Alan Hale Jr.'s Last Ever Western Role Was In A Forgotten 1984 Movie Streaming On Prime Video

For multiple generations of TV viewers, Alan Hale Jr. will forever be The Skipper. His career was largely defined by playing Captain Jonas Grumby on “Gilligan’s Island” for three seasons. But that beloved CBS sitcom was just a blip in Hale Jr.’s wider filmography. Sure, he returned to the role of the Skipper in the two “Gilligan’s Island” animated series and the three sequel movies, but his time on the isle was still nothing compared to the time he spent in, say, the Old West.

Both prior to and after his time on “Gilligan’s Island,” Hale Jr. was a remarkably prolific character actor who appeared in a dizzying array of films and TV shows. While he dabbled in science fiction every now and then — such as the time the Skipper actor appeared in a 1949 sci-fi movie with a wild premise — the genre that provided him with the most work was by far the Western. Hale Jr. appeared in pretty much every classic Western TV show of the 1950s and ’60s, and even showed up in multiple big screen Oaters.

His final TV Western role (unless you count a 1979 episode of “ABC Weekend Special”) was in a 1972 episode of “Gunsmoke,” a show which, fittingly, shot at the same studio which had hosted “Gilligan’s Island” five years earlier. But that wasn’t the last time Hale Jr. ventured into the Old West. That came with the 1984 film “The Red Fury,” in which he had a small role as the physician of a small town. The little-known Western wasn’t exactly a grandiose send-off for Hale Jr., as it was basically forgotten before it had even debuted. But it was a heartwarming little tale in its own way, and is at least still available to stream on Prime Video today.

“The Red Fury” arrived the year after the cancellation of the bizarre “Gilligan’s Island” spin-off series “Gilligan’s Planet,” and three years after the final “Gilligan’s Island” sequel film, “The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan’s Island.” It had been 12 years since Alan Hale Jr. appeared on “Gunsmoke” but he was still taking guest roles in high-profile TV shows including “The Love Boat” and “Matt Houston.” In 1984, however, he returned to the Old West for “The Red Fury.”

Records aren’t exactly clear on this forgotten 1984 curio, but amazingly given its overall quality, “The Red Fury” seems to have been released in theaters. It did eventually wind up being shown multiple times on The Disney Channel, which seems like a much more suitable platform for it’s family friendly tone and modest production values.

The film stars Juan Gonzalez as Frankie, a Native American boy who falls off a train and is taken in by cantankerous widower and horse trainer John (Will Jordan). At first, Will struggles to bond with his new charge, who refuses to say a word. But the boy soon forms a connection with John’s horse, Red Fury, a wild and seemingly untamable steed who’s calmed by Frankie’s presence. Unfortunately, the townspeople are anything but calm, and do everything they can to try to oust Frankie from their community after he starts attending the local school. Cal Bartlett plays Bill, who initially leads the charge against Frankie but ultimately comes around. Hale Jr. isn’t given much to do as the town physician Doc Kaminsky, but fans of the actor will enjoy seeing him emerge part-way through the film, jovial as ever and delighted to see the town kids stealing Bill’s car for a joyride.

“The Red Fury” isn’t exactly a lost classic. The story is quite formulaic and the pacing is glacial at best. It’s an odd production for the mid-80s, too, as it has none of the revisionist ethos that dominated the Western genre in the decade prior, and feels much more like a classic Western tale from the 1950s than anything else. Still, it has its fans over on Letterboxd, where several reviewers seem to like its family-friendly tone and good old fashioned morals. One highlights the “mysterious silent child” and “slow-growing father-son relationship” as being compelling enough to hold their attention. Otherwise, however, “The Red Fury” remains overlooked.

Though it hasn’t become lost media, the film is still somewhat of a mystery. Shot on location in Grafton, Utah, it was directed by Lyman Dayton, who also produced certified tear-jerker, one of the best movies set in Oklahoma, and a very similar film to “The Red Fury,” “Where the Red Fern Grows.” Unfortunately, there’s not a lot more information available about the film.

One thing we do know is that it was Alan Hale Jr.’s final Western role. That makes it significant as this is a man who essentially made a living by appearing on all the classic Western TV shows of the 20th Century while playing supporting roles in multiple classic Western films. Not only did he play a villain opposite Gregory Peck in 1950’s “The Gunfighter,” Hale Jr. appeared alongside Clint Eastwood in one of his most important Westerns, “Hang ‘Em High.” The man was a true veteran of the genre, and it’s nice to think he returned to the frontier, however briefly, one last time before his passing in 1990.