Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)The 78 half-hour episodes of the television western "26 Men" were originally broadcast during the 1957-59 television seasons. The series was produced by Russell "Lucky" Hayden, the same guy who played Hopalong Cassidy's sidekick Lucky Jenkins in many of Hoppy's western films during the late 30's and early 40's. Ten episodes from throughout the run of the series are included on this DVD release. Resolution is a bit grainy and overexposed so don't expect a great image-but it is viewable and given the reception quality in many households during the original broadcasts the image will feel like authentic 1950's television viewing. No special features on the DVD's-just the episodes.
Much like its counterpart, "Tales of Texas Rangers", the series focused on the historical adventures of the Arizona Rangers who operated in Arizona while it was still a territory. Some names were changed but the idea was to recreate actual cases from the files of the Rangers.
The Arizona Rangers were created in 1901 by the Arizona Territorial Legislature to deal mostly with rustlers along the Mexican border. Modeled on the Texas Rangers the group was originally limited to one company of 14 men, in 1903 the force was increased to 26 men (hence the series title).
Many of the 26 were Spanish-American War veterans of Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders unit. They were expert horsemen, trackers and marksmen. Because the force was small and their mission was big the territory made sure they were equipped with the best horses and the most modern weapons. And they apparently were legends in their own time, widely publicized and conspicuous. And so successful that local law enforcement worked lobbied hard to have this elite force disbanded.
In the television series Tris Coffin plays Captain Tom Rynning (the actual name of the unit's second commander) and Kelo Henderson plays Clint Travis. "Coffin" was appropriately named as his main claim to fame was an incident a couple years earlier on the CBS anthology series "Climax". Coffin was playing a corpse during a scene and suddenly just stood up during shooting and walked out of the frame. He had thought the scene over and the camera turned off. For this he was nationally nicknamed "dead man walking"."The Recruit" - 15 October 1957 - The newspaper editor of Wilcox asks the Rangers for help, and two of them are dispatched to the town. However, when they get there they find the editor has been lynched and is hanging from a tree.
"The Wild Bunch" - 29 October 1957 - A member of the notorious Wild Bunch bandit gang escapes from Ranger Clint Travis' custody, resulting in his being fired. Furious, Travis sets out to take on the whole gang and salvage his career and reputation.
"Border Incident" - 5 November 1957 - Clint Travis goes undercover as a gun smuggler to stop Mexican revolutionary Juan Morales' plans to topple the Mexican government.
"Incident at Yuma" - 19 November 1957 - A gang of convicts has escaped from prison, but Capt. Rynning's can't get any more men to help capture them.
"The Slater Brothers" - 26 November 1957 - When Clint Travis is falsely accused of Murder. Rynning sends him into Galioro Mountains to prove his innocence by finding the cattle rustlers who actually committed the crime.
"Trouble At Pinnacle Peak"
"The Big Rope"
"Trail of Darkness"
"Trade Me Deadly"
"The Bells of St. Thomas"Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.
Saddle up, saddle up, saddle up.
This is the story of 26 Men.
Who rode the Arizona Territory.
High is the glory of 26 Men,
Whose parish helped to fill the Territory.
26 Men who saddled up and then
Rode out to answer duty's call.
26 Men who lived to ride again
And fight for the rights and the liberty of all.
This is the story of 26 Men
Enforcing law within the Territory.
Praise be the Glory of 26 Men
Who rode the Arizona Territory.
Ride on. Ride on. Ride on.
Click Here to see more reviews about: 26 MEN - 20 Episodes Starring Tris Coffin
26 MEN was based on true official files of the Arizona Rangers in the final days of taming the "old west." In 1901, a law enforcement organization was formed, known as the Arizona Rangers, consisting of twenty-six men: a captain, a lieutenant, four sergeants and twenty privates. The Rangers preserved and maintained law and order in the Arizona Territory, making arrests of criminals in any part of Arizona. As one of the original members reportedly recalled: "The reason there was only twenty-six of us was because the Territory couldn't afford no more." This series starring Tris Coffin and Kelo Henderson, and produced by Russell Hayden, was a thrilling tale of law enforcement and partnership. B&W
Click here for more information about 26 MEN - 20 Episodes Starring Tris Coffin
0 comments:
Post a Comment