BARBARY COAST (1975-1976) FORGOTTEN TELEVISION

BARBARY COAST (1975-1976) – William Shatner was the main draw for this series set in 1800s San Francisco and its Barbary Coast section famed for gambling, crime, gunfights, brawls, partying and dance hall girls. Shatner starred as Jeff Cable, hero of the Union Army during the Civil War, now serving as a special government agent like Robert Conrad’s character in The Wild, Wild West.

Barbary Coast captured the same “Old West James Bond” appeal of the Conrad series combined with the same creative team’s similar series Bearcats from 1971. Dennis Cole, co-star of Bearcats, played Shatner’s reluctant partner, casino owner Cash Conover in the Barbary Coast pilot movie but was replaced by Doug McClure for the series.

Fans of The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. and Wildside (reviewed previously here at Balladeer’s Blog) would likely enjoy this series.

BARBARY COAST (May 4th, 1975) – This 2-hour telefilm was directed by the one and only Bill Bixby, who also made a cameo appearance. Jeff Cable (Shatner), West Point Graduate and Civil War hero fresh off fighting the Democrat Party’s hate group the Ku Klux Klan for President Ulysses S. Grant, arrives in San Francisco. Cable’s new mission is to shut down the Crusaders, an organization of Klan members who moved west and started their plot to become California’s version of the KKK.

Cable recruits roguish gambler Cash Conover (Cole) as a reluctant ally. Jeff Cable saved Conover’s life years earlier plus he knows the gambler’s real name and dark secret – he is wanted for killing the Louisiana governor’s son in a duel.

Cash yields to Cable’s amiable blackmail and lets the secret agent operate out of his Golden Gate Casino. He even lets Jeff live in a secret room of the establishment hidden behind a fireplace.

Richard Kiel played Moose Moran, the casino’s bouncer, actress Bobbi Jordan was a croupier named Flame, Francine York and Brooke Mills played Dance Hall Girls Brandy and Rusty, while Dave Turner portrayed Thumbs the piano player. 

Other characters who carried over from this pilot movie to the series included Police Chief Keogh (Leo V. Gordon), who was every bit as corrupt as his subordinate officers, and Lt. Tully (Charles Aidman), the only honest policeman along the Barbary Coast.

Characters who appeared only in this telefilm included lawyer Robin Templar (John Vernon), the leader of the Crusaders; gold digger Clio Du Bois (Lynda Day George); Diamond Jack Bassiter (Michael Ansara); and Florrie Roscoe (Neville Brand).   

Naturally, Jeff Cable and the fundamentally decent Cash Conover defeated the Crusaders. Cable was a master of disguise, and William Shatner got to blow off his need for hamminess on his undercover characters, letting him play Jeff himself in a grounded and natural (for Shatner) manner. 

THE EPISODES:

FUNNY MONEY (September 8th, 1975) – Jeff Cable’s assignment to eliminate a counterfeiting operation winds up in him pressuring Cash Conover, now played by Doug McClure, into using his gambling skills in a high-stakes poker game played in a private train car. Supposedly it was the same train car used as Jim West’s mobile HQ in The Wild, Wild West. Pat Hingle and Kathleen Cody guest star.

CRAZY CATS (September 15th) – Jade cat statues are stolen and Cable goes undercover as a sleazy reporter to recover them and nab the thieves. Cash is dragged along to help Jeff stay alive during the dangerous operation. Guest starring Eric Braeden, Joanna Miles, Andrew Prine and Sherry Jackson.

JESSE WHO? (September 22nd) – Jesse James (David Spielberg) and his new gang masterminded by the beautiful Lauralee Bell (Rosemary Forsyth) are in California to rob banks. Jeff Cable is determined to capture Jesse and his cohorts by going undercover as an outlaw who joins the gang. Cash is reluctantly drawn into the plan. Lloyd Bochner also stars.

THE BALLAD OF REDWING JAIL (September 29th) – In order to recover stolen money, Jeff dons a disguise and gets himself arrested to search for the loot hidden in the jailhouse. The criminals locked up with him launch a breakout and take him along with them. An old girlfriend of Cable may blow his cover. Marcy Lafferty, who was William Shatner’s wife for over 20 years, played the old flame Tranquility Smith. Andrew Duggan and Ralph Meeker guest star. 

GUNS FOR A QUEEN (October 6th) – A shipment of rifles is stolen so Cable goes undercover as a potential buyer to smoke out the thieves and recover the guns. Joan Van Ark plays a woman from Cash Conover’s past who is now married. She and her husband (Fred Beir) want to buy the guns for a revolution in Tahiti. Yes, Tahiti. Guest stars include Victor Sen Yung and THE Les Moonves, who went on to be the CEO of CBS and resigned in a sex scandal.

IRISH LUCK (October 13th) – In order to foil an imminent assassination attempt, Cable and Conover run a small-scale con to convince Irish saloon owner Harry Boyle (William Daniels himself) that he has killed his business partner. Guest stars include Edward Andrews, Sandy Kenyon and Conny Van Dyke, who sings ‘Tis the Last Rose of Summer. 

SAUCE FOR THE GOOSE (October 20th) – Viewers get full frontal, scenery-chewing Shatner when Cable goes undercover as a Gypsy psychic. His target this time is cheating gambler Austin Benedict (Joseph Campanella), who plays Cash in a poker game for possession of the Golden Gate Casino. Burr DeBenning and Diane McBain also star.

AN IRON-CLAD PLAN (October 31st) – Plans for a state-of-the-art ironclad vessel for the U.S. Navy are stolen. Jeff tries to recover them by disguising himself and bidding on the plans at a covert auction, while Cash tries to steal back the plans from the thieves. Louise Sorel, Tige Andrews and Severn Darden guest star.

ARSON AND OLD LACE (November 14th) – Cable wants to shut down an enigmatic gang boss called the Shark, who is forcing San Francisco fishermen to pay him protection money. Part of his plan involves a high-profile boxing match with Cash reluctantly taking part as one of the fighters. Guest stars include Gretchen Corbett, Dennis Patrick and Johnny Seven.

SHARKS EAT SHARKS (November 21st) – Our heroes Jeff Cable and Cash Conover combine their efforts against the local protection racket and a pair of conmen pushing a phony diamond mine story. Guest starring Bernard Fox, Philip Bruns and Henry Gibson.

THE DAY CABLE WAS HANGED (December 26th) – Jeff Cable gets drawn into a deep-seated conspiracy involving a man claiming to be the real John Wilkes Booth, who hints at a long-buried government coverup. John Dehner, Anjanette Comer, Michael Blodgett and James Griffith guest star.

MARY HAD MORE THAN A LITTLE (January 2nd, 1976) – Two storylines unfold at once. Mary Ellen Masters, (Judy Strangis), the daughter of an old friend of Cash’s, abuses his hospitality by stealing from his customers, while Cable tries to thwart the robbery of a shipping company’s vault. Guest starring Kaz Garas, Don “Red” Barry, Whit Bissell and Ben Hammer. 

THE DAWSON MARKER (January 9th) – In this last episode of the series Jeff drags Cash into his latest mission – stopping the descendants of a gang of gold thieves from recovering the buried treasure. Each of the four descendants has a fragment of a map leading to the gold. John Rubinstein, Udana Power and Billy Green Bush guest star.

*** Sadly, no more episodes of Barbary Coast were forthcoming. I consider that a shame because, though not a classic, the series was fun and entertaining.  

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