The Loner

The Loner

1965
The Loner
The Loner

The Loner

7.7 | en | Western

The Loner is an American western series that ran for less than one season on CBS from 1965 to 1966, under the alternate sponsorship of Philip Morris and Procter & Gamble.

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Seasons & Episodes

1
EP26  To Hang a Dead Man
Mar. 12,1966
To Hang a Dead Man

Colton joins a sheriff in search of a town's destroyers.

EP25  The Burden of the Badge
Mar. 05,1966
The Burden of the Badge

A group of reformed criminals deputize Colton to defend and protect them.

EP24  Pick Me Another Time to Die
Feb. 26,1966
Pick Me Another Time to Die

Colton is accused of slaying a sheriff.

EP23  Incident in the Middle Of Nowhere
Feb. 19,1966
Incident in the Middle Of Nowhere

Colton encounters a little girl riding his horse — which was stolen from Colton during the stagecoach robbery in which he was shot and left for dead.

EP22  The Mourners for Johnny Sharp (2)
Feb. 12,1966
The Mourners for Johnny Sharp (2)

Following the late Johnny Sharp's instructions, Colton arranges for the four people closest to the gunman to meet at the undertaker's parlor. (Part 2 of 2)

EP21  The Mourners for Johnny Sharp (1)
Feb. 05,1966
The Mourners for Johnny Sharp (1)

While a young gunman lies dying in a cave, a ruthless man waits outside hoping to get his hands on the boy's loot. (Part 1 of 2)

EP20  A Question of Guilt
Jan. 29,1966
A Question of Guilt

In the darkness Colton kills an intruder, and discovers the man is an Army Lieutenant.

EP19  The Trial in Paradise
Jan. 22,1966
The Trial in Paradise

Colton provides the defense in a kangaroo court trial of a former Union Army officer.

EP18  A Little Stroll to the End of the Line
Jan. 15,1966
A Little Stroll to the End of the Line

Colton neither likes nor respects the man he has been deputized to protect: a rabble-rousing preacher who fears death from an ex-convict.

EP17  Mantrap
Jan. 08,1966
Mantrap

Colton becomes the target of an assassin when he is the sole witness to a robbery and murder.

EP16  To the West of Eden
Jan. 01,1966
To the West of Eden

While traveling across the desert to deliver horses to their new owner, Colton reluctantly agrees to escort a young woman across the arid land.

EP15  The Ordeal of Bud Windom
Dec. 25,1965
The Ordeal of Bud Windom

A murder suspect's son makes life difficult for Colton when the boy tries to clear his father's name.

EP14  Escort for a Dead Man
Dec. 18,1965
Escort for a Dead Man

A man who deserted from the Army wants Colton to escort him back to his fort.

EP13  Hunt the Man Down
Dec. 11,1965
Hunt the Man Down

Colton is drafted to help a posse hunt down a seemingly harmless recluse.

EP12  The Oath
Dec. 04,1965
The Oath

When a doctor proves to be as full of whiskey as he is of self-pity, Colton must perform an emergency appendectomy on a young gunfighter.

EP11  Westward, the Shoemaker
Nov. 27,1965
Westward, the Shoemaker

When a well-intentioned immigrant is stripped of his nest egg in a rigged card game, Colton takes on the con artist.

EP10  The Homecoming of Lemuel Stove
Nov. 20,1965
The Homecoming of Lemuel Stove

Colton befriends a Union soldier who returns from war to find that his father has been lynched by bigots.

EP9  The Sheriff of Fetterman's Crossing
Nov. 13,1965
The Sheriff of Fetterman's Crossing

Colton has second thoughts after accepting the position of deputy to the dubious sheriff of a sleepy Montana town.

EP8  The House Rules at Mrs. Wayne's
Nov. 06,1965
The House Rules at Mrs. Wayne's

While trying to defend his wife's honor, a friend of Colton is killed... and Colton is torn between seeking justice and keeping his word to turn the other cheek.

EP7  Widow on the Evening Stage
Oct. 30,1965
Widow on the Evening Stage

Following the murder of a man during an Indian attack, Colton witnesses a town's prejudice towards the man's Indian widow.

EP6  The Flight of the Artic Tern
Oct. 23,1965
The Flight of the Artic Tern

Colton becomes involved in a romantic triangle when he saves a friend's bride-to-be from a runaway horse.

EP5  One of the Wounded
Oct. 16,1965
One of the Wounded

Colton tries to help a Union army veteran left mute and immobile by the psychological horrors of war.

EP4  The Kingdom of McComb
Oct. 09,1965
The Kingdom of McComb

Unable to perform the deed themselves, a group of religious colonists attempt to recruit Colton to kill a powerful landowner trying to evict them.

EP3  The Lonely Galico Queen
Oct. 02,1965
The Lonely Galico Queen

A dance hall girl mistakes Colton for her mail-order bridegroom.

EP2  The Vespers
Sep. 25,1965
The Vespers

Sworn to avenge his brother's death, a hoodlum comes gunning for a small town's local minister. When Colton arrives to warn his old friend and ex-soldier, he finds the man unwilling to resort to violence to protect himself and his pregnant wife.

EP1  An Echo of Bugles
Sep. 18,1965
An Echo of Bugles

A swaggering gunfighter targets an aging Confederate veteran, and Colton steps in to deal with the bully.

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7.7 | en | Western | More Info
Released: 1965-09-18 | Released Producted By: CBS Studios , 20th Century Fox Television Country: United States of America Budget: 0 Revenue: 0 Official Website:
Synopsis

The Loner is an American western series that ran for less than one season on CBS from 1965 to 1966, under the alternate sponsorship of Philip Morris and Procter & Gamble.

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The tv show is currently not available onine

Cast

Lloyd Bridges

Director

William Dozier

Producted By

CBS Studios , 20th Century Fox Television

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Reviews

Owlwise Here's another of those blink-and-you-missed-it gems lost among the tide of ridiculous, cotton candy TV shows that were insulting to both adults & children alike in the mid-1960s. Rod Serling crafted something rich & meaningful in his series about a former Union officer in search of himself - and maybe America too - in the wake of the Civil War. While it clearly addressed the divisions widening in 1960s America, it's just as applicable today, when those divisions have not only reappeared but widened all the more. But let's make one thing clear: like everything Rod Serling did, this is solid entertainment that stirs the heart as much as it engages the mind. A wonderful example of the humanist tradition in early TV its concerns are[t just social, they're very much personal. How does a man who has seen the horrors of war, participated in them himself, begin to find peace, understanding, and a place for himself in the world? For that matter, how does anyone who has lived through turmoil, hatred, death, whether in the military or not? What is a life really all about?Wisely, "The Loner" offered no pat answers. If it offered any at all, it was that the seeking was what mattered, the continual struggle to confront both outer & inner darkness & despair, to strive for some sort of meaning in an uncertain, unmoored world.In Lloyd Bridges, the series found its perfect lead. Capable of showing both stoic strength & revealing fears & doubts as well, he embodied a basically good & decent man with both strength & sensitivity - a man of character & soul. And he wasn't afraid to show the weaknesses that beset all men, but are seldom revealed by many, to their own further wounding. And all the while, he's searching & learning ... Finally released on DVD, this sadly short-lived series is a treasure waiting to be discovered by anyone who loves quality TV.
Little-Mikey While many TV series from many years past have grown fonder as our memories of such series get older, like sci-fi, for example,only to come out as major embarrassments at worst,or ridiculously hokey, at best, it seems that the western holds out quite well Whether the western is fairly recent or very old, it still comes out as a welcome addition to any DVD collection. In short, this series is long overdue for release on DVD! I remember this series when it aired on CBS in 1965/1966. While I was going through a phase where westerns didn't hold my interest,this show still had me addicted. From the haunting theme song to the captivating plots on to the closing credits,this was one show that was as thought provoking as it was thrilling. Here is where this western stood above the rest. Most westerns centered around a plot which was more or less action based... the bad guys vs the good guys, whether the bad guys were Indians on the war path or bandits out to rob a bank or train. THE LONER was different as its plot often evolved around the main character's inner turmoil or lack of peace.
lprigge Amazing how few people know of this TV series, and I was addicted to it as a teen in the 60s. Lloyd Bridges played a veteran of the Civil War, and the episodes were poignant because he never found peace even when helping people. And no, it wasn't like Chuck Connors in Branded - the stories were much more thoughtful and less physical. Rod Serling wrote the scripts, which I remember as being top notch and, in usual Serling style, thought provoking. What I particularly remember is the beautiful intro theme to the series - to this day, I can hear it and would love to own it. I've watched some of the episodes at the Museum of Radio and Television in NYC - unfortunately, they don't even have all of the episodes last I checked. Definitely an overlooked - and greatly underrated - classic TV Western.
marktime In its own modest way, the single best television series Lloyd Bridges ever helmed. Though it only lasted 26 half-hour episodes in the mid-1960s, this rumination on the psychological and moral readjustments anguishing former Union soldier William Colton (Bridges) as he returns to the trail of a loner in post-Civil War America, had a freeform, experimental texture unlike any television western of its day -- most likely due to the significant contribution made to its teleplays by Rod Serling. Great direction and dialogue, too. The premiere episode, "An Echo of Bugles, " featuring an unforgettably poignant performance by a virtually unrecognizable Whit Bissell as "weak-as-a-kitten" former Confederate POW "Ab Nichols", sets the tone for this meditation on the lingering schizophrenia of divided loyalties that plagued our post-Lincolnian land as Grant assumed its presidency. A revelation to be rediscovered -- best writing of any TV Western I ever encountered. Truly a Western with an adult sensibility, obviously created as a centennial reflection on the aftermath of the War Between the States as seen through the eyes of the quintessential American cowboy archetype of the "loner". Serling will never be duplicated and, boy, is he missed! Haunting and haunted.