The Rebel Coming to DVD [Updated]

The long-rumored DVD release of ABC’s 1959-1961 Western The Rebel has finally firmed up and there’s even a release date: August 18th, 2015. The 11-disc complete series set will include all 76 black-and-white episodes and has a suggested retail price of $59.97. You can pre-order the set through Shout! Factory’s website for $53.97.

The website mentions the show’s “classic theme song,” which was sung by Johnny Cash, which suggests it hasn’t been replaced. The Rebel has been airing on diginet Me-TV since December 2011 and I’ve been told that the opening theme song has been altered.

With a run-time of 32.5 hours (or 1950 minutes) those 76 episodes should clock in at around 25.6 minutes which hopefully means they’re all uncut.

As if that’s not enough, the set will also include bonus features, including “Yank,” a half-hour pilot that would have been paired with The Rebel for an hour-long series called The Rebel and the Yank that ABC considered for the 1961-1962 season but ultimately passed on. Here’s a full list of bonus features:

  • Looking Back At The Rebel With Series Co-creator A.J. Fenady
  • Nick Adams Remembered: An Interview With Allyson And Jeb Adams
  • Pilot For A.J. Fenady’s Proposed Companion Series, The Yank.
  • The Rebel Production Stills
  • Commercials Featuring Nick Adams

I wonder if the episodes will include the original commercials for L & M Cigarettes featuring Nick Adams, which are found on prints of episodes circulating among private collectors. Update: A revised list of bonus features indicates there will be Nick Adams commercials. My article about The Rebel can be found here.

(via Home Theater Forum)


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