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McCloud

ANOTHER OFFSPRING of ITV’s Mystery Movie strand (see MACMILLAN AND WIFE, if you dare), here came DENNIS “GENTLE BEN” WEAVER swapping his airboat for a horse as the eponymous New Mexico lawman using cowboy chicanery to lassoo hoodlams in Harlem. Literally rode into town in opening titles. Behind it all: that cowed husk of a hotshot who we haven’t heard from for all 50 seconds…GLEN A. LARSON!

9 Comments

9 Comments

  1. Cindylover1969

    June 1, 2010 at 10:57 am

    Yer actual source of Troy’s surname, Doug McClure (RIP), has an uncredited cameo at the end of “Deadly Arena” as a cowboy TV star who long-suffering Clifford puts under McCloud’s care – a real stereotyped cowpoke, completely unlike the guy he was playing on “The Virginian” at the time.

  2. Applemask

    May 25, 2013 at 4:05 pm

    Chief?

  3. iMatt

    September 29, 2014 at 12:39 am

    Pretty much inspired by Coogan’s Bluff starring Clint Eastwood?

  4. George White

    May 16, 2016 at 9:44 pm

    There was an episode with Adam Faith as a Budgie Bird-esque Cockney who somehow was working as an Inspector in Scotland Yard. McCloud had come over to “London”, ie a lot of stock footage and a red bus on the Little Europe backlot, and Jack Cassidy, father of David played a Raffles-esque lord/cat burgular who was working with the IRA to blow up Buck House (or the Huntingdon Library dressed up as Buck House)

  5. Glenn Aylett

    January 2, 2023 at 3:59 pm

    Prior to this and after Gentle Ben, Dennis Weaver will always be known to road movie enthusiasts as the nervous salesman in Duel, whose car isn’t powerful enough to take on a tanker driven by an unseen maniac who wants to kill him. Spielberg’s first cinematic outing and to me his finest film until Schindler’s list and more or less a one man film with Dennis Weaver.

  6. Richardpd

    January 2, 2023 at 10:17 pm

    In the USA was part of a alternating rota of shows with Mc Millan & Wife, Columbo and briefly Hac Ramsey. This was known as a Wheel Show & tried with varying degrees of success by the American networks.

    Duel was a very good film, originally made a a telemovie before it was expanded to be a feature length with The school bus & train scenes added.

  7. Glenn Aylett

    January 3, 2023 at 1:15 pm

    @ Richardpd, the theatrical version of Duel has David Mann driving off from his suburban house and driving through the LA traffic as part of the opening credits, showing that he’s leaving behind the safety of the city for the terror of the desert, while the TV movie omits this.

  8. Richardpd

    January 3, 2023 at 10:38 pm

    Ok I wasn’t sure which scenes were added.

    • Glenn Aylett

      January 4, 2023 at 2:44 pm

      @ Richardpd, thankyou, the extended version is better and has more of a build up to where Mann meets the tanker. Also there is a version on Youtube where someone has added different music that is worth a look.

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