Season 1 • Episode 39
LatestTex takes part in the rodeo against Silver City's best rider, Bart Stevens.
Four Feather Falls was the third puppet TV show produced by Gerry Anderson for Granada Television. It was based on an idea by Barry Gray, who also wrote the show's music. The series was the first to use an early version of Anderson's Supermarionation puppetry. Thirty-nine 13-minute episodes were produced, broadcast by Granada from February until November 1960. The setting is the late 19th-century fictional Kansas town of Four Feather Falls, where the hero of the series, Tex Tucker, is sheriff. The four feathers of the title refers to four magical feathers given to Tex by the Indian chief Kalamakooya as a reward for saving his grandson: two allowed Tex's guns to swivel and fire without being touched whenever he was in danger, and two conferred the power of speech on Tex's horse and dog. Tex's speaking voice was provided by Nicholas Parsons, and his singing voice by Michael Holliday. The series has never been repeated on British television, but it was released on DVD in 2005.
Practical Effects
Early Supermarionation puppetry — strings and all.
Score
Barry Gray's catchy western themes that slap unexpectedly hard.
Creator
Gerry Anderson
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The 'Supermarionation' technique here was so primitive that puppeteers were still visible in some shots — charmingly janky.
This was Gerry Anderson's first hit, proving British audiences would accept puppet westerns — paving the way for Thunderbirds and Stingray.
GB
