The Night of the Bubbling Death (8 Sep. 1967)

The United States Constitution is stolen by a revolutionary and agents James West and Artemus Gordon are sent by the government to recover it. Arriving at a Mexican border town, the agents ... See full summary »

Director:

Irving J. Moore

Writers:

Michael Garrison (creator), David Moessinger

Stars:

Robert Conrad, Ross Martin, Madlyn Rhue

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Robert Conrad	...	James T. West
Ross Martin	...	Artemus Gordon
Madlyn Rhue	...	Carlotta Waters
Harold Gould	...	Victor Freemantle
William Schallert	...	Silas Grigsby
Val Avery	...	Brad Logan
A.G. Vitanza	...	Pima
John Matthews	...	Driver
Timothy Brown	...	Clint Cartwheel (as Timmy Brown)

Storyline

The United States Constitution is stolen by a revolutionary and agents James West and Artemus Gordon are sent by the government to recover it. Arriving at a Mexican border town, the agents penetrate an installation under a fortress to find the priceless document. When the agents find the revolutionary, he demands one million dollars for what is later discovered to be a forgery of the Constitution. Before forcing the revolutionary into a pool of acid, they are told a riddle that leads them to the hiding place of the real document.

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Plot Keywords:

bare chested male | classic episode

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Sci-Fi | Thriller | Western

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 September 1967 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Sierra Railroad, Jamestown, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min 51 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This marks the acting debut of former football player, Timothy Brown, who remains shirtless throughout.

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Goofs

West crashes into what appears to be a real water barrel of regular construction - heavy wood slats that have grayed with age, bound by two heavy iron bands. The barrel breaks apart easily exposing the inside of the barrel and revealing that it is actually made of clean, new, lightweight balsa or basswood. The two "iron hoops" can be seen to be mere painted on black stripes allowing the barrel to break apart in a way it could never have had it been bound with iron bands.

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Quotes

James T. West: You were made to wear silk.
Carlotta Waters: And you were made for a form-fitting pine box.

User Reviews

It's a fun episode

*Spoiler/plot- TNOT Bubbling Death, 1967, Jim and Arte risk everything to recover the U.S. Constituion after it's been stolen by a group of violent revolutionaries.

*Special Stars- Robert Conrad, Ross Martin, Madlyn Rue, Harold Gould, William Schallert

*Theme- The Secret Service always completes their mission

*Trivia/location/goofs- Original air date: 9-8-67. First appearance of the muscle bound henchmen, footballer Tim Brown. The special effect of the elevator descending is poorly done and obviously looks like some textured materials on a rolling dowel. Several of the solid set pieces that Mr. Conrand falls into are clearly new breakaway balsa wood of little thickness or weight. Unsconscious guards are seen to protect their heads by magically lifting them off the ground so as to not have their heads dragged along the ground in their unconscious state. Since Robert Conrad is of short stature(under 5'7") all of cowboy boots clearly have lifts in his soles and heels.

*Emotion- The intro to 'Pan handle" was gritty, with Jim getting into the altercation which happened several times with the muscle bound henchmen guy(Footballer Tim Brown). The main interest lies in the cast. One of the leading men has a devious relationship with the attractive foe lady. One guest character is a mole who happens to be the secret associate. The A plot is that things are not what they appear to be and it's a good drama device. Episodic television declines when stories degenerate to a series of physical obstacles to be overcome, when writers lose "sight" of the value of conflicting human relationships. Instead, it's a series of gadgets West and Gordon use to get through tunnels, open doors, and overcome their enemies on the most superficial, mechanical level. Actually, this episode is written in late season 2, hence the music score by Jack Pleis. Pleis introduces a comical musical line to lighten the tone and dominated by an organ. The music score is like wall-to-wall carpeting -- what an awful score by Jack Pleis. It's overproduced, decorative embellishment but it does little to help this weak story, in fact the music makes the episode much worse. Artie plays his original character of peddler: see the amusing scene in which he offers funny bottles to the saloon owner. Find the W3 fan cult camera plot scene of Agent West crossing the boiling acid pit. A lot of gadgets will become the norm from now on: the cutting powder, the mechanical handle. West even uses hid old cutting ring. It's a fun episode all the way!