TALES OF WELLS FARGO "The Thin Rope" 1957
TALES OF WELLS FARGO was a western series than ran for a total of 200 episodes between 1957 and 1962. Dale Robertson plays the lead as Jim Hardee. Hardee is an agent for the stage and cargo hauling outfit. When something goes wrong he is the man they send to fix it.
This episode is the first of the series. A Wells Fargo stage is attacked by a foursome of holdup men. The diver is killed but the guard manages to bring the stage in after killing two of the bandits. The guard, Chuck Connors, is wounded in the attack. While the local doc in patching up Connors, the Sheriff, Art Space, contacts Wells Fargo by wire.
As it so happens, agent Dale Robertson is handy and is dispatched to the scene. He takes over riding shotgun while Connors takes over as the driver. On board the stage is a strongbox with $20,000 in cold hard cash. The stage is heading to the company head office in San Francisco. Robertson takes a liking to the lanky Connors who always has a smile on his face. Robertson though has one of those "something wrong with this picture" feelings. He is not sure what it is, but it bothers him.
Matters get hot when the stage is ambushed by another bunch of hold-up men. Robertson pulls iron, as does Connors, and the three pistoleros are soon suffering from severe lead overdoses. The audience sees that one of men called Connors by another name before Connors drills him. Maybe Robertson is right about Connors.
The next day as they near San Francisco, Connors takes off with the stage as Robertson steps off for a moment. Robertson manages to grab onto his horse which was tied to the back of the stage, and soon catches up. Connors says the horses were spooked by rattlesnake and bolted. The two continue their journey.
Needless to say there is going to be a spot of gun-play in the near future. The moment comes and Connors is the loser in the dispute. It seems Connors was a bandit himself. He had killed the real guard and taken his papers etc. and presented himself as a Wells Fargo employee. He planned on keeping the gold for himself.
Of note here is the writer, N.B. Stone Jr. Stone was involved in two top flight western films. He supplied the story for Randolph Scott's swan song, RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY, as well as the story and screenplay for Robert Mitchum's MAN WITH THE GUN.
Dale Robertson was on the big and small screen from 1948 to 1994. While never an A-list star, Robertson made quite a few decent westerns in the 1950's. These include, THE CARIBOO TRAIL, (With Randolph Scott) THE OUTCASTS OF POKER FLATS, THE SILVER WHIP, DEVIL'S CANYON, SITTING BULL and A DAY OF FURY.
The director was long time television man, Leslie H Martinson. He directed several hundred TV episodes between 1953 and 1989. The only big screen success he had was the 1963 war film, PT-109.
Not bad at all for a first episode.
TALES OF WELLS FARGO was a western series than ran for a total of 200 episodes between 1957 and 1962. Dale Robertson plays the lead as Jim Hardee. Hardee is an agent for the stage and cargo hauling outfit. When something goes wrong he is the man they send to fix it.
This episode is the first of the series. A Wells Fargo stage is attacked by a foursome of holdup men. The diver is killed but the guard manages to bring the stage in after killing two of the bandits. The guard, Chuck Connors, is wounded in the attack. While the local doc in patching up Connors, the Sheriff, Art Space, contacts Wells Fargo by wire.
As it so happens, agent Dale Robertson is handy and is dispatched to the scene. He takes over riding shotgun while Connors takes over as the driver. On board the stage is a strongbox with $20,000 in cold hard cash. The stage is heading to the company head office in San Francisco. Robertson takes a liking to the lanky Connors who always has a smile on his face. Robertson though has one of those "something wrong with this picture" feelings. He is not sure what it is, but it bothers him.
Matters get hot when the stage is ambushed by another bunch of hold-up men. Robertson pulls iron, as does Connors, and the three pistoleros are soon suffering from severe lead overdoses. The audience sees that one of men called Connors by another name before Connors drills him. Maybe Robertson is right about Connors.
The next day as they near San Francisco, Connors takes off with the stage as Robertson steps off for a moment. Robertson manages to grab onto his horse which was tied to the back of the stage, and soon catches up. Connors says the horses were spooked by rattlesnake and bolted. The two continue their journey.
Needless to say there is going to be a spot of gun-play in the near future. The moment comes and Connors is the loser in the dispute. It seems Connors was a bandit himself. He had killed the real guard and taken his papers etc. and presented himself as a Wells Fargo employee. He planned on keeping the gold for himself.
Of note here is the writer, N.B. Stone Jr. Stone was involved in two top flight western films. He supplied the story for Randolph Scott's swan song, RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY, as well as the story and screenplay for Robert Mitchum's MAN WITH THE GUN.
Dale Robertson was on the big and small screen from 1948 to 1994. While never an A-list star, Robertson made quite a few decent westerns in the 1950's. These include, THE CARIBOO TRAIL, (With Randolph Scott) THE OUTCASTS OF POKER FLATS, THE SILVER WHIP, DEVIL'S CANYON, SITTING BULL and A DAY OF FURY.
The director was long time television man, Leslie H Martinson. He directed several hundred TV episodes between 1953 and 1989. The only big screen success he had was the 1963 war film, PT-109.
Not bad at all for a first episode.
