Jim Hardie is riding shotgun on a Wells Fargo stage to protect a shipment of money in route to the bank in Popular Springs. When the stage breaks down in a nearby town, Hardie tells the passengers they'll need to lay over. One young passenger on the stage, Bill Dowd, is returning home to Popular Springs after serving 3 years in prison for a crime he claims he did not commit. Dowd is known in this nearby town, and when the local citizenry give him a cool welcome, he's prepared to make serious trouble. But Hardie believes the young man just needs a helping hand to get him on the right track.
Season 3 opens with a theme that Jim Hardie experienced personally, although we don't actually find out about this until a year later with S4, E1, Young Jim Hardie, which recounts his backstory. There are times when a simple assist can prevent a man from choosing the wrong path in life.
When Dowd busts a few bottles in the saloon, he forces the elderly Sheriff, Roy Emmett, to back down over $20 in damages. But when Hardie finds Dowd has no money to pay those damages, he loans him $50, in the hopes the young man will make the best of this chance. It's a gamble that may not work, Dowd is hot-headed and is still capable of making trouble and he continues to act surly. But Hardie has other problems, as the money on the stage is a target for bandits.
I'll admit, I like this episode a lot. The script is a good one, and one of the co-writers is Gene Reynolds, who was executive producer of legendary shows such as M*A*S*H and Lou Grant. There's plenty of action, a terrific cast, and the Hardie cool factor is very high. There a couple different plot lines that converge, related to youth and age. Hardie finds that Dowd was convicted on purely circumstantial evidence, and he takes it personally to give the young man the benefit of the doubt. It's good start as the series approaches it's midpoint.
The cast is excellent. Tom Pittman appeared as Bill Dowd, and was an upcoming young actor with a good deal of credits for only 3 years in the business. Unfortunately he perished in a car accident about a month after this episode aired, in the same model of car James Dean was driving when he was killed, a Porsche Spyder. He appeared in one of my favorite Cheyenne episodes, The Long Winter. Richard Deacon is very well known from his regular roles on Leave It To Beaver and The Dick Van Dyke Show, but his credit list includes a lot more. He appeared in a number of Disney pictures, several Jerry Lewis pictures, and a lot of other noteworthy titles such as The Birds, Them!, This Island Earth, and Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Wilton Graff appeared as Marshall Roy Emmett. He isn't very well known today as his last appearance was in 1964, but he was in a ton of TV shows during the 50s-60s, and a few noteworthy pictures such as The Benny Goodman Story, Lili, and Million Dollar Mermaid. Orville Sherman appeared as the gang leader, and he had a modest career in mostly television. Jack Mulhall is an interesting cast member. He was a successful leading man in silents and pre-code pictures, but his last role as a leading man was in Fighting Lady (1935), and from there he began appearing in smaller, and eventually uncredited roles. But Jack Tornek beats them all with 554 credits, although all but 2 are uncredited bit roles.
I like this episode a lot. It's a good story, and there's a great cast. As usual, Jim Hardie is a great watch.
Season 3 opens with a theme that Jim Hardie experienced personally, although we don't actually find out about this until a year later with S4, E1, Young Jim Hardie, which recounts his backstory. There are times when a simple assist can prevent a man from choosing the wrong path in life.
When Dowd busts a few bottles in the saloon, he forces the elderly Sheriff, Roy Emmett, to back down over $20 in damages. But when Hardie finds Dowd has no money to pay those damages, he loans him $50, in the hopes the young man will make the best of this chance. It's a gamble that may not work, Dowd is hot-headed and is still capable of making trouble and he continues to act surly. But Hardie has other problems, as the money on the stage is a target for bandits.
I'll admit, I like this episode a lot. The script is a good one, and one of the co-writers is Gene Reynolds, who was executive producer of legendary shows such as M*A*S*H and Lou Grant. There's plenty of action, a terrific cast, and the Hardie cool factor is very high. There a couple different plot lines that converge, related to youth and age. Hardie finds that Dowd was convicted on purely circumstantial evidence, and he takes it personally to give the young man the benefit of the doubt. It's good start as the series approaches it's midpoint.
The cast is excellent. Tom Pittman appeared as Bill Dowd, and was an upcoming young actor with a good deal of credits for only 3 years in the business. Unfortunately he perished in a car accident about a month after this episode aired, in the same model of car James Dean was driving when he was killed, a Porsche Spyder. He appeared in one of my favorite Cheyenne episodes, The Long Winter. Richard Deacon is very well known from his regular roles on Leave It To Beaver and The Dick Van Dyke Show, but his credit list includes a lot more. He appeared in a number of Disney pictures, several Jerry Lewis pictures, and a lot of other noteworthy titles such as The Birds, Them!, This Island Earth, and Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Wilton Graff appeared as Marshall Roy Emmett. He isn't very well known today as his last appearance was in 1964, but he was in a ton of TV shows during the 50s-60s, and a few noteworthy pictures such as The Benny Goodman Story, Lili, and Million Dollar Mermaid. Orville Sherman appeared as the gang leader, and he had a modest career in mostly television. Jack Mulhall is an interesting cast member. He was a successful leading man in silents and pre-code pictures, but his last role as a leading man was in Fighting Lady (1935), and from there he began appearing in smaller, and eventually uncredited roles. But Jack Tornek beats them all with 554 credits, although all but 2 are uncredited bit roles.
I like this episode a lot. It's a good story, and there's a great cast. As usual, Jim Hardie is a great watch.
