Plot: What’s it about?
The Rifleman has arrived on our beloved format via MPI Home Video, with two initial volumes and hopefully many more to follow. I’ve never followed the show much myself, but I have watched some episodes, so I was looking forward to this release. The Rifleman stars Chuck Connors (Old Yeller, The Big Country) as Lucas McCain, a tough, but caring father who seeks to starts a new life with his young son Mark, played by Johnny Crawford (El Dorado, The Shootist). Lucas is a fast draw and has an iron resolve, so he often becomes involved in rounding out criminals, as well as a fair number of fights, to be sure. This series was a smash success at the time and even topped the charts at times, so it is a natural to now find the series on DVD, I think. This is the second volume of The Rifleman and includes episodes 5-8, plus a bonus episode. Below is a listing of the episodes included, as well as a brief synopsis for each.
1. The Angry Gun- After a cattle sale, Lucas and Mark take a stagecoach back home, but the ride isn’t as smooth as planned. A band of three outlaws decides to hijack the stagecoach and while this happens a lot, it doesn’t happen a lot when Lucas is involved. This episode has guest spots from Vic Morrow and Leo Gordon, which adds to the episode’s value, I think.
2. The Sheridan Story- The McCain ranch soon becomes a place of conflict, when two men from different backgrounds arrive at the same time. A Union General named Phil Sheridan happens to be on the ranch at the same time as a crippled Confederate soldier, which means potential trouble, of course. Lawrence Dobkin and Royal Dano have guest roles, in case you were wondering about that sort of thing.
3. The Money Gun- Lucas is forced to make some hard choices when a hired gunman arrives in town, with plans to kill Oat Jackford. While Jackford is an old nemesis of Lucas’, he still feels the need to protect the man, which he does. But with this ruthless gunfighter in town, can Lucas protect Jackford and himself at the same time? This episodes has guest turns from John Dehner and Bert Freed, who add good performances to the show.
4. The Mind Reader- Although evidence is slim, Billy Mathis is jailed on charges of murder, with little hope of a change in decision. But a clue comes from an unexpected source, when a traveling showman arrives in town. Can Mathis prove his innocence while there’s still time, or will he be punished for another man’s crime? This episode features guest appearances from Michael Landon and John Carradine, both of whom provide solid turns.
Video: How does it look?
The episodes are presented in full frame transfers, as intended. I wasn’t too hopeful as far as image quality, but MPI has delivered solid transfer here. The prints look cleaner than expected, with some grain and debris, but not too much. Some scenes even look pristine and while some look better than others, none are too bad here. The contrast is stable and stark, which is good since this is a black & white series, of course. I saw no detail loss at all and in the end, I think fans will be thrilled with the visual treatment given to these episodes.
Audio: How does it sound?
Not much to discuss here, as the included tracks manage fine enough, but don’t offer much beyond the basics. I heard minimal distortion and harshness however, which are often present in these older television show audio options. As such, I was pleased and on the whole, I was able to detect very little in terms of age related flaws here. The music, sound effects, and dialogue all sound terrific here, very clean and never hard to listen to. This disc also includes English subtitles, should you decide to enable those.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc includes a selection of still photos, as well as some rare outtakes, which are a most welcome inclusion. A bonus episode is also present and it is Bloodlines, in which a group of brothers seek to settle the score with Lucas, after a gunfight killed some of their kin. This episode has guest spots by Warren Oates and Buddy Hackett, in case you’re a fan of their work.
