"Cage at McNaab" is one of the last episodes, and the second to feature Lon Chaney, who earlier did "The Scorched Feather." Gene Roddenberry scripted this excellent story, in which Paladin agrees to see a prisoner, Brian Larson (Christopher Dark), condemned to hang after a year behind bars. The guard, Trowbridge (John Harmon), in cahoots with the prisoner's wife Nora (Jacqueline Scott), knocks out Paladin and puts him in the empty cell, awaiting the fate intended for Larson. After an unsuccessful escape attempt, the warden (Ford Rainey) decides to give Paladin a hulking cellmate named O'Connor (Chaney), convicted of murdering a man who had robbed him. O'Connor turns out not to be a bad sort, and aids Paladin's escape through a small window 12 feet above the ground. With the warden's attack dogs hot on his heels, Paladin makes a few surprising discoveries on his way back to the Larson cabin. Chaney's presence is welcome but the role is disappointingly small; still, it provided another opportunity to play a sympathetic character when the movies generally kept him in villainous mode. This Western series also included appearances by Vincent Price ("The Moor's Revenge") and John Carradine ("The Statue of San Sebastian"). Chaney and Carradine also did other Western shows, such as WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE (Steve McQueen), THE RIFLEMAN (Chuck Connors), and LAWMAN (John Russell). Chaney's final appearance on a network series was a 1966 episode of THE MONKEES, "Monkees in a Ghost Town," the last time he did another Lennie impression, and he was a semi-regular in the short-lived Western spoof PISTOLS 'N' PETTICOATS, which begat a compilation feature titled "The Far Out West" (1967). His final TV appearance was the 1969 Halloween edition of THE TONIGHT SHOW, where he informed Johnny Carson that his gravelly voice was the result of too much growling for his Wolf Man fans (it was the same throat cancer that killed his father at age 47). Lon Jr. suffered a fatal heart attack in 1973 at age 67.
3 Reviews
Offbeat
dougdoepke23 December 2010
I certainly didn't see the central twist coming in this imaginative Gene Roddenberry screenplay. After five years of relentless script demands, I'm surprised production was able to come up with an offbeat premise. The way the story is filmed and the way events conspire against our erstwhile Paladin suggest a frontier film noir, of all things.
Lon Caney's role is a brief, odd one and may have been a favor to a veteran actor then on the alcoholic downgrade. He was always good at projecting pathos despite the bulk, which he does here in a sympathetic role. Too bad about the ending, at least in my view. Developments seem hurried and not very convincing, as if production had to do a quick wrap-up. Nonetheless, the half-hour is occasionally riveting and certainly worth catching up with.
Lon Caney's role is a brief, odd one and may have been a favor to a veteran actor then on the alcoholic downgrade. He was always good at projecting pathos despite the bulk, which he does here in a sympathetic role. Too bad about the ending, at least in my view. Developments seem hurried and not very convincing, as if production had to do a quick wrap-up. Nonetheless, the half-hour is occasionally riveting and certainly worth catching up with.
Goof
graysonrussell-1211416 November 2019
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