The Adventures of Jim Bowie

The Adventures of Jim Bowie is an American Western television series that aired on ABC from 1956 to 1958. Its setting was the 1830s-era Louisiana Territory.^[1] The series was an adaptation of the book Tempered Blade, by Monte Barrett.^[2]

The Adventures of Jim Bowie
Genre	Western Adventure
Starring	Scott Forbes
Theme music composer	Ken Darby
Opening theme	"Jim Bowie" by The King's Men
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	76
Production
Executive producer	Louis F. Edelman
Producers	William H. Wright Lewis R. Foster
Editor	John Woodcock
Running time	25 minutes
Production companies	Desilu Productions Jim Bowie Enterprises
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	September 7, 1956 (1956-09-07) – August 29, 1958 (1958-08-29)

Synopsis

The series stars Scott Forbes as the real-life adventurer Jim Bowie. The series initially portrayed Jim Bowie as something of an outdoors-man, riding his horse through the wilderness near his home in Opelousas, where he would stumble across someone needing his assistance. He was aided by the Bowie Knife, his ever-present weapon. He designed it in the first episode, The Birth of the Blade. Although Bowie used the blade quite a bit in early episodes, its prominence was downplayed as the show went on.

Gradually the series shifted from the country to the city, having Bowie instead spend the majority of his time in New Orleans. He was frequently shown looking to invest his money in real estate, or coming to the aid of someone who had been swindled.

Storylines focused on the exploits of Bowie before he moved to Texas (then part of Mexico), and his death at the Alamo in 1836. During the series's two season run, Bowie encountered many historical figures of the era, such as President Andrew Jackson, Jefferson Davis, John James Audubon, Sam Houston, and Davy Crockett.

Production

Among the actors and actresses who guest-starred more than once on the series were William Schallert, Denver Pyle, Michael Landon, Chuck Connors, Walter Coy, June Carter Cash, and Lurene Tuttle. Jimmy Noel made walk-on appearances in six episodes. Those making single guest appearances included Yvonne Lime Fedderson, Douglas Kennedy, and Carole Mathews.

Jim Bowie did not appear in the last episode of the series. Instead, he was said to be away on an important assignment, and the attention was placed on criminal Jess Miller. Miller was given the task to retrieve a great sum of money, and the episode focused on whether Miller would complete his assignment or take the money for himself. At the end there is an indication that Miller would join up with Bowie on further adventures, but no further episodes were produced.^{[citation needed]}

Douglas Brode wrote in his book, Shooting Stars of the Small Screen: Encyclopedia of TV Western Actors, 1946–Present, that Scott Forbes, who had the title role, "stormed off the set" when he learned that the series was being canceled after two seasons, when he had understood that it would run for five seasons.^[3] He added, "In desperation, the writers fashioned the final script" without the star.^[3]

The program was sponsored by Chesebrough-Ponds.^[4]

Reception

Use of the knife in the initial episode led a reviewer for The New York Times to write, "[I]t would seem like a wise idea for parents to keep young viewers away from the television set when the show is on."^[5] The show was one of the first TV programs criticized for on-screen violence.^[6]

Episodes

Season 1 (1956-57)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	1	"The Birth of the Blade"	Unknown	Unknown	September 7, 1956 (1956-09-07)
2	2	"The Squatter"	Unknown	Unknown	September 14, 1956 (1956-09-14)
3	3	"An Adventure with Audubon"	Unknown	Unknown	September 21, 1956 (1956-09-21)
4	4	"Deputy Sheriff"	Lewis R.Foster	Unknown	September 28, 1956 (1956-09-28)
5	5	"Trapline"	Lewis R.Foster	Nat Tanchuck	October 5, 1956 (1956-10-05)
6	6	"Broomstick Wedding"	Unknown	Unknown	October 12, 1956 (1956-10-12)
7	7	"Natchez Trace"	Unknown	October 19, 1956 (1956-10-19)
8	8	"Jim Bowie Comes Home"	Unknown	Unknown	October 26, 1956 (1956-10-26)
9	9	"The Ghost of Jean Battoo"	Unknown	Unknown	November 2, 1956 (1956-11-02)
10	10	"The Secessionist"	Unknown	Unknown	November 9, 1956 (1956-11-09)
11	11	"Land Jumpers"	Unknown	Unknown	November 16, 1956 (1956-11-16)
12	12	"The Select Females"	Unknown	Unknown	November 23, 1956 (1956-11-23)
13	13	"Bowie and His Slave"	Unknown	Unknown	November 30, 1956 (1956-11-30)
14	14	"Outlaw Kingdom"	Unknown	Unknown	December 7, 1956 (1956-12-07)
15	15	"The Swordsman"	Unknown	Unknown	December 14, 1956 (1956-12-14)
16	16	"The Return of the Alcibiade"	Unknown	Unknown	December 21, 1956 (1956-12-21)
17	17	"Monsieur Francois"	Unknown	Unknown	December 28, 1956 (1956-12-28)
18	18	"A Horse for Old Hickory"	Unknown	Unknown	January 4, 1957 (1957-01-04)
19	19	"The Beggar of New Orleans"	Unknown	Unknown	January 11, 1957 (1957-01-11)
20	20	"Osceola"	Unknown	Unknown	January 18, 1957 (1957-01-18)
21	21	"Master of Arms"	Unknown	Unknown	January 25, 1957 (1957-01-25)
22	22	"Convoy Gold"	Unknown	Unknown	February 1, 1957 (1957-02-01)
23	23	"Spanish Intrigue"	Unknown	Unknown	February 8, 1957 (1957-02-08)
24	24	"Bayou Tontine"	Unknown	Unknown	February 15, 1957 (1957-02-15)
25	25	"German George"	Unknown	Unknown	February 22, 1957 (1957-02-22)
26	26	"An Eye for an Eye"	Unknown	Unknown	March 1, 1957 (1957-03-01)
27	27	"The Captain's Chimp"	Unknown	Unknown	March 8, 1957 (1957-03-08)
28	28	"Jackson Assassination"	Unknown	Unknown	March 15, 1957 (1957-03-15)
29	29	"Rezin Bowie, Gambler"	Unknown	Unknown	March 22, 1957 (1957-03-22)
30	30	"Thieves' Market"	Unknown	Unknown	March 29, 1957 (1957-03-29)
31	31	"The Pearl and the Crown"	Unknown	Unknown	April 5, 1957 (1957-04-05)
32	32	"The General's Disgrace"	Unknown	Unknown	April 12, 1957 (1957-04-12)
33	33	"The Lottery"	Unknown	Unknown	April 19, 1957 (1957-04-19)
34	34	"The Intruder"	Unknown	Unknown	April 26, 1957 (1957-04-26)
35	35	"Country Cousin"	Unknown	Unknown	May 3, 1957 (1957-05-03)
36	36	"The Bound Girl"	Unknown	Unknown	May 10, 1957 (1957-05-10)
37	37	"Bounty Hunter"	Unknown	Unknown	May 17, 1957 (1957-05-17)
38	38	"Gone to Texas"	Unknown	Unknown	May 24, 1957 (1957-05-24)

Season 2 (1957-58)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
39	1	"Epitaph for an Indian"	Unknown	Unknown	September 6, 1957 (1957-09-06)
40	2	"Flowers for McDonough"	Unknown	Unknown	September 13, 1957 (1957-09-13)
41	3	"The Irishman"	Unknown	Unknown	September 20, 1957 (1957-09-20)
42	4	"Counterfeit Dixie"	Unknown	Unknown	September 27, 1957 (1957-09-27)
43	5	"Bullet Metal"	Unknown	Unknown	October 4, 1957 (1957-10-04)
44	6	"Quarantine"	Unknown	Unknown	October 11, 1957 (1957-10-11)
45	7	"A Fortune for Madame"	Unknown	Unknown	October 18, 1957 (1957-10-18)
46	8	"House Divided"	Unknown	Unknown	October 25, 1957 (1957-10-25)
47	9	"The Whip"	Unknown	Unknown	November 1, 1957 (1957-11-01)
48	10	"Pearls of Talimeco"	Unknown	Unknown	November 8, 1957 (1957-11-08)
49	11	"Charivari"	Unknown	Unknown	November 15, 1957 (1957-11-15)
50	12	"Hare and Tortoise"	Unknown	Unknown	November 22, 1957 (1957-11-22)
51	13	"The Bridegroom"	Unknown	Unknown	November 29, 1957 (1957-11-29)
52	14	"The Alligator"	Unknown	Unknown	December 6, 1957 (1957-12-06)
53	15	"Country Girl"	Unknown	Unknown	December 13, 1957 (1957-12-13)
54	16	"Mexican Adventure"	Unknown	Unknown	December 20, 1957 (1957-12-20)
55	17	"Silk Purse"	Unknown	Unknown	December 27, 1957 (1957-12-27)
56	18	"Choctaw Honor"	Unknown	Unknown	January 3, 1958 (1958-01-03)
57	19	"Close Shave"	Unknown	Unknown	January 10, 1958 (1958-01-10)
58	20	"Pirate on Horseback"	Unknown	Unknown	January 17, 1958 (1958-01-17)
59	21	"Curfew Cannon"	Unknown	Unknown	January 24, 1958 (1958-01-24)
60	22	"Home Sweet Home"	Unknown	Unknown	January 31, 1958 (1958-01-31)
61	23	"Deaf Smith"	Unknown	Unknown	February 7, 1958 (1958-02-07)
62	24	"Ursula"	Unknown	Unknown	February 14, 1958 (1958-02-14)
63	25	"Apache Silver"	Unknown	Unknown	February 21, 1958 (1958-02-21)
64	26	"A Grave for Jim Bowie"	Unknown	Unknown	February 28, 1958 (1958-02-28)
65	27	"Up the Creek"	Unknown	Unknown	March 7, 1958 (1958-03-07)
66	28	"The Lion's Cub"	Unknown	Unknown	March 14, 1958 (1958-03-14)
67	29	"Horse Thief"	Unknown	Unknown	March 21, 1958 (1958-03-21)
68	30	"Jim Bowie, Apache"	Unknown	Unknown	March 28, 1958 (1958-03-28)
69	31	"The Brothers"	Unknown	Unknown	April 4, 1958 (1958-04-04)
70	32	"Patron of the Arts"	Unknown	Unknown	April 11, 1958 (1958-04-11)
71	33	"Bad Medicine"	Unknown	Unknown	April 18, 1958 (1958-04-18)
72	34	"A Night in Tennessee"	Unknown	Unknown	April 25, 1958 (1958-04-25)
73	35	"Bowie's Baby"	Unknown	Unknown	May 2, 1958 (1958-05-02)
74	36	"The Cave"	Unknown	Unknown	May 9, 1958 (1958-05-09)
75	37	"Man of the Streets"	Unknown	Unknown	May 16, 1958 (1958-05-16)
76	38	"The Puma"	Unknown	Unknown	May 23, 1958 (1958-05-23)

Theme Music

The theme song was "Adventurin' Man", performed by the Ken Darby Singers.^[7] The series' music was unusual in that it was primarily vocal, provided by Ken Darby and The King's Men (save for a few episodes in season two).

Recurring cast members

• Television portal

• Scott Forbes - Jim Bowie (75 episodes)
• Peter Hansen - Rezin Bowie (17 episodes)
• Minerva Urecal - Ma Bowie (6 episodes)
• William Schallert - Justinian Tebbs (8 episodes)
• Denver Pyle - Sam Houston (3 episodes)
• Ewing Mitchell - Preacher Homer Wilkins (2 episodes)

Home media

A two-DVD set containing 13 episodes of the program has been published.^[6]

UK television network Talking Pictures TV began a re-run of season 1 from Wednesday 09 October 2024

Merchandising

The TV show was also adapted into a comic book by Dan Spiegle, distributed by Dell Comics.^[8]

References

1. West, Richard (1987). Television Westerns: Major and Minor Series, 1946-1978. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland. pp. 12–13. ISBN 0-7864-0579-1.
2. "'Bowie' Series Now on KGNC". The Amarillo Globe-Times. Texas, Amarillo. December 11, 1956. p. 23. Retrieved January 31, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
3. Brode, Douglas (2010). Shooting Stars of the Small Screen: Encyclopedia of TV Western Actors, 1946–Present. University of Texas Press. ISBN 9780292783317. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
4. "Closed Circuit Sells 'Bowie'" (PDF). Billboard. May 12, 1956. p. 3. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
5. Shanley, J. P. (September 8, 1956). "Television: Knife Play: 'Adventures of Jim Bowie,' New Western Series, Not Cut Out for Children". The New York Times. p. 37. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
6. Guide, T. V. (October 2005). TV Guide: TV on DVD 2006: The Ultimate Resource to Television Programs on DVD. Macmillan. p. c. ISBN 978-0-312-35150-2. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
7. Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7. P. 14.
8. "Dan Spiegle". Lambiek Comiclopedia. Archived from the original on July 15, 2021. Retrieved December 22, 2021.

Sources

• Tim Brooks & Earle Marsh, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows (9th ed. 2007), Ballantine Books, p. 17.

External links

• The Adventures of Jim Bowie at IMDb
• The Adventures of Jim Bowie at epguides.com