Wanted: Dead or Alive (1958-1961)

Josh Randall was a hard man, sure; but he was never on the wrong side of morality. The show Wanted: Dead or Alive had some concerns that had to be addressed in order to be on the air, but thankfully they were handled and the world was treated to one of the best western shows to come out of the hey-day era. TV bigwigs didn’t think it would look good for the “hero” of the show to simply hunt other humans for a monetary reward. Therefore, it was decided that Randall would give his money, or a portion of it, over to someone whose path he had crossed in the course of his thirty-minute adventure that might have needed it a little more than him. If he hunted wanted men, but altruistically handed over a large portion to the local parson so he could feed some orphans whose parents had died in the latest Indian attack or  disease outbreak, then our gunfighter could be more than just a protagonist, and honorably attain the legitimate title of hero.

And such it was in the world of Wanted. Every week Josh Randall was on the hunt and nearly always got his man. For anyone who may be unaware, Josh Randall was played by THE Steve McQueen. His performance was appropriately stoic and serious. He didn’t care about friendships or relationships, darn it, he had a job to do! He was never too wooden, but always played the role just right; jaded as necessary, and affable as needed.

But it wasn’t just McQueen’s swagger, or his good looks as a gunman that made the show popular; there was a lot of credit due the ultra-cool rifle he had slapped against his leg. It was a Winchester Model 82 with a shortened barrel and stock called a Mare’s Leg. The lever was also oversized to a large oval, which increased the style factor when he needed to make a lifesaving defense against a desperate mark.

The show ran for three season, totaling 96 episodes, during which he found time to be featured in the now-classic Magnificent 7 (1960). Within a year of the movie’s release Wanted was done and McQueen was on to his movie career (He later played western gunman Tom Horn in a 1980 movie release).

This is definitely one of the best western TV shows and, amazingly, can be bought complete on DVD for very little. It’s recommended to get it if you enjoy westerns and don’t have it.

Here’s some fun facts for those interested…

• Josh Randall appeared in the Trackdown previous to Wanted: Dead or Alive. This served as a pilot for the new show, and was also where the gun was termed a Mare’s Leg.
• In 1987, Rutger Hauer starred in a film of the same name (colon punctuation included). The movie takes place in present day, but the main character is Nick Randall, a descendant of McQueen’s Josh Randall. He even has the ol’ family Mare’s Leg on display in his office