That was an excellent one.

Captivating movie !

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

This show was different type of western. What I call a "gimmick" western that were all over TV in the late fifties. A lot of the gimmicks had to do with the weapons involved by the main character. Think "Rifleman", "Wanted Dead or Alive". But this show had a Native American trailing the main character as his person body guard. Just to make thing interesting Mr. Derringer carried two with him, one was in his hat, and the second up his sleeve! Mr Derringer was sort of a 19th century James Bond of sorts. Working undercover for a government official, Derringer new all the good and near bad people of New Orleans. Too bad this show didn't last. Jock Mahoney had just enough "cool"and sense of humor to play this part to the hilt. Plus there so interesting semi regulars that were being developed. The greatest one year western that came out in the fifties.

Like several other reviewers, I also was a youngster in the heyday of the TV western, which ran from about 1955 to the late 60's. Although the monster shows like "Gunsmoke" and "Bonanza" ran well into the 70's, they were the exceptions, because by the late 60's the police/private detective shows and sitcoms were taking the place of almost all the cowboy shows of the previous 10-12 years.I was the perfect age for the cowboy shows, and knew most of them. Those were the days of only three entertainment-programming broadcast networks, so it was quite possible to be familiar with most of the shows we were interested in.I particularly liked "Yancy Derringer" because its New Orleans setting was, as far as I know even today, unique in the genre. Of course I liked stuntman and all-around tough-guy Jock Mahoney's suave and debonair Derringer, who carried several of the small, twin-barrel, two-shot pistols. IIRC the viewer was encouraged to believe the derringer pistols were Yancy's invention, even thoiuh they were the brainchild of a Pennsylvania gunsmith by the name of "Deringer, with one "r".But my favorite character was Yancy's sidekick/bodyguard whom he addressed as "Pahoo". If the tall, stern and emotionless Pahoo ever spoke a line of dialogue, I don't remember it. I have a vague recollection that Pahoo was supposed to have been mute. He always carried the huge, single-barreled, short shotgun described by others above, but what I mostly remember was his Bowie-type knife. It had a large, long blade and I recall Pahoo carried it high on his back, so that he drew it by reaching straight behind him, over his shoulder. I believe he was the very first character in American TV to carry a bladed weapon in that fashion. Until then that method of carrying was unknown to most in the US audience, although apparently it was a method used by Japanese samurai occasionally.So here it is more than 50 years later, but I still remember the thrill I would get seeing the silent and ever-loyal Pahoo, massive shotgun cradled in his arms, handle of his Bowie knife peeking over his shoulder, as he stood just out of the shadows, ready to defend Yancy from ambush. But I can't remember where I put my car keys 15 minutes ago! Oh well, I prefer to remember "Yancy Derringer" anyway.

I was trying to explain this show to my wife last night. It seems that given the character and his backstory, the producers could have gone two ways: they could have played Yancy very dark, much like Richard Boone did the Paladin character on "Have Gun Will Travel". They chose another way, and gave the character a supporting cast of rogues and comic foils that made Yancy an antebellum version of what Tom Selleck would be doing 2 decades later called "Magnum PI". As for X Brands, the story is that his real name is Jay Brands. Born in Germany, there was another person in his hometown by that name, so he took X as a middle initial. When he started acting, he decided to use the middle initial as his stage name.

From what I remember of the monochrome series, Yancey and his partner were the original "Miami Vice"-coolness embodied. Similar partnerships were seen in TV, such as Robert Urich and his partner "Hawk" as the PI. There was also Wild, Wild West, with Robert Conrad and his partner...but Yancey was just plain smooth..I have known about Jock Mahoney's history as a stunt man, from his days as an actor with the Three Stooges as the handsome, (albeit clumsy)guitar playing cowboy to Range Rider, to Yancey, to Tarzan, and beyond, but what about X Brand, his faithful Native American partner? Who was the actor, and was "X Brand" a tongue-in-cheek reference to the 50's commercials that compared their products to "Brand X"? Does anyone know his biog? I would hope that TVLand or some other enterprise would give us all a chance to enjoy Yancey and Pahoo again...