Colibel
Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.
Stevecorp
Don't listen to the negative reviews
John T. Ryan
DURING THAT PERIOD of roughly 1957-68, the Western truly ruled the airwaves. At one point there must have been 50+ series going on the 3 networks; and we tried to watch 'em all! IN ADDITION TO those on CBS, NBC and ABC, we had all of those that were living in Syndicationland. Distributed to local stations on a market basis, the shows would be seen at different days and times in the various cities they contracted with; sometimes in the early slots and in other venues after the late news programs.THE APPARENT KING of the suppliers in this syndicated method was Ziv Television Productions. Their pre-eminence in the field was supported by such titles as: THE CISCO KID, I LED 3 LIVES, SEA HUNT, SCIENCE FICTION THEATRE and HIGHWAY PATROL. To this distinguished roll call of TV history, was added MacKENZIE'S RAIDERS.STARRING THE DURABLE Richard Carlson, the series had a most interesting premise. It is a Western with the subject of the U.S. Cavalry's having a great deal of problems along the Rio Grande; where Bandits from Mexico are preying on towns and people North of the river. Following their plundering, the bad guys return south to the sanctuary of their own country; international law being their benefactor.ENTER THE SECRETARY of WAR who, through the Army's Chain of Command, give secret orders to Colonel Ronald S. MacKenzie. THe Colonel was to secretly head up covert actions with his men; crossing the Rio Grande in pursuit of these banditos and were to take whatever means necessary in eliminating the need for further complaint by the U.S. citizenry. In short, it was a sort of an ongoing "Commando" action.WE WELL REMEMBER scenes with Mr. Carlson & Company, out on night maneuvers, their faces darkened; albeit in full uniform. The stories were as varied as could be expected with such a thin premise; but, the filming of the horsemen in pursuit of and dealing with the wrongdoers were well done and action-full.AS WAS THE rule with all ZIV Television Productions, MacKENZIE'S RAIDERS sported good music. In both the area of the Opening & Closing theme and the incidental music it was memorable.* BEING BASED ON a real person and incident, could not help to keep the show in production for more than its initial season of 1958-59. Oh well, Go Figure! NOTE: * As examples of our point about memorable musical themes, just consider the following series' themes: SEA HUNT, HIGHWAY PATROL and SCIENCE FICTION THEATRE. In some cases, the music is more remembered than the series.
dknow3
General Ranald Slidell Mackenzie was indeed a real historical figure. His tragic end, in which he descended into madness, has obscured his outstanding record of achievement. While I remember this show from when I was a boy, it did not do justice to the real man. Mackenzie brought peace to the southern plains, accomplishing in a few short years what Texans had tried to achieve for three generations. While commanders like Custer, George Crook, and Nelson Miles are better remembered today, Mackenzie and his crack regiment, the 4th Cavalry, deserve to be remembered and at least equally well known. Not only did Mackenzie stop the predatory raiding of the Comanches, he dealt with them equitably in peacetime. He was most proud of having stopped wars without spilling blood. He deserves better than to remain obscure.
jmoore-34
Finally!I have been trying to find info on this show for some time. I recalled it from the late 50s and reruns in the 60s probably because my father was in the 4th Cavalry,in the 1930's tho not in Texas,by then they were at Ft.Meade,S.D. but still mounted. Glad to see the info and that Richard Carlson was the Colonel,always did like him. I do recall a rather odd bit of uniform/costuming info unless I am confusing with another show.I remember the hats worn by the Raiders as having "plumes" or rather ostentatious feathers.Not a bit of US Cav kit I ever recall as proper but more reminiscent of Confederate Cavalry.The show ran late nights for quite some time in our broadcast area in syndication.
MAC-16
Haven't seen it since the 60's , but somehow my sister found a kid's T-Shirt with a couple of horses and Mackenzie Raiders printed on it a couple of years ago!!! How a T-Shirt of a 50's American western series that hasn't been shown on Australian TV in 40 odd years turns up in 2nd hand store in Brisbane, Australia I don't know but my boy now wears it around .Though my memory grows dim it was a good series although they always had to stop their pursuit at the border and that did irk me at the time , if I can remember that it still must!With a lot of 50's television westerns now getting released on DVD I hope they get around to releasing some episodes and I hope I am not disappointed if they do .
