Adventures of Jim Bowie (TV series)

 

Picture: C     Sound: C     Extras: D     Episodes: C+

 

 

Recently watching A&E’s DVD set on The Alamo (reviewed elsewhere on this site), the newest programs explained the difference between the mythical ways the real people have been passed of as fiction for a century and a half.  Whether the new feature film will change things is yet to be seen, but here is a 1956 TV series based on Jim Bowie.  The Adventures of Jim Bowie stars Scott Forbes in the title role, and he is good.  The idea was to have a hit like Daniel Boone, but lightning did not strike twice and the show only lasted a few seasons.  This double set contains the following titles:

 

Disc One

The Squatters

Adventures with Audubon

Trapline

Jim Bowie Comes Home

The Secessionist

Land Jumpers

 

Disc Two

The Select Female

Outlaw Kingdom

Monsieur Francois

Convoy of Gold

Jackson Assassination

The Pearl and the Crown

Gone to Texas

 

That’s thirteen half-hour time slotted shows.  Future writing ace Paul Playdon showed up, as well as veteran character actors who later became relatively famous, like Claude Akin.  It can be a fun show, but was made for a younger audience overall.  It does not always hold up, but the new film will spark new curiosity interest and that’s not a bad thing.

 

The full screen, black and white image is a touch on the green side, and the prints show their grain and some artifacts.  Besides that, it is average and watchable.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono is imbalanced a bit into the Right channel, but some receivers can correct this or you can convert it to PCM sound and used digital signal processing (DSP) to balance it out better.  The only extras are trailers to other VCI product and a good bio/filmography on Forbes.

 

I am not the biggest Western fan, only have a lukewarm response to the show.  However, those who like the genre should check it out.  The theme song is a hoot.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo