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The Restless Gun
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The Restless Gun is an American western television series that appeared on NBC between 1957 and 1959, with John Payne in the role of Vint Bonner, a wandering cowboy in the era after the American Civil War. A skilled gunfighter, Bonner is an idealistic person who prefers peaceful resolutions of conflict wherever possible. He is gregarious, intelligent, and public-spirited. The half-hour black-and-white program aired seventy-eight episodes. Jeanne Bates appeared in varying roles with Payne in five episodes of The Restless Gun.
The Restless Gun theme song begins: "I ride with the wind, my eyes on the sun, and my hand on my restless gun..." The song composer is probably Paul Dunlap, credited as the primary series composer, but could have been contributed to by either of the two other series composers, Dave Kahn and Stanley Wilson, also. Two versions are currently posted on YouTube, but neither posting lists any composer or performance credits.
Cast
Episodes by season
Season01
- S01E01Duel at LockwoodSeptember 23, 1957—Vint Bonner meets an elderly woman who asks him to do something about her grandson. The young man has already killed two men and vowed to ad
- S01E02Trail to SunsetSeptember 30, 1957—After promising a seriously wounded outlaw that he will get him to town alive to stand trial, Bonner meets five men, including a doctor, who
- S01E03Revenge at Harness CreekOctober 7, 1957—When the man's hotheaded younger brother is killed in self defense, Vint fears that his sheriff friend is too bent on revenge to bring the m
- S01E04RinkOctober 14, 1957—
- S01E05JennyOctober 21, 1957—Bonner finds a wounded man on the road, and brings him to the house of a an embittered woman who lives alone. He promises her he won't tell
- S01E06The Shooting of Jett KingOctober 28, 1957—
- S01E07JodyNovember 4, 1957—
- S01E08General Gilford's WidowNovember 11, 1957—
- S01E09The New SheriffNovember 18, 1957—
- S01E10Man and BoyNovember 25, 1957—
- S01E11Cheyenne ExpressDecember 2, 1957—
- S01E12Thicker Than WaterDecember 9, 1957—
- S01E13Silver ThreadsDecember 16, 1957—
- S01E14The ChildDecember 23, 1957—
- S01E15The Gold BuckleDecember 30, 1957—Bonner and two strangers trail a pair of killers. Kit: Roy Roberts. Lex: Claude Akins. Bonner: John Payne. Emily: Madge Blake.
- S01E16The CowardJanuary 6, 1958—
- S01E17Friend in NeedJanuary 13, 1958—
- S01E18Strange Family in TownJanuary 20, 1958—A Quaker family encounters prejudice, hostility, and harassment from the residents of the closest town, who mistake their pacifism for cowar
- S01E19Hang and Be DamnedJanuary 27, 1958—
- S01E20Quiet CityFebruary 3, 1958—
- S01E21Hornitas TownFebruary 10, 1958—
- S01E22Imposter For A DayFebruary 17, 1958—
- S01E23A Pressing EngagementFebruary 24, 1958—
- S01E24The Woman from SacramentoMarch 3, 1958—
- S01E25Sheriff BillyMarch 10, 1958—
- S01E26The Hand is QuickerMarch 17, 1958—
- S01E27The SuffragetteMarch 24, 1958—Emma Birch has organized the women of the town into a determined suffragette group; the men rebel and attempt to put the women in their plac
- S01E28The WhipMarch 31, 1958—
- S01E29The Crisis at Easter CreekApril 7, 1958—
- S01E30Aunt EmmaApril 14, 1958—Vint Bonner is wounded while trying to track down the Drake brothers. His elderly aunt nurses him back to health and tries to prevent him fr
- S01E31The OutlanderApril 21, 1958—Vint arrives in Prairie City, Kansas to visit friends and find that it has been taken over by a band of renegade Civil War veterans from Tex
- S01E32The Battle of Tower RockApril 28, 1958—
- S01E33The Torn FlagMay 5, 1958—
- S01E34Hiram Grover's StrikeMay 12, 1958—
- S01E35The Gold StarMay 19, 1958—
- S01E36More Than KinMay 26, 1958—
- S01E37The ManhuntersJune 2, 1958—
- S01E38The PeddlerJune 9, 1958—
- S01E39GratitudeJune 16, 1958—
Season02
- S02E01The Hill of DeathJune 22, 1959—Vint and the boy Robby are fishing by the riverbank. Vint tells the boy that the gun is a tool and goes on to tell the story of his grandfat
- S02E02Dragon for a DaySeptember 29, 1958—
- S02E03MercydayOctober 6, 1958—
- S02E04Thunder ValleyOctober 13, 1958—
- S02E05The Nowhere KidOctober 20, 1958—
- S02E06Bonner's SquawNovember 3, 1958—Bonner persuades Chief Tashuka to honour the treaty with the white man by handing over two braves who are suspected of robbery. Unfortunatel
- S02E07TomboyNovember 10, 1958—
- S02E08Remember the DeadNovember 17, 1958—
- S02E09No Way to KillNovember 24, 1958—
- S02E10Take Me Home—
- S02E11Multiply One BoyDecember 8, 1958—
- S02E12PeligrosoDecember 15, 1958—
- S02E13A Bell for Santo Domingo—
- S02E14The Way Back—
- S02E15The Painted BeautyJanuary 5, 1959—
- S02E16Shadow of a GunfighterJanuary 12, 1959—
- S02E17The Lady and the GunJanuary 19, 1959—
- S02E18Blood of Courage—
- S02E19Better Than A Cannon—
- S02E20The Dead RingerFebruary 16, 1959—Vint is deliberately framed for a bank robbery and murder.
- S02E21The Last Grey ManFebruary 23, 1959—
- S02E22MelanyMarch 2, 1959—
- S02E23Ricochet—
- S02E24Dead Man's Hand—
- S02E25The Sweet SistersMarch 23, 1959—
- S02E26Incident at BluefieldMarch 30, 1959—
- S02E27The PawnApril 6, 1959—
- S02E28Four LivesApril 13, 1959—
- S02E29One on the HouseApril 20, 1959—
- S02E30Code for a KillerApril 27, 1959—Vint Bonner arrives in the town of Toredo to be best man at his friend, Dave Regan's wedding. Vint soon discovers that Dave has been shot in
- S02E31Mme. BrimstoneMay 4, 1959—
- S02E32Lady by LawMay 11, 1959—
- S02E33Ride with the DevilMay 18, 1959—Bonner is sent for by Don Tomas Verdes, a Mexican ranch owner, to help him convince his son to stop riding with an outlaw gang. Bonner joins
- S02E34A Trial for Jenny MayMay 25, 1959—After Jenny May McElroy's husband was killed in a gunfight, no one in town would give her a job to support her children, except for the salo
- S02E35The Cavis BoyJune 1, 1959—
- S02E36The EnglishmanJune 8, 1959—
- S02E37A Very Special InvestigatorJune 15, 1959—
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