Four Feather Falls

Did You Know?

• Four Feather Falls was the first APF series to be fully networked on ITV, shown by all regional franchises simultaneously.
• Sylvia Anderson wrote two British children's annuals based on the show, published by Collins in 1960 and 1961.
• A tie-in board game was also released.

Plot

The fictional town of Four Feather Falls, Kansas, is the setting for this late 19th-century Western series, which follows the exploits of Sheriff Tex Tucker. The story begins when Grandpa Twink tells his grandson, Little Jake, how the town came to be. While riding up from the valley, Tex finds a lost and hungry Indian boy named Makooya and helps him. As a reward, the boy’s grandfather, Chief Kalamakooya, gives Tex four enchanted feathers. Two of them let his guns swivel and fire on their own, even when his hands are up. The other two give his horse, Rocky, and his dog, Dusty, the ability to talk. Because Tex, Rocky, and Dusty are all very thirsty, Kalamakooya also creates a waterfall where none existed. When the town is later built, it is named after Tex’s feathers and that waterfall.

The regular townsfolk include Grandpa Twink, who mostly just rests in a chair; his grandson Little Jake, the only child around; Ma Jones, who runs the general store; Doc Haggerty; Slim Jim, the bartender at the Denison saloon; Marvin Jackson, the bank manager; and Dan Morse, the telegraph operator. Other characters would appear for just one episode, often as visitors passing through.

The main villains are Pedro, introduced in the first show, and Fernando, who shows up in the second episode as a sidekick and a convenient scapegoat when Pedro’s plans fail. Big Ben is another recurring bad guy, along with Red Scalp, a renegade Indian. Many other villains only appear in single episodes.

Cast

Nicholas Parsons provided the speaking voice of Sheriff Tex Tucker, and also voiced Telegraph Operator Dan Morse and various other characters. Michael Holliday supplied Tex's singing voice and various other roles. Kenneth Connor voiced Dusty the Dog, Rocky the Horse, Pedro the Bandit, Big Chief Kalamakooya, Bank Manager Marvin Jackson, Doc Haggerty, Saloon Owner Slim Jim Denison, and various others. David Graham voiced Grandpa Ebenezer Twink, Fernando the Bandit, Big Ben the Horse Rustler Bandit, Red Scalp the Renegade Indian, and various characters. Denise Bryer voiced Martha 'Ma' Jones, Little Jake, Makooya the Little Indian Boy, and various others. Bryer had worked with Anderson on The Adventures of Twizzle, and he wanted her to play some of the voices in Four Feather Falls. Anderson visited Bryer at her home with some scripts and asked her husband, Nicholas Parsons, to help by reading some of the other parts, including the sheriff Tex Tucker. Anderson liked Parsons' interpretation and offered him the job of providing Tex's speaking voice.

Production

British audiences had a taste for American Westerns like Gunsmoke and Wagon Train, so Gerry Anderson and Arthur Provis of APF decided to create their own cowboy show. They bought the concept from Barry Gray for around £100, with Anderson later saying the series was his attempt to recreate the films he had watched in cinemas. The original idea was called Two Gun Tex Tucker, then became Two Gun Tex of Texas, followed by The Sheriff of Four Feather Falls, before settling on the final title. Development started in late 1958, while APF was still making the first 26 episodes of Torchy the Battery Boy, and without the knowledge of their employer Roberta Leigh, as Anderson planned to break away and become an independent producer. The pilot, titled "How It Began", was made in April 1959 for £6,000. Anglo-Amalgamated, APF’s intended distributor, turned it down, but Granada commissioned a full series of 39 episodes. The pilot was filmed at APF’s Islet Park House studios in Maidenhead, but all other episodes were shot in a converted warehouse on the Slough Trading Estate, previously owned by special effects artist Les Bowie. This new space offered four times the floor area of Islet Park House, where the crew had been working in a repurposed ballroom. After moving to Slough in June 1959, APF added a director’s control booth and video assist TV monitors to help puppeteers, who worked from a Dexion bridge suspended several feet above the set. The model town of Four Feather Falls measured 30 by 15 feet. Filming at Slough wrapped up in April 1960.

Music

The music and lyrics for the series were written by Barry Gray. Michael Holliday sang for the character Tex, while Tommy Reilly played the harmonica parts. The most famous song from the show is "Four Feather Falls," which Holliday sometimes performed in a Bing Crosby style; it is often mistaken for the series' theme tune. The actual closing theme was "Two Gun Tex of Texas." For his vocal work on the pilot, Holliday received £2,000, a large portion of the pilot's total £6,000 budget. He recorded six songs in total for the series: "Four Feather Falls," "The Phantom Rider," "The Rick-Rick-A-Rackety Train," "Happy Hearts and Friendly Faces," "My Home Town," and "Two Gun Tex of Texas." These recordings took place at Gate Studios in Borehamwood.