The Rifleman (1958)
The Rifleman is an American Western television program starring Chuck Connors as rancher Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son, Mark McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The show was filmed in black-and-white, half-hour episodes. "The Rifleman" aired on ABC from September 30, 1958 to April 8, 1963 as a production of Four Star Television. It was one of the first prime time series to have a widowed parent raise a child.
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Episode 1 - The Patsy
Release Date: 1959-09-29A group of outlaws devise a plan to get rid of Lucas so that they can take over the town of North Fork.
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Episode 2 - Bloodlines
Release Date: 1959-10-06After Lucas kills a mountain man in a barrom brawl, his father arrives in North Fork determined to take revenge on Lucas and Marshal Torrance, once he breaks his other two boys out of jail.
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Episode 3 - The Blowout
Release Date: 1959-10-13Newly arrived gunslinger Al Walker throws a mammoth party at the saloon, keeping acting Marshal Ben Waller busy until Lucas is forced to intervene.
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Episode 4 - Obituary
Release Date: 1959-10-20Newspaperman Byron Claremont specializes in profiles of famous gunmen. One of his stories was responsible for an old-time marshal's death; and his next subject is Lucas.
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Episode 5 - Tension
Release Date: 1959-10-27Gavin and Ezra Martin think that Lucas killed their son Clemmie while taking part in a train robbery, and Lucas refuses to tell them what really happened.
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Episode 6 - Eddie's Daughter
Release Date: 1959-11-03After the daughter of Lucas's friend the hotel clerk arrives in North Fork, two strangers threaten her life.
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Episode 7 - Panic
Release Date: 1959-11-10Town character Brett Conway blackmails Lucas with the knowledge that a young couple Lucas rescued are suffering from yellow fever.
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Episode 8 - Ordeal
Release Date: 1959-11-17When their wagon breaks down, Mark and an injured Lucas are stranded in the desert.
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Episode 9 - The Spiked Rifle
Release Date: 1959-11-24Mark is kidnapped as he and his father try to protect Banker Hamilton's gold.
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Episode 10 - Letter of the Law
Release Date: 1959-12-01Lucas makes a life-or-death decision when Micah is held hostage and the kidnappers demand the release of a notorious outlaw.
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Episode 11 - The Legacy
Release Date: 1959-12-08Lucas tries to do a good deed for the old town drunk but it backfires when the drunk's son believes he inherited Lucas' ranch.
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Episode 12 - The Baby Sitter
Release Date: 1959-12-15A dance hall singer asks Lucas to care for her daughter in an effort to hide the baby from her self-righteous, bigoted father.
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Episode 13 - The Coward
Release Date: 1959-12-22Lucas becomes involved in a battle between an aspiring writer and a cocky, bragging trail boss.
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Episode 14 - Surveyors
Release Date: 1959-12-29Mark runs away from home after his father questions his story about overhearing a plot to rob the bank.
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Episode 15 - Day of the Hunter
Release Date: 1960-01-05A famous buffalo hunter tries to goad Lucas into a shooting match.
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Episode 16 - Mail Order Groom
Release Date: 1960-01-12When a stranger arrives to marry the town spinster, two brothers who want her land try to discourage him with threats and a beating.
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Episode 17 - A Case of Identity
Release Date: 1960-01-19Mark finds himself in grave danger when two unscrupulous detectives searching for a man's long-lost son claim that it is Mark.
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Episode 18 - The Visitors
Release Date: 1960-01-26Lucas is drawn to a young widow passing through town on her way to claim an inheritance, but others who covet it are trying to kill her.
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Episode 19 - The Hero
Release Date: 1960-02-02After a young stablehand kills a notorious gunslinger, he is baffled by the hostility of the townspeople about giving him the reward.
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Episode 20 - The Horse Traders
Release Date: 1960-02-09When a horse dealer transporting a prize stallion stops in North Fork, two saddle tramps try to use trickery to obtain it.
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Episode 21 - The Spoiler
Release Date: 1960-02-16An elderly couple moves to North Fork under an assumed name to hide the fact that they are the parents of a vicious killer. The plan backfires when the son shows up at their home.
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Episode 22 - Heller
Release Date: 1960-02-23After foiling a girl's attempt to rob the general store, Lucas finds that she and her brother are plotting the murder of their abusive stepfather.
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Episode 23 - The Grasshopper
Release Date: 1960-03-01A condemned killer being transported by train murders a marshal and takes Mark hostage.
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Episode 24 - A Time for Singing
Release Date: 1960-03-08Mark discovers that the new preacher and his wife are impostors planning a robbery.
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Episode 25 - The Deserter
Release Date: 1960-03-15Lucas and Marshal Torrance get into trouble with the Army when they try to help a wounded young soldier who deserted.
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Episode 26 - The Vision
Release Date: 1960-03-22After Mark contracts typhoid fever and has a vision of his dead mother, he no longer seems interested in getting well.
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Episode 27 - The Lariat
Release Date: 1960-03-29An old friend of Lucas's returns to town in the company of a shady gambler and is accused of cheating at cards.
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Episode 28 - Smoke Screen
Release Date: 1960-04-05Several men are vying for a rancher's daughter's affections. When she is found dead, one of them becomes the prime suspect in her murder.
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Episode 29 - Shotgun Man
Release Date: 1960-04-12Shotgun man John Beaumont, who Lucas sent to prison, returns with vengeance on his mind.
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Episode 30 - Sins of the Father
Release Date: 1960-04-19After shooting a man in self-defense, Andy Moon turns to Lucas for protection from his vengeful brothers.
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Episode 31 - The Prodigal
Release Date: 1960-04-26To keep his invalid mother happy, an outlaw forces Lucas and Mark to go along with a masquerade that he is the owner of Lucas's ranch.
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Episode 32 - The Fourflusher
Release Date: 1960-05-03A sharecropper enters his colt in a horse race, hoping to win enough money to buy his farm from the owner, who has bet on Mark McCain's entry.
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Episode 33 - The Jailbird
Release Date: 1960-05-10When Lucas hires an ex-con as a ranch hand, the man is the first one under suspicion when a robbery and murder occur in the area.
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Episode 34 - Meeting at Midnight
Release Date: 1960-05-17Lucas helps his former Army captain, now an undercover federal agent, infiltrate a gang of bank robbers.
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Episode 35 - Nora
Release Date: 1960-05-24Lucas finds himself involved in murder when he gallantly steps to the aid of a beautiful woman.
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Episode 36 - The Hangman
Release Date: 1960-05-31An ex-convict is blamed for a brutal crime despite his claims of rehabilitation.