User Reviews

There's a rumor going around that Bart Maverick has been killed and that unwritten Code of the West says that James Garner has to take care of the varmints that done in Bart. But as we know the Mavericks operate under their own rules as set down by Pappy.

In this one Garner has his own scheme in play and it involves some reward money for some stolen loot. Of course Jack Kelly isn't dead lest half the remaining episodes don't really exist.

The sexy Diane McBain is in the cast and she has a brother played by Gary Vinson who grew up on dime novels apparently and wants Garner to act in a more traditional cowboy hero fashion. He hangs around and nearly screws up Bret's plans.

Vinson and McBain do stand out as guest stars and this episode does question certain paradigms about,the old west.

"When a fellow's brother's killed, it's up to the fellow's brother to get the fellow who killed the fellow's brother." "I've heard that!" replies Bret. The plot is familiar. Bret needs a stake to get into a poker game and sets out to collect gambling debts. There is a bank robbery and a murder, and he is accused of both. Diane McBain is Polly. She achieved fame as the sexpot in 1961's Claudelle Inglish. It is significant that a western about two poker playing drifters could run for 5 years and win an Emmy in an era of law and order westerns. But Maverick did it because of the charm and personalities of James Garner and Jack Kelly.

Entertaining episode with more plot complications than you can shake the proverbial stick at. It's not classic Maverick since the plot sprawls and lacks the streamlined "battle of wits" that characterizes the best entries. Nonetheless, there are two reasons that warrant a comment. First, young Gary Vinson delivers an absolutely superb comedic performance as the hero- worshipping Smoky. But more importantly, this episode reveals a key aspect of the Maverick character that also illustrates how the series undermined the traditional Western and helped establish the 50's "anti-hero".

In a nutshell-- unlike the traditional Western icon, Bret doesn't trust abstract morality. Situations are more important to Bret's sense of how to act than are traditional imperatives like avenging your brother regardless of the circumstances. Thus he gently mocks those (Smoky & others ) who mechanically repeat the imperative mainly because everyone else does. This distrust doesn't mean that Bret lacks traditional values. He doesn't. It does mean that he evaluates each moral situation from a number of standpoints, including prudence and self- regard, which often lead him to back out of difficult situations if that seems the prudent thing. He's not noble, but he can rise to a noble level if he has to, all things considered. This humanized his character to an extent largely unknown to the traditional Roy Rogers, Saturday afternoon types.

Thus, Bret's entertaining not only because of Jim Garner's comedic skills, but also because he's recognizably prudent in his behavior. He may not be the traditional role model, but he does exercise a considerable amount of practical wisdom as handed down from dear old Pappy. When Holly (Diane McBain) says that Bret could be a good influence on her brother Smoky, she's right. Bret would never risk his life over a mud-spatter insult like the callow Smoky who insists on following some abstract honor code of the Old West. Behind Bret's conduct (and this episode) lies a subtle questioning of the matinée Western that entertained kids for generations, at the same time that Smoky represents those kids in their innocent devotion to heroic ideals. Thus, Pappy's many pithy sayings are not just entertaining, but really function as a pragmatic challenge to those ideal codes. Bret may not be noble or particularly admirable, but he is wise in the ways of the world. Thus kids like Smoky could do a lot worse. At bottom, and behind all the belly laughs, Maverick was a subtly subversive series.

Mistaken for a thief and a killer Bret has to face an admiring young man and his beautiful (of course) but disapproving, pontificating sister; the bumbling double act of the sheriff and a bounty hunter, and the vengeful brother of the man Bret allegedly shot.

By turns funny and suspenseful this is a worthy entry in the "Maverick" canon. There's an amusing role for Jonathan Hole (the name may be unfamiliar but you'll know the face) and a weird version of the theme song.

Warning: There's a trick used later in "Support Your Local Sheriff." But to sidestep spoilers you'll to see that for yourself.