Horror Movies, TV Westerns and "I Was a Teenage..."

Submitted by flfrleta on Thu, 08/25/2005 - 06:50
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    i was a teenage...

    movies began in 1957 with i was a teenage werewolf. michael landon, in his first role, starred in the story of a kid with more of a complexion problem than just pimples. a few years later, landon rode onto the ponderosa and into television history in bonanza (1959-1973) as little joe cartwright.
  • he wasn't the only actor who found work in a 1950's horror flick and then went on to star in a TV western:

  • james arness played the title role in the thing from another world (1951), the story of an extra-terrestrial vegetable who turned the heat on a group of arctic scientists after they accidentally heated him up. Arness starred in gunsmoke (1955-1975) as marshall matt dillon;

    Clint eastwood's first screen appearance was in revenge of the creature (1955), the continuing story of the gill-man of the amazon, a monster who just wanted a beautiful woman to spend his life with in his little corner of the black lagoon. who can blame him for being upset when sensitivity-challenged humans stopped him? eastwood starred in rawhide (1959-1966) as assistant foreman rowdy yates;

    Eric fleming took a journey to mars, to venus and through the past before starring as a preacher out to save the young womenfolk in his town from pre-marital punctures in curse of the undead (1959), the story of a vampire in the old west who found gainful employment as a really-didn't-matter-if-he-was-quick-on-the-draw-or-not-because-he-was-already-dead gunslinger. fleming starred in rawhide (1959-1966) as trail boss gil favor;

    jack kelly had early starring roles in cult of the cobra (1955), the story of ex-gis who found out that a date with a snake makes for an exchange of some deadly fluids, and she devil (1957), the story of a woman who turned fruitier than a fruitcake after being given a fruit fly serum. Kelly starred in Maverick (1957-1962) as the gambler and reluctant hero Bart Maverick;

    john mcintire had been in films since 1947 when cast as the local sheriff in psycho (1960), the story of a motel with an "electrical" problem... the owner just might put an occupant's lights out permanently. McIntire starred in wagon train (1957-1965) as wagonmaster christopher hale;

    steve McQueen's first starring role was in the blob (1958), the story of an alien jello that chowed down humans with the same gusto as a weight watchers dropout pigging out. McQueen starred in wanted: dead or alive (1959-1963) as bounty hunter josh randall.

  • Gunsmoke

    was the first of the adult tv westerns but that show as well as the others were under the watchful eyes of censors and they couldn't use tits and gore and vulgarity to catch the viewer's eyes and ears. they had to have good actors playing good characters in good stories to do that, and that's what they did have.
  • besides those already named, the actors and their characters included:

  • nick adams in the rebel (1959-1961) as the ex-confederate soldier johnny yuma;

  • richard boone in have gun, will travel (1957-1963) as the black-clad hired gun paladin;

  • chuck connors in the rifleman (1958-1963) as the rifle-toting rancher lucas mccain;

    james garner in maverick (1957-1962) as the gambler and reluctant hero bret maverick;

    clint walker in cheyenne (1955-1963) as the always-looking-for-a-fight wanderer cheyenne bodie;

    dan blocker, lorne greene and pernell roberts in bonanza (1959-1973) as the rest of the cartwright family;

    ken curtis and dennis weaver in gunsmoke (1955-1975) as, respectively, the deputies festus haggen (1964-1975) and chester goode (1955-1964).

  • behind the cameras,

    there were old pros and young talent.
  • the directors included:

  • robert altman (mash, nashville) on bonanza and maverick (also as writer);

    richard donner (lethal weapon, superman) on the rifleman and wanted: dead or alive;

    john ford (the grapes of wrath, how green was my valley) on wagon train;

    arthur hiller (the americanization of emily, the hospital) on gunsmoke and the rifleman;

    andrew v. McLaglen (chisum, shenandoah) on gunsmoke, have gun, will travel and rawhide;

    lewis milestone (all quiet on the western front 1930, pork chop hill) on have gun, will travel;

    sam peckinpah (the wild bunch, straw dogs) on gunsmoke and the rifleman (creator) (also as writer on both).

  • the writers included:

  • d. d. beauchamp (the man from the alamo, man without a star) on wanted: dead or alive;

    charles beaumont (brain dead, masque of the red death) on have gun, will travel and wanted: dead or alive;

    r. wright campbell (hells angels on wheels, man of a thousand faces) on maverick;

    fred freiberger (the beast from 20,000 fathoms, garden of evil) on bonanza, rawhide and wanted: dead or alive;

    cyril hume (tarzan the ape man 1932, forbidden planet) on the rifleman;

    richard matheson (duel, the house of usher) on have gun, will travel;

    stirling silliphant (charly, in the heat of the night) on rawhide.

  • all in all,

    an array of professional people doing professional work. at their best, these tv westerns rivaled what was happening in the old west on the big screen during those years. my own favorites are gunsmoke and have gun, will travel and the best actor honor goes to richard boone.

  • i was a teenage werewolf

    started the ball rolling on the i was a teenage... titles and that ball has continued to roll to this day leaving in its path what have to be the goofiest series of titles around. here they are listed in chronological order as an appendix to my goofiest, wackiest and oddest titles list:

  • 1 was a teenage werewolf (1957);

    i was a teenage frankenstein (1957);

    i was a teenage doll (1958) (working title) aka attack of the puppet people;

    i was a teenage mummy (1960);

    i was a teenage rumpot (1960);

    i was a teenage gorilla (1961) (working title) aka konga;

    i was a teenage thumb (1963);

    i was a teenage tv terrorist (1985) aka amateur hour;

    i was a teenage boy (1986) aka willy/milly;

    i was a teenage zombie (1987);

    i was a teenage vampire (1988) aka my best friend is a vampire;

    i was a teenage sex maniac (1989) aka i was a teenage sex mutant, aka dr. alien;

    i was a teenage g-man (1991) (working title) aka dissarray;

    i was a teenage mummy (1992);

    i was a teenage serial killer (1993);

    i was a teenage teenager (1995) aka clueless;

    i was a teenage intellectual (1999);

    the day the women took over or i was a teenage neo-impressionist (2001);

    i was a teenage faust (2002).

Author Comments: 

Dan Blocker was in Bonanza 1959-1972.
Eric Fleming was in Rawhide 1959-1965.
James Garner was in Maverick 1957-1960.
John McIntire joined the cast of Wagon Train in 1961 after the death of Ward Bond, the original wagonmaster.
Pernell Roberts was in Bonanza 1959-1965.
Glenn Strange had the minor role of Sam the bartender in Gunsmoke from 1961-1973. He had played the Frankenstein monster in House of Frankenstein (1944), House of Dracula (1945) and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948).
This is not a complete listing of all the westerns of that time. There were other good shows. I just touched upon the top of the heap.