Come along to North Fork and see how I, Lucas McCain struggledto build a ranch and make a home for my son, Mark in this newly settled land. I try to teach my 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
Hope Summers...........Hattie Denton
Joan Taylor.......…....…Milly Scott
Patricia Blair…...…….Lou Mallory
The series ran from September 1958 to April 1963.
The Rifleman ― The First Season
There were 168 episodes in all.
♫ "The Rifleman" — opening theme
1. The Sharpshooter…..After wondering the country for four years, Lucas and Mark finally find the ranch they’d been looking for, but the ranch comes with a price, and Lucas may have to decide between the ranch and his son’s life! Leif Erickson - Dennis Hopper - Sidney Blackmer - R.G. Armstrong - Charles Arnt - Mickey Simpson - Kathleen Mulqueen - Virginia Aldridge - Matthew McCue - Howard Wright - Archie Butler - Jack N. Young - Bobby Somers - Jesse Wayne (9/30/58) Writer: Sam Peckinpah ~ Director: Arnold Laven (Zane Grey Theatre—3/7/58 - Season 2 — Episode #52)2. Home Ranch…..After two of Oat Jackford’s cowhands burn the McCain’s house, drag Lucas, and steal his rifle, Lucas goes to hunt Jackford and his men to inform them that he and his boy are there to stay. Lee Farr - Steve Rowland - Harold J. Stone - Rodolfo Hoyos Jr. - Don Kennedy - Jack N. Young - Bobby Somers (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 - Jesse Wayne (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 - Bert Stevens - Jesse Wayne (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 - Daniel White - Fay Roope - Archie Butler - Bobby Somers - Jesse Wayne (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 while Lucas watches. George Macready - Russell Collins - Hope Summers - Marilee Phillips - Irving Mitchell - Bobby Crawford Jr. - Bud Osborne - Jack N. Young - Bobby Somers (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. The count soon accept a challenge for a gun duel. Cesare Danova - Jack Elam - Glenn Strange - John Dierkes - Joe Bassett - John Harmon - Bill Quinn - Archie Butler - Robert H. Robinson - Jesse Wayne (11/11/58) Writer: Ken Kolb ~ Director: Joseph Lewis
8. The Safe Guard…..The first bank in North Fork is opening, and a Texas gunfighter is hired to guard the safe, but a gang of bank robbers are in town who knows the new employee at the bank. Claude Akins - Marc Lawrence - Sidney Blackmer - Harlan Warde - Hope Summers - Dennis Cross - Mel Carter - Fritz Ford - Robert H. Robinson - Jesse Wayne (11/18/58)
Writer: David Swift ~ Director: Joseph Lewis
9. The Sister…..Mark tries to set Lucas up with a pretty young woman he thinks would make a perfect wife for his Pa. Lucas soon finds himself contending with the two brothers of this young woman as well as some outlaws bent on killing him. Dan Blocker - David Tyrell - John Dierkes - Lance Fuller - Michael Morgan - Mort Mills - Sherry Jackson - Hope Summers - Michael Harris - Archie Butler (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 and decides to take the ranch off of Lucas’s hands. Harlan Warde - Akim Tamiroff - Michael Pate - Hope Summers - Jerry Oddo - Galvan DeLeon - Jack Tornek - Bobby Somers - Archie Butler - Robert H. Robinson - Robert H. Robinson - Jesse Wayne (12/2/58) Writer: Cyril Hume ~ Director: Arnold Laven 11. The Apprentice Sheriff.....Not taking the advice he gave Mark that morning, Lucas gets involved in trying to help a young West Point reject who is standing in as Marshal and soon finds the town in the middle of a gun fighting disaster. Edward Binns - Fritz Ford - William Bryant - Grant Richards - Robert Vaughn - Russell Collins - Elyse Gordon - Steven Gardner - Archie Butler (12/9/58)
Writer: Barney Slater ~ Director: Arthur Hiller12. 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 - Bobby Somers - Jesse Wayne (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. After the outlaws take his money, Lucas sends Mark on in the stage while he goes after the outlaws without his rifle! Vic Morrow - Leo Gordon - Gregory Walcott - Harry Hickox - Kathleen Mulqueen - Joe Quinn - Jesse Wayne (12/23/58) Writer: Samuel A. Peeples ~ Director: David Swift
14. The Gaucho.....Lucas helps an Argentina family who are new to North Fork when the other people make fun of them, but teaching his son that people who are different are as good as Americans may not be as easy as he thinks. Perry Lopez - Lawrence Dobkin - Bobby Crawford Jr. - Chana Eden - Stuart Randall - Harlan Warde - Dennis Cross - Steven Gardner - Morris Lippert - Montie Montana - Loren James - Archie Butler - Montie Montana - Jesse Wayne (12/30/58) Writer: Bruce Geller ~ Director: Jerry Hopper
15. The Pet.....Lucas allows Mark to take in a horse left homeless after his owner is killed in an unfair gunfight, but Lucas soon discovers a horrible reality about the horse and races to save Mark’s life while fighting off a gunfighter who doesn’t want his secret to be exposed. Robert J. Wilke - Edgar Buchanan - Bill Erwin - Hal Jon Norman - Penelope Sue Carver - Robert H. Robinson - Jesse Wayne (1/6/59)
Writer: Ken Kolb ~ Director: Joseph H. Lewis
16. The Sheridan Story…..Wanting to teach Mark a lesson in tolerance and acceptance, Lucas hires an injured and bitter confederate soldier to work on his ranch, but when a Union army comes to stay the night as well, trouble erupts. Lawrence Dobkin - Royal Dano - Frank Wilcox - William "Bill" Megis - Alden 'Stephen' Chase - Fritz Ford - Bobby Somers (1/13/59)
Writer: Cyril Hume ~ Director: Arnold Laven
17. The Retired Gun…..A famous gunman promises his new bride that he will retire from gun fighting and settle in North Fork, but five outlaws try to make him break his promise. Robert Webber - Eileen Harley - Jack Kruschen - Duke Snider - John Anderson - Herman Rudin - Joe Mell - Bobby Somers - Jesse Wayne (1/20/59) Writer: Barney Slater ~ Director: Arnold Laven
18. The Photographer…..When a photographer, an old friend of the McCain’s, is accused of murder, Mark and Lucas find themselves on opposite sides against each other. John Carradine - Sidney Blackmer - Raymond Bailey - Robert Ellenstein - Matthew McCue - George DeNormand - Bobby Somers - Jesse Wayne (1/27/59) Writer: Ken Kolb ~ Director: Arnold Laven
19. Shivaree…..A wagon train master forces a young couple to marry after they hide the fact that one is a girl, and Lucas takes them in to help them; but trouble soon arises when a drunken crowd calls for a Shivaree. Luana Anders - Paul Carr - Morris Ankrum - John Anderson - Olive Carey - Edgar Dearing - William Bryant - Chick Hannon - Whitey Hughes - Jesse Wayne (2/3/59)
Writers: David Victor & Herbert Little ~ Director: Joseph H. Lewis
20. The Deadeye Kid…..Without telling his father, 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 - Jesse Wayne (2/10/59)
Writer: Palmer Thompson ~ Director: Jerry Hopper21. 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 - Leonard P. "Lenny" Geer - Robert Chadwick - Eddie Little Sky - Ethan Laidlaw - Whitey Hughes - Bill Quinn - Carol Henry - Hal Needham - Bob Woodward - Archie Butler - Bobby Somers - Jesse Wayne (2/17/59) Writer: Cyril Hume ~ Director: Arnold Laven - This is the pilot for the series "Law of the Plainsman."
22. The Boarding House…..Julia Massini, a reformed gambler, runs a respectable boarding house in North Fork, but her old boss shows up and tries to force her to turn her place into a gambling house. Katy Jurado - Alan Baxter - Harlan Warde - Sarah Selby - Kay Cousins - Peggy Maley - Charles Fredricks - Charles Seel - Bill Quinn - Charles Tannen - Guy Wilkerson - Fritz Ford - Robert H. Robinson- Jesse Wayne (2/24/59) Writer & Director: Sam Peckinpah
23. The Second Witness…..After the witness to a murder case is killed, Lucas agrees to testify in order to convict a murderer, but there is someone out there who wants the prosecution stopped, and they’ll stop at nothing. Mark and the town folks try to talk Lucas out of testifying. Edgar Buchanan - Michael Pate - Bobby Crawford Jr. - Hope Summers - Bill Catching - Robert Foulk - William "Bill" Megis - Fritz Ford - Jesse Wayne (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, asks 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 - Whitey Hughes - Jesse Wayne (3/10/59)
Writer: David Lang ~ Director: Joseph H. Lewis
25. One Went to Denver…..Tom Birch, an old friend of Lucas McCain’s, comes for a surprise visit and Mark is upset he’s there because he is a renown bank robber; but what Lucas doesn’t know is that he plans to rob the North Fork bank. Richard Anderson - Jack Kruschen - John Goddard - Lewis Charles - John Harmon - Ben Morris - Bill Quinn - Harlan Warde - Jesse Wayne (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 - John Harmon - Jesse Wayne (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 - Fred Krone - Archie Butler - Roydon Clark - Jack Perkins - Tom Kennedy - Bobby Somers - Whitey Hughes (3/31/59) Writer: N.B. Stone Jr. ~ Director: Arnold Laven
28. The Challenge♫…..An escaped killer holds Hattie and Micah hostage at the General Store to prove that he is still good with a gun. Les Tremayne - Adam Williams - John Durran - Harlan Warde - Bill Quinn - Hope Summers - Michael Harris - John Maxwell - Mel Carter - Ian Murray - Whitey Hughes - Jesse Wayne(4/7/59) Writers: David Victor & Herbert Little ~ Director: Lewis Allen
29. The Hawk…..After saving Mark from a rattlesnake, the McCain’s befriend a stranger; but the McCain’s soon discover that he’s not who he says he is. Patrick McVey - John Anderson - Whitey Hughes (4/14/59)
Writer: Arthur Browne Jr. ~ Director: Lamont Johnson
30. Three-Legged Terror…..After an orphaned teen being raised by his abusive uncle wrecks havoc on the school, Lucas takes him in. Dennis Hopper - John Hoyt - Patricia Barry - Robert Foulk - Bill Quinn - Larry Asmus - Whitey Hughes - Archie Butler (4/21/59) Writer: Palmer Thompson ~ Director: William Conrad Leonard P. "Lenny" Geer -Whitey Hughes - Archie Butler - Bobby Somers - Daniel Borzage - Rod McGaughy (5/5/59)
31. The Angry Man…..A neighboring rancher refuses medical assistance when his son is seriously hurt in an accident because he blames doctors for the death of his wife. Edgar Buchanan - George Matthews - Kim Charney - Fritz Ford (4/28/59) Writer Arthur Browne Jr. ~ Director: Jerry Hopper
32. The Woman…..After a boy admits to his Pa that he and the school teacher are in love, the rancher chases the advocator for women’s rights out of town; but Lucas wants to get at the truth. Patricia Barry - Paul Carr - Mel Carter - James Westerfield - David Leland - Fern Barry - Hope Summers - Bill Quinn - Glenn Strange - Jack Younger -
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 - Whitey Hughes - Archie Butler(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…..Lucas is surprised when Micah wishes death on a dying man he brings into North Fork. Then Lucas discovers that Micah holds a big secret. Richard Devon - Rhys Williams - Ian Murray - Max Wagner - Kelton Garwood - Larry Perron - Whitey Hughes - Bobby Somers (5/26/59)
Writers: Pat Fielder & Chuck Connors ~ Director: Arnold Laven36. 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
- Harlan Warde - Robert Foulk - Whitey Hughes - Fred Graham - George DeNormand - Archie Butler (6/16/59)
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 - Mark Goddard - Hope Summers (6/9/59)Writer: Harry Julian Fink This is the sequel to the episode ‘The Indian.'
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 -
Writers: Judy & George W. George ~ Director: Don Taylor39. 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 - Whitey Hughes (6/23/59) Writer: Arthur Browne Jr. ~ Director: Joseph H. Lewis
40. The Mind Reader…..A young man 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 - Vic Perrin - Whitey Hughes - Archie Butler - Ethan Laidlaw - Leonard P. "Lenny" Geer - Robert H. Robinson (6/30/59)
Writer: Robert C. Dennis ~ Director: Don Medford
2nd season 3rd season 4th season 5th season
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and I hope you enjoy yourself as much as I am enjoying myself creating
*
This site is not endorsed by or associated with any entity which may own the rights to "The Rifleman."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.
"The Sharshooter" originally aired on "Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre" on March 7, 1958 on CBS
Anything pertaining to "The Rifleman" on this website is copyrighted 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.
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The original episodes were written by Cowgirl/Margie &
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