Teleplay by MARION HARGROVE Story by ROY HUGGINS Directed by DOUGLAS HEYES Cast WAYDE PRESTON as Christopher Colt ERIN O'BRIEN as Sister Helen MacGregor ANDREW DUGGAN as Jim Rexford KENNETH MacDONALD as Colonel Parker BOB STEELE as Sgt. Granger PETER BROWN as Dave HELEN as Sister Howard

Peter Brown in Colt .45

COLT .45, starring Wayde Preston as Capt. Christopher Colt, premiered with this episode.  Colt was an undercover agent posing as a gun salesman.  This episode set up the premise.  Colt comes to town, obstensibly to demonstrate the new Colt .45 which was a big advance over the cap and ball pistols used at the time.  His real mission is to catch a wanted man who is coming to town to meet Jim Rexford.

Peter Brown has a relatively small part as Dave a town boy who picks up Colt's luggage and takes it into the hotel. Colt hires Dave to gather a crowd for his firearm demo and set up the targets.

During the demo, Colt bests Rexford in a shooting competition, earning his animosity.   Rexford and his thugs try several times to bait Colt into a gunfight but Colt resists because his army contacts have warned him that Rexford must stay healthy until Collins comes to town.  Colt's resistance to fighting Rexford earns him the admiration of missionary Sister Helen who is trying to spread nonviolent Christianity.  In his first discussion with her, Colt utters that famous NRA slogan, "Guns don't kill people.  People kill people."  Eventually, Colt is informed Collins has been apprehended elsewhere leaving Rexford with no immunity.  When Rexford gives him the choice of facing him in a gunfight or crawling out of town, Colt is reluctant to use his gun out of deference to Sister Helen.  However, she lets him know that God did not intend for people to live on their knees.  With that benediction, Colt shoots down Rexford when Rexford pulls his gun.

Our first sight of Dave  [Peter Brown] in profile picking up Colt's bags

Colt asks Dave to gather a crowd. Dave answers  "What for?"  Colt responds, "For a dollar."

Dave & Colt  watching competitor

Peter wearing his hat low over his eyes. This became something of a trademark.

Wayde Preston as Chris Colt

Erin O'Brien Frequent guest star  in late 50's & early 60's

Colt is baited by Rexford played by Andrew Duggan

Andrew Duggan later  starred in Warners Bourbon Street Beat  and 6 other TV series

Colt .45 ran from October of 1957 thru September 1960.  Due to conflicts with Preston [a not uncommon occurrence with Warners stars] Donald May was added to the cast as Sam Colt Jr. and eventually replaced Preston.  Preston achieved some success in Italian films but never achieved any acting success in the states and reportedly died in poverty.
Wayde Preston
Early studio shot
[Thanks to collector Mitch Anheier for lending us this picture.]

The NiteOwls think that Preston's best role was not in this series, but in a guest shot in the 1959 Maverick episode "The Saga of Waco Williams."   According to Ed Robertson's excellent book Maverick - Legend of the West,  the character of Waco was updated and made the basis for the character of Lance White played by Tom Selleck in two popular episodes of The Rockford Files.  There was even talk of scrapping Colt .45 and basing a series on the Waco character.

 

Wayde Preston as Waco Williams in Maverick "The Saga of Waco Williams" The mustache was an improvement we thought

 

This Colt .45 episode was one of Peter Brown's first westerns played as part of his Warners contract and there wasn't anything to distinguish it.  Peter would shortly go on to much better parts in Maverick and Cheyenne and a second Colt .45. "Young Gun" with Charles Bronson.

Anyone out there have a better copy than this bad bootleg copy we have?
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