CRYPTONYM BLOG

One television programme that I loved during my childhood was The High Chaparral. I wasn’t born when the BBC first broadcast the show in October 1968, but I watched reruns during the late 1970s. As a boy I did not appreciate the quality of the acting and the storylines as I do now, but I always remembered it fondly.

This was when the UK only had three national TV channels! For me back then The High Chaparral was a grand adventure in the Wild West that helped develop my young imagination. While I did not recall specific episodes, there were elements that I never forgot, including David Rose’s uplifting theme music.

I also remembered the vivid colours of the title graphics, painted from frames in the series footage, which held the opening credits of every episode. In today’s terms the images are unsophisticated, but I still think these wonderful graphics are just as evocative as anything produced with contemporary software.

It is not just the colours which make the images so compelling; it is the stories they tell. From the Apache sentinels on the rocky outcrop to the herds of cattle, there is so much going on that draws in the audience. Even the shots of the cactus plants transport us into the breathtaking Wild West landscape.

One character was particularly memorable for me. Henry Darrow’s portrayal of Manolito Montoya was marvellous. The thing about Manolito I remembered most was that he was often joking and laughing. Maybe I subconsciously noted the importance of character development and used it later in my novels.

Spanish speaking Henry Darrow was, of course, a celebrated actor with a huge number of credits to his name. He was one of those instantly recognisable faces who always gave a classy performance. I enjoyed his later appearances in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Voyager among others.

So why am I writing about The High Chaparral now? Well, as I said, the show stayed in my memory. A few years ago I bought the box set – released for DVD region 2 by a Swedish company – and I recently made the time to watch the entire series. It was even better than I remembered from over four decades ago.

My love of a good story has been a lifelong passion; my appreciation for good storytelling is more recent, particularly since writing my own spy novels. And even though my subjects are nothing to do with the Wild West of the 1870s, I am convinced that The High Chaparral must have been an early influence.

The show is set in Arizona near Tucson. Big John Cannon (Leif Erickson) buys a cattle ranch and has to deal with hostile Apaches, bandits and the death of his wife. Cannon has to ally himself with Mexican rancher Don Sebastián Montoya (Frank Silvera), and this involves an arranged marriage to Montoya’s daughter.

This storyline initially feels rather contrived but the relationship between John and Victoria (Linda Cristal), changing as it does from a matter of convenience to genuine love, develops into a key theme of the show. John’s brother Buck (Cameron Mitchell) is another profoundly important character on the Cannon ranch.

Big John Cannon (Leif Erickson) and Buck Cannon (Cameron Mitchell)

Leif Erickson was the perfect actor for the role of Big John Cannon. The owner of the High Chaparral ranch needed to be rugged and tough, reluctant to show emotions and yet wise enough to treat everyone fairly. He had to be a dominant figure in a harsh environment without overshadowing the rest of the cast.

Erickson had the stature, the looks and the acting talent to make the character of John Cannon a success. He received two Purple Hearts for his service during World War II. He was a military photographer and part of the unit which filmed the Japanese surrender by Emperor Hirohito aboard the USS Missouri.

Leif Erickson was the perfect choice for the role of John Cannon

Buck Cannon is an expert horseman and fast with a gun. Buck fought for the Confederacy during the American Civil War while his brother John fought for the Union. At the start of the series Buck tells us five years have passed since the war’s end, hence the date of 1870, but this varies a lot during the show.

Buck is the most complex character in the series. His past occasionally catches up with him and causes trouble, but the mischief he usually gets involved in is just drunken bar fights (often with Manolito in tow). He is not the ranch foreman but holds an equivalent status. He is brave and resilient during hardships.

The floating timeline of The High Chaparral meant real-life characters could be written into the scripts without date accuracy. Although he is spoken about more than he appears, Apache chief Cochise is the protagonist of the early episodes. John endeavours to build a delicate peace with the Indians over time.

Other historical characters who turn up include John Henry ‘Doc’ Holliday and outlaw Johnny Ringo. The second season episode The Buffalo Soldiers is about the disciplined black cavalrymen who were given their nickname by the Apaches. By contrast, a ‘real’ character is invented in The Guns of Johnny Rondo.

Linda Cristal said she improvised her audition for the show and it was this off-script performance which won her the part. This skill was often put to good use when the feisty side of Victoria’s character was unleashed, and she would pour out a furious rant in Spanish while storming off from whoever had antagonised her.

These moments are joyful to behold and are only surpassed when the scene involves her on-screen brother Henry Darrow. The improvised sibling arguments bring some of the best light-hearted moments to the show and demonstrate the actors’ talents. I don’t think Victoria ever lost an argument with Mano.

Linda Cristal and Henry Darrow improvising an argument

John Cannon’s son William was portrayed by Mark Slade. Known as Blue, Billy Blue or Blue Boy, the young Cannon is hotheaded and prone to emotional outbursts at the start of the show, but Blue mellows as the series develops and becomes much more reflective. It’s an interesting journey of character development.

It is clear that David Dortort, the series creator, gave a great deal of thought to his characters. The variety of personalities and backgrounds brought depth to the storylines. This is incredibly important when creating fiction because it is one way in which tension is established. It works perfectly in The High Chaparral.

Unresolved contractual issues meant Mark Slade did not appear in the fourth season. A new member of the supporting cast, Rudy Ramos, appeared in a handful of episodes as Wind, a half-Pawnee who is a crack shot with a rifle and ends up working for Big John on the ranch after killing cattle to feed starving Indians.

Ramos was never credited as part of the main cast and therefore was not a replacement for Slade, but it seems that bringing in another young man into the storyline for a few episodes did, in a way, fill the gap left by the absent Blue. Wind has his own code of ethics which sometimes leads to tension with the ranchers.

Don Sebastián Montoya is the owner of the Rancho Montoya, a well established ranch across the border in the state of Sonora in Mexico. Montoya enjoys his wealth and is not unwilling to attempt a swindle now and then. He is frustrated by Manolito’s lack of interest in inheriting the ranch but adores his daughter Victoria.

Played with a sense of mischief and bravado by Frank Silvera, the character of Don Sebastián appears fairly infrequently in the series but always adds entertainment when he is written into the script. His alliance with John Cannon is never completely honest but he comes to respect and admire the American rancher.

Frank Silvera died during an accident at home while the fourth series was being filmed. A two-part episode entitled The New Lion of Sonora covered the passing of the ranch to Don Sebastián’s brother Domingo (Gilbert Roland). Domingo Montoya had never appeared in The High Chaparral until this point.

This double episode was expertly written. Domingo is introduced as a gambler and a wastrel, much like his nephew Manolito, and he has no interest in the ranch apart from its value when sold. It is ironically Manolito who has to persuade his carefree uncle to change his ways and protect the ranch and the family name.

A tribute to The High Chaparral would not be complete without mentioning the supporting cast. One of the key characters is ranch foreman Sam Butler (Don Collier) who keeps the hands in line and supports his boss without question. He’s a principled and honest man who plays a vital role in the success of the ranch.

Don Collier was a great actor who appeared in a lot of Westerns. He performed many of his own stunts in The High Chaparral and was an expert rider. He is present for most of the series except for about half of the third season. This absence allowed Sam’s brother Joe to fill in as ranch foreman for a while.

Pedro Carr (Roberto Contreras) is present on the High Chaparral ranch throughout the series’ run. He brings a comedic element to the show but is also an important member of the crew, serving not only as ranch hand but also occasionally cook and interpreter. He is purportedly a better rider than Sam Butler.

Roberto Contreras was excellent at making Pedro look guilty when he was caught saying things he didn’t think would be overheard, and there was also an ongoing joke that Pedro would often fall asleep during night watch duty. This unfortunately led to some peril on more than one occasion.

Joe Butler (Bob Hoy) is Sam’s brother and a dependable man in all situations. He is a stalwart throughout the series in the majority of episodes. In the third season episode Jelks it is established that Sam is absent and it is not clear if he will return. Joe is volunteered by the hands to step in as ranch foreman.

Bob Hoy was not just an actor on The High Chaparral. He was primarily a stuntman, and his skills were put to frequent use during the show, particularly for some of the incredible horse riding sequences. Hoy was a Marine during World War II and a founding member of The Stuntmen's Association of Motion Pictures.

It was Bob Hoy who performed the high fall from the roof of the ranch building during the first season episode The Arrangement (the second half of the pilot) during an Apache attack led by Cochise. This is just a few seconds of action which is cut into a much longer sequence, but it is incredibly impressive.

The fan website thehighchaparral.com tells us that, as well as Bob Hoy, stuntman Jerry Summers was part of the cast in the first season. Summers would later be heavily involved in The Dukes of Hazzard. Stunt doubles included Jack Lilley (Erickson), Carl Pitti (Darrow), Jerry Wills (Slade) and Jackie Hummer (Cristal).

Bob Hoy performing the high fall in *The Arrangement*

Henry Wills was the second unit director and Cameron Mitchell’s stunt double on The High Chaparral. A nice tribute can be found here. A few years before working on The High Chaparral, Wills had worked as stunt coordinator on The Magnificent Seven. He was an expert rider who specialised in horse falls.

The action sequences were numerous during the four seasons of The High Chaparral, from bar fights to high speed waggon drives and battles with Indians and Mexican bandits. The show would not have been such a success without the brilliance of Henry Wills. He even portrayed several characters on screen.

Second unit director and stunt coordinator Henry Wills as Murph in the episode *Jelks*

And while there is no doubt that the stuntmen who worked on the show made wonderful contributions, it is apparent that the principal cast members were pretty good riders and action performers themselves. If any of them were ever nervous about a scene, it never shows. Their portrayals always seem confident.

One could be forgiven for missing the importance of the countless action shots in The High Chaparral because the quality of the acting was always so good and the storylines were – almost without exception – enthralling. But that magic is always there, sometimes subtle and sometimes on grand display.

The series had frequent action sequences

Not all the episodes focussed on action and jeopardy. Humour was a big part of The High Chaparral’s success. Often the funny parts of the show were simply scenes involving drunken mischief by Buck and Manolito, but the third season episode The Reluctant Deputy was written entirely as a comedic storyline.

Having volunteered Blue as a deputy marshal, Buck and Mano regret their decision when he locks them up in a cell. However they soon discover they are not as confined as they initially believed, and they help Blue solve a crime while making him think he is losing his mind. It’s a hilarious and well constructed episode.

Mano and Buck behind bars in *The Reluctant Deputy*

A great number of guest stars appeared in The High Chaparral and gave some memorable performances, sometimes returning as new characters. Famous names included Denver Pyle, Ricardo Montalbán, Anthony Caruso, Jack Kelly, Yaphet Kotto, Morgan Woodward and a very young but already capable Kurt Russell.

In my view the finest guest portrayal was by John Colicos in the third season episode The Journal of Death. Colicos played Dr Matthew Kendall, a Civil War doctor anguished by the horrors of trying to treat wounded men without medicine and proper instruments. This was an outstanding performance by a masterful actor.

Dr Matthew Kendall (John Colicos) in *The Journal of Death*

The principal cast of The High Chaparral was so strong that it is not easy to say that one member deserves to be described as the star above any other. Nonetheless, Cameron Mitchell stands out as giving the most consistently powerful and versatile performances throughout The High Chaparral’s four seasons.

Mitchell brought menace when he needed to be a gunslinger but could reveal incredible warmth when looking after children and his friends. He played the comic scenes with delightful humour and timing and yet could be deadly serious when the scripts called for it. And his dialectal accent was a joy to listen to.

I have enjoyed writing this post and watching the show again. There is much more that could be said about The High Chaparral, but here is a thought that you might not have considered. Without shows from the 60s and 70s like Chaparral, contemporary Western TV dramas like Yellowstone might never have been created.

When Manolito Montoya calls out “Vámanos, muchachos!” to summon his friends to action in a Chaparral scene, it is not just a line from a script; it is the actor Henry Darrow inviting us all to join him on a grand and joyful adventure. This is why The High Chaparral is still dear to my heart after so many years.