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Friday, June 16, 2023

"The Loner" (1965-66)


The classic western TV show The Loner only ran for one season, which is a bit disappointing.  And yet, that one season is packed with as many gems as some series that ran for three or four times as long, so I can't complain too much.

William Colton (Lloyd Bridges) survived the American Civil War, but it left him restless and unable to settle in one place, like many real-life veterans of that war.  He headed west on his cavalry horse Joshua, who had been with him through the war.  Searching for a place where he could belong, Colton encounters a wide variety of different people and situations.


The Loner was the first show Rod Serling created after The Twilight Zone ended.  Serling was dissatisfied with the TV westerns of the mid-sixties, which he felt were becoming increasingly unrealistic.  He aimed to present a serious western that would appeal to adults rather than schoolkids.  Unfortunately, audiences didn't respond the way he'd hoped, and the show only lasted a single season.

Rod Serling wrote 15 of the 26 episodes himself, which is a big part of what makes this such a strong, rewatchable show.  His episodes are particularly meaty, always featuring characters wrestling with serious problems and never presenting implausibly easy solutions.  Each episode is under 30 minutes long and crammed with excellent storytelling -- yet, they never feel rushed!  You can learn a lot about how to get the most story from the least space by watching this show.

Colton's strong sense of justice and honor gets him involved in other people's problems without him ever seeming nosy or presumptuous.  He just naturally ends up helping or leading when needed, even though he generally would rather keep to himself.  Whenever he rides into a new location at the beginning of the episode, the audience knows that he will leave it a better place when he rides away... but not by spouting platitudes, solving everyone's problems for them, or forcing people to do the right thing.  Rather, Colton has a way of encouraging people to confront their troubles themselves.


My favorite episode is probably the only two-part story, "The Mourners for Johnny Sharp."  Colton finds a young gunfighter called Johnny Sharp (Beau Bridges) dying alone.  Many people had reason for wanting Sharp dead, and Colton vows to the boy he will see justice done.  I love getting to see Lloyd Bridges act opposite his son Beau, and the whole second episode is some of the best character-focused storytelling I have ever seen.


Bridges's son Jeff also appeared in the episode "The Ordeal of Bud Windom," which is not quite as good an episode, but has some really good acting from Jeff Bridges, who was only 15 at the time.


I also really love "The Sheriff of Fetterman's Crossing" because I kept expecting the bungling sheriff (Allan Sherman) to mess everything up beyond belief, but everything turns out really well.  It is probably the lightest and sweetest episode in the series.


One of my favorite smaller aspects of this show is that, although Bridges was in his early 50s, the show runners have no issue with portraying him as an attractive, sexy man.  Colton generally has his shirt collar unbuttoned, and there are various episodes where he appears shirtless.  At the same time, they don't try pairing him romantically with young women, but show mature, middle-aged women being attracted to him instead.  Hollywood tends to think that romance is reserved for the young, and anyone over 35 can't possibly be attractive, but this show adroitly ignores such nonsense.

You can pick up this complete series on DVD for under $20.  I highly recommend it!


This has been my contribution to the Intruder Blogathon hosted by the Metzinger Sisters at Silver Scenes this weekend :-)

14 comments:

  1. Glad you're spotlighting this show!! I had been watching "Sea Hunt" with Lloyd Bridges and then discovered this show. I was watching a youtube video of the first five episodes when the account was terminated while I was watching it. So I couldn't stop the video or I wouldn't be able to watch any more! Well I loved all five episodes so ordered the dvd. When I watched ep 6 I thought it wasn't as good as the first five - turns out it was the first one not written by Sterling lol. I haven't finished all the episodes yet. Since there aren't many I want to savor it!

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    1. Phyl, I have seen a couple eps of Sea Hunt, and that's cool it led you to The Loner! The eps written by Sterling are definitely high points, but the others are often really good too. I know what you mean about savoring -- I actually haven't seen the last two eps yet :-o Saving them for just the right time!

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  2. This sounds really good! A Rod Serling western series with a "quiet stranger" character, what a great combo. I'm most curious to see how Colton gets others to "confront their troubles themselves." I'm so glad I found a copy of it at a booksale a while ago....now I get to watch it this weekend. Thanks for spotlighting this series and for taking part in the blogathon!

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    1. Metzingers, how great that you found a copy of this series recently! I hope you enjoy your foray into it -- have fun getting to know Colton! He's quite a guy.

      Thanks for hosting!

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  3. This sounds like such a good series, with the (mostly) Rod Serling writing and Lloyd Bridges acting. It also sounds helpful and uplifting, too. If I ever cross paths with this series, in whole or in part, I'm dropping everything to see it. Thanks in advance for recommending!

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    1. Silver Screenings, it is well worth picking up! And it's definitely a show that is uplifting, but also thought-provoking. I miiiiiiight manage to give away a copy of the series for Legends of Western Cinema Week next month, as I am pretty sure I saw a copy at the used book store last time I was there...

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  4. Rachel, I attempted to send my comment, but apparently it was too long. I guess that I was too long winded. Anyway, I really liked your write-up on THE LONER(1965-66). I also highly recommend this wonderful thought-provoking human drama with a western flavor from Rod Serling.

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    1. Walter, Blogger's comments have been glitchy lately, so I'm glad you tried again. Isn't this series a gem? So many wonderful eps.

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    2. Rachel, I tried to send my original comment, but it was still considered too long. It had to do with why CBS-TV didn't try to save THE LONER and just left it in the same time slot up against the NBC SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES and ABC-TV's HOLLYWOOD PALACE. It was cancelled in 1966 and never went into syndicated reruns, so it was fifty years before I was able to see the show again. Thank goodness for Shout Factory's DVD release in 2016.

      For anyone interested, here is the documentary ROD SERLING: SUBMITTED FOR YOUR APPROVAL(1995), which first aired on the PBS series AMERICAN MASTERS. The part that deals with THE LONER begins at the 1:07:00-time mark. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4ALNnImsmU&t=4120s

      Also, I so agree with your statement, "Hollywood tends to think that romance is reserved for the young, and anyone over 35 can't possibly be attractive, but this show adroitly ignores such nonsense." Yes, THE LONER does ignore such nonsense by having such talented and beautiful actresses as Ann Baxter, Beverly Garland, Jeanne Cooper, Nancy Gates, and Bethel Leslie as guest stars. All were over age 35.

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    3. Walter, it's really a shame CBS placed it so badly. Thanks for the link to the documentary! I will give that a try.

      This show really did a wonderful job at casting "older" actresses and showed them to be interesting, attractive, and talented. Refreshing!

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  5. Great article! Hadn't heard of it before but it sounds intriguing and definitely a good choice for the blogathon! I would love to see Llyod Bridges co-playing with his sons! I've actually never seen Beau Bridges's acting! Don't forget to take a look at my entry for the blogathon :)

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    1. Thanks, Virginie! It's definitely an overlooked gem. I've really only seen Beau Bridges in this and an episode of Combat! ("The Short Day of Private Putnam"), but he's an engaging guy.

      I just got home from vacation a couple days ago, so I am trying to catch up on unpacking and setting the house to rights, but then I'll be catching up on blogathon entries :-)

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  6. I've never heard of this, but it sounds cool. Another one for the watchlist. :-)

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    1. Rebecca, I hadn't heard of it until a friend stumbled on it in a bargain bin, bought it on a whim, tried it, and told me I had to watch it. Not a well-known show, but a worthy one!

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