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Western Television
Shotgun Slade

Below you'll find seventeen episodes of one of the more unusual western television shows that aired during the late 1950's and early 1960's. At a time when networks were saturated with westerns, Shotgun Slade came on the scene.

To compete, it had to be different, and the producers gave it a good try. The show came up with several unusual characteristics that made it stand out.

The first was Slade's profession. Instead of being a typical marshal or gunfighter, Slade was a private detective who hired himself out to do those things that private detectives tend to do. Secondly, Slade had a unique weapon. An over/under .32 caliber rifle/12 guage shotgun. It was a weapon that stood out from the weapons of other western television shows. The show's third novel characteristic was that it broke from the traditional western theme music in favor of a modern jazz score. The series produced 78 episodes of which I can only locate 17 at this time. I hope you enjoy them.

Some of he information on this page was gathered from

Click on any title to bring up that episode.

The Missing Train

24 Oct. 1959

Slade is hired to locate a train car with $1 million in coins that disappeared into thin air.

The Deadly Key

March 8, 1960

Slade finds himself in possession of the key that three treasure seekers have long sought and will kill to get back. The key promises to unlock the Treasure of the Seven Emeralds of Quetzalcoatl.

Donna Juanita

March 21, 1960

Slade travels to New Mexico Territory to split open a land grant syndicate and expose the identity of the swindler behind it.

The Spanish Box

1960

Slade unwittingly serves as a messenger of death, delivering a booby-trapped Spanish Box to a beloved banker, and must quickly clear himself by finding the real killers before the town's lynch mob musters its courage.

The Golden Tunnel

April 22, 1960

Slade's visit to an old friend turns deadly when some people will stop at nothing to steal a last will and testament entrusted to Slade's care.

A Flower for Jenny

April 29, 1960

Slade serves as bodyguard to primadonna performer Jenny DuPree, who is receiving death threats and a dwindling number of roses from an assassin who bills himself as her "ultimate admirer."

The Fabulous Fiddle

May 6, 1960

Slade is engaged to ensure the safety of a Stradivarius violin during a vaudeville troupe's tour in Denver.

Crossed Guns

May 13, 1960

A hook-handed gunslinger nursing a grudge lures Slade to Grover's Bend for a showdown with his fast-drawing young protégé, Billy.

Sudden Death

May 20, 1960

Slade is summoned to the lumber town of Big Fir to investigate an axe murder at a crooked casino.

Ring of Death

1960

Detective Slade finds evidence a beautiful woman had something to with the murder of the trail boss, she was to marry.

Backtrack

May 28, 1960

An amateur embezzler who glamorizes a life of crime learns a hard lesson when he falls in with a gang of bandits after they free him from Slade's custody during a train robbery.

Killer's Brand

June 4, 1960

Slade comes to the Cody Ranch and goes undercover as a hand to smoke out a murderous band of horse thieves.

A Flower on Boot Hill

June 11, 1960

Two escaped convicts, a grieving woman, and a widowed doctor who faithfully lays flowers on his wife's grave are among the seemingly incongruous elements factoring into Slade's investigation of a baffling bank robbery.

Charcoal Bullet

July 1, 1960

The smoking gun in a masked bank robbery comes in the unlikely form of a charcoal pencil held by the drunken sketch artist who witnessed the criminals plotting the robbery and can now capture their faces on paper. Can he complete his drawings before the killers get the drop on him?

Lost Gold

July 5, 1960

The Gold Run Mining Company engages Slade to uncover a criminal cabal of high graders who have been robbing the firm of its best quality gold ore.

The Smell of Money

1960

A bank robbery gone wrong brings Slade to Willow Ridge to rout out the guilty party and his accomplice.

The Laughing Widow

Dec. 19, 1960

A hard-bitten town taming sheriff is devastated when he's forced by law to hang his own son for theft of a gold shipment. Slade is convinced the man is innocent and sets out to prove it even as the hour of execution draws nigh.