Veteran western character actor John Anderson plays an unreasonably bitter gunslinger who rides into Laramie to exact revenge on Marshal Dan Troop. It seems that three years ago in Wichita, Troop shot Lloyd Malone (John Anderson of "Young Billy Young") and deprived the man of the use of his left arm. Now, Lloyd wants his son Jim (Robert Reed of "The Brady Bunch"), who is "a surgeon with a six-gun," to maim Troop. We are shown how fast and accurate a shot that Jim is when Lloyd lobs two silver dollars into the air and his son blasts both of them. Of course, this would be impossible as the trivia section of this website has indicated. Nevertheless, the one-armed Lloyd wants to pit his dutiful, sharp-shooting son against Troop. Initially, Troup doesn't remember Lloyd, refuses to sit down and have a drink with him in The Birdcage. Afterward, Lloyd rides out to rendezvous with his alcoholic brother Jubal (Regis Toomey of "Guns of the Timberlands") who has drunk his nerves away. Lloyd begins to plot his revenge. It seems that three years ago in Wichita, Malone made the shooting of a man appear like self-defense when in fact it wasn't. Afterward, Marshal Troop shot him, maimed him for life, and sent him to prison.
Now, Malone plans to use his son to wreak vengeance on Troop. Predictably, Troop isn't impressed with the son who is "a surgeon with a six-gun" and jails him when the son defends Jubal in a bar room encounter. Troop disarms Jim and lets him stew in jail for several hours. Ultimately, this second season episode culminates on main street with Jim challenging Troop to a showdown. At this point, Jim realizes that his grim-faced father is indeed a coward and he refuses to slap leather with Troop. "Your father was a wild man. A fool. The men he shot weren't gunmen at all. They were about as fit to shoot as Jubal, and he saw to that" Troop informs Jim who refuses to accept Troop's assurance about his dastardly dad. Troop points out that Jim has never seen his father in a gunfight so he knows nothing about him. "I was the first man your father ever called who knew how to handle himself," Troop explains. "And even then I gave him every chance but he was wild to pull his gun." Lloyd and Jim ride in for the showdown in the rain, and Troop surprises Jim by switching from his right arm to his left arm. Jim backs down, and his enraged father slaps him repeatedly. Lloyd turns and opens fire on Troop, but our hero blazes away, leaving Lloyd sprawled dead in the mud. Jubal takes Jim home, and balance has been brought back to the frontier.
Like all "Lawman" episodes, this one features strong performances, lots of close-ups, and dramatic confrontations. The action is confined largely to Laramie and Jubal's house in the woods. The climactic confrontation in the rain after church is standard-issue Warners Brothers stuff. The dialogue is short, snappy, and sweet. "Arms don't make a man boy, it's what's inside a man that counts." Peggy Castle plays the saloon owner who has a relationship with Troop. No, we never see them kiss, but the clench-jawed marshal takes her to church. Peter Brown co-stars as Troop's deputy but he doesn't get a chance to do much in this episode. "Lawman" is like "Cheyenne" and "Bronco." It is a leather-tough, hard-nosed western that takes itself seriously with only an occasional joke. John Russell dominates the show with his forceful, imperturbable personality. As much as I enjoy the show, I don't think it measures up to "Gunsmoke."
Now, Malone plans to use his son to wreak vengeance on Troop. Predictably, Troop isn't impressed with the son who is "a surgeon with a six-gun" and jails him when the son defends Jubal in a bar room encounter. Troop disarms Jim and lets him stew in jail for several hours. Ultimately, this second season episode culminates on main street with Jim challenging Troop to a showdown. At this point, Jim realizes that his grim-faced father is indeed a coward and he refuses to slap leather with Troop. "Your father was a wild man. A fool. The men he shot weren't gunmen at all. They were about as fit to shoot as Jubal, and he saw to that" Troop informs Jim who refuses to accept Troop's assurance about his dastardly dad. Troop points out that Jim has never seen his father in a gunfight so he knows nothing about him. "I was the first man your father ever called who knew how to handle himself," Troop explains. "And even then I gave him every chance but he was wild to pull his gun." Lloyd and Jim ride in for the showdown in the rain, and Troop surprises Jim by switching from his right arm to his left arm. Jim backs down, and his enraged father slaps him repeatedly. Lloyd turns and opens fire on Troop, but our hero blazes away, leaving Lloyd sprawled dead in the mud. Jubal takes Jim home, and balance has been brought back to the frontier.
Like all "Lawman" episodes, this one features strong performances, lots of close-ups, and dramatic confrontations. The action is confined largely to Laramie and Jubal's house in the woods. The climactic confrontation in the rain after church is standard-issue Warners Brothers stuff. The dialogue is short, snappy, and sweet. "Arms don't make a man boy, it's what's inside a man that counts." Peggy Castle plays the saloon owner who has a relationship with Troop. No, we never see them kiss, but the clench-jawed marshal takes her to church. Peter Brown co-stars as Troop's deputy but he doesn't get a chance to do much in this episode. "Lawman" is like "Cheyenne" and "Bronco." It is a leather-tough, hard-nosed western that takes itself seriously with only an occasional joke. John Russell dominates the show with his forceful, imperturbable personality. As much as I enjoy the show, I don't think it measures up to "Gunsmoke."
