Wednesday, June 19, 2013

What Might've Been: Stories of the Century (1954)

Some Westerns crossed genre territories, hoping to stand out from the rest. Some succeeded, others failed.

Stories of the Century was a little known series that bowed as a mid-season replacement in January 1954, and lasted 14 months on the air, produced by Republic Pictures under the Studio City Television Productions label. It dramatized true stories taken from newspaper accounts, mixing in one recurring character, railroad detective Matt Clark (Jim Davis) with actual events.

Take for example the tale of Geronimo:



The television landscape was already flooded with Westerns, and folks must've tired of Stories rather quickly, hence its demise a shade more than a year after its debut. Jim Davis would return in an early 70's series, The Cowboys, spun from the John Wayne movie of the same name, before landing the iconic role of Jock Ewing on Dallas, which he'd be identified with for the rest of his career.

Rating: B.



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