Clint Eastwood Movie:

		List Price: $40.99		Label: Paramount Salesrank: 6482 Released: December 9, 2008
		Our Price: $28.99
		MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated) Media: DVD

Rawhide - Season Three, Vol. 2 Reviews:
Where is Wish !
2008-11-16 - I can hardly wait to get the next release of my favorite TV program "Rawhide".All to this point have been of great quality and sound and I expect this one will be the same.Sit back and watch some episodes from years gone by. Did I say episodes, sorry I meant incidents.

Best season
2008-10-10 - Thanks to Paramount for releasing another season -- and this is arguably the best. Season 3 contains "Incident of the Fish out of Water" "Incident on the Road Back" and "Incident of the New Start" which all lend more humanity and backstory to the characters. This season also contains "Incident of the Boomerang" one of the best in all 8 seasons. Enjoy!

Head 'em up, move 'em out!
2008-09-10 - I'm anxiously awaiting the release of this latest volume of one of the best shows ever made! Major thanks to Paramount for continuing to release episodes that haven't seen the light of day in many, many years.


Head 'em up, more on the way!!
2008-08-21 - I am overjoyed that we have another volume of Rawhide to enjoy. Pristine quality prints at a good price. A flick of a switch and I can enjoy my favorite ever show again.Wonderful! I , of course would love full season releases, more frequent releases, however I will gratefully accept this latest 1. Split seasons are here to stay, at least Rawhide seems to be selling, let's keep buying, I want the entire series.These are the last episodes with creator/ producer Charles Marquis Warren at the helm.There are a diverse lot of episodes here with something for every fan.Eric Fleming is really getting under the skin of Gil Favor's character now and every scene he is in is dominated by his superb screen presence.Of course Clint Eastwood has some good episodes as well. Let's hope we will roll into the fourth season soon, there were changes and some even grimmer stories, but Rawhide continued to shine and remained a superior tv western, grab this volume, feet up and enjoy.

Outstanding Western! Great for the whole family
2008-08-19 - This is a must have series that's great for the whole family!
Columbia House had only made it to the start of Season 2 and then stopped abruptly in 2004(CH refusing to admit or discuss their unforgivable crime). They had previously made 50 episodes available on VHS and then stopped previously. So after cancelling production twice and leaving us twice betrayed, Paramount has come to the rescue! Thank you Paramount!

Here are some editorial reviews regarding the series.

Move 'em on. Head 'em up.

So where the words of the trail boss before the credits rolled during each episode of the 1959 CBS television show "Rawhide." Running for eight seasons between the years of 1959 and 1966, this television western is most notable for helping launch the career of a very young Clint Eastwood. After working on the series for six years, Eastwood would agree to star in Sergio Leone's "A Fistful of Dollars" between filming seasons in 1964. However, before one of the show's primary stars went on to box office fame, "Rawhide" was one of the most popular shows on television and held a top ten position during its inaugural year. Also featuring Eric Fleming, James Murdoch, Joseph Scarlett, Steven Raines and Rocky Shahan, "Rawhide" and its cast brought the Wild West to the small screen for an hour a week during the first half of the Sixties.

Running for over nineteen hours, the twenty three episodes from the first season of "Rawhide" provides a long and entertaining viewing experience. Prior to writing this review for "Rawhide," I had watched another lengthy television series from the era, "Perry Mason." I had remarked at how that show felt like a series of Saturday movies that I remembered watching as I grew up. It did not have a television show feel to it. To an extent, "Rawhide" as a more epic feeling to each of its fifty minute episodes. The Wild West is detailed in glorious black and white and features a wide range of sets from old towns to the wide open range. There are plenty of horses and cattle and other Western critters. Overall, "Rawhide" has a very authentic look and feel to the series.

Eric Fleming is the series lead, Gil Favor. He is the trail boss for the cattle march that has left Texas with its precious herd. One of the hands, the young and inexperienced Rowdy Yates (Clint Eastwood) must learn the ways of cattle driving and become more experienced in the ways of life under the guidance of Favor. The cowboys' cook, Wishbone (Paul Brinegar) and cook's assistant Harkness "Mushy" Mushgrove (James Murdoch) provide lighthearted relief to the gun hands. The rest of the crew includes Sheb Wooley (Pete Nolan), Wishbone (Paul Brinegar), Jim Quince (Steve Raines), Rocky Shahan (Joe Scarlett) among others. A large number of familiar faces appeared during the first season as guest stars. Lon Chaney Jr. appears in the episode "Incident on the Edge of Madness." Dick Van Patten guest stars in "Incident of the Power and the Plow." Star Trek's DeForest Kelley has a part in "Incident at Barker Springs" and Martin Landau and Leslie Nielsen both appear in "Incident Below the Brazos."

Each episode in this first season begins its title with "Incident At." The primary formula for the series finds the band of cowboys moving their herd and running into some sort of trouble that they must resolve. Many times these incidents involve a lovely and voluptuous damsel in distress. The women of the Old West were all so pretty and clean. Other times, the posse would find themselves being watched or pursued by nonfriendly folk. Land disputes, racial and other social stigmata and dirty scoundrels were among the problems faced by Gil, Rowdy, Mushy and the boys. Sometimes, the show bordered on tackling real social issues that were a sign of the times. "Incident of the Power and the Plow" deals in racist themes. "Incident With An Executioner" dealt with the question of whether or not capital punishment was wrong. Though they were not direct lessons in life, "Rawhide" tried to put something meaningful in each resolution of each incident.

The episodic nature of "Rawhide" allowed for enough character development and story continuity to keep the series entertaining. However, by not directly tying each individual story together, "Rawhide" is a show where you can watch the episodes in a different sequence that presented on the DVD set or you can even miss an episode and you never feel as if you were left behind in the last town visited by Rowdy and Gil. This also allowed Rowdy and others to move haphazardly between romantic interests without the viewer wondering if cowboys had a heart to break. The show felt like there was some semblance of continuity, but in the grand scheme of things, there really was not. Having never watched "Rawhide" before this DVD set (aside from a handful of episodes since I was a boy), I don't know if they ever got to their destination and there were various cattle drives, or if this was one long drive with eight years of incidents. The cowboys continually found themselves facing diversity in this first season and where one would think a cattle drive could be long and boring, this was certainly not the case for Gil Favor and his boys.

"Rawhide" is an entertaining series. Some of the incidents that befall upon the riders are certainly more interesting than others. Having watched one complete season, I can see why this show was among the top ten during 1959. This was far more realistic and eventful than "The Lone Ranger." There is considerable amounts of death and misfortune during each episodes running times and "Rawhide" does not stoop to the level of having its heroes only shoot pistols out of the hands of the bad guys or other means of silliness to water down the show. I would imagine that back in 1959, "Rawhide" was considered programming for adults and not exactly a Saturday morning Western for the kids. I wouldn't call "Rawhide" brutal, but the show wasn't afraid of a little violence.

and here's another review

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'
Move 'em on, head 'em up,
Head 'em up, move 'em out,
Move 'em on, head 'em out,
Facts of the Case
Rawhide is the story of a trail drive led by trail boss Gil Favor (Eric Fleming). Savvy and hard-working but fair, Favor has a mixed bag of experienced men and wannabes working under him. There's Wishbone (Paul Brinegar) the cook (the real key to any successful drive); Mushy (James Murdock), his young assistant; old hands Quince and Nolan (Steve Raines and Sheb Wooley); and who's that young kid playing newcomer Rowdy Yates? Why, that's Clint Eastwood (Dirty Harry), in his first major role.

it climbed to the Top 20 within three weeks and stayed that way for four years.

Each episode title begins with the word "Incident" and that says a lot about the style of storytelling. "Incident of the Tumbleweed Wagon," where they meet up with a lawman transporting a wagon full of prisoners, one of whom is a lovely young woman. "Incident of the Power and the Plow," where the boys meet up with a land baron who thinks nothing of starting an Indian uprising for his own gain. "Incident of the Chubasco," where the men agree to aid a young bride's attempt to escape her tyrant husband. Some episodes deal with the natural dangers of the Old West, from lack of water to injuries on the trail to diseases that can wipe out the cattle--or the people.

This mixed bag of stories allowed the series to take full advantage of the fabulous famous character actors of the era. You won't know most of their names, but I'll bet you'll recognize dozens of guest stars in these twenty-three episodes. There's Patty Duke's father (William Shallert), Sheriff Lobo (Claude Akins), even the voice of Linda Blair's demons (Mercedes McCambridge).

The other thing that sells it is its movie-like quality. The opening scenes are as expansive as the West. The music, which I have to think was done with a full studio orchestra, is right out of any feature-length western from the fifties.

Paramount did a nice job putting together this classic box set. I was concerned when I saw the grainy opening credits, but beyond a few additional pops and crackles the majority of the transfer is sharp and clean; amazing quality for a show that is over forty-five years old. Frankly, I'm surprised when shows of this age turn up at all.. I'm sure they didn't anticipate the technology to deliver these shows on discs that anyone could watch day or night. Kudos to the archivists that kept these prints safe so we could watch them today.

There are action sequences, gunfights and brawls, raging rivers and cattle stampedes, but mostly the show is about the characters.

There are no real extras include in the set, just the short production notes for each episode, which personally, I found fascinating.
Closing Statement
For a show whose theme is known the world over, Rawhide is actually a rare gem. Out of syndication since the seventies, this box set is likely to be the first time many people have seen the show. If you're a fan of Westerns or even of early TV, this is a must have. Clint Eastwood fans will also want to add this to their collection. [There is some] truly excellent storytelling.