The Restless Gun is an American Western television series that appeared on NBC between 1957 and 1959, with John Payne in the role of Vint Bonner, a wandering cowboy in the era after the American Civil War. A skilled gunfighter, Bonner is an idealistic person who prefers peaceful resolutions of conflict wherever possible. He is gregarious, intelligent, and public-spirited. The half-hour black-and-white program aired 78 episodes (including the pilot episode in which the John Payne character's name is Britt Ponsett, the name of James Stewart's character in the 1953-54 old-time radio series The Six Shooter, upon which The Restless Gun television series was originally based).
| The Restless Gun | |
|---|---|
 Title card | |
| Genre | Western |
| Directed by |
|
| Starring | John Payne |
| Narrated by | John Payne |
| Composers |
|
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 78 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | John Payne |
| Producers | |
| Production location | American Southwest |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production companies |
|
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | September 23, 1957 – June 22, 1959 |
| Related | |
The Restless Gun theme song (officially titled "I Ride With the Wind") begins: "I ride with the wind, my eyes on the sun, and my hand on my restless gun..."
Episodes
editSeason 1: 1957–58
edit| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | "Pilot ('Red Lawson's Revenge')" | Robert Florey | N.B. Stone Jr. | March 29, 1957 |
| 1 | 1 | "Duel at Lockwood" | Justus Addiss | Story by : Frank Burt Teleplay by : David Dortort | September 23, 1957 |
| 2 | 2 | "Trail to Sunset" | Justus Addiss | Story by : Frank Burt Teleplay by : Herbert Little Jr. & David Victor | September 30, 1957 |
| 3 | 3 | "Revenge at Harness Creek" | Edward Ludwig | Story by : Frank Burt Teleplay by : Jack Jacobs & Malvin Wald | October 7, 1957 |
| 4 | 4 | "Rink" | James Neilson | Story by : Frank Burt Teleplay by : David Dortort | October 14, 1957 |
| 5 | 5 | "Jenny" | Edward Ludwig | Story by : Frank Burt Teleplay by : Marion Hargrove | October 21, 1957 |
| 6 | 6 | "The Shooting of Jett King" | Justus Addiss | Story by : Frank Burt Teleplay by : John Payne | October 28, 1957 |
| 7 | 7 | "Jody" | Allen H. Miner | Story by : H.A. De Russo Teleplay by : Gene L. Coon | November 4, 1957 |
| 8 | 8 | "General Gilford's Widow" | Edward Ludwig | Story by : Frank Burt Teleplay by : Halsey Malone | November 11, 1957 |
| 9 | 9 | "The New Sheriff" | Edward Ludwig | Story by : Frank Burt Teleplay by : Dean Riesner | November 18, 1957 |
| 10 | 10 | "Man and Boy" | Edward Ludwig | Story by : Frank Burt Teleplay by : David Victor | November 25, 1957 |
| 11 | 11 | "Cheyenne Express" | Edward Ludwig | Story by : Frank Burt Teleplay by : Christopher Knopf | December 2, 1957 |
| 12 | 12 | "Thicker Than Water" | Edward Ludwig | Story by : Frank Burt Teleplay by : Kenneth Gamet | December 9, 1957 |
| 13 | 13 | "Silver Threads" | Edward Ludwig | Story by : Frank Burt Teleplay by : Marion Hargrove | December 16, 1957 |
| 14 | 14 | "The Child" | Edward Ludwig | Story by : John Payne Teleplay by : Herbert Little Jr. & David Victor | December 23, 1957 |
| 15 | 15 | "The Gold Buckle" | Justus Addiss | Story by : Frank Burt Teleplay by : Dan Mainwaring | December 30, 1957 |
| 16 | 16 | "The Coward" | Edward Ludwig | Story by : Frank Burt Teleplay by : Christopher Knopf | January 6, 1958 |
| 17 | 17 | "Friend in Need" | Edward Ludwig | Story by : Frank Burt Teleplay by : William Tunberg | January 13, 1958 |
| 18 | 18 | "Strange Family in Town" | Earl Bellamy | Lawrence Goldman | January 20, 1958 |
| 19 | 19 | "Hang and Be Damned" | Earl Bellamy | Story by : Talmadge Powell Teleplay by : David Dortort | January 27, 1958 |
| 20 | 20 | "Quiet City" | Edward Ludwig | Story by : Frank Burt Teleplay by : Alvin Sapinsley | February 3, 1958 |
| 21 | 21 | "Hornitas Town" | Edward Ludwig | Jack Natteford & Luci Ward | February 10, 1958 |
| 22 | 22 | "Imposter for a Day" | Earl Bellamy | Jack Laird & Wilton Schiller | February 17, 1958 |
| 23 | 23 | "A Pressing Engagement" | Edward Ludwig | Story by : Frank Burt Teleplay by : Mary C McCall Jr. | February 24, 1958 |
| 24 | 24 | "Woman from Sacramento" | Edward Ludwig | Halsey Malone | March 3, 1958 |
| 25 | 25 | "Sheriff Billy" | Edward Ludwig | Story by : Frank Burt Teleplay by : Herbert Little Jr. & David Victor | March 10, 1958 |
| 26 | 26 | "The Hand Is Quicker" | Earl Bellamy | Arthur Weiss | March 17, 1958 |
| 27 | 27 | "The Suffragette" | Edward Ludwig | Charles B. Smith | March 24, 1958 |
| 28 | 28 | "The Whip" | Edward Ludwig | Story by : Frank Burt Teleplay by : Oliver Crawford | March 31, 1958 |
| 29 | 29 | "The Crisis at Easter Creek" | Edward Ludwig | Story by : Frank Burt Teleplay by : Jess Carneol & Kay Lenard | April 7, 1958 |
| 30 | 30 | "Aunt Emma" | Edward Ludwig | Story by : Frank Burt Teleplay by : Al Martin | April 14, 1958 |
| 31 | 31 | "The Outlander" | Edward Ludwig | Herbert Little Jr. & David Victor | April 21, 1958 |
| 32 | 32 | "The Battle of Tower Rock" | Edward Ludwig | Story by : Frank Burt Teleplay by : Howard J. Green | April 28, 1958 |
| 33 | 33 | "The Torn Flag" | Edward Ludwig | Alvin Sapinsley | May 5, 1958 |
| 34 | 34 | "Hiram Grover's Strike" | Edward Ludwig | Story by : Frank Burt Teleplay by : David Dortort | May 12, 1958 |
| 35 | 35 | "The Gold Star" | Edward Ludwig | Story by : John Payne Teleplay by : Alvin Sapinsley | May 19, 1958 |
| 36 | 36 | "More Than Kin" | Edward Ludwig | Story by : Frank Burt Teleplay by : David Dortort | May 26, 1958 |
| 37 | 37 | "The Manhunters" | Edward Ludwig | Story by : Richard J. Harper Teleplay by : Herbert Little Jr. & David Victor | June 2, 1958 |
| 38 | 38 | "The Peddler" | Edward Ludwig | John Tucker Battle | June 9, 1958 |
| 39 | 39 | "Gratitude" | Edward Ludwig | Arnold Belgard | June 16, 1958 |
Season 2: 1958–59
edit| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | 1 | "Jebediah Bonner" | Edward Ludwig | Story by : Will Cook Teleplay by : John Payne | September 22, 1958 |
| 41 | 2 | "Day of the Dragon" | Justus Addiss | John Tucker Battle | September 29, 1958 |
| 42 | 3 | "Mercyday" | Edward Ludwig | Charles B. Smith | October 6, 1958 |
| 43 | 4 | "Thunder Alley" | Edward Ludwig | Story by : Hal G. Evarts Teleplay by : Hal G. Evarts | October 13, 1958 |
| 44 | 5 | "The Nowhere Kid" | Edward Ludwig | Mary C. McCall Jr. | October 20, 1958 |
| 45 | 6 | "Bonner's Squaw" | Edward Ludwig | Joel Kane & Lee Karson | November 3, 1958 |
| 46 | 7 | "Tomboy" | Edward Ludwig | Marion Hargrove | November 10, 1958 |
| 47 | 8 | "Remember the Dead" | Justus Addiss | Hendrik Vollaerts | November 17, 1958 |
| 48 | 9 | "No Way to Kill" | Edward Ludwig | John Falvo | November 24, 1958 |
| 49 | 10 | "Take Me Home" | Edward Ludwig | Newt Arnold & David Cross | December 1, 1958 |
| 50 | 11 | "Multiply One Boy" | Edward Ludwig | Lee Berg & Lawrence Menkin | December 8, 1958 |
| 51 | 12 | "Peligroso" | Justus Addiss | Thomas Thompson | December 15, 1958 |
| 52 | 13 | "A Bell for Santo Domingo" | Edward Ludwig | Richard Newman | December 22, 1958 |
| 53 | 14 | "The Way Back" | Edward Ludwig | Robert Leslie Bellem & Frank Bonham | December 29, 1958 |
| 54 | 15 | "The Painted Beauty" | Justus Addiss | Halsey Melone | January 5, 1959 |
| 55 | 16 | "Shadow of a Gunfighter" | Edward Ludwig | Herman J. Groves | January 12, 1959 |
| 56 | 17 | "The Lady and the Gun" | Edward Ludwig | Story by : Frank Burt Teleplay by : David Dortort | January 19, 1959 |
| 57 | 18 | "Blood of Courage" | Edward Ludwig | Ronald Bishop | February 2, 1959 |
| 58 | 19 | "Better Than a Cannon" | Edward Ludwig | John Tucker Battle | February 9, 1959 |
| 59 | 20 | "The Dead Ringer" | Edward Ludwig | John Tucker Battle | February 16, 1959 |
| 60 | 21 | "The Last Grey Man" | Justus Addiss | Richard Newman | February 23, 1959 |
| 61 | 22 | "Melany" | Justus Addiss | Herman J. Groves | March 2, 1959 |
| 62 | 23 | "Ricochet" | Justus Addiss | Fanya Lawrence & Ted Thomas | March 9, 1959 |
| 63 | 24 | "Dead Man's Hand" | Justus Addiss | Harry Kronman | March 16, 1959 |
| 64 | 25 | "The Sweet Sisters" | Sam Strangis | Joel Kane & Lee Karson | March 23, 1959 |
| 65 | 26 | "Incident at Bluefield" | Edward Ludwig | Herman J. Groves | March 30, 1959 |
| 66 | 27 | "The Pawn" | Edward Ludwig | Charles B. Smith | April 6, 1959 |
| 67 | 28 | "Four Lives" | Edward Ludwig | Thomas Thompson | April 13, 1959 |
| 68 | 29 | "One on the House" | Edward Ludwig | Norman Daniels | April 20, 1959 |
| 69 | 30 | "Code for a Killer" | Sam Strangis | Hal Fimberg & Frank Waldman | April 27, 1959 |
| 70 | 31 | "Mme. Brimstone" | Sam Strangis | Adele Buffington | May 4, 1959 |
| 71 | 32 | "Lady by Law" | Sam Strangis | Norman Daniels | May 11, 1959 |
| 72 | 33 | "Ride with the Devil" | Sam Strangis | Nat Tanchuck | May 18, 1959 |
| 73 | 34 | "A Trial for Jenny May" | Sam Strangis | John Tucker Battle | May 25, 1959 |
| 74 | 35 | "The Cavis Boy" | Sam Strangis | Ronald Bishop & Wells Root | June 1, 1959 |
| 75 | 36 | "The Englishman" | Sam Strangis | Story by : Lester Wm. Berke & Robert J. Black Jr. Teleplay by : Lester Wm. Berke, Robert J. Black Jr., & Richard Newman | June 8, 1959 |
| 76 | 37 | "A Very Special Investigator" | Edward Ludwig | Arnold Belgard | June 15, 1959 |
| 77 | 38 | "The Hill of Death" | Sam Strangis | Joe Stone | June 22, 1959 |
Selected guest stars
edit- Claude Akins
- Trevor Bardette
- Jeanne Bates
- Bea Benaderet
- Robert Blake
- Dan Blocker
- Leslie Bradley
- Henry Brandon
- Edgar Buchanan
- Anthony Caruso
- Peggie Castle
- Andy Clyde
- James Coburn
- Iron Eyes Cody
- Johnny Crawford
- Royal Dano
- George Dolenz
- Jack Elam
- John Ericson
- Paul Fix
- James Gleason
- Don Grady
- Dabbs Greer
- Alan Hale, Jr.
- Charles Lane
- Ruta Lee
- Ewing Mitchell
- J. Carrol Naish
- Hank Patterson
- William Phipps
- Denver Pyle
- Roy Roberts
- Irene Ryan
- Olan Soule
- Onslow Stevens
- Glenn Strange
- Regis Toomey
- Rip Torn
- Lurene Tuttle
- Guinn Williams
Home media
editOn March 1, 2010, Timeless Media Group released a three-disc best-of set featuring 24 episodes from the series.[1]
On April 23, 2013, Timeless Media released Restless Gun: The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1.[2] The 9-disc set features all 78 episodes of the series.
References
edit- ^ "Restless Gun". Amazon. March 2010.
- ^ "The Restless Gun DVD news: Announcement for the Restless Gun - the Complete Series | TVShowsOnDVD.com". Archived from the original on 2012-11-28. Retrieved 2012-11-21.