Bronco (1962)

 

In its final 13 episodes, which aired in 1962, Bronco trod much of the same ground it had in previous years, with the titular character serving in a different capacity each week and brushing up against historical figures and events to try to infuse some interest in an otherwise derivative western. In these last episodes he encounters Wild Bill Hickock for the second time in "One Evening in Abilene" (March 19, 1962) where Hickock serves as marshal. He meets General William Tecumseh Sherman in "The Immovable Object" (April 16, 1962), having fought against him in the Civil War as a Rebel captain. And he receives a letter from President Abraham Lincoln while carrying out a secret mission for the U.S. government in "The Last Letter" (March 5, 1962). This is presented as the "last letter" Lincoln wrote before his assassination on April 14, 1865, just 5 days after Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered to Grant to end the Civil War. What are the chances Bronco, an officer in the Confederate Army, would be entrusted with a top secret mission for the government he fought against just 5 days after his General's surrender?

But this episode, like roughly half of those aired in 1962, centers around the theme of burying the hatchet after the bloody and divisive Civil War. This episode also ties into another historical event of the era--the French takeover of Mexico--and Bronco's secret mission is to help fund the deposed Mexican government of Juarez against the French-installed monarchy of Maximilian. Bronco's crew delivering a shipment of gold to Mexico is made up of former Rebel soldiers, dubbed "Reconstructed Rebels." Some are more honorable than others, but the real villain in this and other episodes are those who try to play both sides against each other. In this case, renegade McKee Bucklin conspires with the Comanches to attack his own wagon train so that he can take control of the gold, which he has already agreed to deliver to the French--for a price. The Mexican conflict is featured again in "Until Kingdom Come" (March 26, 1962), only this time Bronco has been recruited to protect a Duchess related to Maximilian, since deposed, whose nephew Philip is heir to the throne. It doesn't make any sense that he would serve on opposite sides of the conflict unless he, too, were nothing more than a mercenary, but we are not expected to look for any consistency from week to week, only to trust that whatever side our hero is on is the right one--for that week, at least.

Bronco clashes with another duplicitous marauder in the last episode of the series, "Then the Mountains" (April 30, 1962). Kent Bohannon led a band of raiders who targeted both sides during the War but was eventually court martialed and sentenced to prison but managed to escape and now has an axe to grind with Bronco, who was one of many who testified against him. He runs into Bohannon after one of Bohannon's associates sells and then steals a group of horses from him while Bronco is leading a wagon train of former Virginia Confederates headed for Oregon. In that wagon train is former Confederate soldier Ben Cullen, who still bears ill will toward any Yankees and makes him distrustful of anything they may tell him. This attitude gets him into trouble while Bronco is away trying to escape from Bohannon and Cullen is advised by Yankee Army deserter Frankie Banton not to take a promised shortcut across the mountains. Banton knows there is no such shortcut and recognizes the fake sign as a trap (by Bohannon, as it turns out), but Cullen refuses to believe a Yankee would tell him the truth and leads the entire wagon train into Bohannon's trap. As with several other episodes from 1962 wherein Bronco, the ex-Confederate, has to tell his compatriots that the war is over and it is time to move forward, the message here is that both sides of the War must learn to live together again, a particularly timely message for 1962 as the Civil Rights Movement was in full swing and moving toward the Civil Rights Act of 1964. However, as with most television programs of the era, there is no mention of slavery as being the central issue of the Civil War (which is only referred to on Bronco as the War Between the States, the preferred term of Southerners who refused to acknowledge the real reason for the War). TV networks and sponsors bent over backwards not to rile up bitter Southerners just waiting for a provocation to get their dander up, which is exactly the attitude we see from Cullen in this episode. appeasement of Southerners is portrayed in this episode by Union Army commander Lt. Ames, who stops Bronco's wagon train while searching for the deserter Banton. Cullen seems ready to take offense at anything Ames says, but Ames is careful to offer his respect to former Confederate officer Bronco as an equal, and when Bronco gives his word that Banton is not in his wagon train, Ames is willing to accept his word without a search, though it turns out that Bronco was mistaken, not knowing that Banton was hiding in one of his own wagons.

Bronco also adheres to the "don't-stir-the-pot" strategy in "One Evening in Abilene" when he advises former Confederate soldier Clay Farraday not to go to Abilene, one of the worst cities for former Yankee-Rebel clashes since the state of Kansas was split down the middle during the Civil War and its citizens still fight against themselves. Like the stubborn Ben Cullen above, Farraday refuses to take Bronco's suggestion and even seems to welcome conflict by proudly wearing his CSA gun belt as a sign of his loyalties, even challenging Abilene Marshal Wild Bill Hickock, knowing that Hickock has a well-documented dislike for Southerners. Farraday allows his infatuation with Abilene belle Donna Coe to cloud his judgment and finally comes to realize that she was only using him to avenge the death of her fiance at the hands of Hickock. He then decides his future lies elsewhere, away from the cauldron of bitterness still brewing in Abilene.

The program also suggests that not all Confederates were guilty of the crimes committed by their colleagues in "A Town That Lived and Died" (April 9, 1962). Bronco is lured under false pretenses to a ghost town where he is taken prisoner and subjected to a mock trial, to be followed by a hanging, for his involvement in the town being burnt to the ground by Confederate soldiers. But as the story is told in flashback, while Bronco admits that he was sent as an undercover Confederate agent to lead the citizens on a wagon train to their new destination of Lost Hope Hill so that he could discover how they were transporting a secret shipment of gold to finance the Union Army, he says he knew nothing about the torching of the town later, after he had completed his assignment, by a Confederate officer who was angry that the gold shipment was stolen out from under him by a savvy band of bank robbers. Bronco makes the argument that he was just following orders, which could be made by any Confederate, even those actually guilty of atrocities. A similar argument is made on behalf of the character Johnny Davis in "Ride the Whirlwind" (January 15, 1962). Davis was a member of the notorious Confederate gang called Quantrill's Raiders and as such is still a trained killer, even though he now serves as a reputable deputy to Yankee Sheriff Ben Lockwood. Davis is fond of and loyal to Lockwood, but his past as a Confederate killer is able to be exploited by revenge-minded hypnotist Dr. Miles Gillis, just released from a 7-year prison sentence for aiding the enemy when he treated Confederate soldiers so that they could return to battle. Gillis shared a prison cell with Davis for 5 years and knows his past well, exploiting it to secretly assign him under hypnotic suggestion to kill Lockwood and others who were responsible for sending Gillis to jail. Davis is presented as an innocent foil for Gillis' evil plan, even though he presumably took part in atrocities during the War. Still, Bronco tries to argue that even those who committed such atrocities could be rehabilitated and should be given a chance to prove so.

Though the subject of slavery is never broached on the program, the first Black character finally shows up in the episode "Moment of Doubt" (April 2, 1962). Bronco is again assigned a secret mission on behalf of the U.S. Government--this time to infiltrate an insurrectionist anti-Democratic group of former Confederates based in New Orleans. He is given a fake court martial to make his record reflect that he would have a motivation for joining the subversives, and his contact in New Orleans is a Black man named Dorso, working as a boot black at a New Orleans hotel. Most notably, Dorso's Blackness is never referred to nor dramatized. Bronco treats him just as he would anyone else, and Dorso has none of the Black stereotypes seen in earlier movies or TV programs. In fact, his role could have been played by a white actor with no changes to the script or blocking. The only reason to cast a Black actor in the role is to demonstrate a Black man being treated just as a white man would be in the same position. This fits in with the approach taken elsewhere in the series--wanting to move past the animosities of the Civil War and the century of prejudice that followed it (and still continues to this day 60 years later) without acknowledging the wrongs done or holding anyone accountable for them. Like much of the peace idealism that came later in the decade, it's admirable that a show like Bronco would advocate for national unity and a more equal future, but perhaps a bit naive to think that deep-seated resentment could be washed away just by not mentioning it.

The Actors

For the biography of Ty Hardin, see the 1960 post on Bronco.

Notable Guest Stars

Season 4, Episode 6, "Beginner's Luck": Buzz Martin (appeared in Pork Chop Hill, The FBI Story, PT 109, and Shotgun Wedding) plays rancher's son Lew Gant. Pamela Austin (starred in Hootenanny Hoot, Kissin' Cousins, and The Perils of Pauline) plays his sister Marion. Virginia Christine (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Tales of Wells Fargo) plays their mother Martha. Hank Patterson (see the biography section for the 1962 post on Gunsmoke) plays ranch hand Railroad Costigan. Hayden Rorke (shown on the left, starred in Father's Little Dividend, When Worlds Collide, and Pillow Talk and played Steve on Mr. Adams and Eve, Col. Farnsworth on No Time for Sergeants, Dr. Alfred Bellows on I Dream of Jeannie, and Bishop on Dr. Kildare) plays rival rancher Matt Wigram. Walter Coy (Zoravac on Rocky Jones, Space Ranger, Jason Farrell on A Flame in the Wind, and was the narrator on Frontier) plays lawman Sheriff Springer. Gregg Palmer (see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays gun for hire Wes Taylor. Jean Willes (appeared in Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Ocean's 11, and Gypsy) plays saloon hostess Dolly.

Season 4, Episode 7, "Ride the Whirlwind": Edward Platt (appeared in Rebel Without a Cause, Written on the Wind, Designing Woman, and North by Northwest and played the Chief on Get Smart) plays Willow Springs Sheriff Ben Lockwood. Chad Everett (shown on the right, starred in Get Yourself a College Girl, Made in Paris, The Singing Nun, and Airplane II and played Deputy Del Stark on The Dakotas, Dr. Joe Gannon on Medical Center, Paul Hagen on Hagen, Wyatt Earp III on The Rousters, Jack McKenna on McKenna, Jack Manhattan on Manhattan, AZ, and Vic on Chemistry) plays his deputy Johnny Davis. Vaughn Taylor (starred in Jailhouse Rock, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Psycho, and In Cold Blood and played Ernest P. Duckweather on Johnny Jupiter) plays ex-con hypnotist Dr. Miles Gillis. Willis Bouchey (Mayor Terwilliger on The Great Gildersleeve, Springer on Pete and Gladys, and the judge 23 times on Perry Mason) plays Gillis' sentencer Judge Fowler. Pamela Austin (see "Beginner's Luck" above) plays his daughter Mary. Robert Anderson (Park Street, Jr. on The Court of Last Resort and Aeneas MacLinahan on Wichita Town) plays livery owner Len Peters. George Petrie (Nathan Wade on Search for Tomorrow, Freddie Muller on The Honeymooners, Don Rudy Aiuppo on Wiseguy, Harv Smithfield on Dallas, and Sid on Mad About You) plays attorney Tom Egan. Fred Sherman (Tommy the tailor on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp and Burt Purdy on Cimarron City) plays Willow Springs Postmaster Freyes.

Season 4, Episode 8, "A Sure Thing": Alan Hale, Jr. (shown on the left, played Biff Baker on Biff Baker U.S.A., Casey Jones on Casey Jones, and The Skipper on Gilligan's Island) plays cattle drover Squire. Mickey Simpson (Boley on Captain David Grief) plays his Buddy Jonah. Trevor Bardette (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays rancher Dutch Vandervort. Barry Kelley (starred in The Asphalt Jungle, The Manchurian Candidate, and The Love Bug and played Charlie Anderson on Big Town, Jim Rafferty on The Tom Ewell Show, Mr. Slocum on Pete and Gladys, and Carol's father on Mister Ed) plays crooked rancher Poole. Joan Taylor (see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Rifleman) plays widow rancher Lorain Mitchell. Russell Thorson (Det. Lt. Otto Lindstrom on The Detectives and William Kennerly on Peyton Place) plays fellow rancher Jack Armitage. William Phipps (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays disgruntled rancher Madden. Herb Vigran (Muley Evans on The Life of Riley, Ernest Hinshaw on The Ed Wynn Show, and Judge Brooker on Gunsmoke and voiced Glum on The Adventures of Gulliver and Mr. Dinkle on Shirt Tales) plays general store owner White. Harry Harvey (Sheriff Tom Blodgett on The Roy Rogers Show, Mayor George Dixon on Man Without a Gun, and Houghton Stott on It's a Man's World) plays hotel clerk Benjamin Carstairs. Marshall Reed (Inspector Fred Asher on The Lineup) plays trail boss Harrison.

Season 4, Episode 9, "Trail of Hatred": Robert Carson (Mr. Maddis on The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show) plays U.S. Army fort commander Col. Cummings. Rian Garrick (Det. Bruce Hanna on Manhunt) plays secret assignment commander Lt. Steve Powell. Kent Smith (shown on the right, starred in Cat People, This Land Is Mine, Hitler's Children, Curse of the Cat People, Nora Prentiss, The Spiral Staircase, and The Fountainhead and played Dr. Robert Morton on Peyton Place and Edgar Scoville on The Invaders) plays his father Dana Powell. James Griffith (Aaron Adams on Trackdown and Deputy Tom Ferguson on U.S. Marshal) plays greedy Army soldier Cpl. Fonda. Joseph Gallison (appeared in All the Young Men, The Wackiest Ship in the Army, and PT 109 and played Bill Matthews on Another World and Dr. Neil Curtis on Days of Our Lives) plays naive soldier Pvt. Foster. Ken Mayer (Maj. Robbie Robertson on Space Patrol) plays Sgt. Prouty.

Season 4, Episode 10, "Rendezvous With a Miracle": Mike Road (Marshal Tom Sellers on Buckskin, Lt. Joe Switolski on The Roaring 20's, and provided the voice for Race Bannon on Johnny Quest and Ugh on Space Ghost) plays reformed bank robber Mike Bestor. Gloria Talbott (shown on the left, starred in The Cyclops, Daughter of Dr. Jekyll,  and I Married a Monster From Outer Space and played Moneta on Zorro) plays his girlfriend Valerie Ames. Mabel Albertson (Mrs. Whiting on Those Whiting Girls, Irene Brady on The Tom Ewell Show, Mrs. Sprague on The Andy Griffith Show, Mildred Hollinger on That Girl, and Phyllis Stephens on Bewitched) plays mission leader Mother Maria Theodore. Rico Alaniz (Mr. Cousin on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays Mexican bandit Rick Cardido. Marshall Reed (see "A Sure Thing" above) plays Bestor's pursuer Marshal Hank Barton. Ollie O'Toole (Mr. Meeker on Circus Boy) plays stagecoach worker Clem. Harry Strang (played the sheriff on The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin) plays a stagecoach driver.

Season 4, Episode 11, "Destinies West": Kathleen Crowley (shown on the right, played Terry Van Buren on Waterfront and Sophia Starr on Batman) plays wanted Confederate spy Belle Siddons. Ed Prentiss (the narrator on Trackdown and played Carl Jensen on The Virginian) plays Kansas U.S. Army fort commander Col. Welch. Robert McQueeney (Conley Wright on The Gallant Men) plays Bronco's spy-catching partner Major Creighton. Leo Gordon (appeared in Gun Fury, Hondo, Quantrill's Raiders, and Big Top Pee-wee and played Big Mike McComb on Maverick) plays rancher Nero Hollister. Jon Lormer (Harry Tate on Lawman, Sam Watkins on The Real McCoys, the autopsy surgeon on Perry Mason, Simon Benjamin on The Young Marrieds, and Judge Irwin A. Chester on Peyton Place) plays Bonnetville physician Doc Emmery. Bing Russell (father of Kurt Russell, played Deputy Clem Foster on Bonanza) plays disgraced Union soldier Rance Crosby. Donald "Red" Barry (played Red Ryder in the movie serial The Adventures of Red Ryder, and played Lt. Snedigar on Surfside 6, The Grand Vizier and Tarantula on Batman, Capt. Red Barnes on Police Woman, and Jud Larabee on Little House on the Prairie) plays stable worker Stumpy. Gregg Palmer (see "Beginner's Luck" above) plays Missouri Raider member Colton.

Season 4, Episode 12, "The Last Letter": Robert Colbert (shown on the left, see the biography section for the 1961 post on Maverick) plays "Reconstructed Rebel" Quill. Richard Garland (starred in Attack of the Crab Monsters, Panic in Year Zero, and Mutiny in Outer Space and played Clay Horton on Lassie) plays Bronco's commander Capt. Grey. Robert J. Wilke (appeared in Best of the Badmen, High Noon, The Far Country, Night Passage, and Stripes and played Capt. Mendoza on Zorro) plays renegade McKee Bucklin. Joseph Gallison (see "Trail of Hatred" above) plays his son Rob. Mickey Simpson (see "A Sure Thing" above) plays Reconstructed Rebel Dud Miller. Jackie Searl (began as a child actor, appearing in Tom Sawyer (1930), Huckleberry Finn (1931), Alice in Wonderland (1933), Great Expectations(1934), and Little Lord Fauntleroy) plays Reconstructed Rebel Snowball. Harry Harvey, Jr. (son of actor Harry Harvey, Sr., appeared in Reefer Madness, Moonlight in Vermont, Dangerous Years, and Forbidden Planet, script supervisor on Mannix) plays Reconstructed Rebel Midge. Doye O'Dell (member of music group Sons of the Pioneers, host of Cowboy Thrills) plays Reconstructed Rebel Marsten.

Season 4, Episode 13, "One Evening in Abilene": Jack Cassidy (shown on the right, Tony Award-winning father of David and Shaun Cassidy and husband of Shirley Jones, played Oscar North on He & She) plays Abilene Sheriff Wild Bill Hickock. Lisa Gaye (Collette DuBois on The Bob Cummings Show and Gwen Kirby on How to Marry a Millionaire) plays woman looking for someone to kill him, Donna Coe. George Petrie (see "Ride the Whirlwind" above) plays her father Jack. Tony Young (son of actor Carleton G. Young, played Cord on Gunslinger) plays drifter Tod Chapman. Lee Van Cleef (starred in High Noon, The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms, For a Few Dollars More, and The Good, The Bad and the Ugly) plays Bronco's foreman Charley Clune. Bud Osborne (played stagecoach drivers in dozens of westerns and in episodes of The Cisco Kid, Annie Oakley, The Range Rider, Hopalong Cassidy, The Lone Ranger, The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, Rescue 8, Zorro, Law of the Plainsman, Johnny Ringo, Cheyenne, The Texan, Maverick, and Rawhide) plays trail hand Piney.

Season 4, Episode 14, "Until Kingdom Come": Jacqueline Beer (appeared in Pillow Talk, The Prize, and Made in Paris and played Suzanne Fabry on 77 Sunset Strip) plays exiled Mexican Duchess Eugenia. Rodolfo Acosta (appeared in Wings of the Hawk, Flaming Star, and The Sons of Katie Elder and played Vaquero on The High Chaparral) plays her pursuer Juan Rodriguez. Philip Carey (shown on the left, starred in I Was a Communist for the FBI, Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison, Calamity Jane, Mister Roberts, Dead Ringer, and Three For Texas and played Lt. Michael Rhodes on Tales of the 77th Bengal Lancers, Philip Marlowe on Philip Marlowe, Capt. Edward Parmalee on Laredo, and Asa Buchanan on One Life to Live) plays former journalist Josh Glendon. Ken Lynch (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Checkmate) plays crooked ex-con Sheriff Lacey. Kathleen Freeman (Katie on Topper, Marilly on Mayor of the Town, Bertha Krause on The Bob Cummings Show, Flo Shafer on The Beverly Hillbillies, Kate Harwell on Funny Face, Iris Belmont on Lotsa Luc, and Sister Mary Dorothy on General Hospital) plays widow rancher Mrs. Kelly.

Season 4, Episode 15, "Moment of Doubt": Frank Wilcox (see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Untouchables) plays an Army colonel who gives Bronco his assignment. Walter Brooke (shown on the right, appeared in The Graduate, Tora! Tora! Tora!, and The Nude Bomb and played Bill Morgan on Three Steps to Heaven, Henry Forsythe on The Young Marrieds, D.A. Frank Scanlon on The Green Hornet, Mr. Gibson on Bright Promise, D.A. Wayne Charles on Days of Our Lives, and Clarence Johnson on The Waltons) plays Undersecretary for the Department of War Hammond Craig. Bill Walker (appeared in The Harlem Globetrotters, The Outcast, and Porgy and Bess and played Obadiah on Yancy Derringer) plays boot black Dorso. Tol Avery (Speaker Bert Metcalf on Slattery's People) plays insurrectionist group leader Turlowe. Earl Hammond (Hal Soames on Valiant Lady, Captain Sovine on The Clear Horizon, and voiced Mon-star on Silverhawks and Mumm-ra, Jaga, and Vultureman on Thundercats) plays one of his recruits Oswald Mercer. Doodles Weaver (narrated Spike Jones' horse-racing songs and hosted A Day With Doodles) plays hotel barber Grimes.

Season 4, Episode 16, "A Town That Lived and Died": Robert Rockwell (shown on the left, played Phillip Boynton on Our Miss Brooks, Sam Logan on The Man From Blackhawk, Dean Chalmers and Will Thorne on Lassie, Tom Bishop on Diff'rent Strokes, Dr. Simon Hopkins on Days of Our Lives, and Wally Overmier on Growing Pains) plays former Union Army officer Van Dix. Jolene Brand (Anna Maria Verdugo on Zorro and Pink Cloud on Westward Ho!) plays his wife Emily. Ahna Capri (Mary Rose on Room for One More) plays Emily at age 15. Russell Thorson (see "A Sure Thing" above) plays ghost town former sheriff Frank Sutton. John Alderson (Sgt. Bullock on Boots and Saddles and Wyatt Earp on Doctor Who) plays gold miner Francis Randolph. E.J. Andre (Eugene Bullock on Dallas) plays bank robber Murdo. Lane Chandler (Tom Pike on Lawman) plays gold transfer plotter Tom Finch.

Season 4, Episode 17, "The Immovable Object": William Fawcett (Clayton on Duffy's Tavern, Marshal George Higgins on The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, and Pete Wilkey on Fury) plays cantankerous farmer Tom Christopher. Maggie Pierce (shown on the right, played Barbara Crabtree on My Mother the Car) plays his "granddaughter" Melvina. Mike Road (see "Rendezvous With a Miracle" above) plays newspaper reporter Emmett Dawson. George N. Neise (Capitan Felipe Arrellanos on Zorro, Dr. Nat Wyndham on Wichita Town, and Colonel Thornton on McKeever & the Colonel) plays Army Corps of Engineers commander Major Elijah Moore. Robert Hogan (Gilly Gillespie on The Young Marrieds, Rev. Tom Winter on Peyton Place, Asst. DA Stephens on Bright Promise, Scott Banning on Days of Our Lives, Sheriff Paul Tate on The Manhunter, Sgt. Ted Coppersmith on Richie Brockelman, Private Eye, Lt. Cmdr. Haller on Operation Petticoat, Nathan Welsh on Secrets of Midland Heights, Greg Stemple on Alice, Vince McKinnon on Another World, and L.J. McDermott on As the World Turns) plays his adjutant Capt. Meadows. J. Edward McKinley (appeared in The Angry Red Planet, Advise & Consent, The Interns, The Party, and Where Does It Hurt?) plays the New Mexico governor. Frank Ferguson (Gus Broeberg on My Friend Flicka, Eli Carson on Peyton Place, and Dr. Barton Stuart on Petticoat Junction) plays legendary Union Army commander Gen. William T. Sherman.

Season 4, Episode 18, "Then the Mountains": John Dehner (shown on the left, played Duke Williams on The Roaring '20's, Commodore Cecil Wyntoon on The Baileys of Balboa, Morgan Starr on The Virginian, Cyril Bennett on The Doris Day Show, Dr. Charles Cleveland Claver on The New Temperatures Rising Show, Barrett Fears on Big Hawaii, Marshal Edge Troy on Young Maverick, Lt. Joseph Broggi on Enos, Hadden Marshall on Bare Essence, and Billy Joe Erskine on The Colbys) plays former Confederate soldier Ben Cullen. Med Flory (played clarinet in the Ray Anthony orchestra and founded and played alto sax in the group Super Sax, appeared in Gun Street, The Nutty Professor (1963), and The Gumball Rally, and played Sheriff Mike McBride on High Mountain Rangers) plays fellow former Confederate soldier Vance Pelham. Jim Boles (appeared in The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, The Trouble With Angels, Angel in My Pocket, The Love God?, and The Apple Dumpling Gang and  played Joe on One Man's Family) plays Virginia emigrant Jonathan Hawley. Susan Seaforth Hayes (Carol West on The Young Marrieds, Julie Olson Williams on Days of Our Lives, JoAnna Manning on The Young and the Restless, Patricia Steele on Sunset Beach, and Ms. Preston on Venice the Series) plays his daughter Julie Mae. James Best (Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane on The Dukes of Hazzard and The Dukes) plays Army deserter Frankie Banton. Gerald Mohr (narrator on 19 episodes of The Lone Ranger, Christopher Storm on Foreign Intrigue, and voice of Mr. Fantastic and Reed Richards on Fantastic 4) plays renegade leader Frank Bohannon. Ken Mayer (see "Trail of Hatred" above) plays his horse trader. Myron Healey (Doc Holliday on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays Virginia emigrant Obie Dilks. Robert Nash (Dr. Jenkins on Days of Our Lives) plays Virginia emigrant Pete Calvert. Billy M. Greene (appeared in The Shrike, Never Steal Anything Small, and The Cape Canaveral Monsters and played Skrag on Captain Video and His Video Rangers) plays the Fort Bridger sutler. Gregg Palmer (see "Beginner's Luck" above) plays Union Army cavalry commander Lt. Ames.

Maverick (1962)

 

Though it was once Warner Brothers' most popular western, Maverick suffered the same fate as its Warner compadres--Lawman, Cheyenne, and Bronco--by being canceled in the spring of 1962. As we mentioned in our previous post on the show's 1961 episodes, the abbreviated 5th season consisted of only 13 new episodes alternating with reruns from previous seasons that starred James Garner. Even in half the new 1962 episodes that featured only Jack Kelly as Bart Maverick the opening credits still listed Garner as one of the two stars of the program though he had left the program two years earlier. Dennis Broe briefly recaps the series' decline in his 2015 book Maverick after the departures of Garner and series creator Roy Huggins, including the replacement of Garner by, first, Roger Moore for 15 episodes in Season 4 and then Robert Colbert for all of two episodes at the end of that season. That left only Jack Kelly to play a Maverick for the final season, even though Broe quotes Huggins as having said that Garner was Maverick, and Kelly was merely his brother, the character being added to the series out of necessity in its first season when the production team realized that it took more than a week to complete a single episode.

And yet Jack Kelly comes off as a winner in a feature story in the June 2, 1962 issue of TV Guide, a story that curiously ran more than a month after the last new episode of the series had aired. Despite living a life always in someone else's shadow--first his actress sister Nancy and then the more effortlessly charming Garner--Kelly still made a career out of acting, saying that many others with more talent "never got to first base." He said that acting was not his passion--he was in it for the profit, much like his employer Warner Brothers. So he didn't get his feathers ruffled as Garner did by their cheap tactics. Instead he stuck around until he was the last one standing, and by investing rather than spending his salary, at the time of the article he was sitting on roughly a million dollars worth of real estate besides owning a profitable nursery business that supplied trees to large hotels. In other words, while his series Maverick was exposing the crooked business of banks and legal authorities, as well as mocking humanity's somewhat inherent greediness, Kelly was playing the inside game, not taking anything personally, and building a personal fortune in the process. While his character Bart Maverick rarely walks away with a fortune, always seeming to have it snatched from his grasp at the last minute, Kelly was patient and never tried to be too smart.

The same can't be said for the scriptwriters of the series' last 8 episodes. "Poker Face" (January 7, 1962) was just the sort of script that made Roger Moore jump ship after his obligatory 15 episodes. It centers around Mexican revolutionary Sebastian Bolanes who makes a career out of robbery and kidnapping (in this case, all the passengers on a stagecoach Bart happens to be riding in) thinking that he can amass enough wealth to buy back all the land that was stolen from his fellow indigenous Mexicans. But while waiting for the ransom for the stage passengers to arrive, he falls in love with one of them simply because she is not horrified by his scar-ridden face nor instantly condemns him for his life of crime. When his scheme collapses due to his jealous girlfriend and a corrupt federale, he quickly abandons his grandiose plans and runs off with his new love, apparently forgetting about all his bereft fellow tribesmen he had vowed to save. The plot is absurd, the dialogue hackneyed, and the direction stiff and wooden. Fortunately for Bart, he is mostly just a bystander while the other characters fight with each other or pursue new love. Also fortunately, the remaining seven episodes weren't as bad.

Which isn't to say they were gems--after all, the producers at Warner Brothers seemed to be just trying to get the series to the finish line with as little effort as possible. "The Troubled Heir" (April 1, 1962) is built on the flimsy premise that Bart is willing to risk his neck at the hands of wanted killer Big Jim Watson to save the skin of shyster Pearly Gates, with whom is he is little more than an acquaintance and not a friendly one at that. The plot adheres to Maverick's cynical credo of every man, or woman, for himself, as Gates, Watson, Gates' girlfriend Marla, and poker player Ward Quillan are all trying to play each other for Bart's made-up estate that Gates is supposed to inherit. The story goes overboard on the number of twists and turns before Bart, for once, winds up with $5000 that he swindles away from Marla, who took it off of him after he took it off Watson and Quillan. "Mr. Muldoon's Partner" (April 15, 1962) is another plot that tries too hard after Bart breaks a bottle of precious dirt brought over from Ireland for the purpose of growing potatoes only to discover that the bottle contains a suddenly free leprechaun named Mr. Muldoon. In thanks Muldoon grants Bart five wishes, but he soon learns that one must be very precise when making a wish because the granting of it can come with unintended consequences. So Bart requests a large amount of money but doesn't specify that it not be stolen, which naturally gets him into all sorts of trouble on both side of the law. Muldoon's powers also seem limited by unexplained circumstances--he can't stop a gun from firing after saying he could--but the one thing that saves the episode from pure tedium is that when he grants wishes, they have the air of being part coincidence, introducing just enough doubt about whether he has the power to grant them or is merely a keen predictor of what is about to happen anyway. After he is backed into a corner in which he has to decide whether to go to jail or marry an Irishman's unattractive niece, Bart finally wishes he had never seen Muldoon and is transported back to where the whole improbable yarn started. Much like The Wizard of Oz, a bump on the head seems to have launched the fever dream, and when he returns to reality he recognizes some of the players from that dream, in particular Muldoon, in alternate identities.

Another episode centered on shifting identities is "Marshal Maverick" (March 11, 1962), which starts out improbably with Bart being appointed Marshal of Abilene after retiring Marshal Heck Thomas is murdered six weeks before his replacement, Wyatt Earp as it turns out, is due to arrive in town. Bart guns down the killer, winning the gratitude of the town, but is forced to accept the marshal position, which he tries to decline, because of outstanding debts he has run up. Despite this absurd setup in which we once again have a Maverick placed in an inappropriate occupation due to chance (the previous episode, "The Maverick Report" [March 4, 1962] has him winning a newspaper business in a poker game and episodes from earlier seasons have, for example, Bret winning a riverboat in a similar situation), the story improves with the unexpected early arrival of Earp to relieve Bart of his duties. Only it isn't really Earp but an imposter named Archibald Walker who has no skills as a gunman, only a desire to "be somebody." He manages to persuade Bart to stick around as his deputy after a weak speech about honor, which is the only thing that saves his neck when he winds up locking horns with failed mayoral candidate and notorious killer Billy Coe. Walker only makes things worse by falling in love with and winning the heart of Coe's girlfriend Theodora Rush but seems to be bailed out when the real Earp shows up after hearing rumors of someone claiming to be him in Abilene. Even when she learns of Walker's true identity, Theodora pleads with him not to abandon her since she has crossed the still very dangerous Coe. Walker seems to think he has no other choice but to leave town as ordered by Earp but then suddenly musters up some courage when he sees the opportunity to assume the identity of Doc Holliday, who has ridden into town and is temporarily indisposed taking a bath at the barber's. Though it takes some help from Bart's gun play to defeat Coe, Walker rises to the challenge but is forced to drop the Holliday masquerade and once again leave town, with Theodora promising to come find him after she sells her saloon. Most westerns would have ended the story here, but Maverick treats us to one more twist as Walker rides away from town in the stagecoach and Bart discovers his trademark pack of cards has been lifted. Without question, this is the most satisfying episode of the abbreviated fifth season, and it would have been a fitting end to the series.

But instead we finish with "One of Our Trains Is Missing" (April 22, 1962), another unlikely confluence of plots, schemes, and scams in which most of the main characters are aboard a train bound for the Kansas border. Two locomotive suppliers--Diamond Jim Brady and Montague Sprague-- have a $10,000 bet and the railroad company's future business riding on whether Brady's train can reach the border by midnight, but Sprague has secretly paid Doc Holliday (making his third appearance in 1962's eight episodes) to sabotage the run. Holliday hires recently released master criminal Justin Radcliffe to hijack the train, but when Radcliffe learns that the train is also carrying $100,000 in U.S. Treasure money in its safe, he is determined to crack the safe and make off with the loot, only to learn that someone has beat him to the punch. That someone is Bart's old acquaintance Modesty Blaine, who had learned about the Treasury shipment from railroad company president Amos Skinner by cozying up to him so that he proposed to her. Bart, in trying to persuade her not to marry Skinner just because he is rich, raises Skinner's ire so that he assigns his goon Leroy Hoad to escort Bart across the border to get rid of him. Modesty hides the stolen money in Bart's suitcase; he discovers it and returns it to the safe to avoid having Radcliffe get it. Modesty sees him do this and removes the money from the safe again but is discovered by Holliday, who wants in on the action. And so it goes--Radcliffe thinks Bart has the money or knows who has it, threatens to hang him, Holliday comes to his rescue, etc., etc. In the end, the Treasury money is returned to the safe, and Bart points out to Brady that technically he won the bet with Sprague because the train, despite being held up for hours from its original destination, crossed the northern border into Nebraska when Radcliffe diverted it off the main track onto a sidetrack. In his gratitude, Brady gives Bart the $10,000 he just won from his bet with  Sprague, but Hoad tells Bart he can't ride the train back to Kansas because of his boss' orders, so Bart is forced to walk 15 miles to the nearest town. However, when Holliday and Modesty see that Bart has just come into $10,000, they decide to go with him, feeling that they can surely benefit in some way. The last episode ends with the three of them walking arm in arm down the railroad tracks together as the sun rises in the east. It almost has a Yellow Brick Road feel to it, but as we all know, the city of Oz didn't turn out to be quite as magical as promised. And in the cynical world of Maverick it's unlikely that Bart is riding, or walking, off into the sunrise, because he who is on top today is often on the bottom tomorrow. To twist the title of a popular 1960s country music song, over its five-year tenure, Maverick went from a King to a Jack.

The Actors

For the biography of Jack Kelly, see the 1960 post on Maverick.

Notable Guest Stars

Season 5, Episode 6, "Poker Face": Rodolfo Acosta (shown on the left, appeared in Wings of the Hawk, Flaming Star, and The Sons of Katie Elder and played Vaquero on The High Chaparral) plays Mexican bandito Sebastian Bolanes. Carlos Rivas (appeared in The King and I, Boy's Town, True Grit, and Topaz and voiced Don Alejandro on The New Adventures of Zorro) plays top lieutenant Luis. William Fawcett (Clayton on Duffy's Tavern, Marshal George Higgins on The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, and Pete Wilkey on Fury) plays stagecoach driver Stallion. Tol Avery (Speaker Bert Metcalf on Slattery's People) plays businessman George Rockingham. Richard Hale (starred in Abilene Town, Kim, San Antone, Red Garters, and To Kill a Mockingbird) plays missionary Dr. Robespierre Jones. Doris Lloyd (starred in Waterloo Bridge, Tarzan the Ape Man, Oliver Twist, and The Time Machine) plays British matron Lady Florentine Bleakly.

Season 5, Episode 7, "Mr. Muldoon's Partner": Mickey Shaughnessy (shown on the near right, appeared in From Here to Eternity, Designing Woman, Jailhouse Rock, Don't Go Near the Water, Sex Kittens Go to College, College Confidential, and The Boatniks) plays Irish leprechaun Mr. Muldoon. Terence de Marney (Case Thomas on Johnny Ringo and Counsellor Doone on Lorna Doone) plays railroad worker Terrance Rafferty. John Alderson (Sgt. Bullock on Boots and Saddles and Wyatt Earp on Doctor Who) plays railroad foreman Simon Girty. Janet Lake (Betty Franklin on The Tycoon) plays saloon girl Bonnie Shay. Marshall Reed (Inspector Fred Asher on The Lineup) plays saloon owner Hatfield. Tim Rooney (Jeff Rose on Room for One More and Tim Grady on Mickey) plays orphan boy Timmy. Joe Brooks (Trooper Vanderbilt on F Troop) plays a bartender. Ray Teal (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Bonanza) plays small-town Sheriff Bundy. Charles Lane (shown on the far right, appeared in The Milky Way, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, The Lady Is Willing, The Music Man, The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, and The Gnome-Mobile and played Mr. Fosdick on Dear Phoebe, Homer Bedloe on Petticoat Junction, Foster Phinney on The Beverly Hillbillies, Dale Busch on Karen, and Judge Anthony Petrillo on Soap) plays the general store proprietor.

Season 5, Episode 8, "Epitaph for a Gambler": Robert J. Wilke (appeared in Best of the Badmen, High Noon, The Far Country, Night Passage, and Stripes and played Capt. Mendoza on Zorro) plays casino owner Diamond Dan Malone. Fred Beir (Larry Atwood on Days of Our Lives) plays Sunrise, NV Sheriff Ed Martin. Harry Harvey, Jr. (script supervisor on Mannix) plays his deputy Wes Taylor. Marie Windsor (shown on the left, starred in Outpost in Morocco, Dakota Lil, Cat-Women of the Moon, Swamp Women, and The Day Mars Invaded Earth and played Dr. Vivian Collins on General Hospital) plays roulette wheel operator Kit. Frank Albertson (starred in Alice Adams, Man Made Monster, and It's a Wonderful Life and played Mr. Cooper on Bringing Up Buddy) plays attorney Harvey Storey. Joyce Meadows (Lynn Allen on The Man and the Challenge and Stacy on Two Faces West) plays his daughter Linda. Don Haggerty (Jeffrey Jones on The Files of Jeffrey Jones, Eddie Drake on The Cases of Eddie Drake, Sheriff Dan Elder on State Trooper, and Marsh Murdock on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays blackmailer Lucky Dan Elkins. Adam Williams (appeared in Flying Leathernecks, The Big Heat, Fear Strikes Out, and North by Northwest) plays his brother Sam.

Season 5, Episode 9, "The Maverick Report": Peter Breck (Clay Culhane on Black Saddle and Nick Barkley on The Big Valley) plays Bart's friend Doc Holliday. Lloyd Corrigan (shown on the right, starred in A Girl, a Guy, and a Gob, Hitler's Children, Captive Wild Woman, The Bandit of Sherwood Forest, and Son of Paleface and played Papa Dodger on Willy, Wally Dipple on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Ned Buntline on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Uncle Charlie on Happy, and Professor McKillup on Hank) plays Colorado Senator Hiram Porter. Jo Morrow (appeared in Gidget, Our Man in Havana, and The 3 Worlds of Gulliver) plays his daughter Jeannie. Ed Nelson (Michael Rossi on Peyton Place, Ward Fuller on The Silent Force, and Sen. Mark Denning on Capitol) plays his attorney Gary Harrison. George N. Neise (Capitan Felipe Arrellanos on Zorro, Dr. Nat Wyndham on Wichita Town, and Colonel Thornton on McKeever & the Colonel) plays newspaper publisher Jonesy.

Season 5, Episode 10, "Marshal Maverick": Emile Meyer (starred in Shane, Drums Across the River, Blackboard Jungle, Sweet Smell of Success, and Paths of Glory and played Gen. Zachary Moran on Bat Masterson) plays retiring Abilene Marshal Heck Thomas. Med Flory (played clarinet in the Ray Anthony orchestra and founded and played alto sax in the group Super Sax, appeared in Gun Street, The Nutty Professor (1963), and The Gumball Rally, and played Sheriff Mike McBride on High Mountain Rangers) plays his replacement Wyatt Earp. Willard Waterman (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Dennis the Menace) plays newly elected Abilene Mayor Oliver. Earl Hammond (Hal Soames on Valiant Lady, Captain Sovine on The Clear Horizon, and voiced Mon-star on Silverhawks and Mumm-ra, Jaga, and Vultureman on Thundercats) plays his defeated opponent Billy Coe. Gail Kobe (Penny Adams on Trackdown, Doris Schuster on Peyton Place, and Dean Ann Boyd Jones on Bright Promise and produced over 200 episodes of The Bold and the Beautiful) plays saloon owner Theodora Rush. John Dehner (shown on the left, played Duke Williams on The Roaring '20's, Commodore Cecil Wyntoon on The Baileys of Balboa, Morgan Starr on The Virginian, Cyril Bennett on The Doris Day Show, Dr. Charles Cleveland Claver on The New Temperatures Rising Show, Barrett Fears on Big Hawaii, Marshal Edge Troy on Young Maverick, Lt. Joseph Broggi on Enos, Hadden Marshall on Bare Essence, and Billy Joe Erskine on The Colbys) plays Earp impersonator Archibald Walker. Jerry Hausner (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Mr. Magoo Show) plays Coe henchman George. Owen Orr (Wally Blanchard on No Time for Sergeants) plays Coe henchman Keno. Kay E. Kuter (Newt Kiley on Petticoat Junction and Green Acres) plays one of Bart's creditors. Herb Vigran (Muley Evans on The Life of Riley, Ernest Hinshaw on The Ed Wynn Show, and Judge Brooker on Gunsmoke and voiced Glum on The Adventures of Gulliver and Mr. Dinkle on Shirt Tales) plays barber Elkins.

Season 5, Episode 11, "The Troubled Heir": Mike Road (Marshal Tom Sellers on Buckskin, Lt. Joe Switolski on The Roaring 20's, and provided the voice for Race Bannon on Johnny Quest and Ugh on Space Ghost) plays gambler Pearly Gates. Kathleen Crowley (Terry Van Buren on Waterfront and Sophia Starr on Batman) plays his girlfriend Marla. Alan Hale, Jr. (shown on the right, played Biff Baker on Biff Baker U.S.A., Casey Jones on Casey Jones, and The Skipper on Gilligan's Island) plays wanted outlaw Big Jim Watson. Will Wright (Ben Weaver on The Andy Griffith Show and Mr. Merrivale on Dennis the Menace) plays small-town Sheriff Chester Bentley. Chick Chandler (Toubo Smith on Soldiers of Fortune and Barney Hogan on One Happy Family) plays con man Oliver Perkins. Gordon Jones (appeared in The Green Hornet, Flying Tigers, My Sister Eileen, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, and McLintock! and played Mike Kelley on The Abbott and Costello Show, Pete Thompson on The Ray Milland Show, Hubie Dodd on So This Is Hollywood, and Butch Barton on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet) plays poker player Ward Quillan. Frank Ferguson (Gus Broeberg on My Friend Flicka, Eli Carson on Peyton Place, and Dr. Barton Stuart on Petticoat Junction) plays Payoff Sheriff Luther Hawkins. Doodles Weaver (narrated Spike Jones' horse-racing songs and hosted A Day With Doodles) plays a telegrapher.

Season 5, Episode 12, "The Money Machine": Andrew Duggan (Cal Calhoun on Bourbon Street Beat, George Rose on Room for One More, Major Gen. Ed Britt on 12 O'Clock High, and Murdoch Lancer on Lancer) plays con man Big Ed Murphy. Patrick Westwood (Mian Rukn Din on The Indian Tales of Rudyard Kipling) plays his accomplice London Louis Latimer. Ted de Corsia (Police Chief Hagedorn on Steve Canyon) plays Pappy Maverick creditor Cannonball Clyde Bassett. Henry Corden (shown on the left, played Carlo on The Count of Monte Cristo, and Babbitt on The Monkees and did voicework on The Flintstones, Jonny Quest, The Atom Ant Show, The Banana Splits Adventure Hour and Return to the Planet of the Apes) plays inventor Professor Reynard. Charles Fredericks (Pete Albright on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays Denver Marshal Hodgekins. Sig Ruman (starred in Ninotchka,  A Night at the Opera, To Be or Not to Be, House of Frankenstein, and Stalag 17) plays jeweler Klaus Jonckbloet. Jonathan Hole (Orville Monroe on The Andy Griffith Show) plays the Kansas City hotel clerk. Guy Wilkerson (played Panhandle Perkins in 22 westerns) plays one of Murphy's marks Mark Conway. Frank London (Shad on Johnny Staccato and Charlie on Peyton Place) plays the Denver House hotel bellboy.

Season 5, Episode 13, "One of Our Trains Is Missing": Alan Hewitt (starred in That Touch of Mink, Days of Wine and Roses, The Misadventures of Merlin Jones, and The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes and played Det. Bill Brennan on My Favorite Martian) plays railroad company president Amos Skinner. Kathleen Crowley (shown on the near right, see "The Troubled Heir" above) plays his fiance Modesty Blaine. Barry Kelley (starred in The Asphalt Jungle, The Manchurian Candidate, and The Love Bug and played Charlie Anderson on Big Town, Jim Rafferty on The Tom Ewell Show, Mr. Slocum on Pete and Gladys, and Carol's father on Mister Ed) plays locomotive supplier Diamond Jim Brady. Gage Clarke (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Gunsmoke) plays his rival Montague Sprague. Kevin Hagen (John Colton on Yancy Derringer, Inspector Dobbs Kobick on Land of the Giants, and Dr. Hiram Baker on Little House on the Prairie) plays notorious criminal Justin Radcliffe. Peter Breck (shown on the far right, see "The Maverick Report" above) returns as Bart's "frenemy" Doc Holliday. Mickey Simpson (Boley on Captain David Grief) plays Skinner's goon Leroy Hoad. Owen Orr (see "Marshal Maverick" above) plays Wells Fargo agent Tim Hardesty. Emory Parnell (Hawkins on The Life of Riley and Hank the bartender on Lawman) plays train engineer Clarence.