Rope Law (3 Jan. 1959)

Josh and Brace Logan are met on the range by a group of men who want Logan, Josh's prisoner. When he refuses, he's hit from behind and loses Logan. When he gets to town to file a complaint ... See full summary »

Director:

Thomas Carr

Writer:

Donn Mullally

Stars:

Steve McQueen, Darryl Hickman, Richard Arlen

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Steve McQueen	...	Josh Randall
Darryl Hickman	...	Damon Ring, Jr.
Richard Arlen	...	Sheriff Damon Ring, Sr.
Robert Strauss	...	Brace Logan
Sidney Blackmer	...	Judge L.L. Cooper

Storyline

Josh and Brace Logan are met on the range by a group of men who want Logan, Josh's prisoner. When he refuses, he's hit from behind and loses Logan. When he gets to town to file a complaint he is surprised to find the sheriff was the leader of the men and his son was the one who hit him. Josh takes an interest in the case now and is determined to find the truth...especially since the sheriff's son wants to organize a lynching.

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Plot Keywords:

sheriff | hit from behind | bound and gagged | judge | bartender | 

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Genres:

Western

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Details

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 January 1959 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Four Star Productions, Malcolm Enterprises, Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

25 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Brace Logan: The trouble between Marly's maw and me. It was cookin' like a vat of mash. It had to blow up.

User Reviews

Good Cast Elevates Lynch-Mob Story

A big-name cast highlights this episode. Guest stars include Sidney Blackmer, Darryl Hickman, Richrd Arlen and Robert Strauss.

Our hero, Josh Randall (Steve McQueen). is bringing in another "customer" when a group surrounds him and one of the hotheads clubs him over the head. His father is in that gang and he, it turns out, is the acting sheriff in town as Randall finds out when he comes to and reports the incident at the sheriff's office.

This temporary sheriff apologizes to Randall for his son's action and even thanks him after Josh seeks the kid out and slugs him at the nearby bar. The father seems like a pretty good guy, knows he's spoiled his kid, but has to hang the suspect because he had confessed to a woman's killing. Randall interviews the man in jail and feels something isn't right, that the man's confession might be a phony. He rides out to see the presiding judge (Blackmer) gets his story, and warns the judge that a lynch mob is probably going to hang that suspect by the evening. The judge doesn't want to see that so he and Randall ride back into town and stop a potential lynching.

However, it turns out to only postpone it and some startling revelations are discovered in the last 10 minutes of this show, which started fairly slow but was excellent in the second half.