In 1962 NBC commissioned a TV version of Owen Wister’s novel The Virginian, the story of a nameless ranch foreman fighting evil in the old West. A competent film had already been made in 1946, but the network’s idea of spinning the story off into a full series, with each episode lasting 90 minutes, was almost unheard of at the time. The landscape was already awash with similar shows – as early as 1959 six out of seven top shows on American television were Westerns – what more could this add?
The long form of The Virginian lends an unhurried pace to each feature-length episode, with scope for subtlety and plot development that there wasn’t time for in shorter shows at the time. Although there was a sharing of sets and props with other westerns shooting on the same lot, the production values are largely high.
A stellar cast is led up by James Drury as the title character. Drury is instantly likeable and fair, trying to settle everything without resorting to gunplay. Hidden in the extras of the bonus DVD are interesting insights from Drury, who bemoans the increased censorship from the network’s ‘standards and practices’ division which resulted in any violence, however integral to the plot, being supressed.
The Virginian boasts some familiar faces in the supporting cast – the grizzly Lee J Cobb from such classic films as On The Waterfront and Twelve Angry Men plays the town’s Judge and, in large, the show’s moral compass. One of The Virginian’s sidekicks, Trampas is played by Doug McClure, familiar to anyone who has watched those plasticine action monster films of the mid 1960s.
The emphasis throughout The Virginian was, as is expected in the genre, strong moral fibre and the consistent battle between good and evil. Black shirted evil-doers breeze into the small town of Medicine Bow, Wyoming and disrupt the quiet community, and are ultimately defeated by the starched white shirts of the peacekeepers. These morality plays, whilst familiar, were certainly more sophisticated than audiences at the time were used to.
As with many TV shows of the time, The Virginian was used as a guest-star vehicle by many outstanding character film actors, who relished the opportunity to get their teeth into meatier roles on the small screen. Within the boxset can be found Bette Davis, Robert Redford, Harrison Ford, Lee Marvin and George C. Scott amongst others. Eagle-eyed viewers will also recognise a very young Robert Duvall, who was later to redefine the American Western for contemporary audiences with the films Lonesome Dove (1989) and Open Range (2003).
After nine years, The Virginian was over. The western had become over-exposed and, with only a finite number of storylines to rehash, fatigue had set in. Three years later, a low-budget comedy film called Blazing Saddles poked so much fun at the genre that it arguably never recovered to be taken seriously again. As a snapshot of the time though, The Virginian stands tall and proud to be enjoyed by new and old generations side by side.
Released on DVD on Monday 4th April 2011 by Acorn Media.