The adventures of Sam Cade, sheriff of rural Madrid County. Sam Cade is the tough but sensitive sheriff of sprawling Madrid County located somewhere in the American Southwest. Between chases and shootouts, episodes deal with a number of relevant '70s issues such as the plight of the American Indian. I find it astounding that "Cade's County" was on the air for only one season. (When re-run I believe it was called "Sheriff of Madrid", Madrid being the county seat of Cade's county.) Although it was never specified in which state the county existed, everything pointed to Arizona or New Mexico. Ford provided a mature, compassionate hero who was correctly unbending on matters of right and wrong but willing to help people: the ideal lawman. Edgar Buchanan, an actor whom I personally found irritating in most roles, was a fine foil for Ford. As Ford was in his forties there was no hint of Buchana as old mentor so the dynamics were a bit unusual, as though Marshall Dillon's deputy Chester had been twenty years Dillon's senior. Ford's Jeep ripping through the desert landscape was a treat. In one standout episode Bobby Darrin demonstrated acting powers even beyond what he demonstrated in the motion picture "Captian Newman, M.D." The theme song was and is superb. After a string of hits movies to boot(which were mostly Westerns),legendary Hollywood actor Glenn Ford gave TV a try with this weekly series that is now seldom seen nowadays. Here you'll have a show that was part of a modern day Western,and part crime drama show all in one and it was one of those shows that kept you on what would happen next. Ford was the tough and sensitive sheriff of Madrid County who kept law and order with his deputy(Petticoat Junction's Edgar Buchanan). However it did tackle issues that were relevant in its day like the plight of the American Indian,and the overall discrimination of the Mexican American and other minorities. The overall opening sequence of the show(seen with Ford going through the mountain landscape in a Jeep)makes for one of the best shows ever from the early 1970's that is rarely seen. NOTE:The shows theme was written by composer Henry Mancini,and this would be Glenn Ford's only TV series to date which ran from 1971-1973 on CBS.
Elaverb replied
293 weeks ago