The Most Obscure TV Westerns – #2 - We’ve Lost a Train

By Bennett Owen

‘Laredo’ debuted on NBC in 1965, documenting the adventures of three fun loving, bar brawling Texas Rangers and a feisty Saloon girl with a heart of gold.

Image courtesy of MiniNova.org

These days Laredo is described as a spinoff of the Virginian. But actually, NBC made use of a trick of the time, using a popular, established TV series to introduce new fare…a bit like cross breeding.  So in the Laredo pilot, the Virginian sends Trampas to The Mexican border to pick up a prize breeding bull.  Here’s part one…have a listen to one of the greatest TV theme songs of all time:

Laredo’s audacious producers sought to ring every cent out of their investment, splicing three episodes together and releasing it as a feature film, titled “Three Guns For Texas.”

Image courtesy of 123NonStop.com

Laredo remains obscure not because it was awful but more for the stiff competition.  In year one, studio execs put it head to head with the massively popular Bewitched and My Three Sons. And in season two it was up against 12-O’clock High…a tough slot for a new product.

 

Lee J. Cobb and James Drury. Photo courtesy of WildWestToysVintageToyShow

And if you watched the clip you surely recognized one of the stars, tough talking Neville Brand. He never made the A-list but Brand played the heavy in so many movies and TV shows that Bruce Dern once said of him: “Neville Brand was the baddest guy I ever met in the movies.”  He was mean enough to kill Elvis Presley in Love Me Tender. He played Al Capone in the TV Series, the Untouchables, and I remember him from my favorite war movie, Stalag 17.  And he knew what he was doing in that one, having received a Silver Star in WW2.  He also had roles in my selection for most obscure TV Western of all…don’t touch that dial!

Photo courtesy of WilliamSmith.org