse James; in that editorial, he is quoted as saying: "it seems a reasonable conjecture that if there are any television sets up in cowboy heaven and any of these rough-and-wooly nail-eaters could see with what careless abandon their names and exploits are being bandied about, they're very likely turning over in their graves - or worse, getting out of them."

The Loner aired Saturday nights at 9:30 Eastern. It debuted on September 18, 1965; the final episode aired March 12, 1966; selected repeats continued through April 30.

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
1"An Echo of Bugles"Alex March Rod Serling September 18, 1965 (1965-09-18)
Colton stands up for a wounded Confederate veteran (Whit Bissell) being taunted by a young bully (Tony Bill), provoking the brash young man to challenge Colton to a duel. Colton reluctantly agrees to duel, but is deeply saddened by the prospect of possibly killing the young man. Colton recalls in flashback his service in the Civil War, revealing insights into Colton's behavior and philosophy. John Hoyt, Lou Krugman and James Sikking also guest star.
2"The Vespers"Leon BensonRod SerlingSeptember 25, 1965 (1965-09-25)
Colton visits an old friend who saved his life during the Civil War. This friend is now Rev. Booker, a Christian minister who has renounced his gun and the use of violence. Colton intercedes when gunman Deneen comes to avenge an earlier killing by Booker. Guest starring Jack Lord, Joan Freeman, Ron Soble, and Bill Quinn.
3"The Lonely Calico Queen" Allen H. Miner Rod SerlingOctober 2, 1965 (1965-10-02)
Colton finds a letter on a dead man, who turns out to be a mail-order bridegroom for a dance hall girl named Angela Wheeler. Guest starring Jeanne Cooper, Tina Hermensen, and Edward Faulkner.
4"The Kingdom of McComb"Leon BensonRod SerlingOctober 9, 1965 (1965-10-09)
Colton intercedes on behalf of a Mennonite sect of pacifists when they run afoul of McComb, the town's ruthless power broker. Guest starring Leslie Nielsen, Tom Lowell, Ken Drake, and Ed Peck.
5"One of the Wounded" Paul Henreid Rod SerlingOctober 16, 1965 (1965-10-16)
Colton is hired as a farmhand by a desperate wife whose husband is a catatonic Union army veteran, a man emotionally scarred by the horrors of the Civil War. Guests starring Anne Baxter, Paul Richards, and Lane Bradford.
6"The Flight of the Arctic Tern" Don Taylor Andy WhiteOctober 23, 1965 (1965-10-23)
A romantic triangle ensues when Colton rescues a friend's beautiful fiancée from a runaway horse. Guest starring Janine Gray, Tom Stern, and Larry Ward.
7"Widow on the Evening Stage" Joseph Pevney Rod SerlingOctober 30, 1965 (1965-10-30)
Colton helps to collect the dead following an Indian massacre of local citizens. Among the dead was a man he knew in the war, and Colton befriends the man's grieving father. Complications and conflicts ensue when the dead man's wife arrives in town and turns out to be an Indian woman with an infant son. Guest starring Katharine Ross, Lloyd Gough, Bill Zuckert, and Alan Baxter.
8"The House Rules at Mrs. Wayne's"Allen H. MinerRod SerlingNovember 6, 1965 (1965-11-06)
Abner Wayne, a friend of Colton's, was murdered trying to defend his wife's honor. Mrs. Wayne's reaction is to forbid guns and any talk of guns around her young son Jamie for fear he'll tread the same violent path. Colton must choose between keeping his promise or teaching Jamie what it means to be a man. Guest starring Nancy Gates, Lee Phillips, Lindy Davis, Jonathan Kidd, and Dick Wilson.
9"The Sheriff of Fetterman's Crossing"Don TaylorRod SerlingNovember 13, 1965 (1965-11-13)
Colton has second thoughts after signing on to serve as deputy to bungling Sheriff Walton Tetley. A lighthearted change-of-pace episode spoofing the iconic Western film High Noon. Guest starring comedian Allan Sherman, Harold Peary, Dub Taylor, and Hank Patterson.
10"The Homecoming of Lemuel Stove"Joseph PevneyRod SerlingNovember 20, 1965 (1965-11-20)
Colton befriends black Union soldier Lemuel Stove (Brock Peters) who is returning home to see his father. Upon arriving, however, Stove learns his father was lynched the previous evening by the Avengers, a Klan-like hate group. Russ Conway and Don Keefer also appear in this celebrated episode scripted by Rod Serling.
11"Westward, the Shoemaker"Joseph PevneyRod SerlingNovember 27, 1965 (1965-11-27)
Colton befriends Hyman Rabinovitch (David Opatoshu), an immigrant shoemaker with his life savings and an indomitable dream to open a cobbler's shop. Warren Stevens and Al Checco also guest star.
12"The Oath"Alex MarchRod SerlingDecember 4, 1965 (1965-12-04)
Erstwhile The Tall Man and future The Road West star Barry Sullivan plays a surgeon who, having lost the use of his right hand, must guide Colton verbally through surgery to remove a gunfighter's ruptured appendix. Also guest starring Joby Baker and Viviane Ventura.
13"Hunt the Man Down" Tay Garnett Milton S. GelmanDecember 11, 1965 (1965-12-11)
Colton is enlisted to join a posse hunting down an old mountaineer. Guest starring four-time Twilight Zone alum Burgess Meredith, Jason Wingreen, and future Shane co-stars Bert Freed and Tom Tully.
14"Escort for a Dead Man" Norman Foster Robert Lewin December 18, 1965 (1965-12-18)
Three gunmen complicate Colton's efforts to help an Army deserter turn himself in. Guest starring Jack Lambert Sheree North, Corey Allen, and Hal Lynch.
15"The Ordeal of Bud Windom"Paul HenreidNorman KatkovDecember 25, 1965 (1965-12-25)
Colton escorts fugitive Barney Windom (Sonny Tufts) to prison, only to be confronted by Windom's son Bud (Jeff Bridges), who is determined to clear his father's name. LLoyd Bridges' real-life son Jeff Bridges co-stars in the title role. Also appearing are Allen Jaffe, Bryan O'Byrne, and John Craven.
16"To the West of Eden"Allen H. MinerEd AdamsonJanuary 1, 1966 (1966-01-01)
Colton reluctantly allows a Mexican girl to accompany him across the desert. Guest starring Ina Balin, Stewart Moss, and Zalman King.
17"Mantrap"Allen H. MinerGerald SanfordJanuary 8, 1966 (1966-01-08)
Outlaws are out to silence Colton after he witnesses a double murder. Guest starring Bethel Leslie, Pat Conway, and Meg Wylie.
18"A Little Stroll to the End of the Line"Norman FosterRod SerlingJanuary 15, 1966 (1966-01-15)
Colton is deputized to protect rabble-rousing Preacher Whatley (Robert Emhardt) from ex-convict Matthew Reynolds (Dan Duryea). Bart Burns and Norman Leavitt also appear.
19"The Trial in Paradise"Allen ReisnerRod SerlingJanuary 22, 1966 (1966-01-22)
Colton defends Major Dichter (Curt Conway), the commander of an ill-fated Civil War mission, against three maimed survivors of the mission who lure Dichter to the ghost town of Paradise to stand trial in a kangaroo court. Guest starring Robert Lansing, Edward Binns, Joe Mantell, and Deanna Lund.
20"A Question of Guilt" James B. Clark Les Crutchfield January 29, 1966 (1966-01-29)
Colton must figure out why the soldier he killed attacked him in the dark of night. Guest starring James Gregory, Jean Hale, Chuck Hayward, and Frank Gerstle.
21"The Mourners for Johnny Sharp: Part 1"Joseph PevneyRod SerlingFebruary 5, 1966 (1966-02-05)
As young gunman Johnny Sharp (Beau Bridges) lays a'dying in a cave, Bob Pierson (Pat Hingle) plots to steal his loot. James Whitmore also guest stars in the series' only two-part episode. Beau Bridges is the son of series star Lloyd Bridges.
22"The Mourners for Johnny Sharp: Part 2"Joseph PevneyRod SerlingFebruary 12, 1966 (1966-02-12)
Colton receives instructions stating that the four people closest to Johnny Sharp are to meet at the undertaker's parlor. Guest starring James Whitmore, Skip Homeier, John Doucette, and Joyce Van Patten.
23"Incident in the Middle of Nowhere"Joseph PevneyAndy WhiteFebruary 19, 1966 (1966-02-19)
Colton's horse is stolen during a stagecoach robbery, but he later finds a young girl riding it, prompting him to search for the robbers. Guest starring Peter Mark Richman, Beverly Garland, and Cindy Bridges (daughter of series star Lloyd Bridges).
24"Pick Me Another Time to Die"Alex MarchEd AdamsonFebruary 26, 1966 (1966-02-26)
Colton discovers a sheriff's body, only to be accused of murdering him! Guest starring Martin E. Brooks, Mike Mazurki, Lewis Charles, Ed Peck, and Joan Adams.
25"The Burden of the Badge" Larry Peerce Norman KatkovMarch 5, 1966 (1966-03-05)
Colton is recruited by a group of reformed outlaws to fight a cattle baron. Guest starring Victor Jory, Lonny Chapman, Dorothy Rice, John Daniels, and William Henry.
26"To Hang A Dead Man"Alex MarchMilton S. GelmanMarch 12, 1966 (1966-03-12)
In the final episode of the series, Colton joins a sheriff to track down the outlaw gang that burned down a town. Guest starring Howard Da Silva, Bruce Dern, Beverly Allyson, and Jim Drum.

Home media

In June 2016, Shout! Factory, in conjunction with Timeless Media Group, released The Loner as a Region 1 4-DVD set containing all 26 episodes of the series plus a featurette, The Wandering Man's Burden: Making "The Loner". [1] The DVD set was initially made available in North America as a Walmart exclusive (both in-store and online).

In 1998, Jerry Goldsmith's theme music and his two episode scores ("An Echo Of Bugles" and "One Of The Wounded") were released by Film Score Monthly on a limited edition soundtrack album alongside his score for Stagecoach .[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<i>The Twilight Zone</i> Media franchise based on an American television anthology series

The Twilight Zone is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described as entering "the Twilight Zone". The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, supernatural drama, black comedy, and psychological thriller, frequently concluding with a macabre or unexpected twist, and usually with a moral. A popular and critical success, it introduced many Americans to common science fiction and fantasy tropes. The first series, shot entirely in black-and-white, ran on CBS for five seasons from 1959 to 1964.

<i>Night Gallery</i> American anthology TV series (1970–1973)

Night Gallery is an American anthology television series that aired on NBC from December 16, 1970, to May 27, 1973, featuring stories of horror and the macabre. Rod Serling, who had gained fame from an earlier series, The Twilight Zone, served both as the on-air host of Night Gallery and as a major contributor of scripts, although he did not have the same control of content and tone as he had on The Twilight Zone. Serling viewed Night Gallery as a logical extension of The Twilight Zone, but while both series shared an interest in thought-provoking dark fantasy, more of Zone's offerings were science fiction while Night Gallery focused on horrors of the supernatural.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rod Serling</span> American screenwriter (1924–1975)

Rodman Edward Serling was an American screenwriter, playwright, television producer, and narrator/on-screen host, best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his anthology television series The Twilight Zone. Serling was active in politics, both on and off the screen, and helped form television industry standards. He was known as the "angry young man" of Hollywood, clashing with television executives and sponsors over a wide range of issues, including censorship, racism, and war.

"Walking Distance" is episode five of the American television series The Twilight Zone. It originally aired on October 30, 1959. The episode was listed as the ninth best episode in the history of The Twilight Zone by Time magazine.

"The Mighty Casey" is episode thirty-five of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. Its title is a reference to the baseball poem "Casey at the Bat". It originally aired on June 17, 1960 on CBS. The episode was written by Rod Serling, and directed by Robert Parrish and Alvin Ganzer.

"A World of His Own" is episode thirty-six of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. It was the last episode of the show's first season and essentially comedic in tone. It originally aired on July 1, 1960, on CBS.

"King Nine Will Not Return" is the season two premiere episode, and 37th overall, of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. It originally aired on September 30, 1960 on CBS.

"Eye of the Beholder" is episode 42 of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. It originally aired on November 11, 1960, on CBS.

"The Night of the Meek" is episode 47 of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. It originally aired on December 23, 1960, on CBS. It was one of the six episodes of the second season which was shot on videotape in a short-lived experiment aimed to cut costs.

"The Odyssey of Flight 33" is episode 54 of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone, the 18th episode of the second season. An unlikely break of the time barrier finds a commercial airliner sent back into the prehistoric age and then to New York City of 1939. The tale is a modern telling of the Flying Dutchman myth, and was written by series creator Rod Serling. It originally aired on February 24, 1961 on CBS.

"It's a Good Life" is the eighth episode of the third season of the American television series The Twilight Zone, and the 73rd overall. It was written by series creator/showrunner Rod Serling, based on the 1953 short story "It's a Good Life" by Jerome Bixby. The episode was directed by James Sheldon, and is considered by some, such as Time and TV Guide, to be one of the best episodes of the series. It originally aired on November 3, 1961. The episode was one of four from the original 1959 series which formed the basis of the 1983 film Twilight Zone: The Movie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">In Praise of Pip</span> 1st episode of the 5th season of The Twilight Zone

"In Praise of Pip" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. In this episode, after learning that his soldier son has suffered a mortal wound in an early phase of the Vietnam War, a crooked bookie encounters a childhood version of his son.

<i>The Twilight Zone</i> (1985 TV series) Television series (1985-1989)

The Twilight Zone is an anthology television series which aired from September 27, 1985, to April 15, 1989. It is the first of three revivals of Rod Serling's acclaimed 1959–64 television series, and like the original it featured a variety of speculative fiction, commonly containing characters from a seemingly normal world stumbling into paranormal circumstances. Unlike the original, however, most episodes contained multiple self-contained stories instead of just one. The voice-over narrations were still present, but were not a regular feature as they were in the original series; some episodes had only an opening narration, some had only a closing narration, and some had no narration at all. The multi-segment format liberated the series from the usual time constraints of episodic television, allowing stories ranging in length from 8-minutes to 40-minute mini-movies. The series ran for two seasons on CBS before producing a final season for syndication.

Twilight Zone literature is an umbrella term for the many books and comic books which concern or adapt The Twilight Zone television series.

The Twilight Zone is a nationally syndicated radio drama series featuring radio play adaptations of the classic 1959–1964 television series The Twilight Zone. The series was produced for the British digital radio station BBC Radio 4 Extra airing for 176 episodes between October 2002 and 2012. In the United States, it aired on nearly 200 radio stations including WCCO, KSL, KOA, WIND, XM Satellite Radio channel 163 and Sirius XM Book Radio. Most of the stations aired two episodes each week, usually on the weekends and many times back to back.

<i>The Twilight Zone</i> (1959 TV series) American TV anthology series (1959–1964)

The Twilight Zone is an American science fiction horror anthology television series created and presented by Rod Serling, which ran for five seasons on CBS from October 2, 1959, to June 19, 1964. Each episode presents a standalone story in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described as entering "the Twilight Zone", often with a surprise ending and a moral. Although predominantly science-fiction, the show's paranormal and Kafkaesque events leaned the show towards fantasy and horror. The phrase "twilight zone", inspired by the series, is used to describe surreal experiences.

"Showdown With Rance McGrew" is episode 85 of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.

<i>The Twilight Zone</i> (2002 TV series) 2002 TV series

The Twilight Zone is a science fiction horror anthology television series, presented by Forest Whitaker. It is the second of three revivals of Rod Serling's original 1959–64 television series. It aired for one season on the UPN network, with actor Forest Whitaker assuming Serling's role as narrator and on-screen host. It was a co-production between Spirit Dance Entertainment, Trilogy Entertainment Group, Joshmax Productions Services, and New Line Television. It premiered on September 18, 2002, and aired its final episode on May 21, 2003.

<i>The Twilight Zone</i> (2019 TV series) 2019 American anthology television series

The Twilight Zone is an American anthology television series developed by Simon Kinberg, Jordan Peele, and Marco Ramirez, based on the original 1959 television series created by Rod Serling. Peele serves as narrator, in addition to executive producing through Monkeypaw Productions. The weekly series premiered on April 1, 2019, on CBS All Access, and was renewed for a second season halfway through its first set of 10 episodes. The second season was released in its entirety on June 25, 2020. In February 2021, the producers announced the series would not return for additional seasons.

References