Pistols 'n' Petticoats
| Pistols 'n' Petticoats | |
|---|---|
 The town drunk raises a stir with the Hanks family. | |
| Genre |
Sitcom Western |
| Created by | George Tibbles |
| Written by |
Del Moore George Tibbles Paul West |
| Directed by |
David Alexander Joe Connelly Lawrence Dobkin Leslie Goodwins Harry Harris Sidney Lanfield Joseph Pevney Alan Rafkin |
| Starring |
Ann Sheridan Ruth McDevitt Carole Wells Douglas Fowley Gary Vinson |
| Theme music composer |
Jack Elliott George Tibbles |
| Opening theme | "Pistols 'n' Petticoats" |
| Composer(s) |
Jack Elliott Stanley Wilson |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 26 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Joe Connelly |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
Kayro-UTV Productions Universal Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBS |
| Original release | September 17, 1966 – March 11, 1967 |
Pistols 'n' Petticoats is an American Western sitcom that ran on CBS during the 1966-1967 television season. It was produced by Kayro/Universal Television for CBS Productions and ran from September 17, 1966 to March 11, 1967. The series was created by George Tibbles, who wrote the show's theme song. This was one of two sitcoms that ran on CBS with the "Petticoat" name in its title at the time, the other being Petticoat Junction, which was produced by Filmways and has no connection to this program.
Series background
Pistols 'n' Petticoats chronicled the lives of the gun-slinging Hanks family, which consisted of Grandpa (Andrew), his wife Grandma (Effie), widowed daughter Henrietta, granddaughter (and Henrietta's daughter) Lucy, and their pet wolf Bowser. The "Petticoats" referred to the Hanks ladies, even though Lucy (who was raised in the city) would spend more time being at odds with the rest of the clan rather than helping protect their land.
The Hanks lived in the town of Wretched, Colorado, in the year 1870, where at that time, the sprawling Old West was being occupied by outlaws. It was up to the Hanks to clean up the town, which made them more popular with the citizens than with the town sheriff, Harold Sikes, who did not like having the spotlight shine on the Hanks. The Hanks also had adversaries with rival Buss Courtney and members of a nearby Indian tribe, led by Chief Eagle Shadow, and his assistants, Grey Hawk and Little Bear.
Cast
- Ann Sheridan as Henrietta Hanks
- Ruth McDevitt as Grandma Effie Hanks
- Carole Wells as Lucy Hanks
- Douglas Fowley as Grandpa Andrew Hanks
- Gary Vinson as Sheriff Harold Sikes
- Robert Lowery as Buss Courtney
- Lon Chaney, Jr. as Chief Eagle Shadow
- Marc Cavell as Grey Hawk
- Alex Henteloff as Little Bear
- Jay Silverheels as Great Bear
Guest stars
- Read Morgan as Moose Dreyfus in "The Triangle"
- Lurene Tuttle as Adelaide Coulter in "Grandma's Date"
- Judy Canova as Sadie in "The Golden Fleece" and Daisy Frogg in "Faint Heart Never Won Grandpa"
- Fred Willard as Ben in "Quit Shootin' Folks, It's Grandma"
Production notes
The series would be Ann Sheridan's last role, for she would succumb to cancer on January 21, 1967, nearly two months before CBS cancelled the popular series. Of the 26 shows that were produced, Sheridan only appeared in 21 episodes. After its cancellation, Universal Pictures used several of the episodes as "archive footage" for the 1967 feature film The Far Out West.
In the pilot episode Chris Noel was cast as Sheridan's daughter, but test audiences found her portrayal unsympathetic; she was replaced by Carole Wells.[1]
Currently, both Universal Home Video and Echo Bridge Home Video hold the DVD rights to the series.
Pistols 'n' Petticoats was filmed in color, which was, at the time, becoming the standard in new network programming.
Episode list
| Episode # | Episode title | Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "A Crooked Line" | September 17, 1966 |
| 2 | "No Sale" | September 24, 1966 |
| 3 | "Bitter Blossom O'Brien" | October 1, 1966 |
| 4 | "Sir Richard of Wretched" | October 8, 1966 |
| 5 | "The Hank and the Indian War" | October 15, 1966 |
| 6 | "The Triangle" | October 22, 1966 |
| 7 | "A Wagonload of Wives" | October 29, 1966 |
| 8 | "The Ross Guttley Story" | November 5, 1966 |
| 9 | "The Gun Runners " | November 12, 1966 |
| 10 | "Lookout Point" | November 19, 1966 |
| 11 | "Quit Shootin' Folks, It's Grandma" | November 26, 1966 |
| 12 | "Shootout at the O'Day Corral" | December 3, 1966 |
| 13 | "Grandma's Date" | December 10, 1966 |
| 14 | "Here Comes Trouble" | December 17, 1966 |
| 15 | "Willie the Kid" | December 24, 1966 |
| 16 | "Wretched Beautiful" | December 31, 1966 |
| 17 | "Faint Heart Never Won Grandpa" | January 7, 1967 |
| 18 | "The Stranger" | January 14, 1967 |
| 19 | "Beware the Hangman" | January 21, 1967 |
| 20 | "A Man for Hank" | January 28, 1967 |
| 21 | "Petrified Wretched" | February 4, 1967 |
| 22 | "The Golden Fleece" | February 11, 1967 |
| 23 | "Peace Offering" | February 18, 1967 |
| 24 | "The Taming of Sorry Water" | February 25, 1967 |
| 25 | "Colonel Comes to Town" | March 4, 1967 |
| 26 | "Harold's Double" | March 11, 1967 |
References
- ↑ p.178 Lisanti, Tom Fantasy Femmes of Sixties Cinema: Interviews with 20 Actresses from Biker, Beach and Elvis Movies McFarland, 2001
External links
- Pistols 'n' Petticoats at the Internet Movie Database
- The Far Out West at the Internet Movie Database
- Pistols 'n' Petticoats at TV.com
- Pistols 'n' Petticoats at TV Shows on DVD
- Pistols 'n' Petticoats at TV Party