Shotgun Slade

*Shotgun Slade*
Shotgun Slade
	Scott Brady in the title role (1960)
Created by	Frank Gruber
Starring	Scott Brady
Opening theme	Новогодняя,performed byДискотека Авария(some countries only)
Ending theme	Давай, Авария!(Reprise), performed byДискотека Авария(some countries only)
Composer	Gerald Fried
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No.of seasons	2
No.of episodes	78
Production
Executive producer	Nat Holt
Producers	Frank Gruber (1959–1960); Ralph Dietrich (1960–1961);
Running time	30 minutes
Production companies	Shotgun Productions; Revue Studios;
Original release
Network	Syndication
Release	October 24, 1959–; 1961

Shotgun Sladeis an Americanwestern mystery television seriesstarringScott Bradythat aired seventy-eight episodes insyndicationfrom 1959 to 1961 Created byFrank Gruber,the stories were written byJohn Berardino,Charissa Hughes, andMartin Berkeley.The series was filmed inHollywoodbyRevue Studios.

The pilot forShotgun Sladeaired earlier in 1959 onCBS'sSchlitz Playhouse.

Overview

After several years of total saturation on the networks, many western series began to lose popularity with viewing audiences,Shotgun Sladehad three characteristics that made it unique. The first was Slade's profession. Instead being amarshal,sheriffor wanderinggunfighter,Slade was aprivate detective,hired by individuals to track down criminals, return stolen money, or perform other similar duties. This was obviously influenced by the growing popularity of televisionprivate eyessuch asPeter Gunn,Richard Diamond, Private Detective,77 Sunset Strip,andHawaiian Eye.

Another quirk was Slade's weapon of choice. Instead of packing a six gun, Slade carried a combination shotgun that has an upper and lower barrel. The lowerbarrelfired a12-gauge shotgun shell,while the top barrel fired a.32 caliberrifle bullet. The idea was that this weapon gave Slade the ability to fire at close and distant targets with the same amount of accuracy. Several western television shows were known for featuring distinctive weapons, such as those on shows likeThe Rifleman,The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp,Bat Masterson,Wanted: Dead or Alive,Johnny Ringo,andThe Rebel,but Slade's shotgun stood out even among the weapons of those other shows. Despite the quirks and idiosyncrasies of the series,Shotgun Sladelasted for only two seasons.

Guest stars

Chris Alcaideappeared in "Freight Line".
Roscoe Atesas Lou Nugget in the episode "The Fabulous Fiddle"
Lane Bradfordin the episodes "Gunnar Yensen" (1959) and "A Noose for Hurley" (1961)
Terry Burnhamas Linda in "The Ghost of Yucca Flats" (1960)
Francis X. Bushmanas Eckhart in "Crossed Guns" (1960)
Andy Clydeas Omar James in "Omar the Sign Maker" (1959) and in "A Noose for Hurley" (1961)
Jeanne Cooperas Sally Claymore in "Sudden Death" and as Francie in "Turkey Shoot" (both 1960)
Walter Coyas Lou Canner in "The Deadfall" (January 1, 1960)
Ted de Corsiaas Ben Douglas in "Lost Goal" (1960)
Frank Fergusonas Mike Oliver in "The Salted Mine" (1959) and as a Sheriff in "Charcoal Bullet" (1960), and "Valley of the Shadow" (1961)
Dean Fredericksas Vance in "Killer's Brand" (1960)
Rodolfo Hoyos, Jr.,in "A Grave at San Gallo" (1961)
Brad Johnsonas Kirby in "Barbed Wire Keep Out" and in another episode "The Missing Dog" (1960)
Brett Kingin "Five Graves" (1961)
Ernie Kovacsas "Hack" Hackberry in the episode "Salted Mine"
Bethel Lesliein two episodes, including the character Kate Heinie (1960)
Nan Leslieas Judy Travers in "Treasure Trap" (1959)
Nora Marlowein "The Safe Crackers"
Tyler McVeyas Homer Carlson in episode "Dead Man's Tale" (1960)
Gregg Palmeras amarshalin "Freight Line" (1959) and "Donna Juanita" (1960)
Brad Weston as Wiley in "Mesa of Missing Men" (1959) and as Billy in "Killer's Brand" (1960)

Music themes

The third novelty of the series is that it featured a modernjazzscore instead of the traditional Western-themed music that was the norm for western television shows and movies. Again, this seems an influence of the private eye genre's popularity because most private eye shows featured a jazz score.

In some countries (Italyfor example, when it aired on Telecapri News), the jazz score is replaced with two songs from Diskoteka Avariya, specificallyНовогодняяused in the opening credits, whileДавай, Авария!was used in the ending credits. These two songs were later removed on DVD releases in theUnited Statesdue to copyright issues.

Episodes

Season 1

No. overall	No.in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	1	"The Missing Train"	Unknown	Unknown	October 24, 1959(1959-10-24)
2	2	"The Salted Mine"	Unknown	Unknown	October 26, 1959(1959-10-26)
3	3	"Too Smart to Live"	Unknown	Unknown	October 31, 1959(1959-10-31)
4	4	"Barbed Wire, Keep Out"	Unknown	Unknown	November 5, 1959(1959-11-05)
5	5	"Mesa of Missing Men"	Unknown	Unknown	November 16, 1959(1959-11-16)
6	6	"Freight Line"	Unknown	Unknown	November 14, 1959(1959-11-14)
7	7	"Gunnar Yensen"	Unknown	Unknown	November 21, 1959(1959-11-21)
8	8	"Marked Money"	Unknown	Unknown	November 28, 1959(1959-11-28)
9	9	"The Stalker"	Unknown	Unknown	December 5, 1959(1959-12-05)
10	10	"Bob Ford"	Unknown	Unknown	December 12, 1959(1959-12-12)
11	11	"Treasure Trap"	Unknown	Unknown	December 12, 1959(1959-12-12)
12	12	"Omar the Sign Maker"	Unknown	Unknown	December 19, 1959(1959-12-19)
13	13	"The Safe Crackers (aka The Peterman)"	Unknown	Unknown	December 26, 1959(1959-12-26)
14	14	"Major Trouble"	Unknown	Unknown	January 4, 1960(1960-01-04)
15	15	"Murder in Gingham"	Unknown	Unknown	January 9, 1960(1960-01-09)
16	16	"The Blue Dog"	Unknown	Unknown	January 16, 1960(1960-01-16)
17	17	"The Deadfall"	Unknown	Unknown	January 23, 1960(1960-01-23)
18	18	"Lady and the Piano"	Unknown	Unknown	January 30, 1960(1960-01-30)
19	19	"Plate of Death"	Unknown	Unknown	February 6, 1960(1960-02-06)
20	20	"Street of Terror"	Unknown	Unknown	February 13, 1960(1960-02-13)
21	21	"The Pool Shark"	Unknown	Unknown	February 27, 1960(1960-02-27)
22	22	"The Marriage Circle"	Unknown	Unknown	March 5, 1960(1960-03-05)
23	23	"The Deadly Key"	Unknown	Unknown	March 8, 1960(1960-03-08)
24	24	"The Swindle"	Unknown	Unknown	March 8, 1960(1960-03-08)
25	25	"Donna Juanita"	Unknown	Unknown	March 21, 1960(1960-03-21)
26	26	"Shotgun Trial"	Unknown	Unknown	March 28, 1960(1960-03-28)
27	27	"The Golden Tunnel"	Unknown	Unknown	April 22, 1960(1960-04-22)
28	28	"A Flower for Jenny"	Unknown	Unknown	April 29, 1960(1960-04-29)
29	29	"The Fabulous Fiddle"	Unknown	Unknown	May 6, 1960(1960-05-06)
30	30	"Crossed Guns"	Unknown	Unknown	May 13, 1960(1960-05-13)
31	31	"Sudden Death"	Unknown	Unknown	May 20, 1960(1960-05-20)
32	32	"The Spanish Box"	Unknown	Unknown	May 21, 1960(1960-05-21)
33	33	"Backtrack"	Unknown	Unknown	May 28, 1960(1960-05-28)
34	34	"Ring of Death (aka Scales of Death)"	Unknown	Unknown	June 3, 1960(1960-06-03)
35	35	"Killer's Brand"	Unknown	Unknown	June 4, 1960(1960-06-04)
36	36	"A Flower on Boot Hill"	Unknown	Unknown	June 11, 1960(1960-06-11)
37	37	"Charcoal Bullet"	Unknown	Unknown	July 1, 1960(1960-07-01)
38	38	"Lost Gold"	Unknown	Unknown	July 5, 1960(1960-07-05)
39	39	"The Smell of Money"	Unknown	Unknown	July 12, 1960(1960-07-12)

Season 2

No. overall	No.in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
40	1	"Skyfire"	Unknown	Unknown	October 17, 1960(1960-10-17)
41	2	"Ghost of Yucca Flats"	Unknown	Unknown	October 24, 1960(1960-10-24)
42	3	"Secret Gold"	Unknown	Unknown	October 31, 1960(1960-10-31)
43	4	"The Missing Dog"	Unknown	Unknown	November 7, 1960(1960-11-07)
44	5	"Mountain Murderess"	Unknown	Unknown	November 14, 1960(1960-11-14)
45	6	"Dead Man's Tale"	Unknown	Unknown	November 21, 1960(1960-11-21)
46	7	"Vengeance"	Unknown	Unknown	November 28, 1960(1960-11-28)
47	8	"Rail Head at Rampart"	Unknown	Unknown	December 5, 1960(1960-12-05)
48	9	"Woman from Wyoming"	Unknown	Unknown	December 12, 1960(1960-12-12)
49	10	"The Laughing Widow"	Unknown	Unknown	December 19, 1960(1960-12-19)
50	11	"Turkey Shoot"	Unknown	Unknown	December 26, 1960(1960-12-26)
51	12	"Hang Him Twice"	Unknown	Unknown	January 2, 1961(1961-01-02)
52	13	"Traveling Trunk"	Unknown	Unknown	January 9, 1961(1961-01-09)
53	14	"The Silver Queen"	Unknown	Unknown	January 21, 1961(1961-01-21)
54	15	"Little Sister"	Unknown	Unknown	January 28, 1961(1961-01-28)
55	16	"Copper Cylinder"	Unknown	Unknown	February 4, 1961(1961-02-04)
56	17	"Misplaced Genius"	Unknown	Unknown	February 11, 1961(1961-02-11)
57	18	"Mother Six Gun"	Unknown	Unknown	February 18, 1961(1961-02-18)
58	19	"The Impatient Bullet"	Unknown	Unknown	February 25, 1961(1961-02-25)
59	20	"The Silent Man"	Unknown	Unknown	March 4, 1961(1961-03-04)
60	21	"School Ma'am"	Unknown	Unknown	March 11, 1961(1961-03-11)
61	22	"Legend of a Hero"	Unknown	Unknown	March 18, 1961(1961-03-18)
62	23	"The Mystery of Black River"	Unknown	Unknown	March 25, 1961(1961-03-25)
63	24	"Widow of El Dorado"	Unknown	Unknown	April 1, 1961(1961-04-01)
64	25	"Valley of the Shadow"	Unknown	Unknown	April 8, 1961(1961-04-08)
65	26	"A Noose for Hurley (aka Noose Brand Frame-Up)"	Unknown	Unknown	April 15, 1961(1961-04-15)
66	27	"A Grave at San Gallo"	Unknown	Unknown	April 22, 1961(1961-04-22)
67	28	"Friends No More"	Unknown	Unknown	April 29, 1961(1961-04-29)
68	29	"Yankee Spy"	Unknown	Unknown	May 6, 1961(1961-05-06)
69	30	"Skinner's Rainbow"	Unknown	Unknown	May 13, 1961(1961-05-13)
70	31	"The Lost Herds"	Unknown	Unknown	May 20, 1961(1961-05-20)
71	32	"The Search for Susan (aka Welcome Home)"	Unknown	Unknown	May 27, 1961(1961-05-27)
72	33	"The Phantom Noose"	Unknown	Unknown	June 3, 1961(1961-06-03)
73	34	"Madame Vengeance"	Unknown	Unknown	June 10, 1961(1961-06-10)
74	35	"Five Graves"	Unknown	Unknown	June 17, 1961(1961-06-17)
75	36	"The Payrollers"	Unknown	Unknown	June 24, 1961(1961-06-24)
76	37	"A Gun and a Prayer"	Unknown	Unknown	July 1, 1961(1961-07-01)
77	38	"The Ranch Ghost (aka Ghost of a Chance)"	Unknown	Unknown	July 8, 1961(1961-07-08)
78	39	"Something to Die For"	Unknown	Unknown	July 15, 1961(1961-07-15)

References

McNeil, Alex.Total Television(1996). New York: Penguin BooksISBN 0-14-024916-8
Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle,The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows(1999). New York: Ballantine BooksISBN 0-345-42923-0

External links

Shotgun SladeatIMDb