- [Narrator] Four Feather Falls first aired
on British television on February the 25th, 1960
and was the first puppet television series
produced by AP Films that wasn't based on a concept
by children's author Roberta Lee.
- Different. (neighs)
- [Narrator] Instead, the idea for Four Feather Falls
was dreamed up by composer Barry Grey
and entered pre-production in 1959
while the final episodes of the first season
of Torchy the Battery Boy were being shot.
- I'm sure they've got a secret,
and they're not going to tell me what it is!
- [Narrator] The series centred around the Old West
frontier town of Four Feather Falls
and the good folks who lived there.
These included:
- Grandpa Twink.
- Martha Jones.
- Marvin Jackson.
- Dan Moss.
- Little Jake.
- [Narrator] Doc Haggerty, and saloon owner Slim Jim.
- It's a pleasure to hear Jim play.
Yeah, especially when he hits the right notes.
- [Narrator] But the show's central characters
were Sheriff Tex Tucker.
- Howdy, folks.
- [Narrator] His dog, Dusty.
(barking)
- Hiya, folks.
- [Narrator] And horse, Rocky.
- Awfully pleased to meet you.
- He's a thoroughbred, you see.
- [Narrator] After saving the life of his sone Makooya,
Indian big chief Kalamakooya gave Tex Tucker
four magic feathers, which he now wears in his hat.
One feather allows Dusty to speak.
- Somebody's been telling me about a talking horse.
I ask you.
- [Narrator] Another, the same for Rocky.
- Well, really, old boy, you can talk.
- [Narrator] While the final two feathers
allow Tex's guns to swivel and fire of their own accord.
- But I didn't touch my guns.
- [Narrator] Tex and his animal friends
must now keep the peace in Four Feather Falls
and protect their new friends from such no-good low-lifes
as Mexican bandits Pedro and Fernando.
- You'll kill Tex Tucker.
- Then I can run Four Feather Falls in my way!
- [Narrator] Horse rustler, Big Ben.
- When it comes to it, you'd see me murdered
rather than lift a finger.
- I never said that.
- [Narrator] And renegade Indian tribal leader Red Scalp.
- Now ...
Red Scalp kill!
- [Narrator] But, no matter how bad things get,
Sheriff Tex will always find time to grace us with a song.
♪ Give me those wooden shacks and open spaces ♪
♪ Happy hearts and friendly faces ♪
♪ Way back in my home town ♪
- [Narrator] Among the voice cast for Four Feather Falls
were Denise Bryer, who had previously been heard
as Footso the cat in The Adventures of Twizzle.
- I do like my store to look neat and tidy, yes.
(jangling)
Oh my goodness!
(gun firing) (glass shattering)
- [Narrator] And Kenneth Connor,
who had voiced Mr. Bumbledrop and a variety
of other characters in Torchy the Battery Boy.
- You sure got us out of trouble, old timer!
(neighing)
- My dear chap, the least I could do.
- [Narrator] The two remaining members of the cast
were Bryer's then husband Nicholas Parsons
as the voice of Tex Tucker.
- I got a jail just made for skunks like you.
- [Narrator] Plus someone who's career would remain
inextricably linked with the Gerry Anderson universe
for over 60 years, David Graham.
- Sit down.
Make yourself at home.
- Okay.
- [Narrator] Also on vocal duties
were singer Michael Holliday,
who provided Tex's singing voice and recorded songs
for the show that were also released on vinyl.
- What have I got to sing about, sitting here with you?
- [Narrator] Four Feather Falls
represented a significant step forward
for the world of Gerry Anderson puppetry.
Unlike the previous stringed puppets of Twizzle and Torchy,
the Four Feather Falls puppets would be operated by wires
made of very thin tungsten steel,
their more realistic heads would be sculpted
from fibreglass rather that papier-mache or wood,
for the regular characters at least.
- Hey, Johnny boy, are you all right?
- [Narrator] And many of the regular characters
now had the ability to move their eyes.
Most significant of all, however,
was the creation of a new lip sync mechanism
which allowed the puppets to speak.
- Gee, thanks boss!
- [Narrator] Unlike the characters of Torchy,
whose various mouths, ears, beaks, and moustaches
were all operated by wires,
the Four Feather Falls characters
would speak via electrical impulses
that would travel down the puppets' wires
to a solid weight in their head
that would move their lips in time with their dialogue.
- No, wouldn't you say that this was a little bit of luck.
I would.
- [Narrator] Although the system had yet to be perfected
and the term itself wouldn't be coined
or even appear onscreen until the second season of Supercar,
Four Feather Falls marks the beginning
of what was soon to become known as supermarionation.
- Ah, them's mighty fine words, isn't it?
- [Narrator] The first episode of Four Feather Falls
was produced on a budget of 6,000 pounds at Islet Park,
the Victorian mansion that had served
as the base of production for Twizzle and Torchy.
- And get outta town!
And don't you ever come back!
- [Narrator] However, following the sale of the series
to Granada Television and a need to expand the puppet stage,
the production was relocated to a building
at Ipswich Road on the Slough Trading Estate.
- It's harder over there, Jake.
- [Narrator] This new, larger studio
would allow plenty of room for the town
of Four Feather Falls and its surrounding countryside,
plus some more early model work in the form
of the locomotive that ran through the town.
- [Tex] Stop!
Stop!
- [Narrator] Four Feather Falls was arguably
the first Anderson series that could also offer
appeal to an older audience.
- Hiya, friends.
- [Narrator] With the Wild West setting
providing the opportunity to introduce
regular villains for the first time.
- Heh, amigo, we did it good. (chuckles)
- [Narrator] And despite the inclusion of magic feathers
that allowed animals to talk, the stories were pitched
at a slightly more mature audience
than those of Twizzle or Torchy.
- But those kids is gonna get it first.
- [Narrator] The show was also capable
of being remarkably atmospheric and even sombre at times.
- He ain't gonna shoot him in the back!
- [Accomplice] Ain't nothin' to stop him!
- [Narrator] And although any deaths
would be kept firmly off-screen.
- You robbed that stage, and you shot the driver.
Too bad you didn't know it was your own brother.
- [Narrator] The show's characters often found themselves
embroiled in gun fights to protect the town.
- It just goes to show, you never can tell
what's gonna happen from one minute to the next.
- [Narrator] Four Feather Falls
was a hit with younger audiences
and enjoyed a limited range of merchandising,
with the show's characters appearing on various books,
games, and even the cover of the TV Times.
- Yippee!
- [Narrator] Fully expecting that the series
would be recommissioned for a second season,
the AP Films team were surprised
when they were told by Granada
that no further episodes would be required.
- Okay, fellas, time to go.
Let's be on our way before the whole town knows about it.
- [Narrator] It was time to saddle up and look to the future
and to further the world of puppet entertainment
with another exciting new series,
assuming they could find anybody mad enough to finance it.
- Well, horse lovers,
that's about the long and the short of it.
- [Narrator] Despite not carrying the words
"filmed in supermarionation", Four Feather Falls
still has a legitimate claim to the title
of being the very first supermarionation series.
- Just as I figured.
- [Narrator] Although available on DVD in the UK,
the show is often overlooked by Anderson fans
but remains a hugely enjoyable and charming series
populated by a large cast of lovable characters
and deserves greater exposure.
- Well I'll be doggone if that ain't
the darnedest thing I ever heard.
- [Narrator] Four Feather Falls brought to AP Films
a newfound focus on action and adventure
rather than pure fairytale whimsy
and presented and ambitious concept
realised on an unprecedented scale
for a children's television series made in 1959.
Going forward, the company would only produce
bigger and more spectacular shows,
but Four Feather Falls will always remain
an impressive first step in the right direction.
- Well, shows over for now, folks.
I'll be seein' ya.
(pleasant music)
♪ Ho ♪
♪ Two Gun Tex of Texas ♪
♪ Is a guy with the straightest deal ♪
♪ That he keeps the law with the fastest draw ♪
♪ And a nerve as strong as steel ♪
♪ Ho ♪
♪ Two Gun Tex of Texas ♪
♪ Is a friend who'd never fail ♪
♪ But if you did wrong wouldn't take him long ♪
♪ To clap you right in jail ♪