This felt like two halves of two different stories. The first half was Jack Mahoney as a Robin Hood type, taking money from the rich (in the case shown, a banker on the stagecoach ) and giving some at least of it to the poor. He also saves Jess Harper's life when the latter is attacked by Indians. However it seems strange that he then rides into Laramie on a very noticeable horse, virtually inviting arrest by the local sheriff. Jess likes the man and finds it hard to believe Slim's antipathy towards him. In fact Slim is altogether too black and white in his outlook, as shown in other episodes. After the case against this Robin Hood of the West is dismissed the story then takes a much more unpleasant direction. Slim isn't about to let things alone and deliberately conspires with the deputy sheriff to inveigle Mahoney into a card game the two of him know Mahoney will lose and is hell bent on taking him on in a fight though Jess does his best to dissuade him. The idea is to impoverish Mahoney so that he'll be tempted to steal from a poor person and thus demolish his reputation. Coincidentally the people he selects are the poor ranchers he helped during the stagecoach robbery and worse still he's about to kill both of them when Slim and Jess (who've amazingly managed to track him to this very ranch!) turn up and save the day, shooting Mahoney in the process. Jess meanwhile having gone through a complete volte face in his opinion of his erstwhile friend. Not only is this one of the most unlikely plots I've ever seen, not one of the main characters comes out of it with distinction. Mahoney changes from good guy to villain in the twinkling of an eye, Slim Sherman shows himself to be, not for the first time, an inflexible stuffed shirt and troublemaker and Jess Harper's loyalty changes quicker than the eye can see from admiring Mahoney to hunting him down. Not particularly enjoyable.
Review of Man from Kansas
