TALES OF WELLS FARGO
Talk about Old West action you can bank on!
Special Agent Jim Hardie is hired by the Wells Fargo Company to investigate attacks on the iconic stagecoach line that moved people, mail, payroll and gold. Hardie, who is also referred to as “the left-handed gun,” splits his time between being a crime-solving agent and owning a ranch near San Francisco.
Set in the 1860s and 1870s, the show features Hardie working on cases, solving crimes, and bringing criminals to justice. The character of Agent Hardie was fictional, but the show was influenced by the biography of Wells Fargo detective Fred J. Dodge.
In Tales of Wells Fargo, Hardie crisscrosses the Old West and meets up with legendary real-life characters including Jesse James, Butch Cassidy, Belle Starr and John Wesley Hardin. Cases and assignments run the gamut from helping his fellow employees overcome personal problems to fighting and capturing criminals who attack Wells Fargo passengers or shipments.
Hardie is played to perfection by Dale Robertson, an actor who made his name in television Westerns in the 1950s and ’60s, and who later served as one of the hosts, along with Ronald Reagan, of the syndicated series Death Valley Days. The Oklahoma native received the Golden Boot Award in 1985 and was inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers and the Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City.
Cast members include William Demarest, Jack Ging, Mary Jane Saunders and Virginia Christine. Guest stars include Michael Landon, Tina Louise, Eddie Albert, Chuck Connors, Ann McCrea, Buddy Ebsen, Steve McQueen, Anna Navarro, Jack Nicholson and Leonard Nimoy.
This beloved Western TV show ran from 1957-1962 and most of its 201 episodes aired in a half-hour format until the final season, when it expanded to a full hour and switched from black-and-white to color.