Rawhide – The Second Season, Vol. 2

Long before Clint Eastwood was making our day as Dirty Harry or even roaming the badlands without a name for Sergio Leone, he was working the cattle drive on Rawhide. Rawhide was created to take advantage of the huge Western film and television wave that Hollywood had been riding for nearly a decade. With huge ratings for Gunsmoke and Bonanza among others, Rawhide was a bit of an unlikely success. Here the show explored the West on an endless cattle drive to get a few thousand steer to market. Along the way the crew would find themselves involved in someone else’s troubles or meet trouble head on themselves. The cattle drive theme would rely on the changing landscape to distinguish the show from other more sedentary westerns. More like Wagon Train, the constant movement always gave a sense of action even when there wasn’t much.

A very young Clint Eastwood played Rowdy Yates. Unlike any cowboy you ever saw, Rowdy had slicked up hair and looked more like a biker than a cattle hand. He was the greenhorn in the bunch, usually finding each experience a learning opportunity. He had an almost naïve charm that made him popular. Eric Fleming was Gil, the trail boss. The third main character was Pete Nolan, played by Sheb Wooley. Sheb formed a good relationship with Eastwood that would be rewarded years later when Eastwood created a role for him in The Outlaw Josey Wales.Of course, there was a large number of changing support players along on the drive. Every operation needs cooks, ropers, and red shirts. I didn’t really watch the show even in its limited syndication run so knew most of it by reputation only. Of course, I knew the Frankie Laine theme that has been used for everything from selling cars to western spoofs. The tune was also a moderate radio and record hit in the day.

I was rather pleased with what I saw. It takes a little getting used to seeing a much more wide eyed Clint Eastwood. He had not yet developed the gritty speech and laser beam stare that would propel him to superstardom. The production values were pretty good, as they managed to let a limited range of available filming locations appear fresh as the drive moved along. The necessary western clichés are all there, but I get the impression that this series was intended far more as a modern allegory than a true western. Like the others, there was plenty of moralizing and the good guys and bad guys were never that hard to identify. Still, Rawhide processed a certain spirit that went beyond my expectations. It’s all dated now, and it’s not great by any definition of the term, but it deserves a better look. You won’t be disappointed.

Video

Each episode of Rawhide is presented in its original broadcast full frame format. The series was shot in black and white. The transfer is actually a remarkable one. There isn’t much in the way of print defects and the picture is quite sharp. Black levels are rock solid, and working along with sweet contrast makes this a picture with razor detail. You won’t believe this stuff’s almost 50 years old

Audio

The Dolby Digital Mono track delivers exactly what you are looking for and nothing more. The dialog is clear, and that’s all you’re going to get out of this minimalist presentation.

Special Features

Nothing.

Final Thoughts

Rawhide is a wonderful look at television in its infancy, proof positive that good compelling drama could be told with solid performances on this remarkable new glass screen. Today I’m not so sure. Most of these shows won’t hold my attention like this old, nearly forgotten black and white western did. After all: “You know there’s a big difference counting cattle and counting sheep.”