In an interview, Producer Arnold Laven said that the rifle Chuck Connors used was the same one used by John Wayne in Stagecoach (1939). This was the first network television series to portray a single parent raising a child. Sammy Davis Jr. made a season 4 appearance as outlaw Tip Corey.
McCain fires 12 shots from his rifle during the opening credits - seven shots in the first close-up and five more as the camera switches to another view. The blank cartridges are shorter than standard cartridges, so the magazine can hold more of the blanks.
Connors beat 40 other actors for the lead in The Rifleman, portraying Lucas McCain, a widowed rancher known for his skill with a customized Winchester rifle. This ABC Western series, which aired from 1958 to 1963, was also the first show to feature a widowed father raising a young child.
Chuck Connors was left-handed. In the opening credits he holds the barrel with the left hand while operating the rifle with his right hand. At the turkeyshoot. At the saloon and subsequent episodes in the body of the show he holds with the right while operating the rifle with the left.
The 1892 rifle with a 24″ barrel held 12 rounds in the magazine and 1 in the chamber. The 20″ barrel model held only 10+1, and the 16″ barrel model held only 8+1.
What are some interesting facts about The Rifleman?
In an interview, Producer Arnold Laven said that the rifle Chuck Connors used was the same one used by John Wayne in Stagecoach (1939). This was the first network television series to portray a single parent raising a child. Sammy Davis Jr. made a season 4 appearance as outlaw Tip Corey.
After all, the show was called The Rifleman. As demonstrated every episode in the opening credits, McCain could quickly fire his custom rifle — and give it a little flip in his right hand, thanks to the large loop on the lever. The Rifleman production used three prop guns. Two of them were Winchester Model 1892s.
The film is loosely based on the true story of British D-Day veteran Bernard Jordan, who left his care home in England to travel to France. Another film based on Jordan's story, The Great Escaper, starring Michael Caine, was released a few weeks earlier.
He cited three primary reasons why The Rifleman ended its run. In a 1963 interview, Connors provided an Associated Press reporter with his list of grievances. Predictably, the network was at least partially to blame for the kerfuffle. The producers wanted to extend The Rifleman into an hour-long show.
The make-believe town of North Fork was vividly realized on a CBS sound stage. However, most outdoor sequences were shot at the 20th Century Fox Ranch in Malibu Creek State Park and Iverson Ranch in Chatsworth, Los Angeles.
Former child star Johnny Crawford, who is remembered for his five season stint (from 1958-63) as Mark McCain, the son of Chuck Connors on ABC western The Rifleman, died Thursday. He was 75. In 2019, it was revealed that Crawford had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.
Anachronisms. In this and many episodes, Lucas McCain is wearing Wrangler jeans as depicted by the W on the back pockets and the rivets on the pockets. While the series was set in the 1880s, Wrangler jeans were not invented until 1947.
While there, Lucas' wife Margaret died in a smallpox outbreak (Season 5, "The Guest"). Mark meets the spirit of his dead mother in The Vision (Season 2, Episode 26, originally aired March 22, 1960) when suffering from typhoid and in a heavy fever.
Yet, Mark missed having a mother. She died of a smallpox outbreak when they lived in Oklahoma. Although Lucas considered getting married several times, he remained single. Mark McCain's real name was Johnny Crawford.
It simply couldn't be named The Rifleman if Lucas McCain was carrying a revolver. The title of the series put emphasis on the fact that Lucas McCain was a skilled marksman and highlighted the significance the rifle played in the series.
Riflemen are the primary scouts, assault, and close combat forces available to the MAGTF. They are the foundation of the Marine Infantry Organization, and as such are the nucleus of the fire team in the rifle squad, the scout team in the LAR Squad, and Scout Snipers in the infantry battalion.
A rifleman is an infantry soldier armed with a rifled long gun. Although the rifleman role had its origin with 16th century hand cannoneers and 17th century musketeers, the term originated in the 18th century with the introduction of the rifled musket.
So yes, even though The Rifleman's rifle didn't exist in the real west, if it had, it would have been a formidable weapon. I only hope, had this been an actual gunfight, that my complete miss would not have been my first shot!
Lucas' rapid fire is not explained by his strange hipfire, but rather his modified rifle. Lucas's lever has a screw that hits the trigger when the lever is closed (S3E14), so he gets to keep his finger out of the way.
