This is one of the most interesting episodes of this great western show. Clint Walker as Cheyenne Bodie has to sing in it. We all know that he had a wonderful voice. He sang in one of his movies too (Night of the Grizzly) and he even recorded an album (called "Inspiration"). Here we can hear three other songs: Some Sunday morning, Whipcrack, Beautiful dreamer! There is another surprise in this episode: Clint plays a double role: He is Cheyenne and an actor who looks exactly like the main character. As the actor Clint appears very British and stylish. There is an shirtless scene too. All in all this episode is a great pleasure!
3 Reviews
"Are you going to listen to this lyin' Yankee dog!"
faunafan11 September 2022
Warning: Spoilers
That's just one of the memorable lines in this most unusual and welcome episode of "Cheyenne," in which Clint Walker shines for his versatility and charm, which isn't the unusual part. The story opens with Cheyenne Bodie being saved by the cavalry from an Indian attack on a wagon train only to be given a letter ordering him to Washington, D. C., for a new assignment. Turns out he's a dead ringer for an actor named Jim Merritt, who is involved in a plot to resurrect the rebel South, and the Army needs somebody to go undercover to thwart the conspiracy. Cheyenne, being the cooperative scout that he is, puts up with all manner of indignities ("Sing?!") to obey the order because he recognizes the importance of the mission.
There are so many quotable lines and rewindable scenes in this episode that this review would be as long as the script itself if I related them all. The characters are well-realized, especially Jim Merritt's fed-up wife Nellie (Joan Weldon) and Cheyenne's "obbernoxious" old cattle drive chum Prairie Dog (Guinn "Big Boy" Williams). Clint Walker dazzles in the dual role, from prepping to play the gorgeous but starchy Jim Merritt, to pretending to be drunk, to injecting a subtle PSA against smoking, to warding off a suddenly amorous Nellie's advances after she realizes her husband isn't so bad after all. Scenes where tutors are training Cheyenne for the impersonation are gems all on their own. Plus, Cheyenne Bodie in a tux singing "Beautiful Dreamer" in a resonant baritone makes the episode worth seeing all by itself.
Suffice to say that "The Conspirators" is at the top of many a fan's list of favorites. It has all the elements of comedy and drama that anyone could want, with Clint Walker solidly at the center of it all. In short, it's just a fun episode, a feast for the senses from beginning to end.
There are so many quotable lines and rewindable scenes in this episode that this review would be as long as the script itself if I related them all. The characters are well-realized, especially Jim Merritt's fed-up wife Nellie (Joan Weldon) and Cheyenne's "obbernoxious" old cattle drive chum Prairie Dog (Guinn "Big Boy" Williams). Clint Walker dazzles in the dual role, from prepping to play the gorgeous but starchy Jim Merritt, to pretending to be drunk, to injecting a subtle PSA against smoking, to warding off a suddenly amorous Nellie's advances after she realizes her husband isn't so bad after all. Scenes where tutors are training Cheyenne for the impersonation are gems all on their own. Plus, Cheyenne Bodie in a tux singing "Beautiful Dreamer" in a resonant baritone makes the episode worth seeing all by itself.
Suffice to say that "The Conspirators" is at the top of many a fan's list of favorites. It has all the elements of comedy and drama that anyone could want, with Clint Walker solidly at the center of it all. In short, it's just a fun episode, a feast for the senses from beginning to end.
Clint Walker at his best
MikeyDpoet16 July 2019
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