The Lazy Ace: Part 1 (1 Dec. 1981)

Bret Maverick wins a saloon in a poker game and decides to end his roving ways and settle down in Sweetwater, Arizona. He takes on as a partner the former sheriff who comes with a shady background.

Director:

Stuart Margolin

Writers:

Gordon T. Dawson (developer), Gordon T. Dawson

Stars:

James Garner, Ed Bruce, Ramon Bieri

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
James Garner	...	Bret Maverick
Ed Bruce	...	Tom Guthrie
Ramon Bieri	...	Elijah Crow
Richard Hamilton	...	Cy Whittaker
John Shearin	...	Sheriff Mitchel Dowd
David Knell	...	Rodney Catlow
Darleen Carr	...	Mary Lou 'M.L.' Springer
Janis Paige	...	Mandy Packer
Bill McKinney	...	Ramsey Bass
John McLiam	...	Doc Holiday
Stuart Margolin	...	Philo Sandeen
Billy Kerr	...	Blue-Eyed Kid
Jack Garner	...	Jack the Bartender
Luis Delgado	...	Shifty Delgrado
Ed Bakey	...	Lyman Nickerson

Storyline

At a high-stakes poker game in Sweetwater, Arizona Bret Maverick eliminates the competition, winning $100,000 and the deed to the Red Ox Saloon. Bret's luck soon changes, however, as his winnings are stolen that night from the local bank, and he learns that the saloon he now owns has a quite considerable mortgage that has come due. Getting no help from the newly-elected sheriff, who believes the days of the old west are over, he has no choice but to take off after the bank robbers on his own.

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Plot Keywords:

election fraud | saloon | poker game | poker | mortgage | 

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Genres:

Drama | Western

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 December 1981 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Sable Ranch - 25933 Sand Canyon Road, Santa Clarita, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros. Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Quotes

[first lines]
Rodney Catlow: It's him. It's him! M.L. M.L. M.L.!

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Connections

Followed by Maverick (1994)

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Soundtracks

"Maverick Didn't Come Here to Lose"
Written by Ed Bruce, Patsy Bruce & Glenn Ray
Performed by Ed Bruce & James Garner

User Reviews

Good entertainment ,but old spark is missing.

Maverick was perhaps the most imaginative and best written TV series of the early days of television. It made a star of Garner, whose accomplished career continues to thrive a half century later.

This film was enjoyable and as always, Bret finds his schemes for big $$$ thwarted at nearly every turn. Garner was born to play this role and his scenes are excellent. Ed Bruce was better than I expected and Bill McKinney is always an excellent bad guy.

However, the old Maverick spark is missing somehow from the overall production. The film is an average TV movie at best , but I recommend seeing the series before catching this one.