S2.E4

Incident of the Shambling Man

Name: Incident of the Shambling Man
Genre: Western
Released: 1959-10-09
Duration: 1 h
Rating: 7.7
Cast: Eric Fleming, Clint Eastwood, Sheb Wooley

Episode aired Oct 9, 1959
Not Rated
1h

IMDb RATING

7.7/10

130

YOUR RATING

Anne Francis and Victor McLaglen in Incident of the Shambling Man (1959)

Western

When a delusional old man attacks the passing drovers, his daughter-in-law enlists Gil & Rowdy's help with the powerful ex-boxing champ. The Marshal who made the town safe, is now drunk on h... Read allWhen a delusional old man attacks the passing drovers, his daughter-in-law enlists Gil & Rowdy's help with the powerful ex-boxing champ. The Marshal who made the town safe, is now drunk on his own power, enforcing petty rules to keep the tiniest semblance of trouble out of his ju... Read allWhen a delusional old man attacks the passing drovers, his daughter-in-law enlists Gil & Rowdy's help with the powerful ex-boxing champ. The Marshal who made the town safe, is now drunk on his own power, enforcing petty rules to keep the tiniest semblance of trouble out of his jurisdiction. Factoring heavily into the situation is that the daughter-in-law is exquisite ... Read all

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.7/10

130

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

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Storyline

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Trivia
Victor McLaglen final acting role before he died, directed by his son Andrew V. McLaglen. He died of a heart attack 30 days after this broadcast on November 7th, 1959. He was 72 and had been a fighter taking on all comers with circuses and wild west shows in Canada, Australia, and the United States for 50 years.

Goofs
Although Victor McLaglen is credited in the role of Harry Winston, he is called Harry Wittman several times during this episode.

Quotes
Gil Favor: Cows are senseless, stupid beasts. They go halfway across the continent just to be slaughtered. The trouble is, nobody ever trained 'em to go alone. It takes men to push a herd north. Men and time and sometimes pain. That's where I come in. I'm one of the men. Gil Favor, trail boss.

Soundtracks
Old Dan Tucker
"Old Dan Tucker"
Written by Daniel Decatur Emmett
Performed by a Group of Townsmen
Performed by a Group of Townsmen

User reviews2

Review

Featured review

4/10

Some Weird People

That this episode was the farewell performance of an Oscar winning actor and screen legend definitely does not excuse the fact it is one weird episode with some very weird people. The plot takes some very unexpected twists.

Pushing that herd to Sedalia, Eric Fleming and Clint Eastwood find an eldely giant shadow boxing out on the plain. He starts swinging and really clocks Eastwood and a few of the other drovers. It takes Fleming with a gun butt to put him down.

Victor McLaglen is a punch drunk ex-fighter who goes off when certain things bring back recall. His widowed daughter-in-law Anne Francis takes care of him, but she'd like to be relieved of the burden.

She gets no help from the nearby town who take their cues from puritanical marshal Robert Lowery who objects to Francis because she's a former saloon entertainer. Lowery has a brother played by Gene Nelson who isn't quite so puritanical.

I won't go any further as the plot gets very weird and tragic. I will say that McLaglen gave a fine farewell performance, particularly poignant as the episode is directed by his son Andrew McLaglen. Some other performers from the fabled John Ford stock company in this cast are Harry Carey, Jr., and Earl Hodgins.

I wish there was something a bit better for McLaglen to go out on, it's entertaining but no satisfying.