Less than three years after The Six Shooter left the radio, actor John Payne was looking for a western show in which he could star on TV. He came across the Jimmy Stewart series and liked what he heard. He purchased the rights to the series and set about to have many of the Frank Burt scripts rewritten for the visual medium. Eventually, 26 of the radio scripts would be used on TV.
In addition, Stewart himself remade three of the series into TV shows. Silver Annie became The Town with a Past and was broadcast on the General Electric Theater on February 10, 1957. Britt Ponset’s Christmas Carol appeared on the General Electric Theater on December 15, 1957, as The Trail to Christmas. Finally, When the Shoe Doesn’t Fit became Cindy’s Fella and was broadcast on Ford Startime December 15, 1959.
The TV series aired Monday evenings at 8 PM on the east coast. The first season finished at #8 in the Neilsen ratings. In fact the series was popular enough that several books were also issued. Barlow Meyers’ book based on the series was published in 1959 by the Whitman Publishing Company of Racine, Wisconsin.
Signet also published a book based on the show. It was written by Will Hickok:
The entire The Restless Gun series, all 78 episodes, have now been issued on DVD (Timeless Media Group).
If you liked The Six Shooter, we believe you will also like The Restless Gun. John Payne has a tendency to look a little bit like Stewart, especially at certain angles, and he also has many of the same mannerisms as Stewart.
Let us give you a rundown of all of The Six Shooter episodes that were produced as The Restless Gun episodes along with newspaper previews and articles for each.
The Restless Gun pilot used the same show that served as the pilot for The Six Shooter. Both pilots bore the title of their eventual series. The Six Shooter was broadcast on Hollywood Star Playhouse on April 13, 1952, nearly a year and a half before the premiere of the series. You may remember that an audition show from this script was made for The Six Shooter to try attract a sponsor for the program. Eventually, the script was rewritten and used for the October 25, 1953, episode titled Red Lawson’s Revenge.
The Restless Gun pilot aired on the Schlitz Playhouse of Stars on March 29, 1957. The TV series began just six months later. In the pilot episode, Payne’s character was called Britt Ponset and he was known as the Six Shooter. By the time the series began to air, his name had been changed to Vint Bonner. However, in the first few episodes, he was still referred to as “The Six Shooter.” The originally radio script had been written by Les Crutchfield. It was the only script in the radio series not written by Frank Burt.
The first six The Restless Gun scripts were rewritten from The Six Shooter scripts by Frank Burt. Let’s take a look at each of these shows.
September 23, 1057 – Duel at Lockwood
This article from The Amarillo Globe-Times from the day of the broadcast previews the first show and gives some history of the program.
September 30, 1957 – The Trail to Sunset
The following preview of the show is from the Daily Independent Journal, Rafael, CA:
October 7, 1957 – Revenge at Harness Creek
A preview of this show appeared in The Oneonta Star, Oneonta, NY:
October 14, 1957 – Rink (the radio show is usually titled Rink Larkin)
Like the last program, this preview is from The Oneonta Star:
October 21, 1957 – Jenny
The following preview for the show is from The Daily Reporter, Dover, DE:
October 28, 1957 – The Shooting of Jett King (in the radio series, Jett’s name was Wyatt King)
The Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati, OH, ran this preview of the show:
The November 4th show was not taken from The Six Shooter series. Beginning the next week, six more The Six Shooter scripts were used.
November 11, 1957 – General Gifford’s Widow
This preview is from The Bristol Daily Courier, Bristol, PA:
November 18, 1957 – The New Sheriff
The San Bernardino County Sun, San Bernardino, CA, had this to say about the show:
November 25, 1957 – Man and Boy (The Six Shooter usual goes by the title Ben Scofield)
A preview for this show appeared in The Times, Hammond, IN:
Some newspapers, including The San Bernardino County Sun, San Bernardino, CA, give a different title for the show:
December 2, 1957 – Cheyenne Express
This preview appeared in The Bristol Daily Courier, Bristol, PA:
December 9, 1957 – Thicker Than Water
The Daily Herald, Provo, UT, carried this preview of the show:
December 16, 1957 – Silver Threads
This preview appeared in the St. Louis Dispatch, St. Louis, MO:
The remaining The Six Shooter scripts used in the series were scattered throughout 1957, 1958 and 1959.
December 30, 1957 – The Gold Buckle (The Six Shooter show is usually known as The Silver Buckle)
The Eugene Guard, Eugene, OR, carried this preview:
January 6, 1958 – The Coward
The following feature appeared in The Daily Herald, Provo, UT:
February 3, 1958 – Quiet City
The Daily Reporter, Dover, DE, carried this preview:
February 24, 1958 – A Pressing Engagement
A preview of this show appeared in The Oneonta Star, Oneonta, NY:
March 10, 1958 – Sheriff Billy
This preview is from The Des Moines Register, Des Moines, IA:
March 31, 1958 – The Whip (This story is usually titled Helen Bricker on The Six Shooter)
The following preview is from The Eugene Guard, Eugene, OR:
April 7, 1958 – The Crisis at Easter Creek
The preview for this week’s show is also from The Eugene Guard:
April 14, 1958 – Aunt Emma
The preview for this week’s show comes from The Daily Reporter, Dover, DE:
April 28, 1958 – The Battle at Tower Rock
The preview is from The Daily Mail, Hagerstown, MD
May 12, 1958 – Hiram Grover’s Strike (the title used for the radio play is usually Hiram’s Goldstrike)
The following preview appeared in The San Bernardino County Sun, San Bernardino, CA:
May 26, 1958 – More Than Kin
The nice write-up for this show is from The Daily Herald, Provo, UT:
January 19, 1959 – The Lady and the Gun (The Six Shooter episode was titled Myra Barker)
Myra Barker was the final episode of the radio series, but not the TV show. This preview is from The Daily Reporter, Dover, DE:
For complete information on the entire series, click below:
