USA
/ CBS / x30m-e / February 2,
1953-January 29, 1954 black and
white
TVs
oddest western was this daily
live production in which the
outskirts of Philadelphia served
as the 1890 setting for
fictional Huberle, Montana
(altitude 2,291 feet, population
486). The hero was singing
cowboy Jack Valentine, backed by
the Tommy Ferguson Trio, and
supported by Sheriff Ace
Bancroft. Their pal Kate was
editor and publisher of The
Huberle Record,
and Ozzie was Jacks dense
sidekick. Other regulars played
various local citizens. Many
characters passed through the
rough-and-tumble town in this
violent oater, which notched up
one dead and one wounded on the
premiere.
CBS tried earnestly to make this
program work. The set included a
general store, bank, blacksmith
shop, six stagecoaches, and even
a saloon called the Copper Cup
Bar. It had the largest
technical staff ever gathered
for a live show at the time,
with two camera crews covering
the drama.
But for all the effort, no one
really explained why CBS was
staging a live cowboy show,
given the difficulties of
working with horses, outdoor
noises, and the like, although
they did claim that Philly was
chosen because its climate
mimicked that of Montana. There
were sound problems galore for
the performers (hitching posts
usually hid microphones), not to
mention the anachronism of
planes zooming around, and
exasperated viewers gave up on
the challenge of following the
shoot-'em-up within a
year.
Among the curiosities of this
production was the question of
the towns bizarre name: why
Huberle (pronounced "hubber-lee")?
That's easy; it came from the
names of CBS programming vice
president Hubbell
Robinson Jr. and his chief
associate Harry Ommerle.
