Being a coward is a tough reputation to live down, even if it is undeserved. And nobody knew that better than Jason McCord, a decorated soldier and West Point graduate who was court-marshaled and dishonorably discharged from the army after being the only survivor of the ill-waged Battle of Bitter Creek. From that point forth, he lived a life with a reputation as having been Branded.

Chuck Connors, the former professional athlete who had enjoyed a successful run as television’s The Rifleman starred as McCord, a veteran who allowed his name to be disgraced rather than sully the name of the Army Commander who had actually been responsible for the events at Bitter Creek. At the beginning of each show, his past was recapped during the opening, which showed his epaulets being ripped off, the buttons cut from his uniform and his sabre being broken in two, before being given his marching orders out of the military. Dejected and drummed from the military he loved, he set out westward, performing odd jobs that his military training had prepared him for and trying to forever prove along the way that he was still a man, in a world that had cruelly branded him a coward.

Branded unfortunately came at a time when Westerns were starting to lose their television appeal. With the exception of Bonanza, viewing audiences were more interested in sitcoms than cowboys and, even with the star power of Connors in the lead role, Branded would only survive for a total of 48 episodes. A handful of episodes that had been shot in color would eventually be edited together to create a full-length 1966 theatrical release dubbed Broken Sabre.