Cimarron Strip

I was very young when I watched the reruns in the early 70s. This was more for my parents but cool enough for me. I knew this Marshall was no fool. Every episode was riveting. I really enjoyed the beginning riding the horse on the trail with that great theme. When your about 6 TV cowboys are real. I am sure I rode a few arm chairs with hat and holster on. The marshal portrayed the American Western Lawman has a prolific hero. The bad villains were really bad men that rode a horse and were not anti heroes or somethings cool. Marshal Jim Crown man's man. Today a show of this caliber would be on an HBO mini series. I don't think the networks could get away with a smart but violent show in which bad guys are left in the dirt. I yearn for good ole quality cowboy shows. A must see if you have never experience the likes of this one. I can't wait till it comes on DVD. Alias Smith and Jones comes out in Feb 2007 another classic. So hopefully soon Marshal Crown rides again.

I've caught the show once or twice on TBS (I think)--early Saturday mornings. Thing is--it's been edited down to a 60 minute show--so as to more easily sell it for syndication. There goes much of the dramatic complexity of it. Also--it isn't called 'Cimarron Strip'. It's 'Marshall Crown'--I believe. I even tried @ a video store near me--Audio Video Plus--& I found some of them. I think Stuart Whitman, himself, might own the rights these days.

I LOVED this series. Others were 2-dimensional, by comparison. Jim Crown was a former gunslinger, who had reformed. Sometimes, friends from the bad old days would show up--thinking they'd be cut slack. Wrong. Well--Crown WOULD try to dissuade them from illegal activities--to no avail. He'd end up having to kill his old friend--w/much remorse.

I remember reading that, when CBS cancelled the show, they issued a memo, explaining that the characters should be either good or bad--no shades of grey. In other words, the show was too sophisticated for it's time.

One of the finest westerns ever shown on television! Marshall Crown, the hero, was true, gritty, keen-thinking. The villains were believable,often complex, not the "cardboard cutouts" featured in modern TV shows.

The scenery was breath-taking, especially the opening sequence of Crown riding his horse across a broad vista of stark beauty, as the theme song, the BEST EVER for a TV western, soars majestically through the horse's dusty wake.

A wonderful supporting cast -- Dulcey, MacGregor, and Francis --added just the right touch to Crown's character, "softening or hardening" his edge as the situation demanded. Sadly, it lasted only one season. They don't make 'em like this any more!

This was a great series featuring the tough but tender Jim Crown. Plenty of action and gunplay kept the stories interesting each week. One year a friend and I kept count of the men Crown killed as compared to Matt Dillon. I don't remember which marshall came out on top, but the difference was only 2 bodies. I didn't miss an episode of this one, not only because Jim Crown was so cool, but I also liked looking at "Biscuit". Of course, MacGregor was always good for a laugh or two. Great show.

When Cimarron Strip first aired I was a young girl of 14. The theme music was wonderful. I would literally sit on the edge of my seat waiting to hear the beginning notes. Stuart Whitman was my first and only TV crush. He epitomized what all western heroes should be, from the way he walked, talked, and wore his black hat. Isn't it funny what stays in you subconscious. I loved him then, and love him still. After all these years I hope he knows what a difference he made in my life. Coincidently my husband grew-up watching Cimarron Strip also. He recalls that he and his brother would pretend to ride the family ottoman as their trusty steed, as Stuart Whitman did in the beginning and the ending of the show.