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Shotgun Slade, Starring Scott Brady, Brought a Jazz Musical Score to the Western
For two seasons- 1959-61- Shotgun Slade was syndicated to TV stations across the USA. By then the Western genre was well worn, and the age of gimmicks had set in. On The Rifleman, they came up with a repeating shotgun for Lucas McCain (Chuck Connors). The Shotgun Slade producers adjusted this to a 'normal' double barrelled shotgun, but whith one barrel of one guage and a second barrell of a second guage.
Since the Western was beginning to lose popularity with viewing audiences, Shotgun Slade had three characteristics that made it novel among Westerns. The first was Slade's profession. Instead being a marshal sheriff or wandering gunfighter, Slade was a private detective, hired by individuals to track down criminals, return stolen money and other similar duties. This was obviously influenced by the growing popularity of television private eyes such as Peter Gunn, and Richard Diamond. Read More
Another quirk was Slade's weapon of choice. Instead of packing a six gun, Slade carried a combination shotgun that has an upper and lower barrel. The lower barrel fired a 12-gauge shotgun shell while the top barrel fired a .32 caliber rifle bullet. The idea was that this weapon gave Slade the ability to fire at close and distant targets with the same amount of accuracy. Western television shows were known for featuring distinctive weapons, such as those on shows like The Rifleman, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, Wanted: Dead or Alive and The Rebel, but Slade's shotgun stood out even among the weapons of those other shows. Despite the quirks and idiosyncrasies of the series, Shotgun Slade lasted for only two seasons.
The third novelty of the series is that it featured a modern jazz score instead of the traditional Western-themed music that was the norm for Western television shows and movies. Again, this seems an influence of the private eye genre's popularity because most private eye shows featured a jazz score.
In all, because Shotgun Slade was a syndicated show, it didn't receive the publicity or promotion that would come with a network show. For years, the show languished on a shelf, but now Western fans can again watch it on the TVS Western.Com IPTV channel. Even better, the shows are on demand so you can watch them when you want. And, they are free. Even better, you can get a Shotgun Slade T Shirt, a Shotgun Slade hat, a DVD, or other fun logo items from the Shop TV4U.Com E Commerce store!
