If you're old enough to have watched this series when it was on network TV back in the 1970's, although we did not know it at the time, this episode, "Exit from Wickenburg" was a preview of future episodes in that this is the first of the 48 episodes where there is an element of, "Who done it ism" woven within the plot, sort of a blend of a western and a mystery. Looking back, who can blame the writers?! This episode is from 1971, the same year that gave us the very popular series, "Columbo", part of the Sunday Night Mystery Movie anthology lineup, as well as Made for TV movies throughout the decade that was full of crime and mystery.
The show opens with our heroes in Wickenburg, on their way to Clearwater to join a cattle drive when they realize there are two card sharks working in tandem, cheating them and 3 others out of their money hand after hand in a poker game. They ask to speak to the owner of the combination saloon/hotel...(A quick sidenote here because it is so obvious when you watch it...if you're younger and new to the show you may be offended about this scene. It is written in such a chauvinistic way, i.e. That a woman can't possibly be the owner of such an establishment. It wouldn't be written in such a way in 2024, but this is 1971 and despite Gloria Steinem's efforts at the time, the writers still were not deterred from writing it the way they did!)...We find out the owner, played by Susan Strasberg, is a widowed mother of two who was left to run the business a few months earlier at the time of her husband's death, and from that point on she has not been able to turn over a profit like her husband did, and she's not sure why. She hires Hayes and Curry to work the saloon as general overseers of the goings on there, to see if they can spot anything out of the ordinary (At 50 dollars a month, goodbye cattle drive!), and sure enough, the boys spot plenty of things amiss and go about correcting them, only to suddenly be called into the office after only a week on the job, paid off and told they aren't needed anymore, that she can run the place by herself now. Of course, the boys don't believe this for a minute and decide to stay in town working odd jobs to see what happens to Strasberg's character Mary Cunningham and the establishment she owns.
This episode was written in such a way that the viewer is led to believe that it is just because they exposed and corrected the crookedness of the operation is the reason why they are beaten and driven out to the edge of town and told to take the road to Gilla City, but it is a completely different reason why someone wants them out of town. Just who and why will keep you guessing right up until the last 10 minutes of the show. Strasberg is OK as the sympathetic owner of the establishment, but the two roles to really admire in this one is Mike the crooked bar tender, played by veteran character actor Slim Pickens (who has an irritating naturally high-pitched voice to begin with, but also has an annoying, you-love-to-hate-it laugh in this episode as well) and Pernell Roberts as Sam Finrock, who comes across as a likeable villain in this one because you realize he is the man who does a lot of the heavy lifting, conveying to the boys they must leave town, but doing it in a sort of nice way because he is grateful to them for getting back the 54 dollars he had lost to the two card sharks. It's nice to see how he handles this role as a villain you sympathize more than dislike.
Overall, a really good early episode in this series, full of mystery and fun moments as Hayes and Curry straighten out the establishment, and a happy ending. 8 out of 10...
