Jim Hardie is investigating a robbery and murder of Wells Fargo agent Charlie Dormer, where the sheriff is convinced a former gunman turned school teacher - Clyde Bender - is guilty. But Hardie originally sent Bender to prison, and he's not convinced Bender is guilty. The murder left powder burns from a shot at close range, which makes Hardie believe the killer was someone the victim knew.
Although we see a lot of these kind of scripts in the Westerns genre where someone is framed for a robbery and murder, this episode really stands out. It's not that the story is particularly epic, it's a fairly standard frameup story which Hardie solves without too much effort. Nevertheless, for me Jim Hardie is always a good watch and this one certainly qualifies as entertaining. It has some great characters, terrific dialogue, and Hardie's coolness was on a high level. Plus, his ending narration is interesting and original. But what really gets me about this episode? It's the cast...I'm absolutely fascinated with the cast.
Bruce Bennett appeared as Clyde Bender. It's undeniable, he was one interesting guy. MGM wanted to cast him as Tarzan, but a shoulder injury nixed that and the role went to Johnny Weissmuller. But that's just one item - his bio is a heck of a read. Skydiving from 10,000ft at 96yrs old? He did it. Anyways, it's not that his performance in this one would bring home a statue, but he had a charismatic presence onscreen that was undeniable. I wasn't immediately familiar with him at first, but once I looked into his bio I saw he had appeared in a slew of great pictures, many of which are favorites of mine, such as Sahara with Humprhey Bogart and Dan Duryea. But there were more...Mildred Pierce, Nora Prentiss, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, A Stolen Life, Dark Passage, Angels in the Outfield, and more. By the 50s he was moving into television roles, and would only work for about 10 years after this episode, give or take. But he appeared in one of my favorite creature features in 1959, The Alligator People! Woohoo!
Cowboy legend Johnny Mack Brown appeared as Sheriff Eaton. Brown was one of the quintessential good guys when he was a leading man, and had been a hero to millions of kids in the golden age of Western pictures. Truth be told I didn't even recognize him in this episode. To see his name in the credits the first time I saw the episode was a real surprise. He was so completely different than what he'd been in years past, and I'm not referring to him appearing in a villainous role. His trademark toothy smile and his voice weren't anywhere near the same, unlike actors such as Randolph Scott or Joel McCrea, who were easily recognizable into their later years. By coincidence, he appeared in 1937's Wells Fargo, with Joel McCrea, in a great role as doomed but chivalrous CSA officer Talbot Carter.
Arthur Space appeared as Hank Stiles, and he had appeared 3 episodes earlier in The Gun, but this was not uncommon on shows during the era. Space had a huge list of credits at 288, and appeared in pictures such as 20 Million Miles to Earth, The Spirit of St. Louis, The Paleface, and Silver River with Errol Flynn, and a lot more. By the time of this episode he was working steadily on the small screen. He was a very familiar actor you saw everywhere, similar to Whit Bissel.
It's time to close this one out, but I'll end by saying it's an episode some may not like at all, but others will certainly enjoy.
Although we see a lot of these kind of scripts in the Westerns genre where someone is framed for a robbery and murder, this episode really stands out. It's not that the story is particularly epic, it's a fairly standard frameup story which Hardie solves without too much effort. Nevertheless, for me Jim Hardie is always a good watch and this one certainly qualifies as entertaining. It has some great characters, terrific dialogue, and Hardie's coolness was on a high level. Plus, his ending narration is interesting and original. But what really gets me about this episode? It's the cast...I'm absolutely fascinated with the cast.
Bruce Bennett appeared as Clyde Bender. It's undeniable, he was one interesting guy. MGM wanted to cast him as Tarzan, but a shoulder injury nixed that and the role went to Johnny Weissmuller. But that's just one item - his bio is a heck of a read. Skydiving from 10,000ft at 96yrs old? He did it. Anyways, it's not that his performance in this one would bring home a statue, but he had a charismatic presence onscreen that was undeniable. I wasn't immediately familiar with him at first, but once I looked into his bio I saw he had appeared in a slew of great pictures, many of which are favorites of mine, such as Sahara with Humprhey Bogart and Dan Duryea. But there were more...Mildred Pierce, Nora Prentiss, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, A Stolen Life, Dark Passage, Angels in the Outfield, and more. By the 50s he was moving into television roles, and would only work for about 10 years after this episode, give or take. But he appeared in one of my favorite creature features in 1959, The Alligator People! Woohoo!
Cowboy legend Johnny Mack Brown appeared as Sheriff Eaton. Brown was one of the quintessential good guys when he was a leading man, and had been a hero to millions of kids in the golden age of Western pictures. Truth be told I didn't even recognize him in this episode. To see his name in the credits the first time I saw the episode was a real surprise. He was so completely different than what he'd been in years past, and I'm not referring to him appearing in a villainous role. His trademark toothy smile and his voice weren't anywhere near the same, unlike actors such as Randolph Scott or Joel McCrea, who were easily recognizable into their later years. By coincidence, he appeared in 1937's Wells Fargo, with Joel McCrea, in a great role as doomed but chivalrous CSA officer Talbot Carter.
Arthur Space appeared as Hank Stiles, and he had appeared 3 episodes earlier in The Gun, but this was not uncommon on shows during the era. Space had a huge list of credits at 288, and appeared in pictures such as 20 Million Miles to Earth, The Spirit of St. Louis, The Paleface, and Silver River with Errol Flynn, and a lot more. By the time of this episode he was working steadily on the small screen. He was a very familiar actor you saw everywhere, similar to Whit Bissel.
It's time to close this one out, but I'll end by saying it's an episode some may not like at all, but others will certainly enjoy.
