Though others on this board make the case that 'Colt .45' wasn't one of your better classic TV Westerns, my own take is that I never ran across one I didn't like. Perhaps the problem with the series in general, and Wayde Preston in particular, is that he played the character of Christopher Colt just a bit too sullen. You would think he'd crack a smile every once in a while like Cheyenne Bodie or Lucas McCain, contemporaries during his series run in the late Fifties. Especially since he wore his shirt with the storm flap buttoned back exposing his chest in most episodes, a smile would surely have added to his appeal.
The series had a couple of different opening sequences; in the first season Preston faced the camera and double barreled the spelling of Colt .45 on screen. It was effective but kind of static. In the second season, he rode hard into town and started walking into a saloon, and when someone called his name he turned quickly with both guns blazing. That's somewhat curious to me, as it could just as easily have been someone he knew calling out. You can lose a lot of friends that way.
The series theme was set right at the outset, introducing Captain Christopher Colt as a salesman for the Colt Firearm Company of Hartford, Connecticut. His stock in trade was 'The Peacemaker' - the Colt single action .45 caliber Army revolver. It was in the very first episode that Colt uttered the words in my summary line above to a pacifist woman who frowned on his profession. However when the town strongman, played by Andrew Duggan, attempted to belittle Colt into running out of town, Colt was encouraged to stand his ground. Of course he won that showdown, just as he would the rest of the series run. In fact, unless it's a camera trick (and it might be), Colt performs an impossibly fast draw against Don Megowan in Episode #1.11 The Gypsies. I replayed it a couple of times, and it's fast even in slow motion.
Yet even though Colt was outwardly a gun salesman, he also worked undercover as a government agent for the Army, reporting regularly to a Colonel Parker. The show employed a curious method for Colt to send messages to the Colonel. You would see a transcript of what a telegraph operator would send, and it would transform into the underlying message on screen. Thinking about it though, I would challenge anyone to explain how that would have worked for real. But it looked cool.
Like a lot of cowboy actors who became popular, Preston decided he was worth more money once the series got under way. It happened earlier with Clayton Moore, who was replaced by John Hart for a season as the Lone Ranger. Donald May came on board in the second season as Captain Colt's cousin, Sam Colt. Interestingly, one of my favorite episodes occurred in the third season when the pair of them teamed together in 'Phantom Trail'. Both guys were built fairly solid, and they had a resemblance to each other that made the cousin connection work pretty well.
Well, even if it's one of your run of the mill TV Westerns, I'll rewatch the episodes I have from time to time. If you can get your hands on some pre-record copies, you might also get a cool look at some of the era's commercial sponsors for the show, like Mennen Skin Bracer, Aero Shave, Beechnut Peppermint Gum, Liquid Prell Shampoo, and Campbell's Tomato Soup. And don't forget to stick around for the closing theme song - 'A lightning bolt when he used that Colt,...45'.
The series had a couple of different opening sequences; in the first season Preston faced the camera and double barreled the spelling of Colt .45 on screen. It was effective but kind of static. In the second season, he rode hard into town and started walking into a saloon, and when someone called his name he turned quickly with both guns blazing. That's somewhat curious to me, as it could just as easily have been someone he knew calling out. You can lose a lot of friends that way.
The series theme was set right at the outset, introducing Captain Christopher Colt as a salesman for the Colt Firearm Company of Hartford, Connecticut. His stock in trade was 'The Peacemaker' - the Colt single action .45 caliber Army revolver. It was in the very first episode that Colt uttered the words in my summary line above to a pacifist woman who frowned on his profession. However when the town strongman, played by Andrew Duggan, attempted to belittle Colt into running out of town, Colt was encouraged to stand his ground. Of course he won that showdown, just as he would the rest of the series run. In fact, unless it's a camera trick (and it might be), Colt performs an impossibly fast draw against Don Megowan in Episode #1.11 The Gypsies. I replayed it a couple of times, and it's fast even in slow motion.
Yet even though Colt was outwardly a gun salesman, he also worked undercover as a government agent for the Army, reporting regularly to a Colonel Parker. The show employed a curious method for Colt to send messages to the Colonel. You would see a transcript of what a telegraph operator would send, and it would transform into the underlying message on screen. Thinking about it though, I would challenge anyone to explain how that would have worked for real. But it looked cool.
Like a lot of cowboy actors who became popular, Preston decided he was worth more money once the series got under way. It happened earlier with Clayton Moore, who was replaced by John Hart for a season as the Lone Ranger. Donald May came on board in the second season as Captain Colt's cousin, Sam Colt. Interestingly, one of my favorite episodes occurred in the third season when the pair of them teamed together in 'Phantom Trail'. Both guys were built fairly solid, and they had a resemblance to each other that made the cousin connection work pretty well.
Well, even if it's one of your run of the mill TV Westerns, I'll rewatch the episodes I have from time to time. If you can get your hands on some pre-record copies, you might also get a cool look at some of the era's commercial sponsors for the show, like Mennen Skin Bracer, Aero Shave, Beechnut Peppermint Gum, Liquid Prell Shampoo, and Campbell's Tomato Soup. And don't forget to stick around for the closing theme song - 'A lightning bolt when he used that Colt,...45'.