"Comstock Conspiracy" takes place in Virginia City, Nevada. Bret kills a debtor in self-defense, and confusion arises when his brother takes his place. Ruta Lee plays Ellen, and Bret hiccups at the end of their picnic, something ABC complained to Warner Brothers about. Ellen and her "timid" father own a ranch in Carson City, and she is good with a gun. Bret cannot seem to stay out of other people's business, and he helps out when there is an explosion in a mine. James Garner and Jack Kelly both had loads of charm, and it is easy to see why women were attracted to them. The Comstock Lode is a lode of silver ore found in Nevada's Virginia Range. Its discovery set off a silver rush to the area.
3 Reviews
Please Pass the Tums
dougdoepke27 July 2008
Flawed episode that nonetheless shades its characters nicely. This is one of the first entries to show Bret's all-too-human side-- one of the main reasons for the show's phenomenal success, along with Garner's talent for making us like that human side. On the one hand, Bret does get the sheriff after shooting a respected figure in the community and he does indulge in some flashy gunplay-- both standard requirements for TV Westerns of the day.
On the other hand, he refuses in rather selfish fashion to join the rescue for the trapped miners, at the same time, he accepts the heroic role Ruta Lee mistakenly assigns him in the rescue. Also, he is willing to let the winsome Lee and her dad pursue their lucrative masquerade without doing the right thing and exposing the fraud. These are definitely not standard items in Westerns of the 1950's. They may be morally flawed and all-too-human, but most importantly, they're not the morality-play requirements that story-lines then depended upon.
Nonetheless, such behavior makes Bret unpredictable and interesting, a guy you could have a beer with, instead of putting on a pedestal. Also, note how quickly leading lady Lee succumbs to living a lie in return for a chance at sudden wealth. Apparently the script couldn't leave her in that unethical state, so she does a quick and not very convincing turn-around. But maybe the most unconventional turn are Bret's two belches. TV characters simply never suffered from such impolite eruptions. Probably nothing, however, endeared the character to the audience more than knowing that Bret too has a digestive tract.
On the other hand, he refuses in rather selfish fashion to join the rescue for the trapped miners, at the same time, he accepts the heroic role Ruta Lee mistakenly assigns him in the rescue. Also, he is willing to let the winsome Lee and her dad pursue their lucrative masquerade without doing the right thing and exposing the fraud. These are definitely not standard items in Westerns of the 1950's. They may be morally flawed and all-too-human, but most importantly, they're not the morality-play requirements that story-lines then depended upon.
Nonetheless, such behavior makes Bret unpredictable and interesting, a guy you could have a beer with, instead of putting on a pedestal. Also, note how quickly leading lady Lee succumbs to living a lie in return for a chance at sudden wealth. Apparently the script couldn't leave her in that unethical state, so she does a quick and not very convincing turn-around. But maybe the most unconventional turn are Bret's two belches. TV characters simply never suffered from such impolite eruptions. Probably nothing, however, endeared the character to the audience more than knowing that Bret too has a digestive tract.
I know I killed the guy
bkoganbing7 August 2018
This Maverick story takes Bret Maverick to the fabled town of the Comstock Lode
Virginia City and nary a sign of the famous Cartwright family. But there's a big
poker game at the Comstock Club and James Garner wants in. He gets in by
stepping in to an altercation between millionaire Oliver McGowan and mining
engineer Werner Klemperer.
After winning a $10,000.00 bet from McGowan's partner Ed Prentiss, Garner is forced to kill Prentiss when draws on him when Garner comes to the office to collect his winnings. But then the body disappears and a potential witness is murdered.
It all has to do with the running fight with Klemperer who wants to build a tunnel for a railroad and mine ventilation. McGowan already has a railroad that takes the long way around.
The whole thing seems kind of silly in that I couldn't figure out why they didn't just make a deal with Klemperer.
Still the cast does deliver on this one.
After winning a $10,000.00 bet from McGowan's partner Ed Prentiss, Garner is forced to kill Prentiss when draws on him when Garner comes to the office to collect his winnings. But then the body disappears and a potential witness is murdered.
It all has to do with the running fight with Klemperer who wants to build a tunnel for a railroad and mine ventilation. McGowan already has a railroad that takes the long way around.
The whole thing seems kind of silly in that I couldn't figure out why they didn't just make a deal with Klemperer.
Still the cast does deliver on this one.
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