The BEST episodes of Wanted: Dead or Alive

Every episode of Wanted: Dead or Alive ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Wanted: Dead or Alive!

A Civil War veteran with a sawed-off rifle as a holstered weapon makes a living as a bounty hunter in the Wild West of the 1870s. Wanted: Dead or Alive originally aired in Black and white on CBS. The pilot aired on the series "Trackdown" in March 1958. Bounty hunter Josh Randall was unlike any bounty hunter, he usually gave half or all of his reward money to good causes. He was a gentlemen and very respectful of the elderly. He was a man of few words and seemed to lack emotion but he was adept at using his gun, not an ordinary gun but a .44-.40 sawed-off 1892 Winchester carbine which he had on his "Mare's Leig", BUT the cartridges in his belt were .45-.70! His catch phrase in almost every episode was "Let's Go" which he spoke softly and sounded more like les goo. A treasure one not to be missed, especially to see Mr. Cool himself, Steve McQueen.

Last Updated: 9/2/2024Network: CBSStatus: Ended
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Barney's Bounty
star
8.78
32 votes

#1 - Barney's Bounty

Season 3 - Episode 26 - Aired 3/29/1961

Josh stops at his friend Barney's to get horses for his two prisoners, they manage to escape, leaving Josh and Barney to get them back for the reward.

Directors: Richard Donner
Watch Now:Amazon
Ransom for a Nun
star
8.46
13 votes

#2 - Ransom for a Nun

Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired 10/18/1958

Mother Superior asks Josh to find Sister Grace who is being held by outlaws.

Directors: Don McDougall
Watch Now:Amazon
Rope Law
star
8.20
5 votes

#3 - Rope Law

Season 1 - Episode 18 - Aired 1/3/1959

Josh returns with his prisoner Brace Logan and a lynch mob overtakes him. A little too late the townspeople realize that Logan was innocent and that the guilty party is some well respected.

Directors: Thomas Carr
Watch Now:Amazon
Competition
star
8.00
3 votes

#4 - Competition

Season 1 - Episode 22 - Aired 1/31/1959

Josh is confronted by two bounty hunters who think he is onto a big paying job.

Directors: R.G. Springsteen
Writer: Dann Ullman
Watch Now:Amazon
Call Your Shot
star
8.00
3 votes

#5 - Call Your Shot

Season 1 - Episode 23 - Aired 2/7/1959

Josh is hired by Gabe Henshaw to find his son Will.

Directors: Donald McDougall
Watch Now:Amazon
The Empty Cell
star
8.00
3 votes

#6 - The Empty Cell

Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired 10/17/1959

Josh delivers a prisoner to the sheriff, in the morning Josh realizes that there was an impostor and that the prisoner has successfully escaped with his cohort.

Directors: Thomas Carr
Watch Now:Amazon
Journey for Josh
star
8.00
2 votes

#7 - Journey for Josh

Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/5/1960

Josh is delivering a female prisoner and becomes smitten with her, unknown to him is her accomplice, who is following them to break her loose.

Writer: Ed Adamson
Watch Now:Amazon
The Twain Shall Meet
star
8.00
2 votes

#8 - The Twain Shall Meet

Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/19/1960

Josh allows an Eastern newspaper reporter to go with him on a manhunt for a story.

Directors: Richard Donner
Watch Now:Amazon
The Showdown
star
8.00
2 votes

#9 - The Showdown

Season 3 - Episode 6 - Aired 10/26/1960

Johnny Haywood, a childhood friend of Josh's claims to be innocent of the crime he is accused of. When he escapes, Josh is ordered to bring him back - dead or alive.

Directors: Murray Golden
Writer: Ed Adamson
Watch Now:Amazon
Reunion for Revenge
star
7.71
7 votes

#10 - Reunion for Revenge

Season 1 - Episode 21 - Aired 1/24/1959

Intent on revenge several escaped convicts confront Josh's prisoner who is responsible for them going to jail.

Directors: R.G. Springsteen
Watch Now:Amazon
Vanishing Act
star
7.67
3 votes

#11 - Vanishing Act

Season 2 - Episode 16 - Aired 12/26/1959

On the trail of bank robber Bart McCready, Josh discovers that he is posing as an escape artist named ""The Great Bartolo"".

Directors: Donald McDougall
Watch Now:Amazon
The Corner
star
7.50
8 votes

#12 - The Corner

Season 1 - Episode 25 - Aired 2/21/1959

Accused of killing a friend, bounty hunter Josh Randall tries to prove himself innocent.

Directors: R.G. Springsteen
Watch Now:Amazon
The Tyrant
star
7.50
4 votes

#13 - The Tyrant

Season 2 - Episode 9 - Aired 10/31/1959

Recruited by the army, Josh seeks the horses and the deserter who stole them. And he finds both the horses and the man - in custody of the town's marshal. But the marshal, who's ruling the town with an iron fist, isn't willing to give them back.

Directors: Donald McDougall
Writer: Tom Gries
Watch Now:Amazon
The Fourth Headstone
star
7.49
41 votes

#14 - The Fourth Headstone

Season 1 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/1/1958

Josh is hired on the help transport a female prisoner who has murdered three men to another jail.

Directors: Donald McDougall
Watch Now:Amazon
Dead End
star
7.48
52 votes

#15 - Dead End

Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 9/27/1958

After being hired to apprehend a ranch worker who stole money and disappeared, Josh undercovers more than he bargained for.

Directors: Thomas Carr
Watch Now:Amazon
Miracle at Pot Hole
star
7.44
43 votes

#16 - Miracle at Pot Hole

Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 10/25/1958

Josh hands over a criminal to Sheriff Wilson and finds out the sheriff is a crook. He begins to doubt the guilt of his so-called criminal.

Directors: Thomas Carr
Writer: Ellis Marcus
Watch Now:Amazon
Passing of Shawnee Bill
star
7.43
51 votes

#17 - Passing of Shawnee Bill

Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/4/1958

After a crooked poker game, Josh is led to believe that his opponent is Shawnee Bill.

Directors: Thomas Carr
Writer: David Lang
Watch Now:Amazon
The Favor
star
7.37
43 votes

#18 - The Favor

Season 1 - Episode 11 - Aired 11/15/1958

Josh searches for a robbery suspect in a town called Bent Horn run by outlaws.

Directors: Thomas Carr
Watch Now:Amazon
The Bounty
star
7.33
54 votes

#19 - The Bounty

Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 9/20/1958

A vicious Bounty Hunter named Daimler is sought by Josh after Daimler gunned down an elderly fugitive.

Directors: Thomas Carr
Watch Now:Amazon
Til Death Do Us Part
star
7.33
39 votes

#20 - Til Death Do Us Part

Season 1 - Episode 10 - Aired 11/8/1958

Beautiful Stacy Torrance is wanted for the murder of her husband, but when Josh finds her husband still alive he tries to have the charges cleared.

Directors: Donald McDougall
Writer: Don Brinkley
Watch Now:Amazon
The Hostage
star
7.33
3 votes

#21 - The Hostage

Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired 10/10/1959

Josh delivers Jumbo Kane, a highly dangerous and already sentenced to death man. Soon after he has handed him over to the sheriff, Kane takes the sheriff by surprise and kills him.

Directors: Donald McDougall
Writer: Don Brinkley
Watch Now:Amazon
Man on Horseback
star
7.33
3 votes

#22 - Man on Horseback

Season 2 - Episode 14 - Aired 12/5/1959

Charley Red Cloud is blamed for the murder of Will Bascomb. Bascomb's brother, Merv places a high bounty on Red Cloud.

Directors: Donald McDougall
Watch Now:Amazon
Jason
star
7.33
3 votes

#23 - Jason

Season 2 - Episode 21 - Aired 1/30/1960

Josh caught 'Doc' Phillips, the partner of Clell Fennon, and now wants to use him as a bait to get Fennon - worth $5.000 - himself.

Directors: George Blair
Watch Now:Amazon
The Partners
star
7.33
3 votes

#24 - The Partners

Season 2 - Episode 22 - Aired 2/6/1960

Josh gets arrested - for horse theft. Then he finds out it was Jason who wants him behind bars because Jason wants to go after Billy Joe Henry alone.

Directors: George Blair
Watch Now:Amazon
Sheriff of Red Rock
star
7.32
38 votes

#25 - Sheriff of Red Rock

Season 1 - Episode 13 - Aired 11/29/1958

The Sheriff of Red Rock allows his prisoners to escape, so two bounty hunters can collect the reward and split it three ways.

Directors: Thomas Carr
Watch Now:Amazon