Bearcats
Encyclopedia
Bearcats! is an American
television series broadcast on the CBS
television network
during the Fall 1971 television season
. It stars Rod Taylor and Dennis Cole
as troubleshooters in the period before America entered World War I
.
Bearcats! was produced by Filmways Inc. (which previously produced many series including The Addams Family
, Mister Ed
, The Beverly Hillbillies
, Green Acres
, and Petticoat Junction
). It was co-produced by Rodlor, Rod Taylor's production firm.
automobile. Although autos were common in America in 1914, a $2,000 sports car would have been very rare in the more remote areas of the American west. How the heroes paid for this expensive ride was rather unusual, as well. They undertook work which could be considered "private security" for a prosperous clientele, and rather than charging a traditional fee, extracted from the client a blank check, with the amount charged to be determined by just how difficult or dangerous the job proved to be once it was completed. Typical adventures included learning who was setting fire to oil well
s, unraveling a plot where German Army soldiers dressed as American troops raided Mexican border towns hoping to force Mexico into a war with the U.S.
, and stopping mercenaries from sabotaging medical supplies being sent overseas to the Allies in World War I
.
Its time period also allowed the use of props not usually seen in typical westerns, including airplanes, a W.W.I tank
, machine guns, and a number of period automobiles.
who also served as executive producer. He wrote and directed the TV movie Powderkeg that served as the pilot film for the series. Episodes were shot on location in near Tucson, Arizona
and also in and around Santa Fe, New Mexico
.
The series featured a number of well-known guest stars including Leslie Nielsen
, Kevin McCarthy
, Jane Merrow
, Keenan Wynn
, Henry Darrow
, David Canary
, Ed Flanders
and Eric Braeden
.
For filming, the series used two full-scale metal replicas of first generation (1912–16) Stutz Bearcats made by Hollywood car customizer and film car builder George Barris
. While externally very close to the original cars, in fact they were built on custom chassis powered by Ford drivetrains and had modern four wheel brake systems for safety. The two replicas were very similar to one another, however the first built (and the one used for most filming) had a manual 4-speed transmission while the second had an automatic. Additionally, there was a slight variation in the location of the horn bulb and the pinstripes on the sides of the hood of the second car, so the cars can be differentiated while closely viewing the episodes. In addition to the two cars used in the series, Barris built and retained a third car for use at car shows which differed in many details and color from the TV cars. All three cars survive today, though Barris' display car has been extensively modified.
The episode "Groundloop at Spanish Wells" features a 1918 Standard J-1 airplane (though it's called a Curtiss Jenny in the script) that had recently been restored in Tucson (where the episode was filmed) by Charles Klessig of Fargo, North Dakota. A later episode featuring the same pilot character, "The Return of Esteban", featured a 1929 British de Havilland DH.60 Moth
biplane. According to Klessig, the episode was filmed in New Mexico where the higher altitudes precluded the use of the older aircraft.
The W.W. I tank shown in the episode "The Devil Wears Armor" is a Renault FT-17
tank or Automitrailleuse à chenilles Renault FT modèle 1917. The tank, as depicted in the episode, did not exist as a production model until three years after the series 1914 setting; however, it was the first tank acquired by the U.S. Army.
The MPC (Model Products Corporation
) model company released a 1/25th scale model kit of a Stutz Bearcat as a tie-in with the series. Its box art featured Taylor and Cole in costume with the genuine 1914 Bearcat used in Powderkeg. A photo on the side of the box showed the first Barris replica in a scene from the episode "The Devil Wears Armor".
, losing to both The Flip Wilson Show
on NBC
and a more traditional Western, Alias Smith and Jones
, on ABC
, and was cancelled midseason. (This marked the last time, as of 2008, that two Westerns broadcast by major U.S. networks have competed in the same time slot for viewers, marking a milestone in the decline of the Western series era in U.S. network television programming).
, Ireland
, the United Kingdom
, and Australia
. Its pilot film, "Powderkeg" was released as a theatrical feature overseas.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television series broadcast on the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
television network
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
during the Fall 1971 television season
1971-72 United States network television schedule
This was the television schedule on all three United States television networks for the fall season beginning in September 1971. All times are Eastern and Pacific, with a few exceptions, such as Monday Night Football. This season would be the first time the prime time schedule would be shortened to...
. It stars Rod Taylor and Dennis Cole
Dennis Cole
Dennis Cole was an American film and television actor.Before breaking into acting, Cole was a model for men's physique magazines. His first big acting break came when he landed a starring role in the ABC police drama Felony Squad, which ran from 1966 to 1969...
as troubleshooters in the period before America entered World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
Bearcats! was produced by Filmways Inc. (which previously produced many series including The Addams Family
The Addams Family
The Addams Family is a group of fictional characters created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. As named by Charles Addams, the Addams Family characters include Gomez, Morticia, Uncle Fester, Lurch, Grandmama, Wednesday, Pugsley, and Thing....
, Mister Ed
Mister Ed
Originally produced in late 1960, Mister Ed is an American television situation comedy produced by Filmways that first aired in syndication from January 5 to July 2, 1961, and then on CBS from October 1, 1961, to February 6, 1966....
, The Beverly Hillbillies
The Beverly Hillbillies
The Beverly Hillbillies is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for nine seasons on CBS from 1962 to 1971, starring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer, Jr....
, Green Acres
Green Acres
Green Acres is an American television series starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as a couple who move from New York City to a country farm...
, and Petticoat Junction
Petticoat Junction
Petticoat Junction is an American situation comedy produced by Filmways which originally aired on CBS from 1963 to 1970. The series is one of three interrelated shows about rural characters created by Paul Henning; the others are The Beverly Hillbillies and Green Acres.The setting for the series...
). It was co-produced by Rodlor, Rod Taylor's production firm.
Synopsis
Set in 1914, somewhat later historically than a traditional Western, the stories center around the heroes' use of a 1914 Stutz BearcatStutz Bearcat
The Stutz Bearcat was a well-known American sports car of the pre and post World War One period.Essentially, the Bearcats were a shorter , lighter version of the standard Stutz passenger cars chassis. It was originally powered by a 390 in³, 60 horsepower straight-4 engine produced by the...
automobile. Although autos were common in America in 1914, a $2,000 sports car would have been very rare in the more remote areas of the American west. How the heroes paid for this expensive ride was rather unusual, as well. They undertook work which could be considered "private security" for a prosperous clientele, and rather than charging a traditional fee, extracted from the client a blank check, with the amount charged to be determined by just how difficult or dangerous the job proved to be once it was completed. Typical adventures included learning who was setting fire to oil well
Oil well
An oil well is a general term for any boring through the earth's surface that is designed to find and acquire petroleum oil hydrocarbons. Usually some natural gas is produced along with the oil. A well that is designed to produce mainly or only gas may be termed a gas well.-History:The earliest...
s, unraveling a plot where German Army soldiers dressed as American troops raided Mexican border towns hoping to force Mexico into a war with the U.S.
Zimmermann Telegram
The Zimmermann Telegram was a 1917 diplomatic proposal from the German Empire to Mexico to make war against the United States. The proposal was caught by the British before it could get to Mexico. The revelation angered the Americans and led in part to a U.S...
, and stopping mercenaries from sabotaging medical supplies being sent overseas to the Allies in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
Its time period also allowed the use of props not usually seen in typical westerns, including airplanes, a W.W.I tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
, machine guns, and a number of period automobiles.
Production notes
The series was created by veteran TV writer/producer Douglas HeyesDouglas Heyes
Douglas Heyes was an American film and television writer, director, producer, actor, and composer with a long list of accomplishments.He was the father of actor Douglas Heyes, Jr..He died in Beverly Hills, California....
who also served as executive producer. He wrote and directed the TV movie Powderkeg that served as the pilot film for the series. Episodes were shot on location in near Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
and also in and around Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
.
The series featured a number of well-known guest stars including Leslie Nielsen
Leslie Nielsen
Leslie William Nielsen, OC was a Canadian and naturalized American actor and comedian. Nielsen appeared in more than one hundred films and 1,500 television programs over the span of his career, portraying more than 220 characters...
, Kevin McCarthy
Kevin McCarthy
-Politicians:*Kevin McCarthy , United States Representative from California's 22nd congressional district*Kevin McCarthy , member of the Iowa House of Representatives...
, Jane Merrow
Jane Merrow
Jane Merrow is a British actress, born in London to an English mother and German refugee, who was active in the 1960s and 1970s in England and the US. She is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art...
, Keenan Wynn
Keenan Wynn
Keenan Wynn was an American character actor. His bristling mustache and expressive face were his stock in trade, and though he rarely had a lead role, he got prominent billing in most of his film and TV parts....
, Henry Darrow
Henry Darrow
Henry Darrow is a prolific Puerto Rican-American character actor of stage and film. Darrow is probably best remembered for his role as Big John Cannon's teasing brother-in-law, and Buck Cannon's favorite ranch hand, and best friend, Manolito Montoya, in the 1960s television series The High...
, David Canary
David Canary
David Hoyt Canary is an American actor, who starred in both soap operas and prime time television. He is best known for his roles as the ranch foreman, Candy Canaday on Bonanza and identical twins Adam Chandler from 1983 to 2010 and Stuart Chandler from 1984 to 2009 on the daytime serial, All My...
, Ed Flanders
Ed Flanders
Edward Paul Flanders was an American actor best known for his role as Dr. Donald Westphall in the television series St. Elsewhere.- Biography :...
and Eric Braeden
Eric Braeden
Eric Braeden is a German-American film and television actor, best known for his role as Victor Newman on the soap opera The Young and the Restless and as John Jacob Astor IV in the 1997 film Titanic...
.
For filming, the series used two full-scale metal replicas of first generation (1912–16) Stutz Bearcats made by Hollywood car customizer and film car builder George Barris
George Barris (auto customizer)
George Barris is a designer of custom cars.-Early history:George and his brother Sam were born in Chicago in the 1920s. After the deaths of their parents, they moved to Roseville, California as children to live with relatives. Both were good students, interested in drama, music, and design...
. While externally very close to the original cars, in fact they were built on custom chassis powered by Ford drivetrains and had modern four wheel brake systems for safety. The two replicas were very similar to one another, however the first built (and the one used for most filming) had a manual 4-speed transmission while the second had an automatic. Additionally, there was a slight variation in the location of the horn bulb and the pinstripes on the sides of the hood of the second car, so the cars can be differentiated while closely viewing the episodes. In addition to the two cars used in the series, Barris built and retained a third car for use at car shows which differed in many details and color from the TV cars. All three cars survive today, though Barris' display car has been extensively modified.
The episode "Groundloop at Spanish Wells" features a 1918 Standard J-1 airplane (though it's called a Curtiss Jenny in the script) that had recently been restored in Tucson (where the episode was filmed) by Charles Klessig of Fargo, North Dakota. A later episode featuring the same pilot character, "The Return of Esteban", featured a 1929 British de Havilland DH.60 Moth
De Havilland DH.60 Moth
The de Havilland DH 60 Moth was a 1920s British two-seat touring and training aircraft that was developed into a series of aircraft by the de Havilland Aircraft Company.-Development:The DH 60 was developed from the larger DH 51 biplane...
biplane. According to Klessig, the episode was filmed in New Mexico where the higher altitudes precluded the use of the older aircraft.
The W.W. I tank shown in the episode "The Devil Wears Armor" is a Renault FT-17
Renault FT-17
The Renault FT, frequently referred to in post-WWI literature as the "FT-17" or "FT17" , was a French light tank; it is among the most revolutionary and influential tank designs in history...
tank or Automitrailleuse à chenilles Renault FT modèle 1917. The tank, as depicted in the episode, did not exist as a production model until three years after the series 1914 setting; however, it was the first tank acquired by the U.S. Army.
The MPC (Model Products Corporation
Model Products Corporation
Model Products Corporation or MPC for short, was a plastic model company started in 1963. It produced highly accurate and detailed kits and pre-assembled promotional models, mainly of cars...
) model company released a 1/25th scale model kit of a Stutz Bearcat as a tie-in with the series. Its box art featured Taylor and Cole in costume with the genuine 1914 Bearcat used in Powderkeg. A photo on the side of the box showed the first Barris replica in a scene from the episode "The Devil Wears Armor".
Reception and cancellation
Bearcats!, despite a large promotional campaign prior to its premiere, and having a loyal fan base, lost in the Nielsen ratingsNielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
, losing to both The Flip Wilson Show
The Flip Wilson Show
The Flip Wilson Show is a variety show that aired in the U.S. on NBC from September 17, 1970 to June 27, 1974. The show starred American comedian Flip Wilson; the program was one of the first American television programs starring a black person in the title role to become highly successful with a...
on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
and a more traditional Western, Alias Smith and Jones
Alias Smith and Jones
Alias Smith and Jones is an American Western series that originally aired on ABC from 1971 to 1973. It stars Pete Duel as Hannibal Heyes and Ben Murphy as Jedediah "Kid" Curry, a pair of Western cousin outlaws trying to reform...
, on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, and was cancelled midseason. (This marked the last time, as of 2008, that two Westerns broadcast by major U.S. networks have competed in the same time slot for viewers, marking a milestone in the decline of the Western series era in U.S. network television programming).
Episodes
| Episode # | Episode title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1-1 | "The Devil Wears Armor" | September 16, 1971 |
| 1-2 | "Ground Loop at Spanish Wells" | September 23, 1971 |
| 1-3 | "Dos Gringos" | September 30, 1971 |
| 1-4 | "The Feathered Serpent" | October 7, 1971 |
| 1-5 | "Hostages" | October 14, 1971 |
| 1-6 | "Conqueror's Gold" | October 28, 1971 |
| 1-7 | "Blood Knot" | November 4, 1971 |
| 1-8 | "Assault on San Saba" | November 11, 1971 |
| 1-9 | "Bitter Flats" | November 18, 1971 |
| 1-10 | "Tiger! Tiger!" | November 25, 1971 |
| 1-11 | "The Big Guns" | December 2, 1971 |
| 1-12 | "The Return of Esteban" | December 23, 1971 |
| 1-13 | "Man in a Cage" | December 30, 1971 |
International broadcasts
The series was shown extensively overseas, including GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Its pilot film, "Powderkeg" was released as a theatrical feature overseas.
External links
(Pilot)- Bearcats! at the Internet Movie Car Database
- Page on the series at the Rod Taylor site