The Restless Gun – western TV show

The Restless Gun – western TV show.

The Restless Gun in Hiram Grover’s Strike
The Restless Gun in The Torn Flag
Pilot Episode
The Way Back

The Restless Gun is an American western television series that appeared on NBC between 1957 and 1959, with John Payne in the role of Vint Bonner, a wandering cowboy in the era after the American Civil War. A skilled gunfighter, Bonner is an idealistic person who prefers peaceful resolutions of conflict wherever possible. He is gregarious, intelligent, and public-spirited. The half-hour black-and-white program aired seventy-eight episodes. Jeanne Bates appeared in varying roles with Payne in five episodes of The Restless Gun.

The Restless Gun theme song (officially titled “I Ride With the Wind”) begins: “I ride with the wind, my eyes on the sun, and my hand on my restless gun…” The song composer is probably Paul Dunlap, credited as the primary series composer, but could have been contributed to by either of the two other series composers, Dave Kahn and Stanley Wilson.

Broadcast on March 29, 1957, as an installment of the CBS anthology series The Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, the pilot episode was based on a radio series The Six Shooter, with Payne’s character named Britt Ponset. For the television version, however, the name was changed to Vint Bonner. Some episodes were based on the radio programs. The principal producer of The Restless Gun was David Dortort, thereafter in 1959 the executive producer of NBC’s blockbuster western hit Bonanza. Dortort did not create The Restless Gun, nor did he produce the pilot episode, and he rarely contributed original scripts. A critic who considers The Restless Gun only an average program, writes that the series “probably owes its mediocrity more to MCA, the company that ‘packaged’ the series and produced it through its television arm Revue Productions, than to Dortort.”
The Restless Gun ranked in the Top Ten during its first season on the air, ending the year at No. 8, but it was not among the highest rated programs in the second season.

This was the first series produced by David Dortort, who went on to produce a little series titled Bonanza, so Dan Blocker’s presence here is significant. Also, this program was an adaptation of a great short-lived radio series starring James Stewart titled The Six-Shooter.

Cast
John Payne … Vint Bonner
Dan Blocker … Olaf Burland
James Coburn … Tom Quinn
Morgan Woodward … Jubal Carney
Bek Nelson … Dixie Starr
Stuart Randall … Marshal Powers
Voorheis J. Ardoin … Fowler, Desk Clerk

Directed By Edward Ludgwig
Character Created By Frank Burt
Teleplay By Robert Leslie Bellem, Frank Bonham
Executive Producer John Payne
Produced By David Dortort
Cinematography By Bill Thackery
Film Editing By Edward Haire
Art Direction Howard E. Johnson
Set Decoration By Perry Murdock
Assistant Director Frank Fox

Original Air Date: December 29, 1958
Season 2, Episode 14
Production Co: Window Glen Productions
Filming Locations: Republic Studios – 4024 Radford Avenue, N. Hollywood

Episode Guide for The Restless Gun – western TV show.
S0, Ep0 Pilot Episode – The Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
March 29, 1957 The Restless Gun
Season 1
S1, Ep1
23 Sep. 1957 Duel at Lockwood
S1, Ep2
30 Sep. 1957 Trail to Sunset
S1, Ep3
7 Oct. 1957 Revenge at Harness Creek
S1, Ep4
14 Oct. 1957 Rink
S1, Ep5
21 Oct. 1957 Jenny
S1, Ep6
28 Oct. 1957 The Shooting of Jett King
S1, Ep7
4 Nov. 1957 Jody
S1, Ep8
11 Nov. 1957 General Gilford’s Widow
S1, Ep9
18 Nov. 1957 The New Sheriff
S1, Ep10
25 Nov. 1957 Man and Boy
S1, Ep11
2 Dec. 1957 Cheyenne Express
S1, Ep12
9 Dec. 1957 Thicker Than Water
S1, Ep13
16 Dec. 1957 Silver Threads
S1, Ep14
23 Dec. 1957 The Child
S1, Ep15
30 Dec. 1957 The Gold Buckle
S1, Ep16
6 Jan. 1958 The Coward
S1, Ep17
13 Jan. 1958 Friend in Need
S1, Ep18
20 Jan. 1958 Strange Family in Town
S1, Ep19
27 Jan. 1958 Hang and Be Damned
S1, Ep20
3 Feb. 1958 Quiet City
S1, Ep21
10 Feb. 1958 Hornitas Town
S1, Ep22
17 Feb. 1958 Imposter for a Day
S1, Ep23
24 Feb. 1958 A Pressing Engagement
S1, Ep24
3 Mar. 1958 The Woman from Sacramento
S1, Ep25
10 Mar. 1958 Sheriff Billy
S1, Ep26
17 Mar. 1958 The Hand Is Quicker
S1, Ep27
24 Mar. 1958 The Suffragette
S1, Ep28
31 Mar. 1958 The Whip
S1, Ep29
7 Apr. 1958 The Crisis at Easter Creek
S1, Ep30
14 Apr. 1958 Aunt Emma
S1, Ep31
21 Apr. 1958 The Outlander
S1, Ep32
28 Apr. 1958 The Battle of Tower Rock
S1, Ep33
5 May 1958 The Torn Flag
S1, Ep34
12 May 1958 Hiram Grover’s Strike
S1, Ep35
19 May 1958 The Gold Star
S1, Ep36
26 May 1958 More Than Kin
S1, Ep37
2 Jun. 1958 The Manhunters
S1, Ep38
9 Jun. 1958 The Peddler
S1, Ep39
16 Jun. 1958 Gratitude
Season 2
S2, Ep1
22 Sep. 1958 Jebediah Bonner
S2, Ep2
29 Sep. 1958 Dragon for a Day
S2, Ep3
6 Oct. 1958 Mercyday
S2, Ep4
13 Oct. 1958 Thunder Alley
S2, Ep5
20 Oct. 1958 The Nowhere Kid
S2, Ep6
3 Nov. 1958 Bonner’s Squaw
S2, Ep7
10 Nov. 1958 Tomboy
S2, Ep8
17 Nov. 1958 Remember the Dead
S2, Ep9
24 Nov. 1958 No Way to Kill
S2, Ep10
1 Dec. 1958 Take Me Home
S2, Ep11
8 Dec. 1958 Multiply One Boy
S2, Ep12
15 Dec. 1958 Peligroso
S2, Ep13
22 Dec. 1958 A Bell for Santo Domingo
S2, Ep14
29 Dec. 1958 The Way Back
S2, Ep15
5 Jan. 1959 The Painted Beauty
S2, Ep16
12 Jan. 1959 Shadow of a Gunfighter
S2, Ep17
19 Jan. 1959 The Lady and the Gun
S2, Ep18
2 Feb. 1959 Blood of Courage
S2, Ep19
9 Feb. 1959 Better Than a Cannon
S2, Ep20
16 Feb. 1959 The Dead Ringer
S2, Ep21
23 Feb. 1959 The Last Grey Man
S2, Ep22
2 Mar. 1959 Melany
S2, Ep23
9 Mar. 1959 Ricochet
S2, Ep24
16 Mar. 1959 Dead Man’s Hand
S2, Ep25
23 Mar. 1959 The Sweet Sisters
S2, Ep26
30 Mar. 1959 Incident at Bluefield
S2, Ep27
6 Apr. 1959 The Pawn
S2, Ep28
13 Apr. 1959 Four Lives
S2, Ep29
20 Apr. 1959 One on the House
S2, Ep30
27 Apr. 1959 Code for a Killer
S2, Ep31
4 May 1959 Mme. Brimstone
S2, Ep32
11 May 1959 Lady by Law
S2, Ep33
18 May 1959 Ride with the Devil
S2, Ep34
25 May 1959 A Trial for Jenny May
S2, Ep35
1 Jun. 1959 The Cavis Boy
S2, Ep36
8 Jun. 1959 The Englishman
S2, Ep37
15 Jun. 1959 A Very Special Investigator
S2, Ep38
22 Jun. 1959 The Hill of Death