The Big Valley (TV Series) Shadow of a Giant (1968) User Reviews

James Whitmore serves up another fine performance.

[kfo9494 · 8/10 · 31 October 2012]

James Whitmore appears again in this tale of a Marshal that is approaching the end of his stellar career as a person needing great reward for his performance as US Marshal Seth Campbell.

When Floyd Stryder is broke out of jail by some of his kin, Marshal Campbell is called in with warrants to arrest the men. Six men agree to be a part of his posse that includes Heath and Nick and also includes Campbell's son.

When the posses comes up on the Stryders, they realize they are being fired upon with a Gatling gun. However Marshal Campbell tells the men to run straight into the gun fire. Much to the horror of Heath and Nick two of the men are killed immediately.

Marshal Campbell claims that Nick and Heath are cowards and tells the other man and his son to run into the gun fire. Heath knocks Campbell unconscious to save the life of the others. When Campbell becomes alert he accusing Heath and Nick of failure to obey an order. Heath and Nick are placed on trial for their lives as Jarrod will do his best to show that Marshal Campbell is unfit to command any outfit.

Even though this episode was nice done, when it came to the ending it seemed to happen too quickly. I wished the episode had lingered on the ending instead of an out-of-place arm wrestling scene in the middle of the show. A good show that had an almost too quick ending.

What do you do when your leader is reckless?

[mlbroberts · 8/10 · 24 November 2020]

Nick and Heath sign onto a posse to find men who broke one of their own out of jail and wounded the sheriff. Then James Whitmore is signed on as the marshal who never gives up, who always gets his man, but Heath recognizes him as one who can go too far, and he goes too far here. The Barkleys rebel when other members of the posse are shot down trying to capture their quarry, who is holed up in a church tower with a Gatling gun.

The marshal's son is also on the posse and is sent for help just as the Barkleys rebel. The marshal tries to attack the tower alone on horseback, and he succeeds only to find his son has returned and been killed in the fighting. He charges Nick and Heath with murder in rebelling against his authority.

Enter lawyer Brother Jarrod to defend Nick and Heath, to get the prosecutor to visit the scene and replay what happened. Jarrod gets to the tragic truth in the end.

James Whitmore was always good, especially in a role where his character was just a little bit deranged but not raving mad, so he was suspiciously believable until the truth came out. They just don't make them like Whitmore anymore.

Taken from The Caine Mutiny

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 18 July 2015]

This Big Valley story has both Peter Breck and Lee Majors joining a posse to catch the infamous Strider brothers. This case is really one of bring them back dead or alive preferably the latter. One Strider was in jail and a deputy was killed and sheriff Douglas Kennedy wounded in the breakout.

But salvation is on its way with legendary US Marshal James Whitmore heading the posse. Everyone's thrilled to be riding with him except Majors who had a previous run in with him before he arrived at the Barkley ranch.

It turns out to be a bloody affair where the Strider brothers are killed with the cost of the entire posse as well including Whitmore's son Richard Evans. All that's left is a lot of dead bodies and the only live ones are Whitmore, Breck, and Majors with Whitmore preferring charges against them.

It all builds up to a Caine Mutiny like climax with Richard Long defending his brothers and breaking down Whitmore the way Jose Ferrer broke down Humphrey Bogart.

There's also a nice scene with Barbara Stanwyck and James Whitmore talking about their children. They have some history as Stanwyck tries to talk Whitmore out of his charges against the Barkley sons.

If you know The Caine Mutiny you know how this ends.