''Cade's County'' is a modern-day
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
/
crime drama
Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combin ...
which aired Sundays at 9:30 pm (EST) on
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
during the
1971–1972 television season. There were 24 episodes.
Synopsis
''Cade's County'' starred well-known
Hollywood actor
Glenn Ford
Gwyllyn Samuel Newton "Glenn" Ford (May 1, 1916 – August 30, 2006) was a Canadian-American actor who often portrayed ordinary men in unusual circumstances. Ford was most prominent during Hollywood's Golden Age as one of the biggest box-offi ...
as Sam Cade, the sheriff of the fictional Madrid County, a vast and sparsely populated desert area that was apparently located well inland in the American Southwest. The state in which it was located was never mentioned; it could have been
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
(where much of the location filming took place),
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
,
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...
,
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...
or
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
. Cade made occasional references to going to "Capitol City" for hearings and meetings. There is a town named
Madrid, New Mexico
Madrid (/ˈmædrɪd/, Spanish: aˈðɾið is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States. It is part of the Santa Fe, New Mexico Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 149 at the 2000 census and 204 i ...
, however, it is pronounced "MAD-rid", and is not a county seat.
Cade's character was complex and interesting, though never fully developed. He came from a socially prominent and well-to-do family in the county, had served in the
U.S. Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
as a fighter pilot — there was one reference to the Korean War — and had been an FBI agent, after which he returned to Madrid County to become sheriff. There were no references to a wife or close family in the series.
His chief deputy was J. J. Jackson, portrayed by the
character actor Edgar Buchanan
William Edgar Buchanan II (March 20, 1903 – April 4, 1979) was an American actor with a long career in both film and television. He is most familiar today as Uncle Joe Carson from the ''Petticoat Junction'', ''Green Acres'', and ''The ...
. While Cade had traveled the world, and had modern law enforcement training, Jackson had apparently spent most of his life and career in Madrid County. Writers avoided the stereotypical combination of "resistant-to-change veteran" and "newly hatched expert" – Jackson was a capable and competent right-hand man, Cade firmly in control but trusted by his people, who called him "Sam".
Together they fought to maintain law and order against violent miners, cattle thieves and other lawbreakers who, for the most part, would have seemed at home in Westerns set in any era. Cade usually drove a Jeep CJ-5, as many of the roads in his jurisdiction were apparently little more than tracks across the sand.
Several of the characters, including some of Cade's deputies, were Native Americans. Another deputy was played by Ford's son, Pete (also the name of his character).
After summer hiatus, ''Cade's County'' was replaced in the 1972–1973 fall TV season by the hugely successful TV series ''
M*A*S*H
''M*A*S*H'' (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richard Hooker.
Th ...
''. Several episodes of ''Cade's County'' were released together in 1991 on VHS format under the title ''Sam Cade — Marshal of Madrid''. A two-part episode, ''Slay Ride'', was released as a television feature film, occasionally broadcast by independent television stations.
The musical theme for the show was composed by
Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini ( ; born Enrico Nicola Mancini, ; April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and flautist. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Award ...
. The title music appeared in an expanded version in the album ''Big Screen, Little Screen''.
Cast
*
Glenn Ford
Gwyllyn Samuel Newton "Glenn" Ford (May 1, 1916 – August 30, 2006) was a Canadian-American actor who often portrayed ordinary men in unusual circumstances. Ford was most prominent during Hollywood's Golden Age as one of the biggest box-offi ...
as Sheriff Sam Cade
*
Edgar Buchanan
William Edgar Buchanan II (March 20, 1903 – April 4, 1979) was an American actor with a long career in both film and television. He is most familiar today as Uncle Joe Carson from the ''Petticoat Junction'', ''Green Acres'', and ''The ...
as Senior Deputy J.J. Jackson
* Taylor Lacher as Arlo Pritchard
* Victor Campos as Rudy Davillo
*
Peter Ford as Deputy Pete
* Sandra Ego as Joanie Little Bird
*
Betty Ann Carr as Betty Ann Sundown
Episodes
References
*Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, ''
''
External links
*{{IMDb title, id=0066635, title=Cade's County
CBS original programming
Television series by 20th Century Fox Television
1970s American drama television series
1971 American television series debuts
1972 American television series endings
1970s Western (genre) television series
English-language television shows
Television shows set in California
Neo-Western television series