In praise of… THE HIGH CHAPARRAL

As a boy growing up in England in the 1960s, TV Westerns were a staple of my viewing. I only caught the tail end of shows like ‘Maverick’ ‘Cheyenne’ and ‘Rawhide,’ and, oddly enough, can’t ever remember watching the longest-running of all TV Westerns, ‘Gunsmoke’ although I’m sure it was shown in the UK. The ones I remember are ‘Bonanza’ and ‘The Virginian’ and some short-lived series like ‘The Loner.’

I would catch these quite often and usually found them entertaining, but not essential viewing. I always thought the TV Western the ‘poor relation’ of western movies. My taste in westerns has always run to the outdoor and the primitive. The production values of TV westerns, many of them being filmed on familiar Hollywood backlots or sound stages, meant they made little of what is a key western element in my opinion – the landscape, and its physical magnificence.

That all changed in 1967 with the appearance of ‘The High Chaparral’ which became a ‘must watch’ show for me. 

Whilst other shows had occasionally ventured to Old Tucson, Arizona, the HC location shooting was mainly there, and in other sites around Southern Arizona. For us Brits, living on an island which is, alas, sometimes rainy and grey, the Arizona we viewed each week was literally dazzling; I knew people who watched the show who didn’t even like westerns but fell in love with the landscapes. All of which gave the HC not only physical beauty but authenticity – the sweat and dust were real!

The premise of the HC is this: ‘Big’ John Cannon brings his family – wife, son Blue, brother Buck – to the Arizona Territory of the early 1870s, to set up a ranch, the High Chaparral. But the country he enters is lawless and riven with conflict, another key element in the show. Bandits – American and Mexican – abound, and hostile Apaches raid, particularly the Chiricahuas under their chief Cochise.

Almost immediately Cannon’s wife is killed by an Apache arrow. Unwilling to fight both the Apaches and a rival Mexican landowner, Don Sebastian Montoya, Cannon comes to terms with Montoya. But to seal the deal, Don Sebastian insists Cannon marries his daughter, Victoria, much younger than him. Cannon reluctantly agrees, and Victoria returns with him to the ranch, along with her brother Manolito.

Whereas ‘Bonanza’ featured a rather idealised family, the HC clan are often more like a family at war, grafted together over a marriage of convenience! That’s because high quality HC scripts gave us leading characters we could like and admire but were also flawed, edgy and vulnerable, cast to perfection.

Ok, a caveat here. It would be nice to say that the HC maintained its high standards over its 4 seasons. Sadly, season 3 fell foul of the trend to ‘tone down’ violence in westerns at the end of the 60s which meant this season was disappointing, with only a scattering of good - mostly light-hearted - episodes. As for season 4… let’s not go there! Whoever was producing this season seemed determined to change everything that made the original show great, from cutting back on location photography to speeding up (and ruining) the wonderful theme tune. Add to that one main character – Blue – left without explanation and was air-brushed out of the series. This was compounded by tragedy when Frank Silvera died in a household accident.

Most of my favourite episodes are from seasons 1 and 2, when the HC was, in my opinion, as good as the TV Western ever got.     

The dominant figure, JOHN CANNON is portrayed by LEIF ERICKSON.

I believe Erickson deserves credit for being unafraid to present Cannon as a sometimes unsympathetic figure. On the plus side he’s a man with a vision for transforming Arizona from a wilderness and living at peace with the Apaches. But at times he’s a ranting bully, initially cold and awkward towards his new wife, and deliberately harsh in his treatment of his 20-year-old son BLUE (MARK SLADE.)

Blue in turn can be petulant and thoughtless, and takes a long time to accept his new mother-in-law. He does a lot of growing up in the course of the show!

BUCK CANNON (CAMERON MITCHELL) is another multi-faceted character. 

He’s often looked down on by his brother for his drinking and irresponsibility. He’s an under-achiever; whilst his brother is clearly intent on making his mark on the land, Buck describes himself simply as ‘a drifter.’ That doesn’t mean he can’t find steely courage when he has to, e.g. when he has to stand up to his old confederate army captain who comes to seize Don Sebastian’s land (‘The Filibusteros’.)

VICTORIA (LINDA CRISTAL) remains one of the strongest female characters in the TV western, 

particularly in episodes like ‘Ghost of Chaparral’ where she not only stands up to a domineering husband but asserts her independence from her father. She often exemplifies poise and grace but ‘North to Tucson’ shows she can hack it outdoors too!

My favourite HC character is MANOLITO (HENRY DARROW) a fascinating study in contradictions.

Although raised in a wealthy, cultured family he’s a friend of bandits and a pursuer of saloon girls; somewhere in a past we never find too much about, he’s become a dangerous gunfighter; most intriguingly he’s also knowledgeable, and sympathetic to, Apaches and their ways. He’s a ‘Zorro’ like character (and Henry Darrow later played Zorro) in that he can be an irresponsible drunkard, a source of endless disappointment to his father; but he’s also quietly heroic – he braves torture to rescue a girl captive of the Apaches, (‘Ride the Savage Land’) and saves future-president of Mexico Benito Juarez from assassination (‘The Terrorist’) even though it means killing a good friend.

The casting was rounded off by first-rate supporting players, such as FRANK SILVERA as Don Sebastian,

and RODOLFO ACOSTA as the cook Vaquero.  

And then there were the bunkhouse boys, led by Sam (DON COLLIER)

Sam (DON COLLIER) has Apache trouble

and his brother Joe (BOB HOY.)

And occasional characters re-occurred, such as El Lobo, a bandit who could be villainous and also strangely likable (ANTHONY CARUSO)

and Perlita (MARIE GOMEZ) a saloon girl Manolito pursued in a number of comic adventures.

The HC was a ground-breaking show in that 2 of the 5 main characters were Hispanics – played by Hispanics. This was part of the thrust for authenticity that also had Indians played by Indians, most notably Cochise, who was played by NIÑO COCHISE – who may, or may not, have been his 93-year old grandson! And the HC also dealt with the black man’s place in the American West in the episodes Ride the Savage Land, The Buffalo Soldiers and Sea of Enemies, featuring a memorable performance by PAUL WINFIELD.

PAUL WINFIELD and MARK SLADE

There are too many other outstanding HC episodes to list, but they include ‘Mark of the Turtle’ and ‘The Covey’ where the HC crew do battle with El Lobo, and comic episodes like ‘Champion of the Western World’ and ‘For What We Are About to Receive’ – there was plenty of humour in the HC to leaven the grittiness. I have to mention ‘The Peacemaker’ as my Sundown Press novel is partly based on that, (although you won’t find any HC characters in it) but there’s also ‘Gold is Where You Leave it,’ ‘Bad Day for a Thirst,’ etc., many more. A particular favourite is ‘Shadow of the Wind,’ a strange and brilliant episode bringing in historical figures like Johnny Ringo (a tremendous performance by LUKE ASKEW.)

Finally I’d single out two for special mention: ‘Best Man for the Job’ may have the best 5 minute sequence in any TV western, when Apaches attack a cavalry detail riding out of the ranch.

Action in 'Best Man for the Job'

And ‘Ride the Savage Land’ as, arguably, the very best HC episode and the best TV western episode ever made. In an episode that scores highly on every level, Henry Darrow is particularly impressive. 

‘Ride the Savage Land’ 

Last word on the High Chaparral is not from me, but a comment I found on the internet: ‘It was the greatest western television series ever made. Its gritty realism, high production values, location shooting and superb cast made it the very best the genre had to offer.’