The Adventures of Hiram Holliday (TV Series) Moroccan Hawk Moth (1957) User Reviews

Interesting bit of television history

[Paularoc · 6/10 · 21 February 2013]

I remember Wally Cox from scads of television shows in the 60s including Hollywood Squares. I don't recall ever seeing this series, which lasted only for a season. As ever, Cox portrays a timid, soft spoken and erudite man with horn rimmed glasses. In this case, behind the facade of timidity is a swashbuckler who fights sword wielding bad guys with his ever present umbrella. In this episode, Hiram is trying capture a rare Morrocan moth but instead captures a falcon. Because Hiram has the falcon, a henchman of the local Sheikh thinks Hiram is the notorious assassin "The Desert Hawk." The Sheikh is plotting to kill the four most important men in the world, who happen to be meeting in a nearby fort. There is one great scene where the Sheikh (discovering Hiram isn't the real Desert Fox) tries to kill him by telling him to ride a "killer" stallion. Hiram, of course quickly tames this beautiful white Arabian horse. There ensues a scene where the horse goes through a great routine of bowing and intricate steps. This was one well trained horse. One surprise was Sebastian Cabot as the Sheikh - I don't recall ever seeing him without a beard and did not recognize him. This episode was amusing and worth a watch but it really just wasn't that humorous. Some of Hiram's lines, given in Cox' deadpan manner are quite funny but there's just not enough of them and the Hiram character quickly becomes tiresome.