I just finished watching the complete series of "The Rebel" (over a period of a couple months), and have become a big fan of the show and it's star Nick Adams well after the fact. I was around when this TV Western debuted in 1959, but for some reason, never watched it back then, preferring "Rawhide" and "Wanted:Dead or Alive". There's something interesting about watching a show fifty years after it was made, especially when the stories could just as easily have been told today using the post Civil War context.
Johnny Yuma was a Rebel in more ways than one. He was, to be sure, an ex-Confederate soldier roaming the West after the War. But unlike Chuck Connors' character Lucas McCain in "The Rifleman", he used his fists to beat up as many men as Lucas might have killed with a gun. Nick Adams brought a restless and short tempered quality to his portrayal of Johnny Yuma, and it often seemed that he invited trouble at his own expense, especially since he always traveled in complete Confederate uniform. He also traveled with his trusted journal, a concept introduced right from the beginning. As Johnny traveled from town to town, he recorded his feelings and impressions, trying to understand what life was all about, but almost never finding answers. The shows often explored the themes of honor, integrity and justice, and Johnny would never walk away from a situation that required someone to stand up for what was right.
The series got off to that kind of start right with the first episode, aptly titled 'Johnny Yuma'. Johnny returns to his home town of Mason City, Texas after the war, only to learn that his father was murdered by a gang of thugs led by John Carradine. The bad boy bunch included Dan Blocker and Strother Martin, and looking back on it today, that was quite an impressive guest lineup, even if those names weren't as well known back in the day. Johnny defeats the villainous gang and restores the town to law and order, but at the same time sets the stage for his wanderlust, taking off for parts unknown instead of accepting a job offer at home. It was the kind of theme that repeated itself throughout the series run.
Johnny's back story included living for a time with the Kiowa Indians as a youngster, and soldiering with the Third Texas Cavalry Regiment. He spent a year at a Yankee prison camp at Rock Island, and escaped to finish out the last six months of the war with Lee's Army in Northern Virginia. "Like swallowin' a bitter gall" was how Johnny described losing the War. However Johnny also recognized the worth of an enemy, as in Episode #1.33 - 'Grant of Land', about a Union soldier who won a Medal of Honor. I think my favorite episode might be #1.37 - 'At Appomattox', told in flashback. Johnny plans on killing General Grant before an armistice can be signed, but while eavesdropping as Grant offers terms of surrender to Lee, he's impressed with Grant's compassion and respect for Lee and the Southern cause. He comes away with an understanding that the North was fighting for something too.
Another gripping story was Episode #1.34 - 'Night on a Rainbow', unusual looking back on it now, as it dealt with the theme of drug addiction at a time when drugs were quickly becoming a national epidemic but not being addressed yet in popular culture. The show revealed the fact that one in four hundred soldiers returning from the war was an addict; in the story, Johnny tries to help a former soldier friend with his reliance on morphine.
During it's short two year run, "The Rebel" featured many of the familiar character actors of the era, like John Anderson, Royal Dano, and Jack Elam, but also had some surprise (at least to me) guests as well. Johnny Cash, who performs the show's theme song, appeared in an early first season episode, followed along the way by future stars like Robert Blake, Leonard Nimoy and Jamie Farr. John Dehner had a repeat role in the series as Uncle John Sims to his nephew Johnny Yuma. Perhaps the most unexpected guest to pop up was Soupy Sales as a villain in an episode (#2.51 - 'Hope Chest') that also included William Demarest. It's always cool to see well known names in unexpected places.
In the final episode, Johnny bundled up his journal and had it sent off to a friend care of the Mason City Bulletin. It was in this final show that an Indian Chief named LeBlanc called Johnny by his Indian name - 'White Kiowa". By any name, White Kiowa, Johnny Yuma, or The Rebel - this was one of the best TV Westerns to come out of the era, and still a treat and a pleasure to watch today.
Johnny Yuma was a Rebel in more ways than one. He was, to be sure, an ex-Confederate soldier roaming the West after the War. But unlike Chuck Connors' character Lucas McCain in "The Rifleman", he used his fists to beat up as many men as Lucas might have killed with a gun. Nick Adams brought a restless and short tempered quality to his portrayal of Johnny Yuma, and it often seemed that he invited trouble at his own expense, especially since he always traveled in complete Confederate uniform. He also traveled with his trusted journal, a concept introduced right from the beginning. As Johnny traveled from town to town, he recorded his feelings and impressions, trying to understand what life was all about, but almost never finding answers. The shows often explored the themes of honor, integrity and justice, and Johnny would never walk away from a situation that required someone to stand up for what was right.
The series got off to that kind of start right with the first episode, aptly titled 'Johnny Yuma'. Johnny returns to his home town of Mason City, Texas after the war, only to learn that his father was murdered by a gang of thugs led by John Carradine. The bad boy bunch included Dan Blocker and Strother Martin, and looking back on it today, that was quite an impressive guest lineup, even if those names weren't as well known back in the day. Johnny defeats the villainous gang and restores the town to law and order, but at the same time sets the stage for his wanderlust, taking off for parts unknown instead of accepting a job offer at home. It was the kind of theme that repeated itself throughout the series run.
Johnny's back story included living for a time with the Kiowa Indians as a youngster, and soldiering with the Third Texas Cavalry Regiment. He spent a year at a Yankee prison camp at Rock Island, and escaped to finish out the last six months of the war with Lee's Army in Northern Virginia. "Like swallowin' a bitter gall" was how Johnny described losing the War. However Johnny also recognized the worth of an enemy, as in Episode #1.33 - 'Grant of Land', about a Union soldier who won a Medal of Honor. I think my favorite episode might be #1.37 - 'At Appomattox', told in flashback. Johnny plans on killing General Grant before an armistice can be signed, but while eavesdropping as Grant offers terms of surrender to Lee, he's impressed with Grant's compassion and respect for Lee and the Southern cause. He comes away with an understanding that the North was fighting for something too.
Another gripping story was Episode #1.34 - 'Night on a Rainbow', unusual looking back on it now, as it dealt with the theme of drug addiction at a time when drugs were quickly becoming a national epidemic but not being addressed yet in popular culture. The show revealed the fact that one in four hundred soldiers returning from the war was an addict; in the story, Johnny tries to help a former soldier friend with his reliance on morphine.
During it's short two year run, "The Rebel" featured many of the familiar character actors of the era, like John Anderson, Royal Dano, and Jack Elam, but also had some surprise (at least to me) guests as well. Johnny Cash, who performs the show's theme song, appeared in an early first season episode, followed along the way by future stars like Robert Blake, Leonard Nimoy and Jamie Farr. John Dehner had a repeat role in the series as Uncle John Sims to his nephew Johnny Yuma. Perhaps the most unexpected guest to pop up was Soupy Sales as a villain in an episode (#2.51 - 'Hope Chest') that also included William Demarest. It's always cool to see well known names in unexpected places.
In the final episode, Johnny bundled up his journal and had it sent off to a friend care of the Mason City Bulletin. It was in this final show that an Indian Chief named LeBlanc called Johnny by his Indian name - 'White Kiowa". By any name, White Kiowa, Johnny Yuma, or The Rebel - this was one of the best TV Westerns to come out of the era, and still a treat and a pleasure to watch today.