Wanted: Dead or Alive (TV Series) Sheriff of Red Rock (1958) User Reviews

Very Suspenseful!

[ccthemovieman-1 · 9/10 · 23 August 2006]

Josh is taking back a prisoner when he's ambushed by two other bounty hunters. They want to take the man Josh caught and collect the reward. The prisoner says he'll tell what went on when he has his trial, so the ambushers let him go, but then shoot him as rides off. Josh escapes and catches up to the wounded guy and eventually brings him in. However, when he gets to the sheriff's office, the two ambushers are there. They had told the sheriff that Randall ambushed THEM and took the prisoner, and that the reward belongs to them.

Josh is asked if anyone saw him take the prisoner. Did he have any witnesses. When he answers "no," the sheriff puts him in an adjacent cell to the wounded man, who isn't hurt as badly as thought, and is expected to stand trial the next morning. (Contrast that to today's court delays!)

Anyway, it turns out the sheriff is in cahoots with these two crooked bounty hunters, and has been for months, allowing jail escapes and sharing the bounty rewards as the three of them wait outside for the escapees and then shoot them. This prisoner (who now appears innocent but is convinced they will hang him anyway, so why not try to escape?) sees his opportunity and goes for it. However, Randall knows it's a setup.

How is Randall going to prevent another murder and see that justice is done? That's the story, and not wanting spoilers, I'll end here.

This is a very interesting episode with lots of action and particularly suspense.

Parable for the 21st Century?

[ebertip · 7/10 · 23 May 2019]

The title is "Sheriff of Red Rock" and yes there is a Red Rock, New Mexico near Gallup in Native American country. The sheriff, played by Frank Silvera, has worked the town for 17 years but is now supplementing his income with the "bounty game." So the set-up is low paid well respected civil servant gone bad. The 1958 depiction of an 1870s western town shows the judge does not want to believe outsider Josh and is biased toward believing the locals and the sheriff. In the morality of a 1958 tv western, bad guy Stoner (played by James West) quickly comes clean, leading to a final confrontation among the sheriff, the judge and Josh. One wonders in the real life of the 21st century, whether this scene plays out differently with local judge backing the sheriff's play? Perhaps the value of this episode is in comparing 1958 to the early 21st century.