Former child superstar Patty Duke loses her sparkle in lackluster episode. Duke's subdued performance as Sue Ann leaks all the spunk from her upwardly mobile character, resulting in one of the most joyless saloon girls in TV western history. Feeble script, weakened most by its writers' patronizing assumptions about the lives the rural poor lead, is only kept breathing by the assured acting of Doug McClure, Clu Gulager and young Tim McIntire as a sneaky bad guy. Tightly wrapped actor Paul Carr, who always looked like he'd just bit a lemon, plays the dim-witted suitor Sue Ann is understandably leery of. Viewers are left to wonder how story's resolution leaves her any better off than she was at the start.
3 Reviews
Fun and adventure
bkoganbing5 June 2020
Patty Duke guest stars in this Virginian episode about a farm girl who longs to
father Ed Binns's farm and see the world. The immediate world is Medicine Bow
where her father's hand Paul Carr comes after her and gets a job on Shiloh.
Another Shiloh hand Tim McIntire also takes an interest, but he's a shady character suspected of stealing from his former employer.
Duke who finshed off her own TV show run does quite well as the farm girl. In a part which usually calls for hardbitten types, Ed Binns does really fine as the father willing to give his daughter her head.
She does come home sadder and wiser, but with the possibility of a happy ending.
Another Shiloh hand Tim McIntire also takes an interest, but he's a shady character suspected of stealing from his former employer.
Duke who finshed off her own TV show run does quite well as the farm girl. In a part which usually calls for hardbitten types, Ed Binns does really fine as the father willing to give his daughter her head.
She does come home sadder and wiser, but with the possibility of a happy ending.
Lackluster Episode
kjarvis-211106 June 2023
Warning: Spoilers
This was not Patty Duke's best performance. She plays Sue Ann, a poor farm girl who runs away from home, heading for San Francisco, only to end up working as a saloon girl in Medicine Bow. She had to have been the saddest saloon girl ever and never smiled everytime she was shown on camera in the saloon. I wish they would have picked someone besides Paul Carr to play Joe. He alway looks like he's been sucking on lemons. The majority of his rolls are similar to this one, the poor, sad, helpless guy that everyone picks on. He always seems to end up crying in every roll he takes. His character is in love with Patty Duke's character, but he never has the courage to ask her to marry him. The ending is too predictable and Patty Duke's character is no better off than she was at the beginning. .
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