Tonight's TV: Colt .45 - The Complete Series (1957-60) - A Warner Archive Blu-ray Review

One of the more intriguing Blu-ray releases this year comes from the Warner Archive Collection: COLT .45 - THE COMPLETE SERIES (1957-60).

COLT .45 was one of a number of Warner Bros. TV Westerns of the late '50s, airing alongside MAVERICK, LAWMAN, CHEYENNE, and several more. Like LAWMAN, it originally aired in a 30-minute time slot.

COLT .45 only ran three seasons, and as Toby Roan detailed at 50 Westerns From the 50s, star Wayde Preston left in the second season. Preston was replaced for a few episodes by Donald May as his cousin, then returned to the series later in its run.

Warner Bros. must have liked the "cousins" idea, given that MAVERICK would later introduce Roger Moore as Cousin Beau.

As longtime readers will know, MAVERICK is my all-time favorite TV series, a show I know inside and out. COLT .45 began airing just a month after MAVERICK, on October 18, 1957. Many of the sets and guest stars will be familiar to fans of not just MAVERICK but the other Warner Bros. TV Westerns.

As a fun aside, COLT .45's Preston is seen here second from right with several other Warner Bros. TV Western stars: LAWMAN's John Russell and Peter Brown, MAVERICK's James Garner and Jack Kelly, Will Hutchins of SUGARFOOT, and Ty Hardin of BRONCO.

As Episode 1 of COLT .45, "Judgment Day," began rolling I saw familiar behind-the-scenes names from MAVERICK in the credits, writers Roy Huggins and Marion Hargrove and director Douglas Heyes.

"Judgment Day" introduces viewers to COLT .45's concept: Christopher Colt (Preston) is a traveling salesman selling the new Colt .45 gun. However, that's just a cover for his main job as a secret agent for the army.

That initial episode set in Cottonwood, Arizona, wasn't particularly interesting, as Colt interacted with a town bully (Andrew Duggan) and a missionary (Erin O'Brien), but I was tickled to see former "B" Western star Bob Steele in a supporting role; Steele appeared on numerous TV Westerns of the era. Also on hand was young Peter Brown, who would begin a starring role on LAWMAN the following year.

Other episodes are more compelling; the second episode, "A Time to Die," guest-starred Wayne Morris, who had become an excellent character actor as of the '50s. It was an absorbing episode scripted by writer-actor Leo Gordon (MAVERICK's Big Mike McComb) which took advantage of the half-hour format to provide a dramatic, action-packed short story, with most of the scenes featuring Preston and Morris. Dan Blocker, a couple years before TV's BONANZA, was in the supporting cast. The episode made ample use of stock footage, but it's in great shape, which makes the transitions more believable.

The third episode, "The $3000 Bullet," featured two cast members from Budd Boetticher's 7 MEN FROM NOW (1956), Walter Reed and John Beradino (later of GENERAL HOSPITAL). Michael Dante of Boetticher's WESTBOUND (1959) was in the episode as well. Western fans will find themselves constantly making those types of fun connections.

I checked out several more of the show's 67 episodes. I found that COLT .45 is more "standard Western fare" than the creatively written, engagingly performed MAVERICK or the particularly well-acted and mature LAWMAN, but I found COLT .45 enjoyable, especially as I like the "look" and casts of the Warner Bros. TV shows of that era.  I'll be continuing to watch this collection through to the final episode.

The guest stars will be familiar to anyone who has watched other Warner Bros. Westerns, with many familiar names turning up including Adam West (as Doc Holliday!), Kathleen Crowley, Ruta Lee, Robert Colbert, Mike Road, Kasey Rogers, Lee Van Cleef, Lisa Gaye, Andra Martin, Angie Dickinson, Joanna Barnes, Troy Donahue, Ray Danton, Jean Willes, Joan Vohs, Robert Conrad, Catherine McLeod, and many, many more familiar names and faces in roles large and small -- even Sandy Koufax?! Charles Bronson, too.

Given COLT .45's relatively short run and checkered production history, it strikes me as all the more remarkable that the Warner Archive Collection has made it available for home viewing, not to mention in such beautiful condition. The prints are remastered from 4K scans of the original negatives, and they look absolutely great. The boxed set contains each season in a separate plastic case, as seen here. There are no extras.

Those considering getting the set may also want to read the reviews by Glenn Erickson at Trailers From Hell, Toby Roan at 50 Westerns From the 50s, and Tim Salmons at The Digital Bits.

There's another very interesting Warner Bros. TV release coming soon from the Warner Archive Collection: THE ALASKANS (1959-60), a one-season series starring Roger Moore. I'm intrigued! (Update: Here is my review of THE ALASKANS.)

Thanks to Allied Vaughn for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray. Warner Archive Blu-rays may be ordered from Movie Zyng, Amazon, and other online retailers.

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