The Classic TV Archive - TV Western series
Cheyenne (1955-62) Sugarfoot (1957-60) Bronco (1958-62)
Maverick (1957-62) Colt 45 (1957-60) Lawman (1958-62)
The Alaskans (1959-60) The Dakotas (1963) Temple Houston (1963-64)
The Dakotas (1963)
Episode Guide compiled by The Classic TV Archive [Updated July 2018]
with contributions by:
George Orphanidys, D.W. McGregor, Heikocleef , James Beer
references:
Library of Congress (telnet://locis.loc.gov)
Internet Movie Database (https://www.imdb.com)
-----------
THE DAKOTAS
-----------
Warner Brothers Television
for
ABC (Mondays from 7:30-8:30 pm) Eastern
Executive Producer Wm. T. Orr
Supervising Producer Jules Schermer
Produced by Anthony Spinner
US Western series 1963 20 episodes x 60 min bw
starring
Larry Ward as Marshal Frank Ragan
Jack Elam as Deputy J.D. Smith
Chad Everett as Deputy Del Stark
Mike Greene as Deputy Vance Porter
Premise: "The Dakotas" was a western following Marshal Frank Rogan and his
deputies as they maintain order in the Dakota Badlands.
Spin-off from a Cheyenne episode "A Man Called Ragan"
"The Dakotas" was cancelled following public outcry at scene showing
Deputy Smith (Jack Elam) killing an outlaw in a church featured in
episode #18 "Sanctuary at Crystal Springs" 6May63.
################# The Dakotas ################
################ pilot episode ###############
##############################################
[00] Cheyenne: A MAN CALLED RAGAN (pilot)
Cheyenne <episode 6.14 /no. 95>
23Apr62 ABC
Directed by Richard C. Sarafian
Guest Cast:
Arch Johnson .................. Ben Stark
Jeane Cooper .................. Marti Stevens
and the "Dakotas" cast
Larry Ward .................... Marsahll Frank Ragan
Jack Elam ..................... Deputy J.D. Smith
Chad Everett .................. Deputy Del Stark
Mike Greene ................... Deputy Vance Porter
Dakota Territorial Marshall Frank Ragan rides into town to see
his buddy Johnny Wilson. But cattle baron Ben Stark tells Ragan
that Wilson has disappeared, and that Ragan must do the same.
Surprisingly Clint Walker (Cheyenne Bodie) doe NOT appear in this episode.
################# The Dakotas ################
############# season early 1963 ##############
##############################################
ABC Mondays 7:30 pm Eastern
[01] The Dakotas: RETURN TO DRYDOCK (or "Return to Dry Rock?)
(copyright title "Return to DryRock")
7Jan63 ABC Mon
Directed by Stuart Heisler
Guest Cast:
Edward Binns .................. Arlie Gibbs
Richard Hale .................. Reverend Smith
Natalie Trundy ................ Betty Lou
Howard Smith .................. Ed Turner
Robert Ellin .................. the Judge
Martin West ................... Luke Henry
Rex Holman .................... Gunman
Henry Hunter .................. Sam Cleaver
Walter Baldwin ................ Arnold Foster
Synopsis 1:
One man wasn't hostile to J.D. when he was run out of town as a
gunfighter. That man has been killed and J.D. intends to avenge
the slaying with or without Ragan's approval.
Synopsis 2:
J.D. Smith (Jack Elam) returning to his hometown to avenge the
death of an old friend, oversteps his authority as Deputy Marshal.
[6Apr63 Tyne-Tees UK, Saturday 9:10pm]
[02] The Dakotas: RED SKY OVER BISMARCK
14-Jan-1963 ABC Mon (Rerun 27-May-1963 ABC Mon)
Directed by Stuart Heisler
Guest Cast:
Andrew Duggan ................. Colonel Withers
Constance Ford ................ Deborah James
Chris Robinson ................ Chino
Synopsis 1:
Deborah James sends for Marshal Ragan (Larry Ward) when it appears that her half breed son Chino may receive harsh
judgment from Colonel Withers, the local Justice of Peace. But when Ragan arrives, Deborah changes her story.
Synopsis 2:
Deborah James sent for Ragan when it appeared that her half-breed son Chino would receive harsh judgement
from Colonel Withers, the local justice of the peace. Now Deborah tells Ragan that Chino deserves to die. [JB]
[03] The Dakotas: MUTINY AT FORT MERCY
21Jan63 ABC Mon
Directed by Stuart Heisler
Guest Cast:
George Macready ............... Captain Ridgeway
Jeanne Cooper ................. Rebecca Ridgeway
Anthony Bart .................. Davids
Russell Johnson ............... Lt. Clyde Mariot
William Bramley ............... Jellicoe
Lew Gallo ..................... Sergeant Smythe
Hal Baylor .................... Bone
Stewart Bradley ............... Taylor
Deputies Del Stark (Chad Everett) and Vance Porter (Mike Greene),
return an army escapee to the stockade at Fort Mercy, commanded
by the merciless Captain Ridgeway. When the Captain puts the
prisoner in solitary confinement, the other inmates, irked by
Ridgeway's brutality stage an uprising and seize Del as a hostage.
[04] The Dakotas: TROUBLE AT FRENCH CREEK
28Jan63 ABC Mon
Directed by Stuart Heisler
Guest Cast:
Mercedes McCambridge .......... Jay French
Michael Constantine ........... Marshak
Joan Freeman .................. Gilla Marshak
John Kellogg .................. Kirk
Jered Barclay ................. Weems
Stephen Joyce ................. Billy Dancer
Allen Jaffe ................... Foster
Jay French, in an attempt to build the mining empire which her
husband once envisioned, drives her workers too hard and they go
out on strike. Marshal Ragan (Lary Ward) is called in to maintain
order in a very tense situation. Jay has hired some gunslingers to
keep the strikers at bay.
1.5 [--] The Dakotas: THUNDER IN PLEASANT VALLEY [verified -Heikocleef]
4Feb63 ABC Mon
Produced by Anthony Spinner
Written by S.S.Schweitzer/ Story by Joyce Fierro
Directed by Paul Landres
Director of Photography Bert Glennon
Music by William Lava
edited by Robert L.Wolfe
Guest Cast:
Gregory Walcott ............... Tom Davis
Patricia Huston ............... Kate McNeill
Karl Swenson .................. Harry McNeill
Lee Van Cleef ................. Slade Tucker
Cliff Osmond .................. Telford
Chris Alcaide ................. Merrick
Lane Allan .................... Sheriff Cole
Kathy Bennett (as Diana McNeill)
Synopsis:
Rancher Harry McNeill's daughter has been abducted by outlaws who demand a
ransom. Marshal Ragan (Larry Ward) doesn't want McNeill, but McNeill cares
about his daughter, and not about catching the crooks.
.
[06] The Dakotas: CRISIS AT HIGH BANJO
11Feb63 ABC Mon
Directed by Stuart Heisler
Guest Cast:
Karen Sharpe .................. Angela Manning
Ed Peck ....................... Johnny Fox
Warren Stevens ................ Cain Manning
David Lewis ................... Logan Ames
Robert J. Wilke ............... Judge Markham
Michael Pate .................. Hal Regis
Ed Prentiss ................... the Governor
Percy Helton .................. Doctor
When Marshal Ragan (Larry Ward) recognizes convict Johnny Fox as
one of the men who murdered his wife five years before, he goes
berserk and almost kills Fox. Fox admits someone hired him to kill
Ragan's wife, but refuses to identify his employees.
[07] The Dakotas: REQUIEM AT DANCER'S HILL
18Feb63 ABC Mon
Directed by Paul Landres
Guest Cast:
Dennis Hopper ................. Ross Kendrick
Dick Foran .................... Matt Kendrick
Anne Whitfield ................ Virginia Kendrick
Milton Frome .................. Sam Johnson
Herb Vigran ................... Olin Bates
Alan Reed, Jr. ................ Morgan Jackson
Milton Parsons ................ Cal Jackson
Gail Bonney ................... Amy Jackson
Marsahl Ragan (Larry Ward) is investigating Ross Kendrick, the leader
of a posse which captured Morgan Jackson and executed him.
[08] The Dakotas: FARGO
25Feb63 ABC Mon
Directed by Stuart Heisler
Guest Cast:
David Brian ................... Sheriff Fargo
Richard Jaeckel ............... Cal Storm
Diane Brewster ................ Jody
Ted DeCorsia .................. Winters
Tim Graham .................... Johnny
Don O'Kelly ................... Paul Young
Victor French ................. Larrimore
J.D. (Jack Elam) tries to reform Sheriff Fargo, a lawman who has set
up a little hometown kingdom where he exacts tribute from the local merchants.
[09] The Dakotas: INCIDENT AT RAPID CITY
4Mar63 ABC Mon
Directed by Allan Buckhantz
Guest Cast:
Bert Freed .................... Lloyd Mitchell
Maggie Pierce ................. Catherine Mitchell
Dennis Patrick ................ Sergeant Bonnet
Russ Conway ................... Sheriff Landauer
Willis Bouchey ................ Colonel Fitch
William Fawcett ............... Prospector
William Hellinger ............. Trooper Henshaw
Craig Duncan .................. First Trooper
Synopsis 1:
A renegade Cavalry band creates an incident at Rapid City by
demanding that Del (Chad Everett) turn over Lloyd Mitchell to
them. The fugitive soldiers clim Mitchell supplied them with
spoiled food, which poisoned some of their men.
Synopsis 2:
Deputy Del Stark (Chad Everett) faces a test of courage
when he defends his prisoner against a group of angry Cavalrymen.
(13Apr63 Tyne-Tees UK , Saturday 9:10pm)
[10] The Dakotas: JUSTICE AT EAGLE' NEST
11Mar63 ABC Mon
Directed by Robert Totten
Guest Cast:
Everett Sloane ................ Judge Daniel Harvey
Joanna Moore .................. Doll Harvey
Harry Shannon ................. Jim Painter
Karl Held ..................... Emil Lang
Gregory Gay ................... Anton Lang
Laurence Mann ................. Ed Jarvis
Ken Mayer ..................... Crawford
Gene Roth ..................... Peterson
Delbert Monroe ................ Bailiff
The farmers near the town of Eagle's Rest don't like cattlemen, so
they bring in tough old Judge Daniel Harvey to enforce the law.
It soon becomes a case of farmers vs. cowboys and Marshal Ragan
(Larry Ward) decides to investigate the Judge's methods.
[11] The Dakotas: A WALK THROUGH THE BADLANDS
18Mar63 ABC Mon
Directed by Richard L. Bare
Guest Cast:
Ed Nelson ..................... Lt. John Schwimmer
Strother Martin ............... Pvt. Anton Copang
Steve Brodie .................. Capt. William Bowder Casey
Tom Drake ..................... Cpl. Steven Agard
Lane Bradford ................. Sgt. Abel Round
Michael Vandever .............. Private Allen Tentrees
Lou Robb ...................... Nesbitt
James Waters .................. Soldier
Synopsis 1:
Marshal Ragan and his Deputies, pursued by an army of outlaws,
flee to the waterless wilderness where they come across some
Cavalry Troopers escaping from the same gunmen.
Synopsis 2:
Marshal Frank Ragan (Larry Ward) on the trail of a million
dollars, meets greed in its most vicious form in a most unlikely place.
(20Apr63 Tyne-Tees UK, Saturday 9:10pm)
[12] The Dakotas: TRIAL AT GRAND FORKS
25Mar63 ABC Mon
Directed by Stuart Heisler
Guest Cast:
Werner Klemperer .............. Colonel von Bleist
Susanne Cramer ................ Maria Hoenig
Robert F. Simon ............... Charles Kimberly
Bartlett Robinson ............. Judge Elias Stone
Pat Rosson .................... Viktor Hoenig
Ross Elliott .................. Roger Carlson
Barbara Woodell ............... Mary Kimberly
Anthony Call .................. Lou Warren
A trial at Grand Forks end in a death sentence for German Countess
Maria Hoening, accused of murdering her husband, a Prussian General.
Marshal Ragan (Larry Ward) wants to know why the Countess refused
to testify at her own defense, but he risks an International
incident if he delays the execution.
[13] The Dakotas: REFORMATION AT BIG NOSE BUTTE
1Apr63 ABC Mon
Directed by Robert Totten
Guest Cast:
Telly Savalas ................. Jake Volet
DeForest Kelley ............... Martin Volet
Sue Randall ................... Hardi Masters
Hayden Rorke .................. Glen Masters
Mickey Simpson ................ Lester Banks
Wallace Rooney ................ Guard
Richard Cutting ............... Cavalry Officer
Roy Lennert ................... Paymaster
Deputy J.D. Smith (Jack Elam) was once an outlaw, and now his new
way of life faces the test. His former gang leader Jake Volet, has
been released from prison and has summoned his men to rejoin him.
[14] The Dakotas: ONE DAY IN VERMILLION
Originally Shceduled for 8Apr63 ABC
Pre-empted by "The Oscars" in certain parts of the country
- this episode not aired in re-runs (George Orphanidys)
Directed by Allan Buckhantz
Guest Cast:
Carlos Rivas .................. Takanta
Whit Bissell .................. Owen Teed
David White ................... Jonah Snowden
Med Flory ..................... Captain Driscoll
Eugene Iglesias ............... Kicking Horse
Alan Baxter
Marshal Ragan (Larry Ward) escorts Sioux Chief Takanta and his son
into town for the signing of a peace treaty, but the three of them
walk right into a nest of trouble.
[15] The Dakotas: TERROR AT HEART RIVER
15Apr63 ABC Mon
Directed by Stuart Heisler
Guest Cast:
Royal Dano .................... Walter Wyman
Coleen Gray ................... Mrs. Wyman
Gene Lyons .................... John Volk
Sean McClory .................. Fallain
Abandoned by the Railroad and repulsed by the residents of Heart
River, a savage starving gang of railworkers threatens to pillage the town.
[16] The Dakotas: THE CHOOSER OF THE SLAIN
22Apr63 ABC
Directed by Charles R. Rondeau
Guest Cast:
Claude Akins .................. Tom Doucette
Beverly Garland ............... Katherine Channing
Richard Loo ................... George Yang
Corey Allen ................... Clen Biglow
Billy Zuckert ................. Jim Clarke
Justin Smith .................. Joe Moran
Dayton Lummis ................. Clayton Emory
E.J. Andre .................... Judge Langford
Don Kennedy ................... McNally
Bill Walker ................... William
When Del (Chad Everett) and Vance (Mike Greene) admit to killing
a man in self defense. Ragan (Larry Ward) must find a mysterious
woman witness to the slaying, or his deputies will be hanged.
[17] The Dakotas: FEUD AT SNAKE RIVER
29Apr63 ABC Mon
Directed by Charles R. Rondeau
Guest Cast:
Harry Townes .................. George Deus
James Westerfield ............. Simon Deus
Joseph Ruskin ................. Rider
Roger Mobley .................. Christopher
Barry Kelley .................. Amish
Don Keefer .................... Minister
Brendan Dillon ................ Alf Hinds
Harlan Warde .................. Claude Deus
Ragan (Larry Ward) persuades George Deus to oppose his ruthless
empire-buliding brother Simon. When Simon drives a family off its
land, Ragan marshals the rest of the farmers behind George.
[18] The Dakotas: SANCTUARY AT CRYSTAL SPRINGS
6May63 ABC Mon
