JOHNNY YUMA AT APPOMATTOX In this first episode of the second season, Johnny Yuma is a printer's devil, working in a print shop when he overhears some men objecting to Gen. Ulysses Grant coming to town. This is a southern town and these men of the town are still "fighting the civil war" in their minds and hearts... some of them actually being in the war as was Johnny Yuma himself (hence the name of the series: "The Rebel"). Their inflammatory talk moves a youngster to do something during the visit of the Yankee General and he steals a gun with the intention of sneaking into where Grant is and assassinate him. Johnny finds out what the youth is going to do and he spins a story of his visit at Appomattox where General Lee surrenders and his intention to kill Grant himself. He then explains why he did not carry out his plot to the boy and the youth changes his mind as well.
3 Reviews
The second season opens with Johnny recounting his last days fighting the war
kevinolzak19 July 2016
"Johnny Yuma at Appomattox" was the second season opener, allowing for Nick Adams' Johnny Yuma to relate the story of his final days fighting the Civil War. Johnny currently works in the print shop of McCune (J. Pat O'Malley, last of three), whose son was among the lives lost for the Confederacy, his young grandson Jimmy (Teddy Rooney) listening to tales told in bitterness, wanting to assassinate the visiting General Ulysses S. Grant (William Bryant, fourth of nine) for the death of his father. Johnny relates his own story of being at Appomattox at the time of the surrender of General Robert E. Lee (George Macready, last of two), he too guilty of hoping to kill Grant in retaliation for the many victims that fought for the South. He'd been held captive for a year in a Union prison camp before escaping and spending six months with Lee's army in northern Virginia, present on that fateful day of April 9 1865, when Lee surrendered to Grant. Being the kind of man who won't give up without a fight, Johnny refuses to yield despite the warnings from his friend Doug (Ed Nelson, third of five), who will be happy to head on home once the papers are signed. The pilot episode took place two years after the war's end, and watching Yuma still in full battle mode is somewhat jarring, but very effective in showing just how far the hotheaded Texan had come since. Creator/producer Andrew J. Fenady (as Union General Sheridan) makes his second and last appearance on the show, scripting for the fourth and final episode, while William Harlow was doing the second of nine episodes. Though this was the first time that William Bryant portrayed the hallowed general, producer Andrew J. Fenady would later cast him as President Grant in several episodes of the Chuck Connors series BRANDED.
Will Johnny Yuma pull the trigger and shoot General Grant?
FloridaFred26 October 2019
This is a tough one to watch. Southerners watching this show, especially in 1960 when emotions over The War Against Northern Aggression were still running high, want Johnny Yuma to pull the trigger and shoot General Grant. But just like the fictitious character "The Rebel", we Southerners have the greatest respect for General Robert E. Lee, and will abide by whatever decisions Lee makes. And of course, it's not a spoiler to say that Johnny Yuma could not nor did not shoot Grant, because that would have changed history, and the series would make no sense.
The writers successfully show Grant as kind and conceding at the surrender, allowing the Confederates to keep their personal horses and mules (which is historically correct). They properly show General Lee as the superior of the two commanding officers. Actor George Macready does a commendable job of portraying General Robert E. Lee, and William Bryant is convincing as Grant (although the beard is obviously fake).
Ed Nelson ("Doug") and J. Pat O'Malley ("McCune") put on fine performances. Actor Teddy Rooney handles the part of "Jimmy McCune" quite well.
Fans of "The Rebel" will appreciate the background information that this episode gives on Johnny Yuma. His service in the Confederate States Army, his imprisonment at Rock Island, and his final tour of duty with the Army of Northern Virginia under General Robert E. Lee.
An interesting episode and a great start to the second year of "The Rebel". I rate this episode 10 stars.
The writers successfully show Grant as kind and conceding at the surrender, allowing the Confederates to keep their personal horses and mules (which is historically correct). They properly show General Lee as the superior of the two commanding officers. Actor George Macready does a commendable job of portraying General Robert E. Lee, and William Bryant is convincing as Grant (although the beard is obviously fake).
Ed Nelson ("Doug") and J. Pat O'Malley ("McCune") put on fine performances. Actor Teddy Rooney handles the part of "Jimmy McCune" quite well.
Fans of "The Rebel" will appreciate the background information that this episode gives on Johnny Yuma. His service in the Confederate States Army, his imprisonment at Rock Island, and his final tour of duty with the Army of Northern Virginia under General Robert E. Lee.
An interesting episode and a great start to the second year of "The Rebel". I rate this episode 10 stars.
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