Although “The Virginian” TV series has nothing to do with the Spaghetti western genre it was influenced by it. The series ran on NBC for 9 seasons from 1962-1971. After eight seasons the series name was changed from “The Virginian” to “The Men from Shiloah”. The opening theme song was changed to a new one, composed by Ennio Morricone, and the look of the show was changed reflecting a style similar to the Spaghetti westerns, which were very popular at the time. The hats worn featured much broader brims and higher crowns. The clothing was also jauntier and more imaginative and mustaches and beards were much in evidence. These changes brought a better ranking (number 18) in the top-30 primetime shows, after the previous year had the show slip out of the top-30 rankings for the first time.
Here is a link to the Morricone opening theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzRRTwDNfIM
The new rotoscoped opening credits were another Spaghetti-influenced touch. 1970-71 may have been the high tide of the genre's impact on the American Westerns!
ReplyDeleteFred, just as a footnote, those credits were done by Ralph Bakshi the king of rotoscoping who went on to do 'Fritz the Cat' (1972), 'Lord of the Rings' (his now almost completely forgotton 1978 version) and 'American Pop' (1981).
DeleteI enjoyed your book SONS OF RINGO. Nice read.
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