The Schoolmaster (29 Nov. 1960)

A strict new schoolmaster comes to teach - and, he discovers, to learn: from Mark and Lucas.

Director:

Arthur Hiller

Writer:

Margaret Armen

Stars:

Chuck Connors, Johnny Crawford, Paul Fix

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Chuck Connors	...	Lucas McCain
Johnny Crawford	...	Mark McCain
Paul Fix	...	Marshal Micah Torrance (credit only)
Jimmy Fields	...	Billy Davis
Pamela Cole	...	Sally
Arnold Moss	...	Stevan Griswald

Storyline

Mr. Griswald is the new schoolmaster at the Northfork school. He is a strict disciplinarian who rules his class as total dictator. His harsh style of dealing with the students clashes with their more relaxed lifestyles. When he and Mark clash one time too many Mark and a friend play hooky and get in trouble in an abandoned mine shaft. Mr. Griswald must find his compassion and help Lucas find Mark.

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Plot Keywords:

abandoned mine | schoolteacher | rifle | reference to archimedes

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Genres:

Family | Western

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Details

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 November 1960 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Four Star Productions, Sussex Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Both Arnold Moss and Jamie Fields would go on to appear once each in the original Star Trek series.

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Quotes

Stevan Griswald: [to the trapped Mark] Archimedes said, 'Give me a lever and I can move the world.' We'll get you out, Mark.

User Reviews

The new hardnose schoolteacher thinks Lucas is a bad parent.

Contains a classic confrontation when Lucas drops his loaded (but uncocked) rifle in front of the schoolhouse, and the teacher orders him "never to bring a dangerous weapon near this schoolhouse again" because he's not responsible with it. The teacher escalates the battle by declaring that the reason Mark isn't getting his homework done is that his father likes conversation too much, and orders Mark to stay indefinitely after school so he can supervise his homework. Mark can't take the insult to his father and runs out of the classroom. He hides in an old mineshaft (was there any part of the West without an abandoned mine in walking distance?), and Lucas and the teacher are forced to combine forces to save him when he's caught in a collapse. In the process, the value of studying the Greeks is affirmed. Won't spoil it by telling you how.