Reformed Criminal (Dec. 1955)

Dan Mathews has reason to suspect the worst when a courier with a criminal record disappears with $31,000 after an automobile accident.

Director:

Lambert Hillyer

Writer:

Gene Roddenberry (screenplay)

Stars:

Broderick Crawford, Lee Roberts, House Peters Jr.

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Broderick Crawford	...	Chief Dan Mathews
Lee Roberts	...	Frank Bacawley aka Frank Wood
House Peters Jr.	...	Pastor Martin Rock
Terry Frost	...	Sgt. Morris
Hal Taggart	...	Mr. Hastings
Pierce Lyden	...	Ed Hutchins
Roy Regnier	...	Joe - garage proprieter
Robert Shield
Richard B. Fitzgerald
Charlotte Lawrence	...	Police Dispatcher

Storyline

Frank McCauley has an automobile accident while delivering a $31,000 deposit for the Grantwood Farmers' Co-Operative. As a former criminal with an old charge still outstanding, everyone assumes he has absconded with the money and the Highway Patrol launches an intensive search. McCauley starts out on foot to return the money, but radio broadcasts about his disappearance and his past make him a marked man. When Ed Hutchins tries to capture McCauley at gunpoint, a scuffle ensues and McCauley looks even guiltier when he escapes with Hutchins' shotgun. Reverend Martin (the local pastor) still has faith in McCauley's reformation and he is able to convince Dan Mathews to give him the opportunity to do the right thing.

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Plot Keywords:

automobile accident | courier | shotgun | pastor | criminal record | 

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama

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Details

Language:

English

Release Date:

December 1955 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

ZIV Television Programs

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

$31,000 in 1955 had the same purchasing power as $248,000 in 2009.

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Goofs

The teletype bulletin lists Frank Wood as being 5'10" and 155 lbs. The dispatcher reading from the teletype describes him as 5'11" and 175 lbs.

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Quotes

[Dan goes to confront the shotgun wielding McCauley with only a pistol]
Pastor Martin Rock: I'll say a prayer for you.
Chief Dan Mathews: Say a prayer for both of us.

User Reviews

With friends like these...

Frank Mccauley, a criminal who still has a charge out against him settled in a small town. For seven years he was a hard working, church-going man who was always willing to help his neighbors. Then one day while on his way to deposit $31,000 for his company, he's in an automobile accident and is unconscious for several hours. Since he did not make the deposit in the expected time frame, the police are called. They discover there is still a warrant out for his arrest. After Frank's boss tells Chief Mathews what an exemplary employee and man Frank is, he then says "Well, once a thief, always a thief; I hope you put him in jail." Regaining consciousness, Frank goes to the house of a friend for help. By this time there are police broadcasts out telling everyone to be on the lookout for Frank. Frank's friend immediately corners Frank with a shotgun and calls the police hoping to get a reward, telling Frank that "a leopard doesn't change his spots." This is the same person that Frank helped out on a number of occasions. Fortunately, Frank's pastor is not such a fair weather friend and convinces Mathews to trust Frank to do what he has said all along he wanted do, i.e., return the money. At the end, the friend who pulled the shotgun on Frank is contrite; the boss, not so much. Interesting take on what it means to be a friend and on how quickly we can jump to faulty conclusions.