User Reviews

This is a fascinating episode. A little girl, "Dolly Cleary", played by Anna Marie Nanasi, would grow up to be a gorgeous buxom blond and cast in the martial arts classic, "Enter The Dragon" with superstar Bruce Lee. She had changed her name to "Anna Capri" prior to that film, and appeared on many TV shows of the era. It's hard to believe, when you see this episode (which is quite good), but true. Tragically, she was killed in an automobile accident; the same fate that occurred to the extremely famous blonde pinup girl, Jayne Mansfield.

This review reveals the ending. If it didn't, there'd be no point to it.

"Have Gun Will Travel" and "Wanted Dead or Alive" remain exceptional Westerns for the high quality of their storytelling. They refused to follow the "format becomes formula" recipe that doomed so many other series of all genres. Both offered clever stories with interesting twists, rather than the same old same-old week after week (eg, "Bonanza").

"Littlest Client" is likely to wallop unsuspecting viewers with a surprise they just aren't expecting.

Dolly Cleary (Ahna Capri) lives at a Catholic orphanage. She's been told her parents are dead, but is convinced they're still alive. Josh has little trouble tracking down Matt Cleary (Anthony Caruso), who's living in a shack with Virgil (Robert Wilke), about the only fellow around that's an even lower low-life than Matt.

As Josh is about to knock on the door, the two men burst out, whaling the crap out of each other. When Virgil (who's larger than Matt) wins the fight, they hug and laugh, as if they were the best of friends. Which they are.

We don't need a psychologist to tell us that wrestling and fist-fighting have obvious sexual connotations, if only on the level of "who's the better (bigger) man". In this case, the level goes much deeper. Virgil explains that Matt is the only "talkin'" friend he's ever had, and doesn't want to quit him.

But Matt wants his daughter back, and goes off with Josh to be rehabilitated. This works, until Virgil tries to wreck Matt's reunion with Dolly by getting him drunk. Josh confronts Virgil, and beats him a fight using a handy balsa-wood prop chair. As he ties up Virgil, Virgil repeats that he just can't lose Matt.

Final scene. Josh arrives with Dolly at the orphanage. Dolly and Matt embrace warmly and head for the buggy. And who should appear but a cleaned-up Virgil, whom Matt introduces as his best friend. "Let's go home."

(ahem) How obvious can you get? Apparently not obvious enough for Standards & Practices (the network's censors) to order a rewrite.