MovieChat Forums > The Rifleman (1958) Discussion > Why did the series end SO suddenly???

Why did the series end SO suddenly???

posted 9 years ago by vivacious_dan
29 replies | jump to latest

Hello all. Huge Rifleman fan here. In fact, it's my favorite TV show of all time.

I am wondering if anyone knows why the series ended so suddenly on such a seemingly random note? I am aware that episodes did not always air in the order they were filmed but still. To anyone who has seen "Old Tony", didn't it just seem like any other episode?

I very much enjoyed Mark with his girlfriend, Lorrie, and giving Mark a more adult role on the show and I loved his rendition of "Greensleeves". I liked that Mark and Lorrie opened up Tony's heart to accept people into his life again as he had been a bitter old recluse for years following his wife's death. I didn't even mind the quicksand scenes, as I enjoyed Mark riding to the rescue of his girlfriend, even though he ends up being caught in the sand himself, and then Lucas saving both of them (I adore Lucas and Mark's relationship and love the scenes where Lucas saves him).

However, with all that said, there is absolutely no indication that this is the last episode, ever, of The Rifleman. One wonders if the writers even knew if this is how the show would end?

I would expect in the final episode ever that Lucas would have a serious scene or two with Lou, that Mark would kiss his girlfriend Lorrie, perhaps that Mark would have to use his rifle (but not kill anyone), that Micah and Lucas would have a heart to heart, father and son like discussion. That we would get scenes like that as this would be the last time we are sadly seeing any of these characters. Nothing like that happens in the episode and, in fact, it is pretty run of the mill.

I would have expected a HUGE plot, like maybe Lorrie gets kidnapped, Lucas and Mark go to save her, Mark takes his rifle and stops the kidnapper by injuring but not killing him, he kisses Lorrie upon saving her and maybe Micah and Lucas have a heart to heart about how Mark has grown up and then maybe Lou moves on to another town but not before she has a big scene with Lucas and they also kiss. Then one final iconic shot of Lucas and Mark, riding off together on separate horses, side by side into a sunset. Something like that.

Anyone else surprised with how abruptly the series ended?

[–] misspaddylee 9 years ago

That's the way it was in television. Advance knowledge of cancellation was not a given. One minute your show was there and the next - phfft!

One of the first shows to have an actual wrap-up was Perry Mason. The network and the producers decided the ninth season would be the last and they went out with The Case of the Final Fadeout.

"If this is music, what's that stuff Cole Porter writes?"

[–] sege3 9 years ago

The ratings dropped every year for this show. Season 5 was not in the top 30, which a similar rating for Gunsmoke a few years later, almost caused it to be cancelled.

I think the two biggest factors that turned viewers away from this show was a.) The older Mark got, the less the "aw paw" thing worked. b.) The Lou character, introduced in Season 5, did nothing for those viewers who were already tuning out this show.

Johnny Crawford acknowledged that his age was probably a factor. He also said that Connors was very interested in doing the Arrest & Trial series, which he did do the following year. If you read what Crawford said, it really did not sound like there was a lot of interest from anyone involved to do a Season 6.

[–] vivacious_dan 9 years ago

Thanks to both of you for replying. That makes a lot of sense. Yeah, I had heard Connors didn't like that the show wasn't allowing Mark to mature and also that he wanted to do other things and that the ratings had dropped with each season.

I was really more wondering at the seeming suddenness of it all and why the show wasn't actually given a definitive series finale, more like what I described, where the characters got a proper send off and the audience has a chance to say goodbye. I guess it wasn't a universal given back then for shows to end that way like it is now.

On another note: Was Lou unpopular? I am 33 years old so obviously was not around for the series' first run but I had thought that Patricia Blair was fairly popular with the viewers.

Obviously, she was the polar opposite of Milly's character. Where Milly was sweet, shy and sensitive, Lou was a tough Irish lass and wasn't afraid of getting in your face. She was also pretty forward when it came to romantic situations. Milly obviously was not that way.

I felt like Milly was the feminine yin to Lucas' masculine yang where as Lou was more like the female version of Lucas, kind of like the dynamic John Wayne had with Maureen O'Hara. I didn't think that either one was necessarily liked or more disliked than the other. They both brought different strengths to the show.

Obviously, Lucas tells Milly how he feels and gives her a passionate kiss in "Milly's Brother". There is another episode (I don't know the name) where Lou and Lucas come back together from a carriage ride and there is hay all over Lou's hair and they are giving each other very wry looks. It was certainly implied that more had gone on between them then a simple ride. Also, the episode where Mark is temporarily paralyzed, Lou is willing to die with Lucas and Mark. They are such a family in that episode and she is doing absolutely everything within her power to get Mark's feelings back in his legs.

Anyway, point is, not sure it is fair to say that Lou contributed to the show's demise but I could be wrong because I did not watch The Rifleman when it originally aired.

[–] !!!deleted!!! (5308671) 9 years ago

I don't think the previous poster was hinting that the Patricia Blair character had a hand in the series being cancelled. It was more likely that she couldn't stem the consistent ratings downturn. Joan Taylor left after her contract was up to move to Hawaii with her husband, who was starting up Hawaii Five-o. I thought Patricia Blair did a good job...less wishy-washy than Joan's character. As was mentioned, Chuck wanted to move on, and Johnny was getting older and had lost his "cuteness".

[–] vivacious_dan 9 years ago

Good point. Johnny's growth spurt certainly didn't help. I also read in a very old article that someone scanned online (this was posted on the McCain Ranch) that Chuck wanted to move on, he didn't like that the network was pushing them to a 60 minute color format (yikes!) and he didn't want the show to interfere with Johnny going to college. And I've come to find out that a lot of classic shows didn't know when they would be cancelled and weren't able to plan series finales that tied up all of the character storylines. It isn't like today where series finales are planned six months or even a year plus in advance and is an entire event. Definitely helps answer the question.

[–] kfo9494 9 years ago

You also have to look at the filming situation of each episode. The first few years they were making like 40 episodes a season. That is 40 weeks out of 52 weeks a year. That is pushing episodes out like cookie-cutter broadcasts. The actors usually got off a few weeks for Christmas and then had to be back at it. They got holiday weeks off but otherwise, Connors and Crawford had to be at the studio till the summer break. Note- that is why Paul Fix many times away from North Fork. He had a contract where he did not work as much as Connors and Crawford so that is why he is absent from many of the episodes.

>The last year they only did 26 episodes with much more off time for Connors and Crawford who was doing concerts. Four star production wanted Connors for a sixth season but he sign a big dollar contract with Revue saying five years was long enough and wanted new experiences with the 'Arrest and Trial' series.

[–] vivacious_dan 9 years ago

Yeah, I understand the shooting schedule was brutal back then. If you watch Cheyenne, you may notice Clint Walker has a stunt double for scenes as simple as riding a horse and even, I think one time, crossing a street (or something equally ridiculous). But when I looked into it, Clint was being subjected to an insane shooting schedule, regularly shooting from 6 am to 2 am. I guess I can understand how that would wear anyone out!

I have not heard of Arrest & Trial, I will look that up. I was misinformed, I thought Connors did Branded after The Rifleman ended. I guess that came later.

But yeah, the point is, didn't all those Westerns back then have crazy shooting schedules? I'm sure it got kind of old for the actors but The Rifleman was hardly unique in that.

I definitely get that it was a confluence of factors that led to the show's end: airing opposite I Love Lucy, declining ratings, Lou Mallory's character (I was wrong! Upon further research, she seems to be really unpopular with Rifleman fans. Kind of disappointing. But when you think about it, Milly was in 17 episodes over 2 seasons and Lou was in every single episode in Season 5. People probably thought it was overkill.), Mark's growth spurt and the show not allowing him to grow up. I am so, so glad they never did the 60 minute color format. It would have destroyed the magic of the show to me. As Johnny said in an interview, Less is more. He is glad they didn't do it either.

And yeah, Johnny was all over the place touring at that time. I believe his Rumors LP was out during the last season of the show.

Thanks everyone for the replies. I now understand that most shows back then didn't get an official wrap up. And honestly, the more I think about it, the more "Old Tony" was a great ending. Tony was basically what Lucas could turn into once Mark moved off the ranch, married and had his own children and Micah passed away: a bitter, old recluse, shut off from everyone (this is assuming he and Lou never tied the knot which I don't believe they would have). Tony was a caution to Lucas not to go down that road and that he had to accept that Mark was growing up and would, sooner rather than later, be off on his own in the real world. You saw Mark with a possible love interest (although, gotta say, he looked absolutely terrified when Lorrie mentioned marriage), again, implying that he would be getting a girlfriend soon and later be moving off the ranch, marrying and starting a family. Lucas rescues Mark again, quite a staple of the show (although yes, I was yelling at my TV that Mark didn't think to grab a rope or branch and actually walked into the quick sand).

So, yeah, in retrospect I actually think it was a great ending to the series.

[–] xxpo 8 years ago

Tony was basically what Lucas could turn into once Mark moved off the ranch, married and had his own children and Micah passed away: a bitter, old recluse, shut off from everyone (this is assuming he and Lou never tied the knot which I don't believe they would have). Tony was a caution to Lucas not to go down that road and that he had to accept that Mark was growing up and would, sooner rather than later, be off on his own in the real world.

Mark would probably have married someone and lived right there on the ranch. And LUCAS would probably also have been the doting grandpa to the grandkids.

As Lucas gets older, he'd definitely also need someone to help out with the cattle and doing things around the ranch.

Or if he sold the ranch, then he could also have used the money to move into town and live at the hotel where the meals were prepared for you.

It would also have been nice to see a REUNION SHOW where they got together for Christmas (like the Waltons do) so that we could have met Mark's wife and seen LUCAS with the grandkids.

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[–] vivacious_dan 8 years ago

Mark could have gone off East and gone to college, perhaps to study to become a lawyer or a doctor. There is no guarantee that Mark would have lived on the ranch. So, I still believe Old Tony was in the episode as a cautionary warning to Lucas as what possibly could happen to him if Mark went away to school, married and had children in another state.

Lucas most certainly would have been a doting grandfather to his grandkids but there is no guarantee that Mark would have remained on the ranch, which was my point.

Yes, Lucas would have needed help as he got older, and he would have hired ranch hands for that. But he still would have been lonely with no wife and Micah inevitably passing away, especially if Mark had moved away.

Johnny did an interview in the 80's (it's on a Rifleman fan website) that said they tried numerous times to do a Rifleman reunion but for multiple reasons it never happened. He said one of the reasons is that Paul Fix's health had deteriorated and he was on dialysis several times a week and was in no condition to film a reunion.

[–] xxpo 8 years ago

Since the MARATHONS on SUNDANCE and the AMC channels seem to be doing so well Johnny should try again.

Lucas won't be there, but Johnny could do a Thanksgiving or CHRISTMAS SPECIAL where we meet his family and find out what Johnny did with the rest of his life.

Wouldn't that be great???

Still also have a 45 of Johnny singing "Your Nose is gonna grow."

Anyone else out there have a copy of it???

You can hear it here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdoyRkMLA0A

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[–] DrakeStraw 8 years ago

... Johnny singing "Your Nose is gonna grow.

This is my entire collection:

Cindy's Birthday.mp3
Daydreams.mp3
Proud.mp3
Rumors.mp3
Your Nose Is Gonna Grow.mp3

DrakeStraw
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[–] vivacious_dan 8 years ago

I absolutely love Johnny's music with Del Fi records. Sadly, I don't have a record player but it is on my wish list. I have over 45 of his songs, including "Your Nose Is Gonna Grow". I love it, the beat is so insanely catchy and danceable.

My absolute favorite song of his is "Proud", I cried the first time I heard it, it was so beautiful.

I loved the spots Johnny did for Me TV when The Rifleman first aired where he talked about his recollections of the show and his "Pa". I would love to see more of that.

[–] DrakeStraw 8 years ago

I loved the spots Johnny did for Me TV when The Rifleman first aired where he talked about his recollections of the show and his "Pa". I would love to see more of that.

MeTV keeps a lot of those old promo videos online. Here's one with Johnny:

http://www.metv.com/videos/johnny-crawford-the-rifleman

DrakeStraw
http://www.metv.com/videos/johnny-crawford-the-rifleman
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[–] xxpo 8 years ago

Thanks for the link!!!

We don't get METV here (just Antenna TV).

Also found other online interviews with JOHNNY where he talks about how CONNERS was so good at baseball that JOHNNY took up doing ROPE TRICKS as a way to entertain himself during the breaks in shooting.

Then he also demonstrates some of his ROPE TRICKS on a talk show.

Is Patty Duke also going to do another REMAKE TV show where she plays the parts of look a like cousins???

Also saw a photo of her there at the METV site too!!!

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[–] DrakeStraw 8 years ago

We don't get METV here (just Antenna TV).

I get it over the air. Our local cable company only recently added it.

Is Patty Duke also going to do another REMAKE TV show where she plays the parts of look a like cousins???

I wonder if you were thinking of the promo for the old show. She does play twins to promote the return of her show on 1/4/16. You should be able to find it online.

DrakeStraw
LinkLikeThis
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[–] xxpo 8 years ago

Antenna TV ran reruns of the older Patty show, but METV has a photo at the link to Johnny where you see a photo of 2 OLDER PATTIES (about the same age as the present day Johnny).

So that's why the question about her doing a remake was asked.

Or maybe she's just doing a promo for the show like Johnny is doing one for The RIFELMAN????



In the interview where Johnny does ROPE TRICKS he also says he was only in the MICKEY MOUSE CLUB for one year because Disney fired him.

Good thing he did too, or else we might not have had Johnny in The Rifleman.

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[–] MeganCraft 8 years ago

I am about 20 years older than you, and the Rifleman had been cancelled and was in reruns when I was 5 years old..lol.

It is one of better westerns from the 60s. In genernal I can't sit through a single episode of most of them. I like to joke can call "Bonanza" "Gunanza". Its mind boggling that it last almost as long as Gunsmoke; probably would have if not for the sudden death of Dan Blocker.

It is a surprise the Rifleman did not last many more seasons, but I think reason for cancellation have been covered already in this thread. It sounds it would have been renewed of Connors wanted it to continue and agreed to whatever terms were put on the table. Color and 1 hour format most likely would extended the series at least two more seasons, more depending on the quality of show and time slot.

I agree often its best to quit while the quality is still good. We all can think of shows that last years after jumping the shark, and aren't worth watching in reruns.

[–] Anirishmanstale 8 years ago

Whats really funny about this series is how immensely popular it has been since its cancellation. In fact I can't remember a time when it hasn't been on somewhere in reruns ever since it got cancelled. More than any other western, save Gunsmoke and Bonanza. Personally I don't think much of anything that has been mentioned has a whole lot to do with its demise. (A little of Mark's maturing perhaps). If you look at the year 1963 when this was cancelled you will see that it was the end of many a western on TV. Many had lasted only a single season or two and had died. In my opinion Rifleman's cancellation had more to do with the country just moving away from the western genre at that time than anything specific about the show itself. A few of the biggies went on a while longer, but many of the older series just fell by the wayside..Just my opinion mind you, but I always thought the episodes in the final season were some of the best. They were actually improving, and then it was gone. At least it has never died in generations to come. It still better than the crap that is on network tv for sure...

[–] bradford-1 8 years ago

ARREST AND TRIAL was, for its time, quite the undertaking. One of the rare 90-minute programs, its format was always divided into the title functions. Ben Gazzare was the cop; Connors the defense lawyer. Of course, much later the LAW & ORDER franchise made the format work. Connors was a busy fellow. Anyone remember COWBOY IN AFRICA?

May I bone your kipper, Mademoiselle?

[–] rj-27 8 years ago

Anyone remember COWBOY IN AFRICA?

Yes. Not as memorable as "Branded", scorned as the one who ran, what do you do when you branded and you know you're a man?

Democracy is the pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance. H.L. Mencken

[–] willettskinner 8 years ago

I'm a new member to this message board...but as I was watching my Saturday morning ritual of Rifleman, I had a question about an episode I was watching and one thing led to another that led me to IMDb...I also asked myself a year ago, why the series ended the way it did? But I ask that about a lot of television shows. I believe that it was the ratings of the show or if the show had lost it's "spark". I truly believe it came down to the "ole mighty" dollar! It wasn't that Westerns were no longer popular - Gunsmoke can testify to that. I believe that the television viewers changed. The youngsters started watching television and perhaps wanted to watch shows that made them laugh instead of reason - Gilligan's Island v. Rifleman. Who knows? I'm just happy that Rifleman is in syndication and I can watch and record it every Saturday morning!😀

[–] Skye_Reynolds 8 years ago

I think they had some idea that the series was wrapping up.

One thing which set the final season apart from the previous four was the continuity. The first half of the season focused on a plot surrounding the first train in North Fork. Given that the early episodes of the season had a sequential order to them, I kinda get the feeling that the last few episodes were hand chosen for their content as well.

Old Man Running was the emotional climax of the series with Lucas making peace with his father-in-law. The comedic Which Way'd They Go? lightened the tone after the dark episode before it. And Old Tony provided something of a hasty wrap-up with Mark getting a girlfriend of his own.

I do agree though that Old Tony was a terrible episode to end on. It's a hypothetical look at what would have happened to Lucas if he had ever lost Mark. Lucas is a widower and a father. Tony is a recluse after losing wife and son. That's something which should have been shown mid-season, mid-series. That way, when the audience was watching an episode where Mark was in danger, they'd have it in the back of their minds what fate awaited Lucas if he failed to save his son. As the final episode, it's too late to serve it's purpose. "Now that the danger has past, let's show you what might have happened..." (To be fair , they did throw in a scene where Mark was imperiled by quicksand.)

I don't think it's any coincidence though that the final gun battle of the series was Lucas protecting his unforgiven father-in-law or that the series took two episodes after that to lighten the tone.

[–] Skye_Reynolds 8 years ago

If it were up to me, I think I would have swapped Old Tony and Mission at Requiem Springs. But I can't blame them for wanting Old Man Running to be the final episode with any gunplay. I also can't blame them for thinking that was too dark of an episode to end on. The way that the series wraps is less than ideal, but I think I can see where they were going with it.

[–] allenm-01050 8 years ago

Your post is more dramatic and fairy tale than the show is.

[–] mwmtampa 8 years ago

Don't forget they were winding down the filming of The Rifleman around the end of 1962.

In this era, there was really no attention or special planning given to "concluding" a TV series and tying up loose ends. It wasn't done. That didn't really start happening until the 1970s and 80s.

[–] vikeaholic 8 years ago

I think Chuck didn't want it to be in color. I read the next season would have been.

[–] sherrywestberg 7 years ago

Hollywood was gleaning out all rural type shows at one time. They did little to help the shows they did have in favor of more edgy type shows that they feel appealed to urban viewers. Shame really because there are those of us who would rather watch an old black and white TV show over the crap they serve us today. I spend hours on these reruns and I enjoy them a lot! Give me good clean entertainment any day.

[–] liscarkat (16968) 3 years ago

Television series at that time usually did not have final episodes that wrapped things up like they have during the past few decades. They were just there as normal one week, gone the next.

[–] LookMaAFag (145) 3 years ago

Because Chuck left to do gay porn…wait that was before he was a star