Secrets Of TV’s The Rifleman: More Than Just Guns And Good Times

What Might Have Been

Sam Peckinpah grew up on a ranch. Many felt that experience made him especially qualified to shape the stories on The Rifleman with reality and grit that can only be learned first-hand. Peckinpah was reportedly excited to keep those gripping scripts coming but he left the show after season 1 to apply his talents to movies, including such classics as The Wild Bunch and Straw Dogs.