Wow! Such a good movie.

Great Film overall

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Rawhide was without a doubt the best TV western. Even though it didn't run for as long as say Gunsmoke, it had everything that most of the others didn't have. The most obvious thing that made it stand out from the rest was the fact that it was mostly shot on location and looked for the most part like a cinema feature film, not a TV show. Unfortunately, the scenes shot on a sound stage looked like they had been (the lighting always gives it away), but in the main, they only made up a fraction of the show, unlike Bonanza (a 50 year old dad with three 35 year old sons) which looked like most of it was shot 'indoors'. Another thing in Rawhides favour was that it was an hour long, unlike a lot of the other popular TV westerns that only ran for 30 minutes. Apart from a good solid regular cast, the list of 'guest' appearances reads like a who's who of Hollywood greats...an episode I saw only last week on TCM had Claude Akins, Myron Healey, John Dehner and Robert Wilke as guests...amazing! Last, but by no means least, the show had the best theme tune by far, sung by Frankie Laine, a big star vocalist of the time, who was responsible for many feature film themes including Blazing Saddles and the original 3.10 to Yuma. All in all, Rawhide beat the rest of 'em outa sight in my view...long may it be shown on TV.

TCM have just started showing Rawhide every night recently here in the UK and i've never seen it before, even though i'm a big Clint Eastwood fan, so i thought i'd give it a watch.What can i say, i'm totally hooked on it now, i think i held some unfounded prejudices about shows from that era being a bit slowly plotted or not hardhitting or dramatic enough, well i was well off the mark there. The plots are really involving, the way Gil and Rowdy get drawn into these situations is really believable. The moral issues and even social ones that are addressed are always at the forefront of the plots and many are still relevant today. I can see why its been so popular over the years. I'd recommend this to anyone who likes westerns, beyond that i'd say anyone who appreciates moral dramas, thats twice i've used that word now and thats because the central characters have very admirable morals, particularly Gil Favor.I hate to sound corny, but i think its a good point, its re-assuring in a way to see that kind of attitude, in amongst the more "morally questionable" entertainment (that i do enjoy as well) of todays TV."Head 'em up, move 'em out" awesome.

It ran 8 seasons, but it's first, in early 1959, and it's last, in the autumn of 1965, were shorter than seasons 2-7. CBS chief William Paley canceled Rawhide's production after watching the 1st show of season 8, in September, 1965, because he disliked the series without Eric Fleming as Gil Favor, who had departed after season 7. The last new episode aired on December 7, 1965. The lone 1966 CBS broadcast, on January 4, 1966, was a rerun. I have often wondered why Rawhide didn't switch to color filming for it's last season? Most of the big westerns of the 1960s had gone over to color by 1965. CBS was broadcasting in color that autumn, for many of their sitcoms, but westerns like Gunsmoke and Rawhide remained in black and white. Gunsmoke was the last western (and last prime time network series to switch to color) on September 17, 1966, for the episode Snap Decision.

In watching this old Western on the Hallmark Channel, I've come to enjoy it. A favorite of my mother's when she was a girl, who, like many others, thought Gil Favor was the handsome one. I sat down and watched them on this cattle drive and have come to enjoy the show.And of course, Clint Eastwood, co-stars as Rowdy Yates. I was told that back in the day, critics said he wouldn't amount to anything. Guess he showed them.