Tate

Here was another of those western series that NBC tried out for a summer run to see if it was worth bringing back as a replacement in January for one of their fall season shows that failed to catch on. But Tate never returned, and the thirteen episodes that were shot did not go into widespread syndication, so this rates as something of a one summer wonder. By the time Tate appeared, TV was glutted with guns for hire, Paladin the most popular of all over at CBS on Saturday night's Have Gun Will Travel series. He of course dressed all in black leather. On Tate, the anti-hero also had black leather, but merely as a heavy stump covering for the arm that he had lost during the War Between the States. Yep, a one-armed hero in a western, which must have broken considerable ground for hire-the-handicapped back then. Tate never had to wait long for a job, but like Paladin (this was, after all, TV) he never did anything cold-blooded, and was picky enough to only take money from people who deserved to win in the end. Perhaps the most interesting thing about the show was that the hero was played by The Marlboro Man, which is why - even though this was David MacLean's first official acting job - he looked awfully familiar to western fans. And smokers. And, yes, MacLean did die of lung cancer.

The only remarkable thing about this short lived series that I recall is that it was shot on tape, not film. I believe it was the ONLY Western series shot on tape - ever. It had that soap opera look and the sound effects (gunshots, horses, fist-fights, etc.) sounded unnatural (for a Western). This strange look and sound probably contributed to its quick demise. Shot-on-tape just doesn't work with Westerns.

The star was a Los Angeles real estate executive who always wanted to be an actor. The character he played, Tate, was a man whose left arm was paralyzed by a wound in the Civil War. He drifted, hungry and disabled, and practiced with his pistol until he became a one armed gun for hire. After it became known that Tate was as quick and deadly as the killers and bullies he was paid to deal with he was sought after by every crazy in the country. He faced them all. Tate became paranoid and overly defensive because he had only one arm. When people messed with Tate he shot old women, school teachers, stray dogs, preachers and innocent bystanders. He struck out out every threat, real or imagined. The first attempt at reality TV in the western genre. And it was great. Still is. I want it on DVD. Now.

"Tate" was a half hour western series that ran on NBC during the summer of 1960 as a summer replacement series. Summer replacement series generally ran 13 weeks and if the ratings for these replacement shows were sufficiently good they were brought back in January which was the start of the "second season" to replace series that had been canceled due to poor ratings.

"Tate" starred David McLean as the title character, a one-armed western bounty hunter who had lost the use of his left arm due to a wound suffered during the civil war. Since westerns were beginning to hit the skids in popularity gimmicks were being employed to give a new western series a unique quality that others lacked. In "Tate", the gimmick was that Tate was essentially one-armed and his useless left arm was entirely encased in black leather with the black gloved left hand protruding from a black leather sling. This gave a very ominous appearance to other characters in the series and to the audience alike. Tate was very fast on the draw and could still handle himself well in fights despite his handicap. The series was very pleasing for the most part although not very distinguished from any other western series. The two things I remember most (apart from the black leather and sling) was that this western was shot on tape rather than film and that Robert Redford appeared in two of the 13 episodes early in his distinguished career.

All-in-all not a bad series but far from great.

Very intense and equally gritty - "Tate" was a vintage TV Western that (IMO) often seemed to have shades of "noir" running through its story-lines.

I quite liked actor, David McLean (1922-1995) as the rugged title character. I thought that McLean was very well suited for his role as the no-nonsense gunslinger who always played a fair game with those whom he dealt with.

So - If you are a fan of TV Westerns from yesteryear, then, I'm sure that "Tate" will also appeal to you, as well.