The Marshal of Gunsight Pass “The Branding Iron” (1950) | The Heiress, the Foreman and Stolen Cattle

The Marshal of Gunsight Pass was one of television’s earliest Western series, broadcast live by ABC in 1950. Based on a radio program, the half-hour show was staged at ABC’s former Vitagraph Studios in California, where full-scale Western sets, live horses, and projected backgrounds were used to create outdoor action inside the studio. West Coast audiences watched the program live, while kinescope films made it possible to show the series in other parts of the country. Roscoe Ates, making his first regular television appearance, provided continuity as the stuttering Deputy Roscoe while several different actors rotated through the marshal’s role. In “The Branding Iron,” originally broadcast April 14, 1950, a young Eastern woman named Minnie Boo arrives to take control of the Lazy Bee Ranch following her grandfather’s death. Her crooked foreman has been using the ranch to conceal stolen cattle and arranges a staged holdup to prevent her from discovering what he has done. Deputy Roscoe reluctantly becomes her guide to Western life while the marshal investigates the suspicious robbery and the collection of unfamiliar brands appearing among her cattle. The episode also preserves its original Kern’s Foods commercials, presented directly to young viewers. Children were invited to send a label from a jar of Kern’s jam, jelly, or preserves, together with 25 cents, to receive a colorful cowboy neckerchief decorated with cowboys and bucking broncos. The announcers even remark that they wish viewers had color television so they could see how colorful it was. Starring Roscoe Ates as Deputy Roscoe, Jane Adrian as Ruthie, Marion Carney as Minnie Boo, Stan Jolley as Tom Powers, Ward Blackburn as Blackjack, Gregg Rogers as Tip, Ted Jordan as the stage driver, Dee Cooper as the guard, and Burt Wenland as the passenger. Andy Parker and the Plainsmen provide the music. Directed by Philip Booth. The Marshal of Gunsight Pass — “The Branding Iron” Episode 10 Original broadcast: April 14, 1950 ABC Television For more rare live TV from the Golden Age of Television explore this playlist:    • Television-live TV Kinescopes   Preserved on 16mm film in the Moviecraft Inc. archive, one of the largest collections of historic film and early television in the United States. Licensing is available from original archival materials. #liveTV #westernTV #classicTV