26 Men
26 Men is a syndicated American Western television series about the Arizona Rangers, a law-enforcement group limited to 26 active members.[1] By March 1958, the program was carried on 158 stations in the United States.[2] The program was also broadcast on ATN-7 in Australia[3] and on ZBM-TV in Bermuda.[4]
| 26 Men | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Western |
| Written by | Dwight V. Babcock Oliver Drake Warren Douglas Tom Hubbard Sloan Nibley Lawrence Resner Samuel Roeca |
| Directed by | Franklin Adreon Joseph Kane Reg Browne Oliver Drake |
| Starring | Tristram Coffin Kelo Henderson |
| Theme music composer | Russell Hayden Hal Hopper |
| Composers | Al Sack Gordon Zahler |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 78 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Russell Hayden |
| Producers | William Dennis Russell Hayden |
| Cinematography | Buddy Harris John Mathew Nickolaus, Jr. Kenneth Peach J.D. Weiler |
| Editors | Tom Biggart Reg Browne Frank Capacchione Everett Dodd Axel Hubert Sr. Roy V. Livingston |
| Running time | 25 minutes |
| Production company | Russell Hayden Productions |
| Distributor | ABC Film Syndication |
| Release | |
| Original network | Syndication |
| Picture format | Black-and-white |
| Audio format | Monoaural |
| Original release | November 1, 1957 – June 30, 1959 |
Production
Russell Hayden was the producer[5] of the ABC Film Syndication series. Reg Browne was the director, Sloane Nibley was the writer, and Oliver Drake was the adapter.[6] The theme song was written by Hal Hopper.[7]
Facilities of Cudia City Studios, in Phoenix, Arizona, were expanded to handle filming of 26 Men.[8] When the series filmed on location, local residents often filled some roles in the cast.[7] It was "reportedly the first TV series ever to be filmed completely in Arizona."[9]
Synopsis and background
Set in Arizona, when it was still a territory in the first decade of the 20th century,[3] 26 Men stars Tris Coffin as Captain Thomas H. Rynning and Kelo Henderson as ranger Clint Travis. They were part of the group established by the Arizona Territorial Legislature in 1901.[1] The number of members was limited to 26 "to avoid vigilantism".[7] Information from government archives and newspapers provided the basis of the plots of episodes.[8]
Episodes
Season 1 (1957–58)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "The Recruit" | TBA | TBA | October 15, 1957 |
| 2 | 2 | "Trouble at Pinnacle Peak" | Reg Browne | Sloan Nibley | October 22, 1957 |
| 3 | 3 | "The Wild Bunch" | Reg Browne | Buckley Angell | October 29, 1957 |
| 4 | 4 | "Border Incident" | Reg Browne | Joe Richardson | November 5, 1957 |
| 5 | 5 | "Destination Nowhere" | TBA | Dwight V. Babcock | November 12, 1957 |
| 6 | 6 | "Incident at Yuma" | Reg Browne | Ed Repp | November 19, 1957 |
| 7 | 7 | "The Slater Brothers" | Oliver Drake | Terence Maples & Sam Roeca & Tom Hubbard | November 26, 1957 |
| 8 | 8 | "Dead Man in Tucson" | Reg Browne | Tom Hubbard & Sam Roeca | December 3, 1957 |
| 9 | 9 | "Man on the Run" | Oliver Drake | Sam Roeca & Tom Hubbard & Will George | December 10, 1957 |
| 10 | 10 | "The Big Rope" | Oliver Drake | John K. Butler | December 17, 1957 |
| 11 | 11 | "Valley of Fear" | TBA | Sloan Nibley | December 24, 1957 |
| 12 | 12 | "Indian Gunslinger" | Reg Browne | Frank Graves | December 31, 1957 |
| 13 | 13 | "Trail of Darkness" | TBA | TBA | January 7, 1958 |
| 14 | 14 | "Trade Me Deadly" | Oliver Drake | Buckley Angell | January 14, 1958 |
| 15 | 15 | "Violent Land" | TBA | TBA | January 28, 1958 |
| 16 | 16 | "Panic at Bisbee" | TBA | TBA | February 4, 1958 |
| 17 | 17 | "Insurrection" | TBA | Dwight V. Babcock | February 11, 1958 |
| 18 | 18 | "Slaughter Trail" | TBA | TBA | February 18, 1958 |
| 19 | 19 | "Gun Hand" | TBA | TBA | February 25, 1958 |
| 20 | 20 | "Cattle Embargo" | TBA | TBA | March 4, 1958 |
| 21 | 21 | "Badge to Kill" | TBA | TBA | March 11, 1958 |
| 22 | 22 | "Montezuma's Cave" | TBA | TBA | March 18, 1958 |
| 23 | 23 | "Sundown Decision" | TBA | TBA | March 25, 1958 |
| 24 | 24 | "The Parrish Gang" | TBA | TBA | April 1, 1958 |
| 25 | 25 | "Hoax at Globe" | TBA | TBA | April 8, 1958 |
| 26 | 26 | "The Bounty Hunter" | TBA | TBA | April 15, 1958 |
| 27 | 27 | "Apache Water" | TBA | TBA | April 22, 1958 |
| 28 | 28 | "Legacy of Death" | Oliver Drake | Oliver Drake | April 29, 1958 |
| 29 | 29 | "Chain Gang" | TBA | TBA | May 6, 1958 |
| 30 | 30 | "The Bells of St. Thomas" | Oliver Drake | Oliver Drake | May 13, 1958 |
| 31 | 31 | "Hondo Man" | TBA | TBA | May 20, 1958 |
| 32 | 32 | "The Vanquisher" | TBA | TBA | May 27, 1958 |
| 33 | 33 | "The Ranger and the Lady" | TBA | TBA | June 3, 1958 |
| 34 | 34 | "Idol in the Dust" | TBA | TBA | June 10, 1958 |
| 35 | 35 | "Runaway Stage" | TBA | TBA | June 17, 1958 |
| 36 | 36 | "Wayward Gun" | TBA | TBA | June 24, 1958 |
| 37 | 37 | "Hole Up" | TBA | TBA | July 1, 1958 |
| 38 | 38 | "Unholy Partners" | TBA | TBA | July 8, 1958 |
| 39 | 39 | "Killer's Trail" | TBA | TBA | July 15, 1958 |
Season 2 (1958–59)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | 1 | "The Glory Road" | TBA | TBA | October 7, 1958 |
| 41 | 2 | "Shadow of Doubt" | TBA | TBA | October 14, 1958 |
| 42 | 3 | "Man in Hiding" | TBA | TBA | October 21, 1958 |
| 43 | 4 | "Cross and Double Cross" | TBA | TBA | October 28, 1958 |
| 44 | 5 | "The Last Rebellion" | TBA | TBA | November 4, 1958 |
| 45 | 6 | "Brief Glory" | TBA | TBA | November 11, 1958 |
| 46 | 7 | "Dog Eat Dog" | TBA | TBA | November 18, 1958 |
| 47 | 8 | "Judge Not" | TBA | TBA | November 25, 1958 |
| 48 | 9 | "My Brother's Keeper" | TBA | TBA | December 2, 1958 |
| 49 | 10 | "Run No More" | TBA | TBA | December 9, 1958 |
| 50 | 11 | "The Manhunt" | TBA | TBA | December 16, 1958 |
| 51 | 12 | "The Avenger" | TBA | TBA | December 23, 1958 |
| 52 | 13 | "False Witness" | TBA | TBA | December 30, 1958 |
| 53 | 14 | "The Torch" | TBA | TBA | January 6, 1959 |
| 54 | 15 | "Trail of Revenge" | TBA | TBA | January 13, 1959 |
| 55 | 16 | "The Hellion" | TBA | TBA | January 20, 1959 |
| 56 | 17 | "Ranger Without a Badge" | TBA | TBA | January 27, 1959 |
| 57 | 18 | "The Showdown" | TBA | TBA | February 3, 1959 |
| 58 | 19 | "The Long Trail Home" | TBA | TBA | February 10, 1959 |
| 59 | 20 | "Death in the Dragoons" | TBA | TBA | February 17, 1959 |
| 60 | 21 | "Ricochet" | TBA | TBA | February 24, 1959 |
| 61 | 22 | "House Divided" | TBA | TBA | March 3, 1959 |
| 62 | 23 | "Profane Masquerade" | TBA | TBA | March 10, 1959 |
| 63 | 24 | "Dead or Alive" | TBA | TBA | March 17, 1959 |
| 64 | 25 | "The Has Been" | TBA | TBA | March 24, 1959 |
| 65 | 26 | "The Unwanted" | TBA | TBA | March 31, 1959 |
| 66 | 27 | "Live and Let Die" | TBA | TBA | April 7, 1958 |
| 67 | 28 | "Trial at Verde River" | TBA | TBA | April 14, 1959 |
| 68 | 29 | "Scorpion" | TBA | TBA | April 21, 1959 |
| 69 | 30 | "The Last Kill" | TBA | TBA | April 28, 1959 |
| 70 | 31 | "Redskin" | TBA | TBA | May 5, 1959 |
| 71 | 32 | "Cave-In" | TBA | TBA | May 12, 1959 |
| 72 | 33 | "Terror in Paradise" | TBA | TBA | May 19, 1959 |
| 73 | 34 | "Fighting Man" | TBA | TBA | May 26, 1959 |
| 74 | 35 | "Tumbleweed Ranger" | TBA | TBA | June 2, 1959 |
| 75 | 36 | "The Tiger" | TBA | TBA | June 9, 1959 |
| 76 | 37 | "Abandoned" | TBA | TBA | June 16, 1959 |
| 77 | 38 | "Bandit Queen" | TBA | TBA | June 23, 1959 |
| 78 | 39 | "Refuge at Broken Bow" | TBA | TBA | June 30, 1959 |
Sponsors
As a syndicated program, 26 Men had different sponsors in different parts of the United States. They included H. P. Hood and Sons (a dairy) for all of New England; Mrs. Smith's Pie Company and Freihofer Baking Company (alternating weekly) in four cities in Pennsylvania; Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company in Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and Buffalo; and Standard Oil of Texas in eight markets in Texas and New Mexico.[10]
Notable guest stars
- Rico Alaniz
- Robert Blake
- Edgar Buchanan
- Mason Alan Dinehart
- William Fawcett
- Don Haggerty
- Ron Hayes
- DeForest Kelley
- Lash LaRue
- Forrest Lewis
- Jackie Loughery
- Walter Maslow
- Doug McClure
- Leonard Nimoy
- Gregg Palmer
- Denver Pyle
- Maudie Prickett
- Kim Spalding
- Glenn Strange
- Dub Taylor
- Carol Thurston
- Gregory Walcott
- Grant Withers
Home media
Timeless Media Group released a 3-disc best-of set, featuring 20 episodes from the series on DVD in Region 1 on April 12, 2011.[11]
References
- McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television: the Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present (4th ed.). New York, New York: Penguin Books USA, Inc. pp. 870–871. ISBN 0-14-02-4916-8.
- Stern, Harold (March 15, 1958). "26 Men Based on Fact". The Record. New Jersey, Hackensack. p. 37. Retrieved June 26, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- "More Western Series". The Sydney Morning Herald. June 16, 1958. p. 15. Retrieved June 25, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Film Clips" (PDF). Broadcasting. December 23, 1957. p. 64. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
- "Russell (Lucky) Hayden, Romantic Film Cowboy". The New York Times. Associated Press. June 13, 1981. p. 16. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
- "George T. (2-gun) Shupert calls it a Western, son!" (PDF). Billboard. August 19, 1957. p. 10. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
- Erickson, Hal (1989). Syndicated Television: The First Forty Years, 1947-1987'. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 101. ISBN 0-7864-1198-8.
- "'26 Men' - the Story of Arizona". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. August 2, 1958. p. 74. Retrieved June 25, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- "'26 Men' Filming begins" (PDF). Broadcasting. September 2, 1957. p. 81.
- "ABC Film's '26 Men' Racks Up $500,000 in Advance Sales" (PDF). Broadcasting. July 22, 1957. p. 62. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-09-16. Retrieved 2012-05-01.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)