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''Branded'' is an American western series which aired on NBC from 1965 through 1966, sponsored by Procter & Gamble in its Sunday night 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time period, and starred Chuck Connors as Jason McCord, a United States Army Cavalry captain who had been drummed out of the service following an unjust accusation of cowardice. ==Description== The opening title credits of each episode in the series feature a depiction of McCord's cashiering: his hat is pulled off, his epaulets are torn from his uniform, his buttons are pulled off, and his saber is broken, while a drum plays over Dominic Frontiere and Alan Alch's theme song: ''"All but one man died...There at Bitter Creek...and they say he ran away. ''Branded! Marked with a coward's shame. ''What do you do when you're branded, will you fight for your name? ''He was innocent . . . not a charge was true . . . but the world would never know. ''Branded! Scorned as the one who ran. ''What do you do when you're branded, and you know you're a man? ''Wherever you go for the rest of your life you must prove ... you're a man." '' He is then sent out of the fort where this occurred, and the gates are closed behind him. In the pilot episode entitled "The Vindicator" McCord is confronted by a newspaper reporter (Claude Akins) who wanted a follow up story on the "Bitter Creek" massacre. General James Reed, McCord's mentor, was on a peace mission and was to meet with representatives of the Apache nation at Bitter Creek when his unit of 31 men were outnumbered and attacked by a group of renegade Indians known as "Dog Soldiers." As the attack was underway McCord realized that the old general had taken leave of his senses and relieved him of command, but it was too late. McCord himself was wounded in the battle and left for dead. He remained in a coma for ten days after the attack. McCord was later brought up on charges of deserting his men in battle, convicted and cashiered out of the Army. The newspaper reporter meanwhile tracked down a widow of the "Bitter Creek" massacre (June Lockhart). Her husband was third in command, and had written several letters questioning Reed's mental state. Those letters would have been enough to grant McCord a new trial and possibly exonerate him. But it was McCord who convinced the widow to burn the letters in order to save the reputation of General Reed. McCord feared that if Reed's reputation was damaged, certain people in Washington DC would try to start a new war with the Apaches. Therefore, McCord never spoke out about what really happened at Bitter Creek. McCord's cavalry saber is seen to be broken as part of the dismissal ceremony shown at the beginning of each episode during the opening theme. McCord has the pommel and remaining blade sharpened into a long knife which becomes a prop in many episodes. In the series, McCord traveled throughout the Old West, continually confronted by people who refused to believe his notorious reputation for cowardice was undeserved, requiring him to prove them wrong. John M. Pickard, formerly of the related series, ''Boots and Saddles'', appeared in six episodes as General Phil Sheridan. Notable guest stars included Chris Alcaide, Russ Conway, Don Collier, Burgess Meredith, John Carradine, Pat Conway, Alex Cord, Janet De Gore, Dolores del Rio, Chad Everett, I. Stanford Jolley, Martin Landau, June Lockhart, Gregg Palmer, Larry Pennell, Burt Reynolds, and Lee Van Cleef. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Branded (TV series)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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