The Six-Shooter
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"The man in the saddle is angular and long-legged. His skin is
sun-dyed brown. The gun in his holster is gray steel and rainbow
mother-of-pearl, its handle, unmarked. People called them both,
The Six Shooter."
So opened THE SIX SHOOTER, the only radio series staring James
Stewart, although he made numerous radio appearances. In this radio
western, Mr. Stewart played Britt Ponset, a man with a reputation for
having a fast gun. Mr. Stewart portrayed a character very different
from a hard, tough-talking gun slinger. In this series, the hero is
a slow-talking, thinking man who doesn't reach for his gun first and
ask questions later. He's ready with his gun, but first looks for
alternatives to violence. Mr. Stewart plays the character very well.
The first appearence of Britt Ponset as the Six Shooter was as a
Western drama for the HOLLYWOOD STAR PLAYHOUSE on April 13, 1952.
The show was titled "The Six Shooter" and Jimmy Stewart played the
lead. The same script was used for the audition of THE SIX SHOOTER
series, again with Mr. Stewart as Britt. Almost a year and a half
after the HOLLYWOOD STAR PLAYHOUSE show, on September 20, 1953, Mr.
Stewart brought the series to the air. The script used for the
HOLLYWOOD STAR PLAYHOUSE drama and the audition was used again, with
a slightly different opening, on Nov. 1,1953, for the seventh show in
the series. Jack Johnstone was the producer and director. The
writer for the entire series was Frank Burt.
The series started as in Sunday evening time
slot and remained there until the end of March,
1954. At that time, it moved to Thursday.
The last show aired June 24, 1954.
The series lasted for only one season. One of the reasons for this
was that the only companies that offered to sponsor the series were
tobacco companies. Jimmy Stewart was against the advertising of
cigarettes and repeatedly turned them down. With only 39 shows in
the series, it is frequently overlooked in favor of more long-running
Westerns. Don't pass up on this one. It's one of the best.
53/07/15 Audition Show (A Jimmy Stewart series)
53/09/20 1 Jenny
53/09/27 2 The Coward
53/10/04 3 The Stampede
53/10/11 4 Silver Annie
53/10/18 5 Rink Larkin
53/10/25 6 Red Lawson's Revenge
53/11/01 7 Ben Scofield
53/11/08 8 The Capture of Stacy Gault
53/11/15 9 Escape from Smoke Falls
53/11/22 10 Gabriel Starbuck
53/11/29 11 Sheriff Billy
53/12/06 12 A Pressing Engagement
53/12/13 13 More Than Kin
53/12/20 14 Britt Ponset's Christmas Carol
53/12/27 15 Cora Plummer Quincy
54/01/03 16 A Friend in Need
54/01/10 17 Hiram's Goldstrike
54/01/17 18 The Silver Buckle
54/01/24 19 Helen Bricker
54/01/31 20 Trail to Sunset
54/02/07 21 Apron Faced Sorrel
54/02/14 22 Quiet City
54/02/21 23 Battle at Tower Rock
54/03/07 24 Cheyenne Express
54/03/14 25 Thicker Than Water
54/03/21 26 Duel at Lockwood
54/04/01 27 Aunt Ema
54/04/08 28 General Gillford's Widow
54/04/15 29 Crisis at Easter Creek
54/04/22 30 Johnny Springer
54/04/29 31 Revenge at Harness Creek
54/05/06 32 Anna Norquest
54/05/13 33 The Double Seven
54/05/20 34 The Shooting of Wyatt King
54/05/27 35 Blood Relations
54/06/03 36 Silver Threads
54/06/10 37 The New Sheriff
54/06/17 38 When the Shoe Doesn't Fit
54/06/24 39 Myra Barker
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