TALES OF WELLS FARGO "The Hasty Gun" 1957
TALES OF WELLS FARGO was a western series than ran for a total of 200 episodes between 1957 and 1962. Dale Robertson plays the lead as Jim Hardee. Hardee is an agent for the stage and cargo hauling outfit. When something goes wrong he is the man they send to fix it.
This episode is the second of the series. A Wells Fargo stage office has been robbed and the local lawman, Rusty Lane, kills one of the suspected robbers. The problem for the Sheriff is that the dead man is a popular young man, and no one believes he was in on the robbery. Lane, the town Sheriff for 20 plus years is now thought to be past his prime.
Wells Fargo man, Dale Robertson is sent to help recover the cash stolen from the company. He hits town and finds that Sheriff Lane, has been replaced by a low life thug that Robertson knows. The new man, Leo Gordon, works for local saloon owner, John Frederick. Frederick wants a more open town so he can cash in on the cattle drive cowhands that hit town. The old Sheriff, Lane always kept a tight grip on said cowpokes.
Also in the mix is the always seedy, Jack Lambert. The slit eyed Lambert is a crooked card dealer, who the dead man just happened to owe a fortune to. Then there is the father of the dead man, James Bell. He is out to get even for the death of his boy.
Robertson sees the whole thing as a play by Frederick to gain control of the town council. He corners card sharp Lambert in his room and applies a bit of forceful questioning. A few belts across the head with a pistol butt soon have Lambert spilling the beans. Lambert had forced the dead man to help out with the robbery to pay off his gambling debt. When the Sheriff had showed, Lambert had shoved the boy out in the street as a decoy. The whole robbery had been planned by saloon owner, Frederick and his henchman, the new Sheriff, Leo Gordon.
Robertson drags Lambert in front of the town elders to repeat his story. Lambert has a quick change of heart with Frederick and his gunman, Gordon in attendance. Robertson "offers" to reapply his pistol butt to jog Lambert's memory. Lambert does not like this idea and tells all the truth. Gordon and Frederick draw pistols but are on the wrong end of the exchange. The former Lawman, Lane, is quickly rehired with an apology from the town council.
This is a quick and to the point episode. Then how can you go wrong with career screen thugs, Lambert and Leo Gordon. Gordon was a real life thug who had done time in San Quentin for armed robbery. Director Don Seigel said Gordon was the scariest man he ever knew.
The director was again, long time television man, Leslie H Martinson. He directed several hundred TV episodes between 1953 and 1989. The only big screen success he had was the 1963 war film, PT-109.
Of some note is the series producer, Nat Holt. Holt was a long-time producer of mid to lower budget Westerns. He produced a string of Westerns with top star Randolph Scott which included, TRAIL STREET, BADMAN'S TERRITORY, RETURN OF THE BADMEN, Canadian PACIFIC, FIGHTING MAN OF THE PLAINS, THE CARIBOO TRAIL and RAGE AT DAWN.
TALES OF WELLS FARGO was a western series than ran for a total of 200 episodes between 1957 and 1962. Dale Robertson plays the lead as Jim Hardee. Hardee is an agent for the stage and cargo hauling outfit. When something goes wrong he is the man they send to fix it.
This episode is the second of the series. A Wells Fargo stage office has been robbed and the local lawman, Rusty Lane, kills one of the suspected robbers. The problem for the Sheriff is that the dead man is a popular young man, and no one believes he was in on the robbery. Lane, the town Sheriff for 20 plus years is now thought to be past his prime.
Wells Fargo man, Dale Robertson is sent to help recover the cash stolen from the company. He hits town and finds that Sheriff Lane, has been replaced by a low life thug that Robertson knows. The new man, Leo Gordon, works for local saloon owner, John Frederick. Frederick wants a more open town so he can cash in on the cattle drive cowhands that hit town. The old Sheriff, Lane always kept a tight grip on said cowpokes.
Also in the mix is the always seedy, Jack Lambert. The slit eyed Lambert is a crooked card dealer, who the dead man just happened to owe a fortune to. Then there is the father of the dead man, James Bell. He is out to get even for the death of his boy.
Robertson sees the whole thing as a play by Frederick to gain control of the town council. He corners card sharp Lambert in his room and applies a bit of forceful questioning. A few belts across the head with a pistol butt soon have Lambert spilling the beans. Lambert had forced the dead man to help out with the robbery to pay off his gambling debt. When the Sheriff had showed, Lambert had shoved the boy out in the street as a decoy. The whole robbery had been planned by saloon owner, Frederick and his henchman, the new Sheriff, Leo Gordon.
Robertson drags Lambert in front of the town elders to repeat his story. Lambert has a quick change of heart with Frederick and his gunman, Gordon in attendance. Robertson "offers" to reapply his pistol butt to jog Lambert's memory. Lambert does not like this idea and tells all the truth. Gordon and Frederick draw pistols but are on the wrong end of the exchange. The former Lawman, Lane, is quickly rehired with an apology from the town council.
This is a quick and to the point episode. Then how can you go wrong with career screen thugs, Lambert and Leo Gordon. Gordon was a real life thug who had done time in San Quentin for armed robbery. Director Don Seigel said Gordon was the scariest man he ever knew.
The director was again, long time television man, Leslie H Martinson. He directed several hundred TV episodes between 1953 and 1989. The only big screen success he had was the 1963 war film, PT-109.
Of some note is the series producer, Nat Holt. Holt was a long-time producer of mid to lower budget Westerns. He produced a string of Westerns with top star Randolph Scott which included, TRAIL STREET, BADMAN'S TERRITORY, RETURN OF THE BADMEN, Canadian PACIFIC, FIGHTING MAN OF THE PLAINS, THE CARIBOO TRAIL and RAGE AT DAWN.
