Poseidon Quickies: Rinsing Off Some Trail Dust

In the comments section of a recent post, the anachronistic costuming of some 1960s TV westerns was mentioned. I particularly cited the wild example of one Robert Wolders of the 1965-1967 series Laredo. One day, while watching it on an over-the-air channel in my kitchen, I wondered if I'd actually seen what I thought I did! One of his get-ups was just that eye-popping. As seen here, Wolders (who only appeared in season two of the show) wasn't always shown in something crazy. The most arresting part of this black outfit is the pin on his ascot. 

But trust and believe... it wasn't always this benign. The handsome Dutch actor, who portrayed the show's dandy ladies' man, would soon enough be appearing in some wild outfits. If he seems familiar beyond his ten-year acting career (from 1965-1975), it may be due to his position as husband to Merle Oberon and latter-day companion to Audrey Hepburn.

The colorful jacket he's sporting here is more indicative of the ensembles he modeled while working on Laredo.

Wolders was one of those actors whose prominent brow sometimes cast a shadow over his eyes, so it wasn't always easy to see those baby blues, but I managed it here. He also tended to generate a wide variety of expressions which tended to distort his brooding good looks.

Seen here with his costars: the hunky William Smith, cutie-pie Peter Brown and craggy Neville Brande - He indeed wore some crazy shit on the western series. But if you'll note the title of this post, you'll see that his clothing isn't even actually the purpose of my musings here today. I just wanted to give you that little bit of colorful background.

While on a mission with his fellow Texas Rangers, Wolders heads to a cantina where he is familiar with the proprietor.

...or perhaps I should say proprietress! Omnipresent 1960s TV guest star Barbara Luna plays an old acquaintance of his, though she's not 100% sure that their reunion is going to be a smooth one.

But he turns on the charm...

...and soon enough it's just like old times.

He's invited back to her private chambers. Meanwhile, his buddies are out in the sagebrush swallowing sand and hot air. Eventually, they've had enough and come looking for him.

What they discover when they find him is startling. He's enjoying a luxurious bath!

The trio can hardly believe their eyes when they come in from the choking desert to find their cohort leisurely washing up.

That's hardly the end of their surprises, though.

He's got the curvaceous Luna seeing to his every need, even rinsing him off with a pitcher of warm water...!

We're of the firm belief that no TV or movie western is complete without a nice, hot bath amid the proceedings.

As you can see, the typically duded-up Wolders looks every bit as good out of his clothes as in them!

And to our delight, we even get a towel shot as the sequence wraps up.

Brown seems to approve, too!

And that's a wrap!

If'n you'd like to see this episode in its entirety, it's available for viewing in a pretty good print right here.