*Open letter to Johnny Crawford!

“Welcome to the McCain Ranch”
Come along to North Fork and see how Lucas struggles to build a ranch and make a home for his son on this newly settled land.  He teaches his son to appreciate the wild and beautiful country that surrounds him...to know the meaning of bravery and courage...the necessity of tolerance and understanding...the wisdom behind justice...and the physical skills for a youngster living in an untamed land. To believe and trust in the Lord and to use violence as a last resort.

Chuck Connors......Lucas McCain
Johnny Crawford....Mark McCain

Paul Fix.......Marshal Micah Torrance
Harlan Warde.............John Hamilton
John Harmon..............Eddie Halstead
Bill Quinn.......Bartender.......Sweeney
Joan Taylor.......…....…Millie Scott
Patricia Blair…...…….Lou Mallory
Hope Summers...........Hattie Denton

The series ran from September 1958 to April 1963.
There were 168 episodes in all.
♫ "The Rifleman" ~ opening theme
[You must have a Windows Media player to hear this song]
*Please note that some of the sound files downloaded may sound "Jerky". After selecting the sound and allowing it to play through completely, you should then replay the sound again
Have you seen the lyrics to the "Rifleman theme?"

The Rifleman ― The First Season
1. The Sharpshooter…..Lucas and Mark decide to enter a local turkey shoot to raise money to buy a ranch. Leif Erickson - Dennis Hopper - Sidney Blackmer - R.G. Armstrong - Charles Arnt - Mickey Simpson - Kathleen Mulqueen - Victoria Aldridge (9/30/58) Writer: Sam Peckinpah ~ Director: Arnold Laven 
(Zane Grey Theatre—3/7/58 - episode #52)

2. Home Ranch…..Cattle baron Oat Jackford orders his two cowboys to run Lucas McCain and his son off their ranch. Lee Farr - Steve Rowland - Harold J. Stone - Rodolfo Hoyos Jr. - Don Kennedy (10/7/58) Writer: Sam Peckinpah ~ Director: Arnold Laven
 
3. End of a Young Gun…..When Mark gets caught on a mountain ledge, a young outlaw risks his life to rescue him and breaks his leg doing so. Michael Landon - Charles Cooper - Joe Haworth - Carolyn Craig - Mel Carter (10/14/58) Writer: Frank D. Gilroy ~ Director: Jerry Hopper 
 
4. The Marshal…..The notorious Shelton's ride into the town of North Fork to take revenge on an elderly Marshal who is now crippled and working for Lucas McCain. James Drury - Warren Oates - Robert J. Wilke - R.G. Armstrong - Abby Dalton - Bill Quinn (10/21/58) Writer & Director: Sam Peckinpah
 
5. The Brother-in-law…..Johnny Gibbs, Lucas McCain’s brother-in-law, visits the McCain ranch. Gibbs, a rodeo rider wanted by the law, begins stirring up trouble. Jerome Courtland -Charles Watts - Karl Lukas - Fay Roope (10/28/58) Writers: David Victor & Herbert Little ~ Director: Arnold Laven  
 
6. Eight Hours to Die…..A bitter judge kidnaps Mark and plans to kill him to avenge his own sons hanging. George Macready - Russell Collins - Hope Summers - Marilee Phillips - Irving Mitchell - Bobby Crawford Jr. (11/4/58) Writer: Palmer Thompson ~ Director: Arnold Laven  
 
7. Duel of Honor…..A stagecoach breaks down and an Italian nobleman. Count Di Montova is stranded overnight in North Fork. Cesare Danova - Jack Elam - Glenn Strange - John Dierkes  - Joe Bassett - John Harmon - Bill Quinn (11/11/58) Writer: Ken Kolb ~  Director: Joseph Lewis
 
8. The Safe Guard…..A gunman is hired as a guard at the first bank opened in North Fork; meanwhile, outlaws are planning to rob it. Claude Akins - Marc Lawrence - Sidney Blackmer - Harlan Warde - Hope Summers - Dennis Cross - Mel Carter - Fritz Ford (11/18/58) Writer: David Swift ~ Director: Joseph Lewis
 
9. The Sister…..Mark plays Cupid when a pretty young stranger arrives in North Fork. Dan Blocker - David Tyrell - John Dierkes - Lance Fuller - Michael Morgan - Mort Mills - Sherry Jackson - Hope Summers - Michael Morris (11/25/58) Writer & Director: Montgomery Pittman
 
10. New Orleans Menace…..A gambling czar, fleeing from New Orleans, stops at the McCain ranch with his following of bodyguards, henchmen and gamblers. Harlan Warde - Akim Tamiroff - Michael Pate - Hope Summers - Jerry Oddo - Galvan DeLeon (12/2/58) Writer: Cyril Hume ~ Director: Arnold Laven
 
11. The Apprentice Sheriff.....The son of a local store keeper gets more than he bargained for when he is temporarily appointed sheriff. Edward Binns - Fritz Ford - Grant Richards - Robert Vaughn - Russell Collins - Elyse Gordon - Steven Gardner (12/9/58) Writer: Barney Slater ~ Director: Arthur Hiller
 
12. Young Englishman.....Lucas McCain accuses the young foreman of a neighboring ranch of rustling one of his calves. Allen Case - Dick Rich - James Coburn - Ted de Corsia (12/16/58) Writer: Arthur Weiss ~ Director: Arnold Laven  
 
13. The Angry Gun.....Lucas and Mark are riding the stage, returning from a cattle sale when the stage is robbed by three outlaws. Vic Morrow - Leo Gordon - Gregory Walcott - Harry Hickox - Kathleen Mulqueen (12/23/58) Writer: Samuel A. Peeples ~ Director: David Swift 
 
14. The Gaucho.....The people of North Fork are prejudiced against an Argentine family that settles near the McCain Ranch. Perry Lopez - Lawrence Dobkin - Bobby Crawford Jr. - Chana Eden - Stuart Randall - Harlan Warde - Dennis Cross - Morris Lippert - Montie Montana - Lauren James (12/30/58)Writer: Bruce Geller ~ Director: Jerry Hopper   
 
15. The Pet.....Lucas and Mark are exposed to a deadly disease when they adopt a stray horse. Robert J. Wilke - Edgar Buchanan - Bill Erwin - Han Jon Norman - Penelope Sue Carver (1/6/59) Writer: Ken Kolb ~ Director: Joseph H. Lewis
 
16. The Sheridan Story…..Lucas McCain hires embittered Confederate veteran Frank Blandon to work on his ranch, who then begins causing trouble. Lawrence Dobkin - Royal Dano - Frank Wilcox - William "Bill" Megis - Alden 'Stephen' Chase - Fritz Ford (1/13/59) Writer: Cyril Hume ~ Director: Arnold Laven
 
17. The Retired Gun…..A famous gunman promises his new bride that he will retire, but five outlaws try to make him break his promise. Robert Webber - Eileen Harley - Jack Kruschen - Duke Snider - John Anderson - Herman Rudin - Joe Mell (1/20/59) Writer: Barney Slater ~ Director: Arnold Laven
 
18. The Photographer…..A traveling photographer is accused of murder until Lucas devises a plan to unmask the real killer. John Carradine - Sidney Blackmer - Raymond Bailey - Robert Ellenstein (1/27/59) Writer: Ken Kolb ~ Director: Arnold Laven
 
19. Shivaree…..A drunken crowd gets out of hand during a wedding ceremony for two young runaways. Luana Anders - Paul Carr - Morris Ankrum - John Anderson - Olive Carey - Edgar Dearing - William Bryant (2/3/59) Writers: David Victor & Herbert Little ~ Director: Joseph H. Lewis
 
20. The Deadeye Kid…..Mark helps a boy from Brooklyn hide from the law when the boy is accused of murder. Douglas Spencer - Kip King - Jason Johnson - Glenn Strange (2/10/59) Writer: Palmer Thompson ~ Director: Jerry Hopper  
 
21. The Indian…..U.S. Marshal Sam Buckhart arrives in North Fork to look for Indians who are suspected in the brutal murder of a Ranger and his family. Michael Ansara - Herbert Rudley - Lewis Charles - Frank DeKova - Mickey Simpson - Lenny Geer - Robert Chadwick - Bill Quinn (2/17/59) this is the pilot for the series "Law of the Plainsman." Writer: Cyril Hume  ~ Director: Arnold Laven
 
22. The Boarding House…..Julia Massini, a reformed gambler, runs a respectable boarding house in North Fork, but a gambler gets in trouble trying to turn it into a gambling house. Katy Jurado - Alan Baxter - Harlan Warde - Sarah Selby - Kay Cousins - Peggy Maley - Charles Fredricks - Charles Seel - Bill Quinn - Charles Tannen (2/24/59) Writer & Director: Sam Peckinpah
 
23. The Second Witness…..Investigation reveals that Lucas McCain has information that can aid the prosecution in a murder case. Edgar Buchanan - Michael Pate - Bobby Crawford Jr. - Hope Summers - Bill Catching - Robert Fould - William "Bill" Megis (3/3/59) Writers: Judy & George W. George ~ Director: Lewis Allen
 
24. The Trade…..After falling in love with a sick young women, Sam Morley, a man wanted by the law, ask his friend Lucas McCain to turn him in and give the reward money to Beth to pay for the medical help which she needs. Paul Richards - Edgar Buchanan - Katherine Bard - Chris Alcaide - Dan Sheridan - Michael Fox - John Harmon (3/10/59) Writer: David Lang ~ Director: Joseph H. Lewis
 
25. One Went to Denver…..Bank robber Tom Birch and his gang arrive in North Fork; Tom then goes and visits his friend Lucas. Richard Anderson - Jack Kruschen - John Goddard - Lewis Charles - John Harmon - Bill Quinn (3/17/59) Writer: Pat Fielder ~ Director: Lewis Allen
 
26. The Deadly Wait…..Dan Maury, released from Yuma prison, arrives in North Fork with the intent on getting even with Marshal Torrance, who helped send him to jail. Edgar Buchanan - Lee Van Cleef - Bill Quinn (3/24/59) Writer: Arthur Browne Jr. ~ Director: Joseph H. Lewis
 
27. The Wrong Man…..A crooked marshal from another territory intentionally kills an innocent man so that he can collect the bounty money and blackmails the real outlaw. Lyle Bettger - Robert H. Harris - Gordon Jones - Frank Sully (3/31/59) Writer: N.B. Stone Jr. ~ Director: Arnold Laven
 
28. The Challenge♫…..An escaped killer is anxious to prove that he has not lost his prowess with a gun. Les Tremayne - Adam Williams - John Durran - Harlan Warde - Bill Quinn - Hope Summers - John Maxwell - Mel Carter - Ian Murray (4/7/59) Writers: David Victor & Herbert Little ~ Director: Lewis Allen
 
29.  The Hawk…..Mark McCain succeeds in capturing a hawk, but when his life is endangered by a rattlesnake, a stranger observes his plight and saves the boy. Patrick McVey - John Anderson (4/14/59) Writer: Arthur Browne Jr. ~ Director: Lamont Johnson
 
30. Three-Legged Terror…..Teenager Johnny Clover wrecks a classroom in the North Fork school, and Lucas, who is on the school board, ask Johnny’s uncle to pay for the damage. Dennis Hopper - John Hoyt - Patricia Barry - Robert Foulk - Bill Quinn - Larry Asmus (4/21/59) Writer: Palmer Thompson ~ Director: William Conrad
 
31. The Angry Man…..A neighboring rancher refuses medical assistance when his son is seriously hurt in an accident. Edgar Buchanan - George Matthews - Kim Charney - Fritz Ford (4/28/59) Writer Arthur Browne Jr.  ~ Director: Jerry Hopper  
 
32. The Woman…..North Forks schoolteacher is pressured to leave town because she advocates women’s right to vote. Patricia Barry - Mel Carter - James Westerfield - David Leland - Fern Barry - Hope Summers - Bill Quinn - Glenn Strange (5/5/59) Writer: Pat Fielder ~ Director: Arnold Laven
 
33. The Money Gun…..Bookkeeper Asa Manning hires a professional gunman to provoke his client, a bully rancher who suspects him of embezzlement, into a gunfight. Bert Freed - William Phipps - John Dehner - Jason Johnson - Earl Hodgins - Harlan Warde - Frank Hagney (5/12/59) Writers: Bruce Geller & Sam Peckinpah ~ Director: Sam Peckinpah
 
34. A Matter of Faith…..Although a drought has forced local cowhands to seek work on a railroad construction project, railroad executives are afraid that their workers will desert them if they believe an old man’s claim to have found a way to make rain. Royal Dano - Parley Baer - Bing Russell - Michael Hinn (5/19/59) Writer: Harry Kronman ~ Director: Don Taylor
 
35. Blood Brothers…..The Marshal faces an unexplained struggle when Lucas brings a dying man to North Fork. Richard Devon - Rhys Williams - Ian Murray - Max Wagner - Kelton Garwood - Larry Perron (5/26/59) Writers: Pat Fielder & Chuck Connors ~ Director: Arnold Laven

36. Stranger at Night…..Mark stumbles across a dead man and the only clue to his identity is a belt with the initials RM. Thomas Gomez - Jack Hogan - Bill Quinn (6/2/59) Writer: David Lang ~ Director: Lewis Allen
 

37. The Raid…..A renegade band of Indians captures Mark and disappears into the hills of New Mexico. Michael Ansara - Mike Forest - Robert Foulk - Pat Hogan - Robert Dix - Clancy Cooper (6/9/59) This is the sequel to the episode ‘The Indian.' ~ Writer: Harry Julian Fink ~ Director: Paul Landres
 
38. Outlaw's Inheritance…..The towns' people question the reputation of Lucas when he is named in a will of a notorious outlaw. William Bishop - Dabbs Greer - Harlan Warde - Bartlett Robinson - Robert Foulk (6/16/59) Writers: Judy & George W. George ~ Director: Don Taylor
 
39. Boomerang…..Lucas takes in an orphan boy and teaches him how to use a gun, not knowing that the boy plans on killing the banker he believes is responsible for his father's death. Lee Kinsolving - Dabbs Greer - Harlan Warde - Hope Summers  (6/23/59) Writer: Arthur Browne Jr.  ~ Director: Joseph H. Lewis
 
40. The Mind Reader…..A young boy accused of a murder he didn’t commit, is finally cleared by the accidental discovery of a “mind reader.” John Carradine - Sue Randall - Michael Landon - Charles Seel  - William Schallert - James Chandler - Steve Ritch - John Harmon - Robert Bice (6/30/59) Writer: Robert C. Dennis ~ Director: Don Medford

The Rifleman Episode List  2nd season    3rd season    4th season    5th season

The Rifleman Trivia Index

Site Map


WWW "Welcome to the McCain Ranch....."

"Come along with me on a trip down memory lane. Sit back, relax and I hope you enjoy yourself as much as I am enjoying myself creating this website!"

"Keep your 'sites' on The Rifleman!"

*If anybody has any information on any of the stars, and would like to share it, please get in touch with

"Together.....let's keep the 'Westerns' alive!"

Site Map
Here is a list of links to every page on my website
 

*This site is not endorsed by or associated with any entity which may own the rights to "The Rifleman."
 
The Rifleman....."Welcome to the McCain Ranch" is a tribute to the cast, crew, and the creators of the series and for the fans to relive their memories! 

I want to personally thank Levy-Gardner-Laven Productions for all the great Westerns and their other great shows that have brought us hours of enjoyment!

And a special thanks to Herschel Burke Gilbert for that great
"Rifleman theme."
Have you seen the lyrics to the "Rifleman theme?"

"I tip my cowgirl hat to all of you! "

"Keep your sites on The Rifleman! "

"The Rifleman" hits the 'mark' on ABC TV every week! On September 30, 1958 "The Rifleman"—The Sharpshooter aired on ABC.
  It originally aired on "Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre" on March 7, 1958 on CBS

Anything pertaining to "The Rifleman" on this website is copywrited material in one way or another by Levy, Gardner & Laven Productions,
the producers of "The Rifleman."
The McCain Ranch was designed solely for entertainment purposes.

*Unfortunately, because of blatant copy and pasting of all the descriptive episode guides by other website owners, I must consider these guides to be my own personal rendition for the reading enjoyment and discussion of this website's intra-communication. Therefore all verbatim copy and publication of these writings are not permitted.

It is not permissible to copy any images or material from riflemanconnors.com for use on another website, message board or blog.
Linking to any page on riflemanconnors.com is acceptable.

The Rifleman episodes are OOOP!  Hard to find!
For anyone who does not have all "The Rifleman" episodes & wish to purchase please check out The McCain Ranch's Buyer Beware! page before purchasing any DVD's.

 *FYI-for all of you who do not know the copyright laws—Current copyright laws vary from country to country, and while many countries allow private copying for personal use, some may not. However, no country allows you to make copies of copyrighted material for sale or distribution
(even free distribution to friends).
Please respect all laws and regulations of the country that you live in. 
So please don't ask!  9/7/06

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Cowgirl aka Margie

A good Web site is always "under construction!"

The Rifleman....."Welcome to The McCain Ranch....." was started 6/27/03


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updated 4/1/08