The 60th Anniversary of the TV Series The Virginian

Today ninety minute television shows are unknown on American broadcast network television. Long ago the networks appear to have settled on a half hour with commercials for comedies and an hour with commercials for dramas as acceptable lengths for TV shows. That having been said, there was a time when shows that were ninety minutes in length were not unknown on American broadcast network television. The successful anthology show Playhouse 90, debuting in 1956, was ninety minutes in length. In the Seventies, NBC Mystery Movie was ninety minutes and later even two hours in length. In between those two shows was The Virginian. The Virginian was not only the first ninety minute Western, but one of the most successful ninety minute shows ever. It ran for nine seasons and spent eight of those seasons in the top thirty highest rated shows for each year. It debuted on September 19 1962, making yesterday its 60th anniversary.

The TV series was loosely based on the novel The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains by Owen Wistler. The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains was set on the Sunk Creek Ranch outside Medicine Bow,Wyoming in the 1890s. It centred on the title character, who is only known as the Virginian. Starting out as a cowboy, the Virginian eventually became the foreman of the Sunk Creek Ranch. Among other things, the Virginian comes into conflict with Trampas, a cowboy and gambler. The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains is counted as one of the earliest Western novels and it would have a lasting influence on the genre. What we today consider Western cliches originated with The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains. The line "Smile, when you say that" stems from a line in the novel, "When you call me that, smile!" The trope of the mysterious stranger who wanders into town or onto a ranch originated with the Virginian, a man with no name if there ever was one. It was in The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains that a schoolmarm first appears as the hero's love interest. It even features the first classic "showdown" in the history of Western fiction.

Given the impact of The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains, it should come as no surprise that it has been adapted to film and television multiple times. It was twice adapted as a movie during the Silent Era, first in 1914 and then in 1923. It would be adapted again as a talkie in 1929 with Gary Cooper in the title role, establishing him as a Western star. It was adapted again in 1946 with Joel McCrea as the Virginian.

Indeed, as early as the late Fifties there was a proposed TV show based on The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains. Television writer Frank Price then an analyst and story editor at Screen Gems, suggested The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains as the basis for a possible TV series. He realized that the novel had gone into public domain, so Screen Gems would have to pay nothing for it. A half hour pilot was then shot, written by Leslie Stevens, who would go onto create The Outer Limits. In the title role it starred a young actor James Drury, who would play the Virginian in 1962 series. Despite the fact that James Drury played the role, in many ways the Virginian of the pilot was very different from the Virginian of the 1962 series. In the pilot the character was a bit of a fop, dressed in a frilly shirt with lace cuffs. NBC did not pick up the pilot, but but it for this proposed series based on The Virginian; Horseman of the Plains was shown on the anthology series Decision on July 6 1958.

The origins of the 1962 series The Virginian can be traced back to Jennings Lang, vice president of MCA TV Limited. As vice president, he was involved in the development and sale of television shows and worked with MCA's production company Revue Productions. In the early Sixties not only was Wagon Train Revue's most successful show, but for the 1960-1961 season it was the no. 2 show on the air. For the 1961-1962 show it was the number 1 show on the air. With NBC about to renew Wagon Train, Jennings Lang figured he could make twice as much money by selling it to another network. While perpetually third rated network ABC had seen some success with such Warner Bros. shows as Maverick and 77 Sunset Strip, the network's fortunes were in decline by the early Sixties and they desperately needed a hit series. Jennings Lang then sold Wagon Train to ABC.

NBC's executives were hardly happy and wanted something to replace Wagon Train. Jennings Lang then proposed television's first ninety minute Western, The Virginian to NBC. To write the show's format, Jennings Lang assigned Frank Price, who had written Screen Gems' failed pilot for The Virginian. Frank Price would serve as an executive producer on the series. Charles Marquis Warren, who had produced both Gunsmoke and Rawhide, served as a producer early in the history of The Virginian and largely shaped the series. He left after only 10 episodes. He was followed for a time by Roy Huggins, who had produced Maverick.

Several actors were considered for the role of the Virginian (Frank Price thought Steve Forrest was among them), but the role ultimately went to the actor who had portrayed the Virginian in the Screen Gems pilot, James Drury. The character of Trampas on the television series would be completely different from the character in the original novel. In the series Trampas was a fun-loving, easy going cowboy who was friends with the Virginian. Doug McClure was the only actor considered for the role, having impressed MCA with his performance was one of the leads in the short-lived show Overland Trail.

Beyond a complete change in Trampas's personality, the TV series would differ from the novel in other ways. In the novel the ranch was named the Sunk Creek Ranch and its owner was Judge Henry. It was renamed Shiloh Ranch for the show. Cast in the role of the Judge, Lee J. Cobb wanted to change the character's name, so he became Judge Henry Garth. Another difference from the novel was that in the TV series Judge Garth is given a young daughter, Betsy, played by Roberta Shore. The character of Steven Hill, played by Gary Clarke, was based on the character of Steve from the original novel. As in the novel, he was a friend of the Virginian.

While The Virginian was a ninety minute show, NBC still expected the producers to deliver one episode a week. For this reason it had a more gruelling schedule than other shows. Each episode took eight days to shoot and they were often shooting multiple episodes at once. Of the schedule, star James Drury commented to True West on the occasion of the show's fiftieth anniversary, “A logistical nightmare, with as many as four shows shooting at the same time. But we got it done." Many of the cast wore the same clothing much of the time, That way any footage could be used again in other episodes.

Over time The Virginian would see several changes in its cast. Among the first changes in its cast was the departure of Gary Clarke, who played Steven Hill. The character of Steve was simply phased out during the second season, with no real explanation ever given by the producers or NBC. It was during the second season that the character of young ranch hand Randy Benton was introduced. Played by Randy Boone, he remained with the show until its fourth season. It was in the third season that the character of Deputy Sheriff Emmett Ryker was introduced. He was played by Clu Gulager. By season four, Deputy Ryker would become the sheriff. With a brief interruption during season five, Clu Gulager remained with The Virginian until its sixth season.

The biggest changes in the cast of The Virginian up until that time would occur with the fourth season. It was during the fourth season that Roberta Shore left the show. Betsy was written out of the show when she married a former minister and moved with him to Pennsylvania. To a degree this reflected Roberta Shore's real life, as she left the show to focus on her marriage. The role of the ingenue on the show was then filled by Diane Roter as the Judge's niece Jennifer Sommers. She remained with the show until its the end of its fourth season.  It was also with the end of the fourth season that Lee J. Cobb left The Virginian. Mr. Cobb was none too happy with the show and as a result he left The Virginian.

The character of Judge Garth would be replaced by a new character named Morgan Starr. played by John Dehner. Judge Garth had been appointed Governor of Wyoming, and so the Judge hired Morgan Starr to run the ranch. Unfortunately, the character of Morgan Starr was not well received and John Dehner did not remain on the show long. He was replaced by Charles Bickford as John Grainger at the start of the fifth season. John Grainger had two grandchildren, Stacey Granger played by John Quine and Elizabeth Granger played by Sara Lane. Unfortunately, John Bickford died from pneumonia and a blood infection at the age 76 on November 9 1967.

After Charles Bickford had died, both Don Quine and Sara Lane remained with the show for a time. Don Quine left with season six, while Sara Lane remained with the show until its eighth season. Their grandfather, John Grainger, would be replaced by his brother, Clay Grainger, played by John McIntire. Clay Grainger had a wife, Holly, played by John McIntire's real life wife Jeanette Nolan. The two characters would remain with the show until the end of its eighth season. It was with the eighth season that The Virginian would undergo dramatic changes.

It was with the eighth season that The Virginian did not rank in the to 25 for the first time in its history. It didn't even rank in the top thirty. It was perhaps for this reason that The Virginian was entirely retooled and even given a new title, Men From Shiloh. This was the result of a joint decision of Sid Sheinberg, then head of Universal TV, and Herb Schlosser, head of NBC programming. To a large degree, the retooled show, now titled The Men From Shiloh, would be patterned after Universal's successful series The Name of the Game. Like The Virginian, The Name of the Game was ninety minutes in length. Like The Virginian, The Name of the Game aired on NBC. Unlike The Virginian, The Name of the Game was a drama that rotated among three leads. One week viewers might tune into see Tony Franciosa as crusading reporter Jeff Dillon, then the next week they might see Gene Barry as publisher Glenn Howard, and then again the following week they might see Robert Stack as crime reporter Dan Farrell.

The Men From Shiloh utilized the same format of rotating leads as The Name of the Game. Clay and Holly Grainger were replaced by a new owner of the Shiloh Ranch, Colonel Alan MacKenzie (Stewart Granger).  Colonel MacKenzie was a retired British Army officer who even had his own valet (Parker, played by John McLiam). Another new character was cowboy Roy Tate, played by Lee Major (fresh from his run on the Western The Big Valley). These two characters would rotate as leads along with James Drury as the Virginian and Doug McClure. One major difference in the cast of The Men From Shiloh with earlier casts of The Virginian is that there were no girls or women among the leads whatsoever.

The title and the format were not the only things that were changed. A new title sequence, not unlike those used on The Name of the Game, was created by Jack Cole, who had also provided the title sequences for Ironside and The Name of the Game. Percy Faith's original theme for The Virginian was replaced by a new theme composed by Ennio Morricone, who had composed the scores for A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965), and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966). Even the costumes of the Virginian and Trampas were changed. After eight seasons of wearing essentially the same thing, the two characters were given all new wardrobes.

Even production of the show would change, with different executive producers handling different characters. Col. MacKenzie and Tate were handled by Herbert Hirschman and Edward J. Montagne. Leslie Stevens and Glen Larson handled the episodes featuring Trampas, while Norman MacDonnell took care of the episodes featuring the Virginian. If the name "Norman MacDonnell" sounds familiar, it is because he co-created the radio show Gunsmoke.

The Men From Shiloh improved in the ratings from the eighth season of The Virginian. In fact, it did very well, ranking at no. 18 for the year. Unfortunately, the 1970-1971 season was the last season before the Prime Time Access Rule took effect. The Prime Time Access Rule was a regulation created by the FCC, who were concerned about the dominance of the broadcast networks in television programming and production. Among other things, it cut several hours in prime time each week from the network schedules. The networks then had to cancel many more shows than they ever had before. It was with the 1970-1971 season that NBC's archrival, CBS, performed what was soon known as the Rural Purge, cancelling every single show that appealed to an audience that was too rural or older. Quite simply, CBS wanted to attract the younger 18-49 demographic desired by Madison Avenue.

CBS was not alone in cancelling show that whose audiences were either too rural or too old. Both ABC and NBC cancelled shows that did not appeal to the 18-14 demographic as well. The Men From Shiloh was among the shows that NBC cancelled because its audience was too old. Having come in at no. 18 for the year, it was among the highest rated shows ever cancelled.

The Virginian had a lasting influence. It proved that a ninety minute show could be successful. It was because of the success of The Virginian that during the 1963-1964 season Wagon Train was expanded to ninety minutes and also made the change to colour. At ninety minutes in length, Wagon Train did not prove to be successful, and it returned both to being an hour long in length and being shot in back and white in the following season. That same season the TV series Arrest and Trial debuted. Ninety minutes long, the first part of the show followed a police detective trying a case, while the second part of the show featured a defence attorney defending the individual arrested by the detective. It lasted only one season. CBS tried its own 90 minute Western with Cimarron Strip. Debuting at the start of the 1967 season, it only lasted one season. The Name of the Game, debuting on NBC in 1968, proved to be somewhat successful. It ran three seasons. Of course, following the cancellation of The Men From Shiloh, NBC would debut The NBC Mystery Movie. Also produced by Universal, the umbrella title may be the most successful ninety minute show of all time.

The Virginian would also be responsible for another NBC Western produced by Universal TV. The 1965 episode "We've Lost a Train" was a backdoor pilot for the comedy Western Laredo. Laredo debuted on September 16 1965 and ran for two seasons.

While The Virginian ended its run in 1971 as The Men From Shiloh, it was hardly gone. It would have a successful run in syndication. and has aired on Encore Westerns, Insp, and Cozi TV. The entire series, including its final season as The Men From Shiloh, is available on DVD.

At nine seasons, The Virginian is tied with Wagon Train as the third longest running broadcast network Western TV series. It has also persisted in syndication ever since it left network airwaves. The show still maintains a large following of fans, many of who weren't even born when the show debuted. It seems likely people will be watching The Virginian sixty years from now.