HONDO was no different than previous series that starred Ralph Taeger (KLONDIKE and ACAPULCO), lasting less than a full season and only 17 episodes. This televersion of the 1953 John Wayne classic is remembered from its 1990s revival on Ted Turner's TNT channel, and more recent broadcasts on GetTV. All three shows combined for a mere 42 episodes, and Taeger found little work since the 60s, handsome yet still bland. "Hondo and the Judas" is one of the more star studded entries, in both the cast and the characters they play, with Hondo Lane encountering a number of faces familiar from his war years under General William Quantrill (Forrest Tucker). Gathering in a deserted ghost town are Frank James (John Agar), younger brother Jesse (Rick Nelson), Younger brothers Cole (Richard Bakalyan) and Jim (Kipp Whitman), and Ford brothers Bob (Roy Jenson) and Charlie (Fritz Ford). Arriving late is Johnny Reno (Roger Perry), while attending the ailing, one armed General is Dr. Leonard Zeber (John Carradine). Once together, Quantrill outlines a new strategy that involves every man save one, the 'Judas' who betrayed him, shot him in the back and left him to die. Interesting to see Ricky Nelson looking way too young to be the brother of John Agar, while John Carradine enjoys a solid role as the broken down physician who remained faithful to his general, saving his life and looking after him in the four years since; it is he and Hondo sharing the final scene at the graves of two men who did not survive.
Review of Hondo and the Judas
