Jim Bowie television series critique

First I have to get this off my chest. Does anyone out there also find the constant humming of the hidden male chorus throughout the television show episodes very annoying? At first I didn't pay much attention, but quickly all the overly dramatic humming (oooommmmmm...) started to grate on my nerves. It began to sound phoney as well and then it started to make the television show look very campy. I know the time period was 1957-58 and this kind of melodrama was popular. The television show was probably aimed for young people but trying to appeal to the general audience. The knife fighting scenes don't look very realistic to me. But then again this is television 1957 and showing graphic violence on television is 30 years ahead in the future.

Okay, I do have nice things to write about THE ADVENTURES OF JIM BOWIE. First, the actor Scott Forbes, did what he could with the role given the limitations of 1957 television standards. I don't know if the directors were responsible for his acting or if it was Forbes' own style. Forbes' perpetually happy, totally optimistic, nice-guy persona is over-the-top in almost a childlike, naive way, but Forbes can still be a likeable guy.
The bowie knife is the real star of the television series. It's not believed that the historical James Bowie carried two bowie knives. In the 1830s men typically carried only one knife at a time, either as a primary hand-to-hand, close-in combat weapon, or as often, a back-up, close-in weapon next to a flintlock pistol thrust through a belt. It's unusual that the show's producers depicted their Jim Bowie almost as a 2008 martial arts character, wielding two, large bowie knives, strapped on each side of his body, just like some Asian kung-fu fighter in medieval Asia. But this is Hollywood 1957 and dramatic license is typical. The historical James Bowie would have packed a flintlock pistol, one bowie knife, and perhaps a tomahawk as well. His primary weapon would have been a Pennsylvania rifle, aka inaccurately as the Kentucky rifle.
Believe it or not, no one knows what the first bowie knife actually looks like. There were no drawings or illustrations of the first bowie knife. All we have are oral histories of the description of the knife and its invention. To this day there's still controversy over whether James Bowie actually designed the bowie knife itself or just contributed to its design. The bigger debate will live on as to the actual shape of the knife. The only consensus is that the knife possessed its unique, clipped, double-edged point; was large, 9 to 12 inches long; wide-up to 2.25 inches; was heavy and thick. The knife could supposedly chop effectively as well, up to a small tree if necessary. The hilt design and handle are not known, although the coffin-shape handle and the round, bulged handle are thought to be the most likely, given the knife handle fashions of the 1830s.
The original bowie knife fell into the hands of the Mexican soldiers at the end of the Alamo battle. There's even legends about this occurence. One legend has it that a Mexican officer took possession of the knife and it went to Mexico. Another possibility is that a common soldier took the knife and it ended up being used as a household tool, possibly being worn down and eventually discarded years afterwards. Had the knife been recognized for what it was, it would have wound up as a guarded trophy, especially if an officer took it. Still, even an officer may have put the knife to work.
By that time, bowie knives were already in near-wide distribution. James Bowie commissioned master knife-maker, Black, to fabricate the first bowie knife. Legend has it that Black employed a meteorite as the steel. An early bowie knife made by Black is ascribe as being close to the actual first bowie.
Oral histories agree upon the actual, grisly use of the first bowie knife when James Bowie found himself waylaid by three assailants on a deserted stetch of wilderness road. He recordedly decapitated one of the highwaymen and cleaved the top of the head of one man clutching the reins of Bowie's horse. Of the third man, one account says that Bowie eviscerated him. Another account says that the man attempted to flee and Bowie threw the knife, striking the assailant in the back, killing him.
The television series notably omits this part of Jim Bowie's life, for good reason. After all, it's 1957 and little kids are watching. The tv show was attempting to provide a role model for boys and teenagers: Be strong,confident and self-sufficient. But always be modest about one's self. Above all, be honest and a good citizen willing to help others in need - not just in terms of charity but willingness to risk one's own life to protect the weak and innocent; more, be a nice guy, friendly, neighborly, and optimistic at all times. Be confident. Even in 2008, I still find that message appealing, even if most of us can't live up to it in its entirety.