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All four of Chuck Connors' sons appeared in one Rifleman episode
Filming the episode took twice as long because the kids kept ruining takes!
In The Rifleman episode "The Schoolmaster," Arnold Moss plays a strict, no-nonsense teacher new to North Fork. The story starts when Lucas brings a group of children to school on his wagon. As they arrive, Schoolmaster Griswald chastises Lucas for bringing the children 12 minutes late.
Mark and the rest of the kids in the class soon learn what they're in for when Mr. Griswald informs them that "the standards at this school will be as high as they are at the Boston Academy." The new rules don't come easy for the kids, especially Mark's impulsive friend, Billy.
After Mark gets blamed for one of Billy's pranks, the pair decide to skip school and explore an abandoned mine. They're not there long when a collapse traps Mark inside. In the end, Lucas and Mr. Griswald have to put their differences aside to save the young McCain.
The episode is dramatic and tense onscreen — but behind the scenes was a friendly family affair. Chuck Connors brought his four sons to work with him to play some of Mark's classmates. Even more desks were filled by Connors' two nieces and the children of the show's producers Arnold Laven and Arthur Gardner.
According to a piece in LIFE Magazine from the time, having so many kids on set was fun but also time-consuming. The article reveals that filming the episode "took double the usual time as the children waved at the cameras, missed cues and laughed at the wrong time."
It also gives a hilarious tidbit about the end of the shoot. "The scenes were finally done to everyone's satisfaction — except a four-year-old who asked after a ninth retake, 'When does the show begin?'"
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40 Comments
Flip also appeard on "Lassie"with Jon
Provost.....
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I was taken aback and mind running amok
How they could do this to these Canucks
I waited for retribution and revenge
To find how the movie would end
Because these Goose Steppers so nasty
It was all left up to Raymond Massey
There's a German U-Boat in Canadian waters and Hudson Bay...I say again There's a German U-Boat in Hudson Bay........
They are and sinking our Ships.......... Bring our war planes and ships to bare....
U-Boat sighted ......but.................6 escape and cause havoc through Canada. What will happen next.........
Yes the 49th Parallel and you'll have to watch what comes next.
49th Parallel (1941)
2 h 2 min
Video- very good
Leslie Howard
Laurance Olivier
Raymond Massy
https://archive.org/details/49thParallelVideoQualityUpgrade
Fun fact (well maybe not fun): The Maple Leaf was not our flag until 1965. Prior to that the Red Ensign was our flag. If you had used it I doubt most would have recognized it.