The Adventures of Jim Bowie

1956 - 1958

The Birth of the Blade

7th September 1956

Episode 1

How Jim Bowie came to invent his famous Bowie knife

The Squatter

14th September 1956

Episode 2

Bowie tries to talk a neighbor out of throwing a couple of penniless German squatters off her land.

An Adventure with Audubon

21st September 1956

Episode 3

Bowie assists legendary painter/naturalist John James Audubon avoid French forces that are hunting for him.

Deputy Sheriff

28th September 1956

Episode 4

Volunteering as a temporary deputy to guard a prisoner, Bowie comes to believe that the young man may be innocent.

Trapline

5th October 1956

Episode 5

A fur company is apparently trying to keep the Cajun fur trappers in line by killing anyone who trades with an independent dealer - like Jim Bowie.

Broomstick Wedding

12th October 1956

Episode 6

A trade of horses leads to an angry father mistaking Bowie for his neighbor, the potential object of a shotgun wedding.

Natchez Trace

19th October 1956

Episode 7

A group of travelers ask Bowie for help against a rumored highwayman on the trail to Natchez.

Jim Bowie Comes Home

26th October 1956

Episode 8

On returning from a trip, Bowie finds that the town near his home has been taken over by a gang of young hoodlums.

The Ghost of Jean Battoo

2nd November 1956

Episode 9

Bowie encounters a group of farmers who are being duped into paying protection money to an old woman against the ghost of a famous Louisiana pirate.

The Secessionist

9th November 1956

Episode 10

Bowie finds that a friend of his has been asked by President Andrew Jackson to try to talk a group of French planters out of seceding from the Union.

Land Jumpers

16th November 1956

Episode 11

Just when Jim and his brother try to sell a large tract of land, a Frenchman shows up claiming to have the proper title to the property, which is verified by a local judge.

The Select Females

23rd November 1956

Episode 12

Bowie encounters the headmistress of a school for young ladies, and she tells him that one of her students has been kidnapped.

Bowie and His Slave

30th November 1956

Episode 13

Bowie comes to the aid of a former slave who he had freed, but who has been captured and is being sold again at a slave auction.

Outlaw Kingdom

7th December 1956

Episode 14

Bowie goes after a gang of river pirates who have stolen his cargo.

The Swordsman

14th December 1956

Episode 15

Bowie runs into trouble when an attractive woman in New Orleans, where he has gone to purchase an estate, turns his head.

The Return of the Alcibiade

21st December 1956

Episode 16

Bowie goes after the thief who stole an expensive Christmas gift he bought for his mother.

Monsieur Francois

28th December 1956

Episode 17

Bowie comes to the aid of a French boy and his aunt, newly arrived in New Orleans, who are the victims of confidence tricksters.

A Horse for Old Hickory

4th January 1957

Episode 18

Bidding for a racehorse to present as a gift to President Jackson, Bowie finds that he is up against Sam Houston.

The Beggar of New Orleans

11th January 1957

Episode 19

Bowie tries to help a former champion fencer who has become a street beggar.

Osceola

18th January 1957

Episode 20

Bowie comes to the aid of the native Seminoles, whom the army is trying to move from their traditional home to a tract of less desirable land.

Master of Arms

25th January 1957

Episode 21

An expert French swordsman sells Bowie a lottery ticket, but then after Bowie wins he decides that the winings should belong to him and comes after Bowie.

Convoy Gold

1st February 1957

Episode 22

Bowie tries to get a gold shipment safely through to New Orleans.

Spanish Intrigue

8th February 1957

Episode 23

Bowie meets Simon Bolivar, who wants to liberate all of Latin American from the yoke of Spanish rule.

Bayou Tontine

15th February 1957

Episode 24

Naturalist Audubon returns to ask Bowie for help in protecting a young girl whose life is in danger after she inherits a fortune.

German George

22nd February 1957

Episode 25

Bowie goes after the gambler who cheated and then killed Bowie's friend and partner.

An Eye for an Eye

Episode 26

Trying to stop an Indian uprising, Bowie only gets into more trouble after telling a native Cherokee princess the story of John Smith and Pocahontas.

The Captain's Chimp

Episode 27

Bowie goes after a thief who has trained a chimpanzee to climb up through people's windows.

Jackson Assassination

15th March 1957

Episode 28

Bowie is duped into helping a group that is plotting the President's assassination.

Rezin Bowie, Gambler

22nd March 1957

Episode 29

Unaware that it is a setup, Jim's brother wins big and decides to become a professional gambler.

Thieves' Market

29th March 1957

Episode 30

When Bowie escorts his young French friend to the notorious thieves' marketplace in New Orleans, they are set upon by - thieves.

The Pearl and the Crown

Episode 31

After a newspaper prints a poem about him, Bowie confronts the editor, who is later found murdered.

The General's Disgrace

12th April 1957

Episode 32

Bowie suspects a connection between recent holdups and the heavy gambling losses of a general's son.

The Lottery

19th April 1957

Episode 33

Bowie organizes a lottery to help an orphanage, unaware that the men he has hired plan to fix the drawing so that they will collect the winnings.

The Intruder

26th April 1957

Episode 34

Bowie tries to help a young burglar who was caught robbing his friend Francois.

Country Cousin

Episode 35

Bowie gets into trouble with his relatives when he cuts his visiting cousin in on a deal that turns out to be a hoax.

The Bound Girl

Episode 36

Bowie resolves to help an indentured servant girl from Ireland, whose unwilling services have been purchased by a mean widower.

Bounty Hunter

Episode 37

When Bowie and his newspaper friend unwittingly help a fugitive from justice, a bounty hunter pursues them all.

Gone to Texas

Episode 38

As if his passport difficulties weren't enough, when Bowie crosses the border into Texas he finds out that someone is trying to kill him.

Top Cast

The Adventures of Jim Bowie is an American Western television series that aired on ABC from 1956 to 1958. Its setting was the 1830s-era Louisiana Territory. The series was an adaptation of the book Tempered Blade, by Monte Barrett. The series stars Scott Forbes as the real-life adventurer Jim Bowie. The series initially portrayed Jim Bowie as something of an outdoors-man, riding his horse through the wilderness near his home in Opelousas, where he would stumble across someone needing his assistance. He was aided by the Bowie Knife, his ever-present weapon. He designed it in the first episode, The Birth of the Blade.

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Full Cast

Scott Forbes Image

Scott Forbes

Jim Bowie

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Lewis R. Foster Image

Lewis R. Foster

Producer

Louis F. Edelman

Producer

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