Casey Jones

I appear to be the only person from the UK with a review for this superb show. It was shown in the UK in the 60's about 9 years after it was first produced. I was 7 years old then and remember the show with burning clarity . I still can't believe that they only made 32 episodes, and only 26 were ever shown in the UK, the show seemed to run forever ! I suppose when you're 7 years old, time seems to stretch out into infinity. Even now when I spot Alan Hale Jr. on a rerun of a film such as "Young at Heart" or a TV show such as the "Land of the Giants" I say to myself there goes Casey Jones. He played the role so brilliantly. Even when I spot his Dad, Alan Hale Snr. On one of the many films he made with Errol Flynn, I say to myself there goes Casey Jones's Dad ! If he had made another season of shows typecasting would have inevitably followed. It seems that he didn't, because of a prior commitment to another show at the time. How strange show business is. When you're 7 it's not show business though. Alan Hale Jr. really was Casey Jones, riding the Cannonball Express, and always will be.

When Gilligan's Island first came out, I remember my family and I exclaiming whenever we saw Alan Hale Jr. appear on the screen, "Hey, it's Casey Jones!" I truthfully don't remember much about the series, as I was but a tyke when I watched it, other than seeing Alan Hale Jr's friendly, smiling face looking out from the train as the opening credits rolled. I remember liking the show and our family sitting around the t.v. enjoying Hale's characterization of the legendary engineer. I enjoyed the other comments and remember it as good, wholesome family entertainment.

When I was in my twenties and living in Los Angeles at the time, I took my fiancé (now, wife) to visit Alan Hale Jr's Fish and Chips Restaurant in Glendale. Hale just seemed like a very happy and likable fellow as well as a great character actor.

"Casey Jones" was a first-run syndicated half-hour western series that ran during the '58-'59 television season and was a folksy, gentler family western series as opposed to some of the more violent adult westerns on the air during the late '50's and early '60's. Alan Hale Jr. played the legendary railroad engineer of the Cannonball Express for the Midwest and Central Railroad. Mary Lawrence portrayed Casey's wife Alice, Bobby Clark portrayed their son Casey Jr., Dub Taylor portrayed Casey's fireman Wallie Sims and Eddie Waller portrayed conductor Red Rock.

The series featured some of the same types of plots as other westerns of the time such as train robbers, vandals, etc. but the plots also centered as much on Casey's interaction with his family, particularly his young son, giving the series a much more laid back sort of ambiance. Alan Hale Jr. would go on to bigger and better (and stupider!) series after "Casey Jones" ended its single season run but this series was a solid family entertainment without insulting the intelligence as "Gilligan's Island" would do six years later.

When I spotted the complete 32 episodes on 4 DVD set of Casey Jones released here in Australia, I jumped on it. One of my fond memories of my early teens back in the late 50's. Always thought Alan Hale Jnr. was perfect in the title role. Possessing one of Hollywood's great smiles, he made you feel good the minute you saw it. Normally a fine character actor in supporting roles, like his Father before him, he proved here he could carry the lead with ease. A big, but handsome man, he went on to even greater fame as the Skipper in Gilligan's Island, but to me, will always be Casey Jones, yes, I suppose it's a kid's show, but that doesn't mean adults can't enjoy the fun too. The DVD's are very good quality considering the episodes are 60 years old now. Just sit back, relax and enjoy the simple fun, quite therapeutic after today's more full on drama, the Cannonball Express will carry you away to a more enjoyable time!

This is the earliest show I can remember watching from it's first run, with the possible exceptions of the Roy Roger Show or The Adventures of Superman. I was born in 1953 and recall this show was on about the time my Dad got home from work. He wanted to spend some time with me after a long day at the office and we curled up together on the coach and watched Casey Jones "cannonballing down the track." I got a tape of the premiere episode a couple years and showed it to him. He couldn't remember the show, (He's pushing 90). But I could. It was an exciting episode about the railroad line trying to stay in business by proving it could deliver a mail contract faster than a rival running on conveniently parallel tracks. The "bad guys" cheated a lot but were beaten in the end. I noted with some amusement that they seemed to go past the same tree at least a dozen times. But it was fun and brought back warm memories.

I wholly agree with the comments above. It was a gentle family western with plenty of action but little "violence". It gave Alan Hale Jr. probably his best, if not his most famous role. He still expansively friendly and warm but also reasonably intelligent and well-principled, a good hero to have in a show such as this. There are so many actors famous for their TV roles who become prisoners of them and Mr. Hale was certainly one of them He was wonderful as "The Skipper", but he was excellent in this role as well and could have done a lot more than he was offered later in his career.