Clothes Make the Man: Josh Randall, The Khaki Pants Wearing Bounty Hunter of the West (he doesn't care what you think)
Okay, they're not necessarily khaki pants, but we're going to pretend they are.
Josh Randall is a stinkin' style icon. Everything about his character is not normal, so to completely confuse and not let you understand him at all -- he doesn't dress "typically" either.
Josh Randall is a bounty hunter. Bounty hunters are reviled in all self-respecting classic television westerns. They are considered cowardly, irresponsible, and just plain evil. Josh Randall is also a loner; he doesn't really like working with other people. Josh Randall is also the protagonist -- the hero of Wanted: Dead or Alive.
So, you know, to maybe smooth over the fact their protagonist was a bounty hunter, you'd think that the people responsible would have wanted Steve McQueen to really look like the part of THE good guy.
Nope.
Josh Randall wanders around the West wearing an anti-hero brown shirt, khaki pants (WITHOUT A BELT), and The Mare's Leg (his sawed-off shotgun or rifle or whatever). He just doesn't care.
But, the clothes fit the character. Josh Randall is inscrutable and impossibly cool (quite different from the man playing him, of course).
One never knows exactly what Josh Randall may do. He's cares slightly less about the "justice" part of bounty hunting than he does about the money part of it. (Julie Taggert: My father gets paid $40 a month for capturing men like Jumbo Kane, Forty dollars! You collect a thousand for doing the same thing. Josh: Yes, ma'am. That's why I do it.) But, he's also been known to give part or all his rewards away to people in need. He refuses some nuns who beg him for his help in rescuing a nun who has been taken hostage because they cannot pay him and "prayers can't help him much at the poker table." But, he eventually rescues the nun and takes down the bad guys. He's basically just completely softhearted as he ALWAYS comes around to helping the those who need him -- it's just not usually his first response (or even necessarily a part of his normal nature).
Anyway, back to the actual CLOTHES part of this post.
Along with his basic brown and khaki, Josh can be often seen sporting one of two jackets. Either the one pictured above or -- more commonly -- his beloved, gross, sheep fur-ish coat:
And occasionally if he's just relaxing around town, Josh Randall even dons a suit! (Note: I WANTED to screencap the episode where all of his clothes besides his suit are basically being held hostage and he gets into so many fights that by the end of the ep the poor suit is just so beat-up and pitiful, but that disc is not currently in my immediate possession. SADNESS.)
But, of course, Josh Randall's most awesome appearance choice is his face The Mare's Leg.
The Mare's Leg is just COOL. It's quite famous, as apparently every person living in the west in the 1870s recognizes it.
It's an unusual weapon, but it fits (I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but Josh Randall is an atypical western hero).
Really, as I started to explain before, it is difficult to understand Josh Randall. He's a bounty hunter, but he's also quite intelligent (he apparently worked at a bank before he fled the "jail") and is seemingly "above" most of the people he meets.
Look at this conversation from "Call Your Shot":
Hendricks: I guess you figure this town owes you an apology, Mr. Randall?
Josh: Not at all, Mr. Hendricks. This town can only do one thing for me.
Hendricks: What's that?
Josh: Watch me ride out. It's gonna be the first time in a week I feel clean.
Oh, JUNK IT. Hendricks just felt the full force of Josh Randall in moral outrage mode.
And really, Josh Randall does not get angry that often. He possesses an almost frightening amount of patience. I mean, how else did he manage to put up with Jason (his SCARILY ANNOYING, temporary sidekick) for half of the second season?! And HOW ELSE does he manage to NOT murder that reporter from "The Twain Shall Meet" who I am ready to strangle within three seconds?!
Please Josh! Kill him now and put us out of our misery!
This post makes no sense at all. I am very sorry. Josh Randall and his clothes and his awesomeness deserve much better than this, BUT I JUST CAN'T EXPLAIN IT! So, how about a few random shots?
Anyway, even though this post is basically just rambling about nothing, Wanted: Dead or Alive is an impossible brilliantly cool show that everyone needs to go watch! Josh Randall is a unique and fascinating character played perfectly by Steve McQueen and everything is utterly Wowzie Kazam.
Stella Winter: How can we ever thank you?
Josh: A check would do very nicely.
-Meg
originally published on the Stupendously Amazingly Cool World of Old TV on July 16, 2011