Incident of the Boomerang Mar 24, 1961
Incident of His Brother's Keeper Mar 31, 1961
Incident in the Middle of Nowhere Apr 7, 1961
Incident of the Phantom Bugler Apr 14, 1961
The drive crosses paths with an Australian, (Michael Pate finally gets to play someone form his own country), looking to buy cattle for his ranch in that country. He uses a boomerang rather than a gun or bow and arrow to resolve disputes, as does his assistant, played by Woody Strode, (is he supposed to be an aborigene?). James Drury, a year away from the beginning of 'The Virginian' plays an old flame of Pate's fiancé. He's not a nice guy where and conspires with the local Indian tribe to attack the drive. They take Favor, Yates and the Aussies prisoner. Drury wants Pate killed but instead they put him through "the gauntlet, (a ritual more known to European armies and navies and to the Iroquois in the east). Pate does this with courage, causing the Indian to side with him v. Drury's character, suggesting that the title is a metaphor.
'Incident of His Brother's Keeper' is another story having nothing to do with a trail drive but it's a good one. Wishbone hurts his back, (with Mushy's assistance). Pete Nolan accompanies him to a nearby town to get a doctor's help. There they meet a young rancher in a wheelchair, (Jack Lord, a year away from Stoney Burke and six from Hawaii Five-O), who is there because his horse fell on him. He's got an ambitious brother, (the rather stiff Jeff Richards, an ex-baseball player who wound up being a studio carpenter), and a wife, (the wonderful Susan Oliver, later a famous aviatrix), who is sick of caring for him and has fallen for the brother. Lord asks Nolan to take his wife to a dance so she can have a good time. There he has a confrontation with Richards and then with Oliver on the way home. It becomes a sort of combination of 'Othello' and "The Taming of the Shrew" with an explosive ending. Wishbone seems to have healed up at the end of it.
Favor and Rowdy, (this one was obviously made while Sheb Wooley and Paul Brinnegar were making 'Brother's Keeper') are looking for water and a way through some mountains, (don't they know- they've been through here before), when the encounter the surreal site of an old man watching a bunch of ballet dancers. Favor calls them that but Rowdy wonders why he doesn't see their bellies. "No- b-a-l-l-e-t!"). This odd opening has nothing to do with the plot. The old guy, (Cecil Kellaway), can afford whatever entertainments he wants, (the episode ends with him watching some can-can girls), because he's got a source for gold, (in Texas, Kansas or Missouri?) and figures anyone who comes near is after his gold, which he has arranged with the local Indians to mine, protect and share with them. Favor and Yates go to a nearby town where Elisha Cook Jr. (Wilmer in the 'The Maltese Falson' and the guy Jack Palance shoots down in 'Shane'), says he can lead them through the mountains. Fay Spain asks them to take her with them in search of her husband and slimy James Griffith and Charles Fredericks overhear them talking about gold. It's a potent stew of characters - and actors.
'Incident of the Phantom Bugler' is a nice title. It's promising episode with a weak ending, similar to 'Boomerang' but not as convincing. The drive encounters a bunch of Jayhawkers at a river. They claim to own the rights to the river and are led by a former military officer played by Jock Mahoney. He's married to Kathie Browne, the daughter of a Judge, (Vaughn Taylor), who assures everyone that this claim of ownership over open range is legally valid - especially when it's backed up by Mahoney's men. Browne is sick of the ambitions of both men and convinces Favor to take her with her and use her as a hostage. Favor and Mahoney wind up duking it out in one of the best choreographed fight scenes I've seen. In an upset, the bad guy wins but the good guy wants to continue, even though he's been thoroughly beaten up. Somehow this convinces Mahoney that Favor must be in the right or he wouldn't keep fighting. The judge who is one with the cynicism to be the real bad guy just rides off. It's just not very convincing.
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