SYNOPSIS

Chuck Connors, a former professional baseball player, won critical acclaim for his portrayal of Lucas and young Johnny Crawford also started a successful career with this series.

The Rifleman was the saga of Lucas McCain, a homesteader in the Old West struggling to make a living off his ranch and make a man out of his motherless son, Mark. The setting was the town of North Fork, New Mexico, whose Marshal seemed incapable of handling any of the numerous desperadoes who infested the show without the help of Lucas. Lucas carried a trick rifle - a modified Winchester with a large ring which cocked it as he drew. Supposedly, he could fire off his first round in 3/10th's of a second, which certainly helped in a showdown!

Though very successful at first, the show began to slip in its third season, due to a number of reasons including Lucas' righteous tone. To make him more believable, Miss Milly was brought in to North Fork by producers to serve as storekeeper and McCain's love interest. In 1962, a pushier female character arrived. Lou Mallory, a kind of con-artist-with-a-heart-of-gold hotel keeper who began buying up the property around town and took a liking to Lucas as well. In addition, Mark began to experience problems associated with growing up - he had been 12 when the show started.