Jim Hardie has been assigned to go after the Manning brothers, who have been hitting Wells Fargo and running to Mexico, when he encounters a dead horse on his way to Ghost Wells to face them. He finds the rider shortly thereafter, apparently unconscious, but he finds it to be a ruse when the rider reveals a concealed pistol. The rider steals Hardie's horse, leaving him on foot with no water. But the rider decides he can't leave Hardie to die and he returns for him. It seems he was unwilling to cause a man's death in this manner. The rider is John Leslie Nagel, one of two men in the country with a $25,000 bounty on his head, and he's on an important personal mission in Ghost Wells with little time left. But $25,000 is a fortune, and it has a way of giving even the most timid person ideas.
The Most Dangerous Man Alive is yet another great script from S3 by veteran writer Samuel A. Peeples, which is shaping up to be a great season indeed. Earl Bellamy turns in another good one as director. The theme of the episode is somewhat different, as it's one of redemption rather than retribution, with Hardie seeing something inside of Nagel other than what he appears to be outwardly. Although Nagel is notorious for having 34 notches on his gun, he has a personal code that he follows faithfully. But Hardie has a code of his own, and he's determined to follow it as well. Although Nagel continues to be wary of him, Hardie states repeatedly that Nagel is not wanted by Wells Fargo and that he's after the Mannings and must face them, no matter the odds. Since Nagel still has his gun the odds are against him.
We find that Nagel has a tragic past, and he has certain plans that must be carried to fruition before the end. He mentions how he doesn't have much time left and has something important he must do, something we find eventually that is related to a woman, and her past is equally tragic. Hardie speaks of redemption in the closing dialogue, discussing how Les Nagel was able to leave something behind after all, something noble and good, something that may grow over the years. If, in some modest way his last act could perhaps make up for even a small part of his lawless years, it would be something he did that could be remembered with some other sentiment than disgust.
The cast is very small with some very well-known members and some unknown. Claude Akins appears as John Leslie Nagel, a character based on the notorious gunman we know so well. Akins had a resume a mile long, playing all kinds of characters from villainous to humorous with much skill. But during the Golden Age of TV Westerns he primarily appeared in villainous roles in pretty much every major series of the era with the exception of Lawman, with 10 episodes of Gunsmoke and 5 in ToWF. But he also appeared in a lot of great pictures such as Inherit the Wind, Rio Bravo, and The Caine Mutiny. I was fortunate enough to meet Mr. Akins at a convention in the late 80s, and I have a picture of us together. He was extremely cool as I spoke with him that day long ago. Frank McGrath appeared as Jake Rivers, itching to get his hands on the massive reward for Nagel. Although his credit list may initially seem short, it isn't remotely. He appeared in a slew of great pictures including The Black Swan, The Searchers, Hondo, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, The Ox-Bow Incident, and Western Union. But his major claim to fame would be his 271 episodes of Wagon Train as much-disparaged cook Charlie Wooster. Patricia Powell appeared as Ellen Nagel and Ana Maria Majalca appeared as Jeanie Two Eagles, both having only a very small number of roles and as such are not known today.
Another great episode from S3. As is typical, Jim Hardie is a darned good watch, so this one should not be missed.
The Most Dangerous Man Alive is yet another great script from S3 by veteran writer Samuel A. Peeples, which is shaping up to be a great season indeed. Earl Bellamy turns in another good one as director. The theme of the episode is somewhat different, as it's one of redemption rather than retribution, with Hardie seeing something inside of Nagel other than what he appears to be outwardly. Although Nagel is notorious for having 34 notches on his gun, he has a personal code that he follows faithfully. But Hardie has a code of his own, and he's determined to follow it as well. Although Nagel continues to be wary of him, Hardie states repeatedly that Nagel is not wanted by Wells Fargo and that he's after the Mannings and must face them, no matter the odds. Since Nagel still has his gun the odds are against him.
We find that Nagel has a tragic past, and he has certain plans that must be carried to fruition before the end. He mentions how he doesn't have much time left and has something important he must do, something we find eventually that is related to a woman, and her past is equally tragic. Hardie speaks of redemption in the closing dialogue, discussing how Les Nagel was able to leave something behind after all, something noble and good, something that may grow over the years. If, in some modest way his last act could perhaps make up for even a small part of his lawless years, it would be something he did that could be remembered with some other sentiment than disgust.
The cast is very small with some very well-known members and some unknown. Claude Akins appears as John Leslie Nagel, a character based on the notorious gunman we know so well. Akins had a resume a mile long, playing all kinds of characters from villainous to humorous with much skill. But during the Golden Age of TV Westerns he primarily appeared in villainous roles in pretty much every major series of the era with the exception of Lawman, with 10 episodes of Gunsmoke and 5 in ToWF. But he also appeared in a lot of great pictures such as Inherit the Wind, Rio Bravo, and The Caine Mutiny. I was fortunate enough to meet Mr. Akins at a convention in the late 80s, and I have a picture of us together. He was extremely cool as I spoke with him that day long ago. Frank McGrath appeared as Jake Rivers, itching to get his hands on the massive reward for Nagel. Although his credit list may initially seem short, it isn't remotely. He appeared in a slew of great pictures including The Black Swan, The Searchers, Hondo, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, The Ox-Bow Incident, and Western Union. But his major claim to fame would be his 271 episodes of Wagon Train as much-disparaged cook Charlie Wooster. Patricia Powell appeared as Ellen Nagel and Ana Maria Majalca appeared as Jeanie Two Eagles, both having only a very small number of roles and as such are not known today.
Another great episode from S3. As is typical, Jim Hardie is a darned good watch, so this one should not be missed.
