This John Wayne 3D Western Was Spun Off Into a ABC Series

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Image via Warner Brothers

By the early 1950s, John Wayne had more than proven himself as Hollywood's premiere Western star, having already starred in Stagecoach, Fort Apache, and Red River. But the Duke was just getting started. In 1953, Wayne jumped on the 3-D craze, enveloping Hollywood with the Western adventure Hondo, which was based on the short story "The Gift of Cochise" by famed Western author Louis L'Amour. As the titular Hondo Lane, the Duke proved himself a powerful force, cementing the character into the pop culture zeitgeist. Unsurprisingly, Hollywood would revisit Hondo again just over a decade later, this time as a single-season television program — and without the Duke in the leading role.

'Hondo' Was a John Wayne Film Turned Television Extravaganza

Ralph Taeger as Hondo Lane on horseback in the 'Hondo' TV series. — Image via ABC

On September 8, 1967, audiences were thrilled to hear that Hondo was returning. But instead of John Wayne in the saddle, former Klondike star Ralph Taeger took over as the leading man. A former Confederate officer, Taeger's Hondo Lane embarks westward following the American Civil War, only for his Native American bride to be killed by the U.S. Cavalry. Because of that, Hondo (and his dog Sam) continue on alone, traveling as a drifter across a country he barely calls his own. But they're not fully alone. Joining him (at least on occasion) is his new love interest Angie (Kathie Browne, taking over from Geraldine Page), her son Johnny (Buddy Foster), his mentor/sidekick Buffalo Baker (Noah Beery Jr.), all characters from the original John Wayne picture.

But although there are similarities between the two Hondo interpretations, the television series is not to be seen as a continuation of the 1953 film. We see this in the very first episode, "Hondo and the Eagle Claw," when Angie's husband is killed by Apaches. This is drastically different from the motion picture, where the character is a drunk who was gunned down by Wayne's Hondo in self-defense. With no direct reasoning for Hondo and Angie not to be together, the television program found other ways to separate them and keep the drama interesting, particularly by removing Hondo from his native element.

But despite the clear differences between the movie and TV show, there was one similarity: Chief Vittorio. The Apache chief (and Hondo's father-in-law) was played by Curse of the Undead actor Michael Pate in the original John Wayne movie and returned for the series as well. Pate was asked personally by John Wayne to reprise the role from the film, which makes sense when you consider that Wayne's Batjac Productions was the production house behind the series. "I got a call from John Wayne asking me to reprise the part of Vittorio, my Apache Chief in Warner Bros.' Hondo, for a TV series remake which eventually spun into 17 one-hour episodes," Pate once wrote for Western Clippings. "I was delighted when I found out, in this version of Hondo, [Robert Taylor, though not to be confused with the Longmire star of the same name] was going to star in the pilot which would serve to introduce Ralph Taeger as the Hondo Lane character..."

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Unfortunately, 'Hondo' Was Kicked to the Curb By Its Competitors

Despite Batjac and ABC's best efforts, Hondo didn't last long on television. It wasn't because Ralph Taeger wasn't an effective leading man, he certainly was, but instead it was a bad case of network competition. According to The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946–Present by Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, Hondo aired Friday nights at 8:30 pm. That would've been fine on its own, but stiff competition knocked this Western out of the public eye. Airing in the same Friday night block was the sitcom Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. (a spin-off of The Andy Griffith Show), as well as the popular Gene Roddenberry sci-fi classic Star Trek, which had just entered its second season. After seventeen episodes between September and December, Hondo was done for (via Get TV).

Hondo is only one of dozens of Western television remakes that aim to cash in on the success of the original film. The James Stewart picture Broken Arrow was later adapted for television, as was John Wayne's The Cowboys later on in his career. There's also The Magnificent Seven, Hopalong Cassidy, The Man From Snowy River, How the West Was Won, The Virginian. Heck, even Wagon Train was inspired by John Ford's Wagon Master. It's no surprise that Hondo, which originated as a Louis L'Amour story, was destined for the small screen. It's just a shame it didn't last terribly long on air.