Tedfoldol everything you have heard about this movie is true.

ChicRawIdol A brilliant film that helped define a genre

Freeman This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Darin One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

Dalbert Pringle Set in the 1890s at the Shiloh Ranch and in fictitious town of Medicine Bow, Wyoming - The Virginian is quite a well-produced TV Western from 1962 that chronicles the lives of the struggling pioneers who had travelled west to this untamed land where they settled and eked out a living as best they could.Filmed in living-colour - This once-popular "Wild West" production geared all of its story-telling to 90-minute episodes. It starred actors James Drury and Lee J. Cobb. Many of the programs featured celebrity guest-spots from the likes of such performers as George C. Scott. Eddie Albert, and Ricardo Montalban (to name but a few).

bkoganbing With no less than the presidential imprimatur of Theodore Roosevelt on the novel by his good friend Owen Wister, many consider The Virginian to be the first realistic western novel. Before that the rather discredited prose of people like Ned Buntline dominated the field and none of their 'literature' survives today.This television series takes the basic characters of The Virginian, Trampas, Steve, and Molly Wood from the novel and makes them all friends. The guys are foreman and his two best buddies all working at Shiloh Ranch. They're played by James Drury, Doug McClure, and Gary Clarke. Pippa Scott plays Molly Wood, school teacher in the novel, but in the TV series newspaper editor of the Medicine Bow periodical. The Shiloh ranch is owned by Judge Garth who lives there with his daughter Roberta Shore. That's how it started but regulars came and went. The Shiloh ranch changed hands first to John McIntire and his real life wife Jeanette Nolan. Later on it went to Stewart Granger and the series changed its name to Men Of Shiloh as the women regulars were all eliminated. And we never learned what The Virginian's real name was or his past as in the novel.The Virginian had the distinction of being the first 90 minute series on television. It must have been grueling shoot, it's like shooting several feature films in a year. It also had some name guest stars like that other series from Revue Productions Wagon Train.The Virginian ran for 9 seasons before NBC pulled the plug. But in that time it gave us good and memorable television western shows.

agentmelton The Virginian first aired in September of 1962. It was the only western at the time to be in color with a full 90 minute format. It's lengthy time slot allowed for extensive character development and deep plots. The show attracted many famous guest stars of the time because of the amount of screen time that each would be allotted. Because of the shorter time of many westerns, guest stars were not allowed much screen time, as the time was badly needed for developing the central characters. However in The Virginian, there was plenty of time for everyone. The Virginian (James Drury) is the tough minded foreman of Shiloh Ranch, Medicine Bow, WY. He and his top hands especially Trampas are friends who help each outer out in times of trouble. Being weighted down with his many responsibilities, the foreman generally has a more serious nature to his character, and at a glance, might even seem standoffish. However, at heart, he was really a kind and generous person. *His true name was never revealed in the run of the show, which allowed for a sense of mystery to his character.Trampas was the fun loving cowboy who was the top hand at Shiloh for the entire 9 years of the show's run. Doug McClure succeeded in playing his role to perfection. He was an underrated actor who really did quite well. He was by far the most developed character in the series, and McClure was so popular that he along with James Drury were the only characters to appear as regulars for the entire run of the series. There were many more characters. A total of five ranch owners owned the ranch from 1962-1971. Their families came and passed with them, and many of them left no explanation as to their leaving. The producers rather chose to let the viewers imagine what might have been the destiny - or fate of the characters. The Virginian was the third longest running western in television history. Unfortunately, this show is overshadowed by the more famous and popular shows, Bonanza and Gunsmoke. Thanks to syndication by popular channels and DVD releases by Timeless Media Group, this show can now be enjoyed by people of all ages from everywhere.

vranger This is yet another series that I remember being devoted to as a kid, but some 40+ years later I of course didn't remember any real details of the series, its guest stars, or episodes.When in January 2010 Encore Westerns began showing it, I was amazed. First, when it originally aired my family didn't have a color television. The cinematography in The Virginian is amazing for a series that started in 1962. Not only was filming a TV series in color unusual at that early time, but the quality of color is outstanding ... each episode looks virtually like a technicolor movie. Second, most of the scripts are quite compelling. Unlike some Western films, where an complex adventure has to be squeezed into 90 to 120 minutes, the writers of The Virginian knew they had a series of shows to work with. Therefore they opted for somewhat more simple, yet strong, stories that they could explore at a more leisurely pace. It doesn't mean the shows are slow moving ... quite the opposite. It means they have more time for character study, and for the most part this is a real strength of the show.Finally, the acting is very good. Each show has strong guest stars, a real Who's Who of television and movie actors. The cast also gives strong performances, including an amazing job by James Drury. Why he wasn't treated to more long term starring roles after this is a mystery to me. Even Doug McClure, who walked thru most of the rest of his career trading on his popularity as Trampus, gave strong and believable performances in this series.Obviously, I highly recommend The Virginian to any fan of westerns. Whether you are a younger viewer discovering this show for the first time, or someone like me 'rediscovering it', you'll experience a true delight.