Boobirt Stylish but barely mediocre overall

Rijndri Load of rubbish!!

Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Kirandeep Yoder The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

Lilly Munster The Adventures of Jim Bowie is a prime example of the approval and promotion of the rampant racism and genocidal behavior of the American People, their Government and their Religions. In far too many Jim Bowie episodes, it is ASSUMED that American Indian Natives are evil, untrustworthy, and less than human. The plot line is very clear.......KILL these Savages, or at lease use violence and trickery to steal their land, break Treaties with them, and demonize them entirely. The same is true of the series' treatment of American Blacks. Shameful stuff. The value in watching Jim Bowie is to recognize and understand the shameful racism and bigotries in our American past, and that it continues today in more subtle, yet even more entrenched ways. Our Nation's (U.S.A.) political and financial support of the genocide against Palestinians is a good example of our ongoing national shame. People of Conscience understand this. Hollywood does not, even to this day. One wonders if Amazon will allow this viewpoint to be expressed?

pensman I was about eleven when this series appeared and it was a favorite of mine along with Yancy Derringer, Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, and Davy Crockett. We weren't looking for historical accuracy, just heroes. We had all heard of Jim Bowie and the knife he made, so this was a perfect show. Jim was all the things it said about him in the theme song: he was brave, courageous, and bold. The stories were pretty simple; but Scott Forbes looked the part, and he had some interesting adventures. Now that they have started to rerun the series on Cozi TV, I get a kick out of the revisionist history and the portrayals of Jean Lafitte, Sam Houston, Davy Crockett, and even George Washington. A modern audience might either be confused or interested in watching Bowie in his many trading trips into Texas which to him is a Mexican territory. Bowie always tries to be courteous in his dealings with the Mexicans and everyone else. There is a bit of a mystery about the series as it was a hit for Desilu and for no apparent reason the series was canceled. It is still a watchable show but actually more character than action driven.

aimless-46 Adventures of Jim Bowie originally aired on ABC from 1956-1958. This DVD contains the entire run of the series whose target audience was probably pre-teen boys. Today it is fun just to see the incredible historical liberties taken by the writers. Scott Forbes (a British actor who had found a home in American television's many dramatic anthology series) plays the title character. Bowie and his brother Rezin (Peter Hanson) had invented the "Bowie Knife" and the opening credits begin with a knife being thrown into a wooden door. Then begins the theme song by the King's Men Quartet (not to be confused with the pop group that gave us "Louie Louie" a few years later). Based on a novel "The Tempered Blade" by Monte Barrett, the series is set in the Louisiana- Texas region during the 1830's and the many episodes have Jim interacting with historical figures from the period like Andrew Jackson, John James Audubon, and Jean Lafitte the Pirate. If you were a young boy back in 1957 you could have mistakenly formed the impression that Lafitte was a central figure in American history, as it was his gold doubloons that the Hardy Boys were after on the "Mickey Mouse Club's serial: "Applegate's Treasure". Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child. "Jim Bowie Jim Bowie, he was a bold adventurer man. Jim Bowie Jim Bowie, he battled for rights with a powerful hand. His blade was tempered and so was he, indestructible steel was he. Jim Bowie Jim Bowie Jim Bowie, he was a fighter, a fearless and mighty adventurer man".

bkoganbing I think I remember this series because right around the time that I saw this on television I read Marquis James's two classic biographies of Andrew Jackson and Sam Houston which covered the era in our American south that Jim Bowie was operating in. If anyone has not read anything by Marquis James I urge them to. Better biographies have come out on both these guys, but as a writer James can't be beat. Maybe he romanticized the south a little too much, still his is the most readable of history.The real Jim Bowie whose life was ennobled by martyrdom at The Alamo was a thoroughgoing scoundrel. But you won't find it here. Scott Forbes with an easygoing southern charm and accent that British players find so easy to adapt is the Jim Bowie of our frontier legends.During the course of the two year run of the series, Bowie ran into just about everyone of consequence in that part of America most of whom he may never have met. One episode had him with Davy Crockett and in fact those two never met until The Alamo. Andrew Jackson appears in a couple of episodes. In fact Jackson might have carved Bowie up with his own knife had they occasion to meet for Bowie's politics made him a supporter of Henry Clay.One guy who does pop up in the series a few times is pirate Jean Lafitte. He and Bowie did a considerable amount of business together including buying and selling of slaves and stealing and double selling same. That's not in the series however.The Adventures of Jim Bowie was distinguished by that theme song which I can still remember sung by the King's Men and hummed at various points of the episodes for effect. I had occasion to see some episodes a few years back and they were as I remember them as a kid. But I have to confess I burst out laughing when the King's Men sung about how Bowie fought for the rights of man.Jackson, Houston, Crockett, Lafitte, John Howard Payne, Johnny Appleseed, John James Audobon, Osceola, just some of the folks you'll run into in this series even if the real Jim Bowie never did.