Good action and suspense in this episode. Contains atmosphere of a psychological thriller. Shows style of directors in genre like Anthony Mann and Robert Wise. Harold Stone is memorable as usual. Dale Robertson reminds us often he has a dangerous job.
2 Reviews
"Once a person has killed someone, they've crossed over a bridge from which there's no turning back."
ben-thayer5 December 2023
While investigating a Wells Fargo robbery of $4000, Jim Hardie witnesses the murder of one of his good friends and the Wells Fargo station manager, Bob Benton, by a sniper from a hotel across the street.
This is somewhat of a different type of episode. For starters, there is no opening nor closing monologue from Jim Hardie. There were episodes where Hardie skips the closing monologue, but it's very rare to skip both the opening and closing voiceovers. The episode is also a bit different in that it contains a mystery that's not solved until the final minute of the show. From there it proceeds to the closing credits directly with no pause. Other than Hardie falling down the stairs, there is no action in the episode.
Pretty much everyone in the cast but the sheriff and the bartender is a suspect. The two other employees of the Wells Fargo office, Harriet Parnell and Clem Withers, claim that Benton all but accused them of the robbery. Each has a secret they'd rather Hardie not know, and he soon finds both of them quite willing to rat out the other. There's also a cutthroat gambler involved, as money is his business. As the evidence unfolds it becomes clear that the sniper has knowledge of the hotel, but since all the suspects live there it could be anyone. I'll stop any further discussion here to avoid spoiling the episode.
The cast includes a couple of known names, but that's about it. Harold J. Stone was extremely prolific during the era, appearing in both comedic and villainous roles primarily on TV. He only appeared in a handful of pictures, none of them noteworthy, with one major exception...Spartacus. Olan Soule was even more prolific with 272 roles, appearing in everything from The Andy Griffith Show to Battlestar Galactica. But he is best known in pop culture as the first voice of Batman in animation, on the classic 70's Saturday morning show Super Friends.
I'd place this one in the mid ranges of the series. But EWIBIG, y'know.
This is somewhat of a different type of episode. For starters, there is no opening nor closing monologue from Jim Hardie. There were episodes where Hardie skips the closing monologue, but it's very rare to skip both the opening and closing voiceovers. The episode is also a bit different in that it contains a mystery that's not solved until the final minute of the show. From there it proceeds to the closing credits directly with no pause. Other than Hardie falling down the stairs, there is no action in the episode.
Pretty much everyone in the cast but the sheriff and the bartender is a suspect. The two other employees of the Wells Fargo office, Harriet Parnell and Clem Withers, claim that Benton all but accused them of the robbery. Each has a secret they'd rather Hardie not know, and he soon finds both of them quite willing to rat out the other. There's also a cutthroat gambler involved, as money is his business. As the evidence unfolds it becomes clear that the sniper has knowledge of the hotel, but since all the suspects live there it could be anyone. I'll stop any further discussion here to avoid spoiling the episode.
The cast includes a couple of known names, but that's about it. Harold J. Stone was extremely prolific during the era, appearing in both comedic and villainous roles primarily on TV. He only appeared in a handful of pictures, none of them noteworthy, with one major exception...Spartacus. Olan Soule was even more prolific with 272 roles, appearing in everything from The Andy Griffith Show to Battlestar Galactica. But he is best known in pop culture as the first voice of Batman in animation, on the classic 70's Saturday morning show Super Friends.
I'd place this one in the mid ranges of the series. But EWIBIG, y'know.
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