Who Wrote The Rifleman?

[Loophole LaRue, SASS #51438]

So I was idly perusing one of those links you stumble on - hidden secrets of The Rifleman....

 

• Chuck Connors turned down the part initially - money was too low;
• Studio guys saw "Old Yeller", and were impressed by how well Connors communicated with the kid; so they offered him more money, and he took it;
• Sam Pekinpah wrote the original script for The Rifleman, intending it to be an episode on Gunsmoke; studio rejected it; he re-wrote it, adding Mark McCain to the storyline, and sold it as a series; he wrote all of the Season One episodes;
• The producer claims the 92 that Connors used was the same rifle that John Wayne used in Stagecoach;
• Connors was a 3 pack a day smoker;
• Connors was a member of the first Celtics team, and is the first player credited with shattering a backboard; he left basketball to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers, and then the Cubs in 1951; he was also drafted by the Chicago Bears;
• Johnny Crawford was one of the original Mouseketeers; he left when he hit the maximum age (12) and ended up on The Rifleman;

I have my doubts about the rifle story...

 

But I loved the shooting - especially where he lights wooden matches with rifle shots...

 

LL

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

IMDb has a long list of writers. Six episodes credited to Peckinpah.

[Alpo]

Was not the same rifle.

 

Duke's rifle had been cut to 16 inches.

 

 

Chuck's was a standard 20 inch SRC.

 

 

Right hand good, left hand better. Both hands at once? Dayum.

 

Well, shucks. That one won't post, but maybe it'll link.

 

Fourth attempt.

 

 

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=chuck+connors+rifleman+rifle&client=ms-android-metropcs-us&hl=en-US&source=lnms&prmd=isvn&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjtwMzKga7SAhXK4SYKHYoaDJMQ_AUICCgB&biw=320&bih=460#imgrc=lOPX4THlR1s0vM:

 

 

Yaaaayyy, success. And it only took six tries.

[Pat Riot]

Loophole,

Here is a list:

http://www.ranker.com/list/list-of-the-rifleman-writers/reference

 

In regards to lighting matches by shooting at the heads - Some friends and I tried this. We couldn't light any matches by shooting at the tops of the heads to ignite them. We gave it a good try and shot at about 200 matches with various firearms. I am not saying it can't be done, I am saying we couldn't do it...but we had a lot of fun trying

[Birdgun Quail, SASS #63663]

[Noz]

The series of pictures show the set screw modification that pulled the trigger every time the lever closed.

[The Shoer 27979]

Noz, in some of the episodes you can see him actually setting that screw

[Nasty Newt # 7365]

Loophole,

Here is a list:

http://www.ranker.com/list/list-of-the-rifleman-writers/reference

 

In regards to lighting matches by shooting at the heads - Some friends and I tried this. We couldn't light any matches by shooting at the tops of the heads to ignite them. We gave it a good try and shot at about 200 matches with various firearms. I am not saying it can't be done, I am saying we couldn't do it...but we had a lot of fun trying

As I recall Sammy Davis Jr lit them, and Chuck put them out. Maybe vice versa.

[Loophole LaRue, SASS #51438]

As I recall Sammy Davis Jr lit them, and Chuck put them out. Maybe vice versa.

 

The episode with the matches that I saw was called "The Sidewinder"; 13 yr. old gunfighter seeks revenge on Lucas McCain. To scare the kid off, Lucas, with his rifle, lights 6 wooden matches stuck in a hitching rail. The kid, in turn, snuffs each one with a revolver shot.

 

LL

[Nasty Newt # 7365]

Noz, in some of the episodes you can see him actually setting that screw

Chuck Connors was a gun guy. He could shoot the gun just about as fast by pulling the trigger, but they decided to not risk a finger stabbing and went with the set screw. He had long arms, and could spin a 20 inch carbine with no problem. John Wayne couldn't, but John Ford wanted a dramatic intro for the Ringo Kid. Duke asked the armorer to "cut four inches off this son of a bitch." The rest is history.

[Nasty Newt # 7365]

 

The episode with the matches that I saw was called "The Sidewinder"; 13 yr. old gunfighter seeks revenge on Lucas McCain. To scare the kid off, Lucas, with his rifle, lights 6 wooden matches stuck in a hitching rail. The kid, in turn, snuffs each one with a revolver shot.

 

LL

Yes, I think you're right. Sammy and Lucas did something, but I don't remember what.

[Pulp, SASS#28319]

 

The episode with the matches that I saw was called "The Sidewinder"; 13 yr. old gunfighter seeks revenge on Lucas McCain. To scare the kid off, Lucas, with his rifle, lights 6 wooden matches stuck in a hitching rail. The kid, in turn, snuffs each one with a revolver shot.

 

LL

And that is when I quit watching the show. Apparently the matches stopped the bullets, and prevented them from breaking the window in the store on the other side of the hitching rail.

Also the kid's gun was empty after putting out the matches. Why didn't Lucas take advantage of that fact? He could've whooped him up side the head and finished the story right then and there.

I still don't know how the episode ended.