User Reviews

This is a startlingly blunt show (for its time) about racism.

"The Rifleman" doesn't portray Lucas McCain as "perfect", but sometimes comes dangerously close. His tolerance and open-mindedness are far too 20th-century liberal to be believable. This outstanding episode -- surprise, another Cyril Hume script! -- shows the bigoted side of his nature.

Right at the start, when Lucas and Mark see an Indian with another Indian (bound with a leather lash) as his prisoner, Lucas assumes something nasty must be going on and is about to step in to lay down the law to this savage -- after all, "The government is trying to teach these people to be civilized!" OUCH!

The Indian (Buckhart -- Michael Ansara) turns out to be a Harvard-educated US Marshall (a decade before Brisco County Jr)! He goes into the saloon for a drink -- and delivers the "If you prick us, do we not bleed?" speech in defense of Indian rights, which no one (except perhaps Micah and Lucas) recognizes. When the patrons discover they've been drinking with an Apache, they're disgusted and carry the saloon's glassware to the streets, where they destroy it. *

Lucas follows Buckhart to a meeting with other Apaches, and learns exactly what's going on. (The chief is played by Frank DeKova, who made a career out of playing Indians -- qv, "F Troop".) Seeing things solely from a white point of view, Lucas urges Buckhart to call in a second, white Marshall, rather than trying to enforce the law by himself. Buckhart refuses, recognizing that such an act would destroy his authority -- and self-respect. "Which is worse, to be a coward, or to be dead?" Lucas responds "I know these people, you stupid savage!" (OUCH!, again.)

It turns out that a white man is actually guilty of the crime Buckhart's Indian prisoner was accused of. When Buckhart tries to arrest him, a good chunk of the town (who were so cowardly an episode or two back) taunts him and threatens to kill him.

Lucas can't let this happen, and -- pretending at first to side with the townspeople -- uses reverse psychology to embarrass them, and they disperse. (This is implausible, but if they'd fired on Buckhart, Lucas and Micah would have had to return fire. This would put Lucas and Micah in an untenable and series-terminating position -- white men do not shoot white men to protect Indians.)

A superior episode that shows how you can Make A Point without getting unduly "cute".

* This apparently mirrors the draining/refilling of Las Vegas hotel pool when it was learned Nat Cole had swum in it.

Particularly Socially responsible episode - I couldn't believe it when "Mark" said to "Lucas" - "an Indian marshal..? What's the world coming to, pa?". This was at least 4 or 5 years before many of other TV shows of that era addressing racial equality (eg-Star Trek) aired. Somewhat disappointed, though, that "Lucas" didn't address this topic better father-to-son (as was the common "Closing M0" for the Rifleman-a father -to-son discussion on what had transpired during the episode); Michael Ansara did an excellent speech in the saloon, though, highlighting the lack of differences in race b/w Indians and whites. I'm Checking the spoiler button but doubt this really constitutes a Spoiler since this episode originally aired in 1958!

I thought I had seen all if the Rifleman episodes at least once, but never saw The Indian episode until today. While Michael Ansara gives the Indian Marshall character some dignity and courage, the issues with this episode is that both Lucas and Mark show their racist sides, from Mark's shock that the Indian is a US Marshall and that if Harvard was good enough for the Marshall, it's good enough for him, to Lucas' "Marshall-splaining" to the Marshall what all is lawful and that the Marshall should call in some needed support (e.g. Like Matt Dillon) to deal with the unruly townsfolk who can't handle the fact that they drank with an Indian Marshall and that he plans to take a white man into custody. In the end, Lucas sort of saves the day (sorry, Micah) by using reverse psychology on his neighbors, but this is not one of the series better episodes.

Lucas McCain threatens to shoot an Indian Federal Marshal to keep him away from North Fork's Indian hating crowd.

Later, he talks the townspeople out of their intention to take away the Indian Marshal's prisoner by pretending to agree with the mob. His feigned attempt to get one of them to shoot Micah, the local Marshal, brings most of them to their senses and convinces them to break up and go home.

The show is nonsense even for fiction because The Rifleman character departs too far from the series'norms. It is completely out of character for law-abiding Lucas McCain to threaten anyone without provocation, especially a Federal Marshal.