The third TV project of producer-puppeteer Gerry Anderson, the British series Four Feather Falls was also the first to employ Anderson's patented "Supermarionation" technique, which would reach full maturity in such later endeavors as Supercar, Fireball XL-5, and Thunderbirds. Set in the Kansas town of Four Feather Falls, this series was a Western with marionettes, centering around the adventures of Sheriff Tex Tucker. Having saved the life of Indian chief Kalamokooya, Tex was rewarded with four magic feathers, which among other things gave the power of speech to the Sheriff's trusty dog Dusty and horse Rocky. Other characters included general store owner Ma Jones, banker Marvin Jackson, telegrapher Don Morse, bartender Slim Jim, Dog Haggerty, grizzly Grandpa Twink, and pint-sized Little Jake, and a formidable array of villains, among them Mexican banditos Fernando and Pedro, outlaw Big Bad Ben, and renegade Indian Red Scalp. The 39 15-minute episodes of Four Feather Falls were aired by Granada Television in 1960; curiously, the series was never syndicated in the United States, despite the built-in audience appeal of its "Western" ambience.
by Hal Erickson
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