Cheyenne: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		4.0

Cheyenne: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie Review

♫ Where will you be campin' tonight? ♫

Reviewed by Randy Miller III May 16, 2025

One of countless Western shows during the 1950s and 1960s (and the first of many WB titles produced by William T. Orr), Roy Huggins' Cheyenne ran for seven seasons on a startlingly basic premise that nonetheless had a lot of staying power... and in many ways, still does. It starred the larger-than-life Clint Walker as Cheyenne Bodie, a post-Civil War cowboy travelling the West to deal out his own brand of frontier justice; gentle by nature but never one to back down from a bad guy, Cheyenne's travels took him to dozens of towns, settlements, and other locales, each week meeting a handful of supporting characters that filled out the show's rotating cast including a handful of established and soon-to-be noteworthy guest stars. But with no long-running sidekick and only one teased replacement during the star's self-imposed strike in its third year, Cheyenne is unquestionably Clint Walker's show... and what a show it is.

Included with Warner Archive's new series-spanning Blu-ray collection, which includes all 107 episodes across seven seasons, is a DVD-era interview with a much older Clint Walker (d. 2018) who recounts stories from early in his career. Physically imposing at 6'6" with a build to match, this one-quarter Cherokee joined the United States Merchant Marine near the ending of WWII and held a variety of jobs including a sheet metal worker, boatman on the Mississippi River, a golf caddy, carnival worker, a hotel doorman, undercover agent (!), and -- appropriately enough -- a nightclub bouncer. Walker's devotion to physical fitness and his rugged good looks eventually translated to a suggested attempt at acting, which included an afternoon meeting with producer Cecil B. DeMille for a small role in his then-upcoming biblical epic The Ten Commandments. (Amusingly enough, Walker even tells a story about being late for the meeting because he stopped on the freeway to fix the flat tire of a woman who turned out to be DeMille's secretary.)

So yes, Clint Walker was lucky enough to have good looks and an impressive build... but it's stories like those that reinforce what he really brought to Cheyenne, which had begun the casting process soon after the release of The Ten Commandments: Walker looked the part, of course, yet also projected a surprisingly humble and gentle demeanor which stood in direct contrast with the likelihood that he'd probably wallop just about anyone in a fair fight.

Not surprisingly, Cheyenne isn't a non-stop slug fest with multiple bar brawls and fierce shootouts per episode, though it does feature a fair amount of action as our hero wanders from town to town, frequently changing jobs and hats (both literally and figuratively) in a manner that's not-so-coincidentally something of a reflection of Walker's pre-acting life. Instead, Cheyenne and its staggeringly deep roster of talented directors and writers (the full list can be found here) appear much more concerned with deeper themes such as loyalty, trust, honesty, and even social awareness, at least some of which likely subverted viewer expectations at the time. Cheyenne also stands proudly as the first hour-long TV production -- at least one with a continuous main character, which leaves out anthology shows -- to last more than one season, Western or otherwise. It was also the very first show to be produced by a major Hollywood film studio; this can be seen in the proud "WB Presents" logo that prefaces each episode which, like the numerous title cards, bumpers, and even sponsorship tags, have been thankfully left intact on this Blu-ray set whenever possible.

The show's earlier seasons are its best, in my opinion, with Walker and the show's creative team working in tandem from the very first episode onward to craft an atmosphere and pace that are immediately entertaining and engaging but relaxed enough to not feel rushed like shorter 30-minute productions. Three of its first four episodes also have the distinction of giving Cheyenne Bodie a traveling companion in the form of "Smitty" (L.Q. Jones, The Edge), a talkative Army mapmaker who was soon dropped from the cast after Cheyenne's sponsors complained that his presence made the show seem like it was geared towards younger audiences. From there on out, Cheyenne rode solo.

Cheyenne pushed through its seven-season run with no shortage of quality episodes, but after only three years Walker grew more than a little unhappy with his demanding schedule and studio greed (WB reportedly collected an estimated 50% of his personal appearance fees) and he eventually went on a brief, self-imposed strike in 1958 for better contract terms including a higher salary. This led to the casting and introduction of Cheyenne Bodie's cousin "Bronco Layne" (Ty Hardin, first introduced to executive producer William T. Orr by none other than a Rio Bravo-era John Wayne), who appeared briefly on the show before earning a successful spin-off series after Walker settled his differences with the studio. (Another successful supporting character spin- off created around this time was Sugarfoot starring Will Hutchins which, along with Bronco, aired under the umbrella title The Cheyenne Show.) This was only a brief interruption in the star's standing as an inarguable anchor point, as Cheyenne likely wouldn't have survived without him.

To be fair, Cheyenne also has plenty of memorable guest stars. One-time, uncredited, or recurring now-familiar faces include James Garner (who was originally considered for the lead role, but ultimately lost out), Diana Brewster (The Fugitive), Regis Toomey (The Big Sleep), Stacy Keach Sr. (Pretty Woman), Peggie Castle (I, the Jury), Frank Ferguson (Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein), Eddie Little Sky (7 Faces of Dr. Lao), Dennis Hopper, Alan Hale Jr. (Gilligan's Island), Marie Windsor (The Narrow Margin), Jack Elam (Once Upon a Time in the West), Douglas Fowley (Singin' in the Rain), James Seay (The Amazing Colossal Man), Michael Landon, Iron Eyes Cody (Ernest Goes to Camp), Lorne Greene (Bonanza), Rod Taylor (Inglourious Basterds), James Gleason (The Night of the Hunter), Richard Crenna (First Blood), Sally Kellerman (M*A*S*H), Tom Conway (Cat People), Ellen Burstyn (Requiem for a Dream), James Hong (Big Trouble in Little China ), James Drury (The Virginian), James Coburn (The Great Escape), Adam West, Venetia Stevenson (The City of the Dead), Gina Gillespie (What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?), Barry Coe (Peyton Place), Marjorie Bennett (One Hundred and One Dalmatians), little Ronnie Howard, and probably at least a hundred others.

Based on my sampling of episodes and personal preference for its first several years, Cheyenne remained remarkably consistent in writing quality during its popular seven-season run -- that's quite a feat for any one-hour series, let alone one with a format that could've dried up quickly without solid writing and a great central performance. Working in its favor is the fact that each season is actually surprisingly short by that era's standards; while shows like Bonanza often had 30 or more episodes per year, Cheyenne often had just over a dozen and no seasons had more than 20. All of the series' 107 included episodes are listed below, and a brief synopsis of each one can be found here.

Episode List

SEASON ONE (Discs 1-4)

"Mountain Fortress", "Julesburg", "The Argonauts", "Border Showdown", "The Outlander", "The Travelers", "The Black Hawk War", "The Storm Riders", "Rendezvous at Red Rock", "West of the River", "Quicksand", "Fury at Rio Hondo", "Star in the Dust", "Johnny Bravo", and "The Last Train West"

SEASON TWO (Discs 5-9)

"The Dark Rider", "The Long Winter", "Death Deals the Hand", "The Bounty Killers", "Law Man", "Mustang Trail", "Lone Gun", "The Trap", "Iron Trail", "Land Beyond the Law", "Test of Courage", "War Party", "Deadline", "Big Ghost Basin", "Born Bad", "The Brand", "Decision at Gunsight", "The Spanish Grant", "Hard Bargain", and "The Broken Pledge"

SEASON THREE (Discs 10-14)

"Incident at Indian Springs", "The Conspirators", "The Mutton Puncher", "Border Affair", "The Devil's Canyon", "Town of Fear", "Hired Gun", "Top Hand", "The Last Comanchero", "The Gambler", "Renegades", "The Empty Gun", "The White Warrior", "Ghost of the Cimarron", "Wagon-Tongue North", "The Long Search", "The Standoff", "Dead to Rights", "The Noose at Noon", and "The Angry Sky"

SEASON FOUR (Discs 15-18)

"Blind Spot", "The Reprieve", "The Rebellion", "Trial by Conscience", "The Imposter", "Prisoner of Moon Mesa", "Gold, Glory and Custer - Prelude", "Gold, Glory and Custer - Requiem", "Riot at Arroyo Seco", "Apache Blood", "Outcast of Cripple Creek", "Alibi for the Scalped Man", and "Home Is the Brave"

SEASON FIVE (Discs 19-22)

"The Long Rope", "Counterfeit Gun", "Road to Three Graves", "Two Trails to Santa Fe", "Savage Breed", "Incident at Dawson Flats", "Duel at Judas Basin", "The Return of Mr. Grimm", "The Beholden", "The Frightened Town", "Lone Patrol", "Massacre at Gunsight Pass", and "The Greater Glory"

SEASON SIX (Discs 23-26)

"Winchester Quarantine", "Trouble Street", "Cross Purpose", "The Young Fugitives", "Day's Pay", "Retaliation", "Storm Center", "Legacy of the Lost", "The Brahma Bull", "The Wedding Rings", "The Idol", "One Way Ticket", "The Bad Penny", and "A Man Called Ragan"

SEASON SEVEN (Discs 27-30)

"The Durango Brothers", "Satonka", "Sweet Sam", "Man Alone", "The Quick and the Deadly", "Indian Gold", "Dark Decision", "Pocketful of Stars", "The Vanishing Breed", "Vengeance Is Mine", "Johnny Brassbuttons", "Wanted for the Murder of Cheyenne Bodie", and "Showdown at Oxbend"

Cheyenne: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Warner Archive has worked their usual magic and then some with this glorious new restoration of Cheyenne, which is sourced from a brand-new 4K scan of the original camera negatives. (This includes various title cards, bumpers, and a few other episode-specific "decorations" if available, a handful of which is included in this review's 40 screenshots.) As always, the resultant image, finished at 2K, has been treated to a round of careful manual clean-up that all but totally eliminates all traces of age-related wear-and-tear including dirt, debris, judder, and other eyesores and, in comparison to the older DVD collections released by WB and WAC, should come as nothing short of a revelation. Despite the variety of locations and lighting, including more than a few far-less-than-convincing "day for night" shots (aren't they always?), there's a remarkable consistency achieved here across all seven seasons, with no outstanding issues or hiccups during the wide variety of episodes I watched and/or sampled. That should be a cause for celebration among the show's legion of fans, as this Blu-ray set can be seen as the definitive home video presentation of Cheyenne, full stop.

It's as good or possibly better than WAC's similar treatment of vintage favorites like The Alaskans, Colt .45, and of course A Man Called Shenandoah, and stands as a prime example of how to bring classic TV programming to Blu-ray. Like those three releases (and several others, including most recently H-B's Magilla Gorilla), WAC's admirable attempts to replicate an original viewing experience with the bumpers, sponsors, etc. only earns it bonus points.

Cheyenne: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix is a similarly strong effort and likewise sourced from restored original elements. As always, it preserves Cheyenne's original mono audio in a split two-channel container, widening the soundstage without compromising its authenticity. This is obviously a dialogue-driven show that occasionally broadens in open-air locations and during stray action sequences, with both ends of the sonic spectrum supported nicely by WAC's restoration efforts that eliminate age-related imperfections while preserving a solid dynamic range. There's also plenty of room left over for music cues and Cheyenne's unforgettable theme song, both credited to William Lava and Stan Jones. In all respects, this is equally impressive work and similarly rides past the older DVD collections' lossy Dolby Digital tracks.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during all 107 episodes only, not the bonus feature listed below.

Cheyenne: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This 30-disc set -- which, if I'm not mistaken, is Warner Archive's biggest Blu-ray release to date -- ships in a sturdy outer slipbox that holds seven slightly thicker-than-normal keepcases, one per season, with two hinges for each 4 or 5 disc group to sit comfortably in its own hub. Add in unique cover art for each season and you've got a terrific-looking release indeed, one that suits the series' style fairly well and doesn't hog much shelf space. On-board supplements are limited to just one that's ported over from Warner Bros.' Season 1 DVD set, released all the way back in 2006.

SEASON, DISC 3

• The Lonely Gunfighter: The Legacy of Cheyenne (13:44) - This short but essential 2006 piece is a candid video interview with star Clint Walker (d. 2018), who shares details about his personal life and career that led up to Cheyenne including his meeting with actor Van Johnson and a flat tire that made him late for an appointment with Cecil B. DeMille about a role in The Ten Commandments. Other topics include his early reservations about TV acting, working long hours, reflections on his iconic character, working hard to make Cheyenne fun for all ages, and the show's multi-generational endurance. (If only he could've seen this set.) A real treasure!

Cheyenne: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A very successful TV series in its day (though not as omnipresent as the likes of Wagon Train, Bonanza, The Virginian, or of course Gunsmoke), Roy Huggins' amiable Cheyenne is fully buoyed by its flexible format and a magnetic central performance by Clint Walker, the show's only real main character. Walker admitted in later years that he worked hard to ensure that Cheyenne would be highly enjoyable for kids and adults alike and, while pop culture tastes and trends have changed dramatically during the past several decades, Walker's sentiment still holds true as this show remains reliably good, sturdy genre entertainment. Die-hard fans and curious newcomers are encouraged to seek out Warner Archive's outstanding new boxed set containing all seven seasons, which comes in at a fraction of the price of combined earlier DVD sets and will not be available separately. Featuring terrific new 4K-sourced restorations of all 107 episodes, this efficient and no-nonsense collection is well worth picking up and thus comes Highly Recommended.