Maverick (1962)

 

Though it was once Warner Brothers' most popular western, Maverick suffered the same fate as its Warner compadres--Lawman, Cheyenne, and Bronco--by being canceled in the spring of 1962. As we mentioned in our previous post on the show's 1961 episodes, the abbreviated 5th season consisted of only 13 new episodes alternating with reruns from previous seasons that starred James Garner. Even in half the new 1962 episodes that featured only Jack Kelly as Bart Maverick the opening credits still listed Garner as one of the two stars of the program though he had left the program two years earlier. Dennis Broe briefly recaps the series' decline in his 2015 book Maverick after the departures of Garner and series creator Roy Huggins, including the replacement of Garner by, first, Roger Moore for 15 episodes in Season 4 and then Robert Colbert for all of two episodes at the end of that season. That left only Jack Kelly to play a Maverick for the final season, even though Broe quotes Huggins as having said that Garner was Maverick, and Kelly was merely his brother, the character being added to the series out of necessity in its first season when the production team realized that it took more than a week to complete a single episode.

And yet Jack Kelly comes off as a winner in a feature story in the June 2, 1962 issue of TV Guide, a story that curiously ran more than a month after the last new episode of the series had aired. Despite living a life always in someone else's shadow--first his actress sister Nancy and then the more effortlessly charming Garner--Kelly still made a career out of acting, saying that many others with more talent "never got to first base." He said that acting was not his passion--he was in it for the profit, much like his employer Warner Brothers. So he didn't get his feathers ruffled as Garner did by their cheap tactics. Instead he stuck around until he was the last one standing, and by investing rather than spending his salary, at the time of the article he was sitting on roughly a million dollars worth of real estate besides owning a profitable nursery business that supplied trees to large hotels. In other words, while his series Maverick was exposing the crooked business of banks and legal authorities, as well as mocking humanity's somewhat inherent greediness, Kelly was playing the inside game, not taking anything personally, and building a personal fortune in the process. While his character Bart Maverick rarely walks away with a fortune, always seeming to have it snatched from his grasp at the last minute, Kelly was patient and never tried to be too smart.

The same can't be said for the scriptwriters of the series' last 8 episodes. "Poker Face" (January 7, 1962) was just the sort of script that made Roger Moore jump ship after his obligatory 15 episodes. It centers around Mexican revolutionary Sebastian Bolanes who makes a career out of robbery and kidnapping (in this case, all the passengers on a stagecoach Bart happens to be riding in) thinking that he can amass enough wealth to buy back all the land that was stolen from his fellow indigenous Mexicans. But while waiting for the ransom for the stage passengers to arrive, he falls in love with one of them simply because she is not horrified by his scar-ridden face nor instantly condemns him for his life of crime. When his scheme collapses due to his jealous girlfriend and a corrupt federale, he quickly abandons his grandiose plans and runs off with his new love, apparently forgetting about all his bereft fellow tribesmen he had vowed to save. The plot is absurd, the dialogue hackneyed, and the direction stiff and wooden. Fortunately for Bart, he is mostly just a bystander while the other characters fight with each other or pursue new love. Also fortunately, the remaining seven episodes weren't as bad.

Which isn't to say they were gems--after all, the producers at Warner Brothers seemed to be just trying to get the series to the finish line with as little effort as possible. "The Troubled Heir" (April 1, 1962) is built on the flimsy premise that Bart is willing to risk his neck at the hands of wanted killer Big Jim Watson to save the skin of shyster Pearly Gates, with whom is he is little more than an acquaintance and not a friendly one at that. The plot adheres to Maverick's cynical credo of every man, or woman, for himself, as Gates, Watson, Gates' girlfriend Marla, and poker player Ward Quillan are all trying to play each other for Bart's made-up estate that Gates is supposed to inherit. The story goes overboard on the number of twists and turns before Bart, for once, winds up with $5000 that he swindles away from Marla, who took it off of him after he took it off Watson and Quillan. "Mr. Muldoon's Partner" (April 15, 1962) is another plot that tries too hard after Bart breaks a bottle of precious dirt brought over from Ireland for the purpose of growing potatoes only to discover that the bottle contains a suddenly free leprechaun named Mr. Muldoon. In thanks Muldoon grants Bart five wishes, but he soon learns that one must be very precise when making a wish because the granting of it can come with unintended consequences. So Bart requests a large amount of money but doesn't specify that it not be stolen, which naturally gets him into all sorts of trouble on both side of the law. Muldoon's powers also seem limited by unexplained circumstances--he can't stop a gun from firing after saying he could--but the one thing that saves the episode from pure tedium is that when he grants wishes, they have the air of being part coincidence, introducing just enough doubt about whether he has the power to grant them or is merely a keen predictor of what is about to happen anyway. After he is backed into a corner in which he has to decide whether to go to jail or marry an Irishman's unattractive niece, Bart finally wishes he had never seen Muldoon and is transported back to where the whole improbable yarn started. Much like The Wizard of Oz, a bump on the head seems to have launched the fever dream, and when he returns to reality he recognizes some of the players from that dream, in particular Muldoon, in alternate identities.

Another episode centered on shifting identities is "Marshal Maverick" (March 11, 1962), which starts out improbably with Bart being appointed Marshal of Abilene after retiring Marshal Heck Thomas is murdered six weeks before his replacement, Wyatt Earp as it turns out, is due to arrive in town. Bart guns down the killer, winning the gratitude of the town, but is forced to accept the marshal position, which he tries to decline, because of outstanding debts he has run up. Despite this absurd setup in which we once again have a Maverick placed in an inappropriate occupation due to chance (the previous episode, "The Maverick Report" [March 4, 1962] has him winning a newspaper business in a poker game and episodes from earlier seasons have, for example, Bret winning a riverboat in a similar situation), the story improves with the unexpected early arrival of Earp to relieve Bart of his duties. Only it isn't really Earp but an imposter named Archibald Walker who has no skills as a gunman, only a desire to "be somebody." He manages to persuade Bart to stick around as his deputy after a weak speech about honor, which is the only thing that saves his neck when he winds up locking horns with failed mayoral candidate and notorious killer Billy Coe. Walker only makes things worse by falling in love with and winning the heart of Coe's girlfriend Theodora Rush but seems to be bailed out when the real Earp shows up after hearing rumors of someone claiming to be him in Abilene. Even when she learns of Walker's true identity, Theodora pleads with him not to abandon her since she has crossed the still very dangerous Coe. Walker seems to think he has no other choice but to leave town as ordered by Earp but then suddenly musters up some courage when he sees the opportunity to assume the identity of Doc Holliday, who has ridden into town and is temporarily indisposed taking a bath at the barber's. Though it takes some help from Bart's gun play to defeat Coe, Walker rises to the challenge but is forced to drop the Holliday masquerade and once again leave town, with Theodora promising to come find him after she sells her saloon. Most westerns would have ended the story here, but Maverick treats us to one more twist as Walker rides away from town in the stagecoach and Bart discovers his trademark pack of cards has been lifted. Without question, this is the most satisfying episode of the abbreviated fifth season, and it would have been a fitting end to the series.

But instead we finish with "One of Our Trains Is Missing" (April 22, 1962), another unlikely confluence of plots, schemes, and scams in which most of the main characters are aboard a train bound for the Kansas border. Two locomotive suppliers--Diamond Jim Brady and Montague Sprague-- have a $10,000 bet and the railroad company's future business riding on whether Brady's train can reach the border by midnight, but Sprague has secretly paid Doc Holliday (making his third appearance in 1962's eight episodes) to sabotage the run. Holliday hires recently released master criminal Justin Radcliffe to hijack the train, but when Radcliffe learns that the train is also carrying $100,000 in U.S. Treasure money in its safe, he is determined to crack the safe and make off with the loot, only to learn that someone has beat him to the punch. That someone is Bart's old acquaintance Modesty Blaine, who had learned about the Treasury shipment from railroad company president Amos Skinner by cozying up to him so that he proposed to her. Bart, in trying to persuade her not to marry Skinner just because he is rich, raises Skinner's ire so that he assigns his goon Leroy Hoad to escort Bart across the border to get rid of him. Modesty hides the stolen money in Bart's suitcase; he discovers it and returns it to the safe to avoid having Radcliffe get it. Modesty sees him do this and removes the money from the safe again but is discovered by Holliday, who wants in on the action. And so it goes--Radcliffe thinks Bart has the money or knows who has it, threatens to hang him, Holliday comes to his rescue, etc., etc. In the end, the Treasury money is returned to the safe, and Bart points out to Brady that technically he won the bet with Sprague because the train, despite being held up for hours from its original destination, crossed the northern border into Nebraska when Radcliffe diverted it off the main track onto a sidetrack. In his gratitude, Brady gives Bart the $10,000 he just won from his bet with  Sprague, but Hoad tells Bart he can't ride the train back to Kansas because of his boss' orders, so Bart is forced to walk 15 miles to the nearest town. However, when Holliday and Modesty see that Bart has just come into $10,000, they decide to go with him, feeling that they can surely benefit in some way. The last episode ends with the three of them walking arm in arm down the railroad tracks together as the sun rises in the east. It almost has a Yellow Brick Road feel to it, but as we all know, the city of Oz didn't turn out to be quite as magical as promised. And in the cynical world of Maverick it's unlikely that Bart is riding, or walking, off into the sunrise, because he who is on top today is often on the bottom tomorrow. To twist the title of a popular 1960s country music song, over its five-year tenure, Maverick went from a King to a Jack.

The Actors

For the biography of Jack Kelly, see the 1960 post on Maverick.

Notable Guest Stars

Season 5, Episode 6, "Poker Face": Rodolfo Acosta (shown on the left, appeared in Wings of the Hawk, Flaming Star, and The Sons of Katie Elder and played Vaquero on The High Chaparral) plays Mexican bandito Sebastian Bolanes. Carlos Rivas (appeared in The King and I, Boy's Town, True Grit, and Topaz and voiced Don Alejandro on The New Adventures of Zorro) plays top lieutenant Luis. William Fawcett (Clayton on Duffy's Tavern, Marshal George Higgins on The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, and Pete Wilkey on Fury) plays stagecoach driver Stallion. Tol Avery (Speaker Bert Metcalf on Slattery's People) plays businessman George Rockingham. Richard Hale (starred in Abilene Town, Kim, San Antone, Red Garters, and To Kill a Mockingbird) plays missionary Dr. Robespierre Jones. Doris Lloyd (starred in Waterloo Bridge, Tarzan the Ape Man, Oliver Twist, and The Time Machine) plays British matron Lady Florentine Bleakly.

Season 5, Episode 7, "Mr. Muldoon's Partner": Mickey Shaughnessy (shown on the near right, appeared in From Here to Eternity, Designing Woman, Jailhouse Rock, Don't Go Near the Water, Sex Kittens Go to College, College Confidential, and The Boatniks) plays Irish leprechaun Mr. Muldoon. Terence de Marney (Case Thomas on Johnny Ringo and Counsellor Doone on Lorna Doone) plays railroad worker Terrance Rafferty. John Alderson (Sgt. Bullock on Boots and Saddles and Wyatt Earp on Doctor Who) plays railroad foreman Simon Girty. Janet Lake (Betty Franklin on The Tycoon) plays saloon girl Bonnie Shay. Marshall Reed (Inspector Fred Asher on The Lineup) plays saloon owner Hatfield. Tim Rooney (Jeff Rose on Room for One More and Tim Grady on Mickey) plays orphan boy Timmy. Joe Brooks (Trooper Vanderbilt on F Troop) plays a bartender. Ray Teal (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Bonanza) plays small-town Sheriff Bundy. Charles Lane (shown on the far right, appeared in The Milky Way, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, The Lady Is Willing, The Music Man, The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, and The Gnome-Mobile and played Mr. Fosdick on Dear Phoebe, Homer Bedloe on Petticoat Junction, Foster Phinney on The Beverly Hillbillies, Dale Busch on Karen, and Judge Anthony Petrillo on Soap) plays the general store proprietor.

Season 5, Episode 8, "Epitaph for a Gambler": Robert J. Wilke (appeared in Best of the Badmen, High Noon, The Far Country, Night Passage, and Stripes and played Capt. Mendoza on Zorro) plays casino owner Diamond Dan Malone. Fred Beir (Larry Atwood on Days of Our Lives) plays Sunrise, NV Sheriff Ed Martin. Harry Harvey, Jr. (script supervisor on Mannix) plays his deputy Wes Taylor. Marie Windsor (shown on the left, starred in Outpost in Morocco, Dakota Lil, Cat-Women of the Moon, Swamp Women, and The Day Mars Invaded Earth and played Dr. Vivian Collins on General Hospital) plays roulette wheel operator Kit. Frank Albertson (starred in Alice Adams, Man Made Monster, and It's a Wonderful Life and played Mr. Cooper on Bringing Up Buddy) plays attorney Harvey Storey. Joyce Meadows (Lynn Allen on The Man and the Challenge and Stacy on Two Faces West) plays his daughter Linda. Don Haggerty (Jeffrey Jones on The Files of Jeffrey Jones, Eddie Drake on The Cases of Eddie Drake, Sheriff Dan Elder on State Trooper, and Marsh Murdock on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays blackmailer Lucky Dan Elkins. Adam Williams (appeared in Flying Leathernecks, The Big Heat, Fear Strikes Out, and North by Northwest) plays his brother Sam.

Season 5, Episode 9, "The Maverick Report": Peter Breck (Clay Culhane on Black Saddle and Nick Barkley on The Big Valley) plays Bart's friend Doc Holliday. Lloyd Corrigan (shown on the right, starred in A Girl, a Guy, and a Gob, Hitler's Children, Captive Wild Woman, The Bandit of Sherwood Forest, and Son of Paleface and played Papa Dodger on Willy, Wally Dipple on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Ned Buntline on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Uncle Charlie on Happy, and Professor McKillup on Hank) plays Colorado Senator Hiram Porter. Jo Morrow (appeared in Gidget, Our Man in Havana, and The 3 Worlds of Gulliver) plays his daughter Jeannie. Ed Nelson (Michael Rossi on Peyton Place, Ward Fuller on The Silent Force, and Sen. Mark Denning on Capitol) plays his attorney Gary Harrison. George N. Neise (Capitan Felipe Arrellanos on Zorro, Dr. Nat Wyndham on Wichita Town, and Colonel Thornton on McKeever & the Colonel) plays newspaper publisher Jonesy.

Season 5, Episode 10, "Marshal Maverick": Emile Meyer (starred in Shane, Drums Across the River, Blackboard Jungle, Sweet Smell of Success, and Paths of Glory and played Gen. Zachary Moran on Bat Masterson) plays retiring Abilene Marshal Heck Thomas. Med Flory (played clarinet in the Ray Anthony orchestra and founded and played alto sax in the group Super Sax, appeared in Gun Street, The Nutty Professor (1963), and The Gumball Rally, and played Sheriff Mike McBride on High Mountain Rangers) plays his replacement Wyatt Earp. Willard Waterman (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Dennis the Menace) plays newly elected Abilene Mayor Oliver. Earl Hammond (Hal Soames on Valiant Lady, Captain Sovine on The Clear Horizon, and voiced Mon-star on Silverhawks and Mumm-ra, Jaga, and Vultureman on Thundercats) plays his defeated opponent Billy Coe. Gail Kobe (Penny Adams on Trackdown, Doris Schuster on Peyton Place, and Dean Ann Boyd Jones on Bright Promise and produced over 200 episodes of The Bold and the Beautiful) plays saloon owner Theodora Rush. John Dehner (shown on the left, played Duke Williams on The Roaring '20's, Commodore Cecil Wyntoon on The Baileys of Balboa, Morgan Starr on The Virginian, Cyril Bennett on The Doris Day Show, Dr. Charles Cleveland Claver on The New Temperatures Rising Show, Barrett Fears on Big Hawaii, Marshal Edge Troy on Young Maverick, Lt. Joseph Broggi on Enos, Hadden Marshall on Bare Essence, and Billy Joe Erskine on The Colbys) plays Earp impersonator Archibald Walker. Jerry Hausner (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Mr. Magoo Show) plays Coe henchman George. Owen Orr (Wally Blanchard on No Time for Sergeants) plays Coe henchman Keno. Kay E. Kuter (Newt Kiley on Petticoat Junction and Green Acres) plays one of Bart's creditors. Herb Vigran (Muley Evans on The Life of Riley, Ernest Hinshaw on The Ed Wynn Show, and Judge Brooker on Gunsmoke and voiced Glum on The Adventures of Gulliver and Mr. Dinkle on Shirt Tales) plays barber Elkins.

Season 5, Episode 11, "The Troubled Heir": Mike Road (Marshal Tom Sellers on Buckskin, Lt. Joe Switolski on The Roaring 20's, and provided the voice for Race Bannon on Johnny Quest and Ugh on Space Ghost) plays gambler Pearly Gates. Kathleen Crowley (Terry Van Buren on Waterfront and Sophia Starr on Batman) plays his girlfriend Marla. Alan Hale, Jr. (shown on the right, played Biff Baker on Biff Baker U.S.A., Casey Jones on Casey Jones, and The Skipper on Gilligan's Island) plays wanted outlaw Big Jim Watson. Will Wright (Ben Weaver on The Andy Griffith Show and Mr. Merrivale on Dennis the Menace) plays small-town Sheriff Chester Bentley. Chick Chandler (Toubo Smith on Soldiers of Fortune and Barney Hogan on One Happy Family) plays con man Oliver Perkins. Gordon Jones (appeared in The Green Hornet, Flying Tigers, My Sister Eileen, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, and McLintock! and played Mike Kelley on The Abbott and Costello Show, Pete Thompson on The Ray Milland Show, Hubie Dodd on So This Is Hollywood, and Butch Barton on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet) plays poker player Ward Quillan. Frank Ferguson (Gus Broeberg on My Friend Flicka, Eli Carson on Peyton Place, and Dr. Barton Stuart on Petticoat Junction) plays Payoff Sheriff Luther Hawkins. Doodles Weaver (narrated Spike Jones' horse-racing songs and hosted A Day With Doodles) plays a telegrapher.

Season 5, Episode 12, "The Money Machine": Andrew Duggan (Cal Calhoun on Bourbon Street Beat, George Rose on Room for One More, Major Gen. Ed Britt on 12 O'Clock High, and Murdoch Lancer on Lancer) plays con man Big Ed Murphy. Patrick Westwood (Mian Rukn Din on The Indian Tales of Rudyard Kipling) plays his accomplice London Louis Latimer. Ted de Corsia (Police Chief Hagedorn on Steve Canyon) plays Pappy Maverick creditor Cannonball Clyde Bassett. Henry Corden (shown on the left, played Carlo on The Count of Monte Cristo, and Babbitt on The Monkees and did voicework on The Flintstones, Jonny Quest, The Atom Ant Show, The Banana Splits Adventure Hour and Return to the Planet of the Apes) plays inventor Professor Reynard. Charles Fredericks (Pete Albright on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays Denver Marshal Hodgekins. Sig Ruman (starred in Ninotchka,  A Night at the Opera, To Be or Not to Be, House of Frankenstein, and Stalag 17) plays jeweler Klaus Jonckbloet. Jonathan Hole (Orville Monroe on The Andy Griffith Show) plays the Kansas City hotel clerk. Guy Wilkerson (played Panhandle Perkins in 22 westerns) plays one of Murphy's marks Mark Conway. Frank London (Shad on Johnny Staccato and Charlie on Peyton Place) plays the Denver House hotel bellboy.

Season 5, Episode 13, "One of Our Trains Is Missing": Alan Hewitt (starred in That Touch of Mink, Days of Wine and Roses, The Misadventures of Merlin Jones, and The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes and played Det. Bill Brennan on My Favorite Martian) plays railroad company president Amos Skinner. Kathleen Crowley (shown on the near right, see "The Troubled Heir" above) plays his fiance Modesty Blaine. Barry Kelley (starred in The Asphalt Jungle, The Manchurian Candidate, and The Love Bug and played Charlie Anderson on Big Town, Jim Rafferty on The Tom Ewell Show, Mr. Slocum on Pete and Gladys, and Carol's father on Mister Ed) plays locomotive supplier Diamond Jim Brady. Gage Clarke (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Gunsmoke) plays his rival Montague Sprague. Kevin Hagen (John Colton on Yancy Derringer, Inspector Dobbs Kobick on Land of the Giants, and Dr. Hiram Baker on Little House on the Prairie) plays notorious criminal Justin Radcliffe. Peter Breck (shown on the far right, see "The Maverick Report" above) returns as Bart's "frenemy" Doc Holliday. Mickey Simpson (Boley on Captain David Grief) plays Skinner's goon Leroy Hoad. Owen Orr (see "Marshal Maverick" above) plays Wells Fargo agent Tim Hardesty. Emory Parnell (Hawkins on The Life of Riley and Hank the bartender on Lawman) plays train engineer Clarence.

 

Maverick (1961)

In his examination of the subversive origins of Roy Huggins' western TV series Maverick, Dennis Broe covers the way the show critiqued capitalism, the myth of the noble conquest of the west by the white man, and the corrupt system of law and order practiced by the United States both at home and abroad on the world stage. The one theme running through all these topics is the insatiable greed of the human species, which the Maverick brothers are able to exploit not only at the poker table but also in a number of other cons and schemes that only work because their marks are blinded by their own avarice.

But the great irony of Maverick's existence is that it was produced at Warner Brothers, perhaps the most rapacious studio then in business. Perhaps Jack Warner didn't know who he was dealing with in the one-time member of the Communist party Huggins, but after he cheated Huggins out of royalties for creating Maverick and Warner's other hit series of the time, 77 Sunset Strip, by falsely crediting their pilots as having derived from released Warner feature films, Maverick evolved from a series about a wandering gambler with a bit of larceny in his heart to a full-scale attack on the foundations of American society. Warner also underpaid its actors and writers, used stock footage from earlier motion pictures wherever possible, and otherwise worked to maximize the company's profits at the expense of everything else. Tired of being taken advantage of, both Huggins and James Garner left the show and the studio by 1960, leaving Warner with the dilemma of how to sustain one of its most popular, and therefore profitable, series. 

The first step, as described in our post on the 1960 episodes, was to introduce Roger Moore (then under contract to Warner) as the Maverick's English cousin Beau to replace Garner beginning in Season 4. But in agreeing to take on the role, Moore had his contract reworked so that he could leave after a year and citing the declining quality of the scripts over the course of Season 4, Moore left the series after appearing in only 15 episodes as Beau Maverick, the last being "Red Dog" (March 5, 1961) in which Beau just happens to rest at an isolated spot designated by a collection of outlaws as the meeting place to carry out a plot unknown to all but one of them, and Beau has to play along until he figures out a way to wriggle out of the predicament without getting killed.

Three weeks later Robert Colbert was brought on as heretofore never mentioned third Maverick brother Brent in "The Forbidden City" (March 26, 1961). According to Garner in his autobiography The Garner Files, when Colbert was told that he would have to wear Garner's old costume and essentially have to pull off a Garner impersonation, Colbert pleaded, "Put me in a dress and call me Brenda, but don't do this to me!" Though Warner had obviously contemplated adding Colbert before Moore's departure, given the publicity photos of the two and Jack Kelly posing as a Maverick trio, they kept Colbert for only one more episode, "Benefit of the Doubt" (April 9, 1961), before basically ghosting him. Season 4 ended with a two-part story starring Kelly, and Colbert was never informed that he was being dropped but never told to report for Season 5 either.

For Season 5, Warner Brothers tried another sleight of hand worthy of a Maverick--alternating new episodes starring Kelly with re-runs of old Garner episodes but listing Garner in the opening credits for the new Kelly episodes to make it appear that he was still somehow involved. Only 13 new episodes were created for the final season. None of the machinations could save the series, whose ratings plummeted after Huggins and Garner left. Warner had essentially killed its golden goose, and by 1961-62 none of its cookie-cutter productions ranked in the top 30 of the TV ratings.

But what is perhaps even more ironic is that even with Huggins and Garner gone, the series continued to poke at the underbelly of a corrupt establishment. Some of the Season 4 episodes, like the aforementioned "Red Dog," seemed to wander far afield from the original Maverick ethos, most probably because they were derived from earlier Warner properties that had nothing to do with the series. But towards the end of Season 4, the stories begin to get back to the series' original targets: "Flood's Folly" (February 19, 1961) includes a corrupt judge who is trying to rig an estate to favor the woman he is courting, not realizing that she is using him to help a wanted outlaw. "Triple Indemnity" (March 19, 1961) has Bart tangling with small-town kingpin George Parker who has a hand in all the local businesses, especially a life insurance company run by the town undertaker. "The Forbidden City" (March 26, 1961) exposes the sheriff and mayor as being part of a conspiracy to hide the fact that their wealth originated from making a corrupt deal years ago to keep quiet about a wealthy landowner guilty of murder. And "Benefit of the Doubt" (April 9, 1961) has Brent getting mixed up in a corrupt sheriff's attempt to rob his own town's mail company to satisfy his aspiring fiance. Finally, the two-part "The Devil's Necklace" (April 16 & 23, 1961) depicts greed and corruption on all sides as Bart escapes as the only survivor of multiple plots by a madly ambitious army captain, a renegade Apache brave, and a conniving scam-artist peddler.

In Season 5 the stakes are raised from individual bad actors to corrupt institutions. "Dade City Dodge" (September 18, 1961) finds Bart embroiled in a scam run by the leading citizens of Dade City, Texas who for years have run a crooked poker game to fleece anyone unfortunate enough to visit, with the sheriff receiving a cut of the take as well. "The Art Lovers" (October 1, 1961) skewers not only the world of corrupt art dealers but also their ignorant, nouveau-riche tycoon clients, who have no qualms about buying what they believe to be stolen masterpieces but are unable to recognize that the works are forgeries. "The Golden Fleecing" (October 8, 1961) takes aim at investment banking and the easily manipulated stock market, allowing scoundrels like Loftus Jaggers to rob innocent clients of their assets by luring them into stock agreements and then short-selling and feeding the market false information to drive the client to bankruptcy, allowing the banker to swoop in and buy their assets for next to nothing. "A Technical Error" (November 26, 1961) mocks the banking industry, a favorite target of Huggins-era Maverick episodes, when Bart unwittingly accepts ownership of a small-town bank to settle the gambling debts of its owner, only to discover that the bank is missing $20,000 that Bart must then replace to avoid being accused of fraud. He manages to escape calamity by introducing a trading stamp program that the townspeople are obsessed with even though the stamps are redeemable only for literal junk, a racket very popular in the early 1960s because it gave the illusion of getting something for nothing.

Undoubtedly the most popular Season 5 episode from 1961 is the send-up of rival western Bonanza in "Three Queens Full" (November 12, 1961) in which Jim Backus plays the Wheelwright family patriarch whose top priority is to see that the family name is never besmirched and that the true story is never revealed of how they came to acquire their vast empire by stealing it from the Indians, a critique of the very origins of the United States. It's surprising that even with Huggins long gone Warner allowed the show to take shots at the foundations of the society on which its very existence was built. Perhaps they felt that parodying other TV shows and exposing other industries was far enough removed not to be a threat, but more likely, just like the crooks the Mavericks were always trying to outsmart, they were willing to try anything that would make a buck. 

 

The Actors

For the biographies of James Garner, Jack Kelly, and Roger Moore, see the 1960 post on Maverick.

Robert Colbert

Born July 26, 1931 in Long Beach, CA, Robert Colbert's entry into show business began when he was serving as a typist for the Military Police on Okinawa while moonlighting as a radio DJ on KSBK in the evenings. A female member of the Air Force Special Services thought his voice would be a good fit for a local theatrical production of The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, and the experience gave Colbert the acting bug. When he returned to the States he continued acting in theatrical productions until spotted by actor Mickey Shaughessy, who referred him to a talent agency. After a few bit parts in feature films from 1957-59, including the Three Stooges farce Have Rocket -- Will Travel, Colbert was signed to Warner Brothers and began making guest appearances on their programs such as Bourbon Street Beat, Sugarfoot, and Bronco in 1959. He made dozens of appearances on Warner TV shows over the next few years, including his debut on Maverick in 1960 until Warner decided to use him to try to replace James Garner during Season 4.

But by 1962 Colbert, like Garner before him, had had enough of Warner's shenanigans and asked to be released from his contract. He continued to find steady guest roles on shows such as Wagon Train, Perry Mason, and The Virginian, and even made a return appearance on the Warner series 77 Sunset Strip in 1964. But by his own admission, Colbert never really sought out star status: 

I guess I would be considered an underachiever by today's standards. I never went for the gusto of trying to become a star. I never had a publicity agent. I never really made the rounds of the Hollywood parties. I was just content to be under contract to Warner Bros. and work all the time. I didn't do anything to hype my career, but I've never had any major regrets about it. I liked the fact that I could live a normal life, that I could walk down the street or travel on a plane without being mobbed by fans. I was always working; that was good enough.

However, his profile was about to rise, if ever so slightly. After he starred in a failed TV pilot for MGM called The Mayor in 1964, his agent arranged a meeting with producer Irwin Allen, which led to Colbert being cast in one of the lead roles as Dr. Doug Phillips on the 1966-67 science fiction series The Time Tunnel. That series was followed by less frequent guest appearances on shows such as Hawaii Five-O, Mannix, and Land of the Giants. But in 1973 he was cast in the role of Stuart Brooks in the daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless, a role he continued for 10 years. By the 1980s his workload continued to decrease but included multiple appearances on Hunter and occasional feature film roles, most notably in the farces Amazon Women on the Moon and I'm Gonna Git You Sucka. In the 1990s he made a couple of appearances on Reasonable Doubts and Baywatch before retiring from acting. Today at age 87 he still makes occasional appearances at western and science fiction conventions.

Notable Guest Stars

Season 4, Episode 16, "A State of Siege": Ray Danton (shown on the left, starred in Chief Crazy Horse, Onionhead, The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond, The George Raft Story, and Portrait of a Mobster and played Nifty Cronin on The Alaskans) plays wealthy landowner Don Felipe Archuleta. Lisa Gaye (Gwen Kirby on How to Marry a Millionaire) plays his fiance Soledad Lozaro. Slim Pickens (starred in The Story of Will Rogers, Dr. Strangelove, Blazing Saddles, The Apple Dumpling Gang, Beyond the Poseidon Adventure, and The Howling and played Slim on Outlaws, Slim Walker on The Wide Country, California Joe Milner on Custer, and Sgt. Beauregard Wiley on B.J. & the Bear) plays the stagecoach driver.

 Season 4, Episode 17, "Family Pride": Denver Pyle (shown on the right, played Ben Thompson on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Grandpa Tarleton on Tammy, Briscoe Darling on The Andy Griffith Show, Buck Webb on The Doris Day Show, Mad Jack on The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams, and Uncle Jesse on The Dukes of Hazzard) plays Beau's old friend Jerry O'Brien. Robert Cornthwaite (Professor Windish on Get Smart) plays scam artist John Crippen. Karl Swenson (Lars Hanson on Little House on the Prairie) plays imposter General Josiah Warren. Anita Sands (later became astrologer to the stars and a self-help guru) plays his grand-daughter Roseanne. Wallace Rooney (Andrew Winters on The Doctors) plays general store owner Mr. Wallace. Stacy Keach, Sr. (Carlson on Get Smart) plays the Silver City marshal. Olan Soule (Aristotle "Tut" Jones on Captain Midnight, Ray Pinker on Dragnet (1952-59), and Fred Springer on Arnie) plays a hotel clerk.

Season 4, Episode 18, "The Cactus Switch": Edgar Buchanan (Uncle Joe Carson on The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres, and Petticoat Junction, Red Connors on Hopalong Cassidy, Judge Roy Bean on Judge Roy Bean, Bob/Doc Dawson on Tales of Wells Fargo, Doc Burrage on The Rifleman, and J.J. Jackson on Cade's County) plays bank robber and murderer Red Daniels. Robert Logan (J.R. Hale on 77 Sunset Strip and Jericho Jones on Daniel Boone) plays his son Ben. Peter Hansen (shown on the left, played Lt. Col. Van Pelt on Gomer Pyle: USMC, Major Drake on How the West Was Won, and Lee Baldwin on Port Charles and General Hospital) plays con man Lawrence Deville. Fay Spain (starred in Dragstrip Girl, Al Capone, and The Gentle Rain) plays his accomplice Lana Cane. Harry Harvey (Sheriff Tom Blodgett on The Roy Rogers Show, Mayor George Dixon on Man Without a Gun, and Houghton Stott on It's a Man's World) plays jeweler Mueller. Chubby Johnson (Concho on Temple Houston) plays stagecoach driver Andy Gish. Carolyn Komant (Dixie on The Roaring 20's) plays Beau's date Flossie. Lane Chandler (Tom Pike on Lawman) plays Green River Sheriff Bill Wright.

Season 4, Episode 19, "Dutchman's Gold": Jacques Aubuchon (starred in The Silver Chalice, The Big Boodle, and The Love God? and played Chief Urulu on McHale's Navy) plays prospector The Dutchman. Mala Powers (shown on the right, starred in Cyrano de Bergerac, Rose of Cimarron, and Tammy and the Bachelor and played Rebecca Boone on Walt Disney's Daniel Boone and Mona on Hazel) plays saloon owner Charlotte Simmons. Frank Sully (Danny the bartender on The Virginian) plays her bartender Charlie. Carlos Romero (Rico Rodriguez on Wichita Town, Romero Serrano on Zorro, and Carlo Agretti on Falcon Crest) plays Mexican bandit Ricardo Padilla. Sheldon Allman (Norm Miller on Harris Against the World) plays saddle tramp Vern Tripp.

Season 4, Episode 20, "The Iceman": Andrew Duggan (shown on the left, played Cal Calhoun on Bourbon Street Beat, George Rose on Room for One More, Major Gen. Ed Britt on 12 O'Clock High, and Murdoch Lancer on Lancer) plays gubernatorial candidate Calvin Powers. Shirley Knight (starred in Ice Palace, The Dark at the Top of the Stairs, Sweet Bird of Youth, Dutchman, and As Good as It Gets and played Mrs. Newcomb on Buckskin, Estelle Winters on Maggie Winters, and Phyllis Van De Kamp on Desperate Housewives) plays his daughter Nancy. Virginia Gregg (starred in Dragnet, Crime in the Streets, Operation Petticoat and was the voice of Norma Bates in Psycho and the voice of Maggie Belle Klaxon on Calvin and the Colonel) plays his housekeeper Abbey. Bruce Gordon (see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Untouchables) plays his opponent Rath Lawson. John Kellogg (Jack Chandler on Peyton Place) plays Lawson's henchman Ben Striker. James Seay (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays Sheriff Gil McCrary. Nelson Olmsted (Captain Masters, MD on The Phil Silvers Show) plays coroner Eli Sayles. 

Season 4, Episode 21, "Diamond Flush": Carl Esmond (starred in Little Men, Lover Come Back (1946), and Walk a Crooked Mile) plays French nobleman Comte de Lisle. Dan Tobin (Terrance Clay on Perry Mason) plays imposter Ralph Ferguson. Anna Lee (shown on the right, starred in King Solomon's Mines, How Green Was My Valley, Flying Tigers, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, The Sound of Music, and In Like Flint and played Lila Quartermaine on General Hospital) plays his wife Helene. Ted de Corsia (Police Chief Hagedorn on Steve Canyon) plays their co-conspirator Amos Parker. Sig Ruman (starred in Ninotchka,  A Night at the Opera, To Be or Not to Be, House of Frankenstein, and Stalag 17) plays jeweler August Bockenheimer. Phil Tully (Charlie the bartender on The Deputy) plays Pinkerton agent Tim O'Rourke. 

Season 4, Episode 22, "Last Stop: Oblivion": Buddy Ebsen (shown on the left, played Sheriff Matthew Brady on Corky and White Shadow, Sgt. Hunk Marriner on Northwest Passage, Jed Clampett on The Beverly Hillbillies, Barnaby Jones on Barnaby Jones, and Roy Houston on Matt Houston) plays Oblivion waystation owner Nero Lyme. Virginia Christine (was the Folger's Coffee woman in commercials and starred in The Mummy's Curse, The Killers, and Night Wind and played Ovie Swenson on Tales of Wells Fargo) plays his wife Verna. Rayford Barnes (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays their son Dirk. Suzanne Lloyd (Raquel Toledano on Zorro) plays stagecoach passenger Laura Nelson. Maurice Manson (Frederick Timberlake on Dennis the Menace, Josh Egan on Hazel, and Hank Pinkham on General Hospital) plays retired undertaker Bascombe Sunday. Hampton Fancher (Deputy Lon Gillis on Black Saddle and co-wrote the screenplay and was executive producer on Blade Runner) plays hot-headed young gun Tate McKenna. Paul Birch (Erle Stanley Gardner on The Court of Last Resort, Mike Malone on Cannonball, and Capt. Carpenter on The Fugitive) plays Medicine Forks Sheriff Miller. Donald "Red" Barry (played Red Ryder in the movie serial The Adventures of Red Ryder, and played Lt. Snedigar on Surfside 6, The Grand Vizier and Tarantula on Batman, Capt. Red Barnes on Police Woman, and Jud Larabee on Little House on the Prairie) plays wanted killer Durst. Bud Osborne (played stagecoach drivers in dozens of westerns and in episodes of The Cisco Kid, Annie Oakley, The Range Rider, Hopalong Cassidy, The Lone Ranger, The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, Rescue 8, Zorro, Bronco, Law of the Plainsman, Johnny Ringo, Cheyenne, The Texan, and Rawhide) plays stagecoach driver Sam Overman.

Season 4, Episode 23, "Flood's Folly": Alan Baxter (appeared in Saboteur, Close-Up, and Paint Your Wagon) plays Beau's old friend Judge John Scott. Jeanne Cooper (Grace Douglas on Bracken's World and Katherine Chancellor Murphy on The Young and the Restless) plays Scott's client Martha Flood. Michael Pate (shown on the right, starred in Face to Face, Julius Caesar, Hondo, and Tower of London and played Chief Vittoro on Hondo and Det. Sgt. Vic Maddern on Matlock) plays wanted murderer Chet Whitehead.

Season 4, Episode 24, "Maverick at Law": Gage Clarke (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Gunsmoke) plays disgruntled bank teller Myron Emerson. Ken Mayer (Maj. Robbie Robertson on Space Patrol) plays Ten Sleep Sheriff J. Starrett. 

Season 4, Episode 25, "Red Dog": Mike Road (Marshal Tom Sellers on Buckskin, Lt. Joe Switolski on The Roaring 20's, and provided the voice for Race Bannon on Johnny Quest and Ugh on Space Ghost) plays desperado Buckskin Charlie King. John Carradine (shown on the left, starred in Stagecoach, The Grapes of Wrath, House of Frankenstein, House of Dracula, The Ten Commandments, and Sex Kittens Go to College and played Gen. Joshua McCord on Branded) plays crooked Judge Reese. Lee Van Cleef (starred in High Noon, The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms, For a Few Dollars More, and The Good, The Bad and the Ugly) plays notorious gunman Wolf McManus. Joseph Gallison (Dr. Neil Curtis on Days of Our Lives) plays young gunslinger Kid Curran. Sherry Jackson (Terry Williams on Make Room for Daddy) plays his wife Erma. 

Season 4, Episode 26, "The Deadly Image": Gerald Mohr (narrator on 19 episodes of The Lone Ranger, Christopher Storm on Foreign Intrigue, voice of Mr. Fantastic and Reed Richards on Fantastic 4) plays ex-con Gus Tellson. Abraham Sofaer (starred in Christopher Columbus, Quo Vadis, and Elephant Walk) plays his blind father-in-law Papa Rambeau. Dawn Wells (shown on the right, played Mary Ann Summers on Gilligan's Island) plays Papa's grand-daughter Caprice. Robert Ridgely (Lt. Frank Kimbro on The Gallant Men, the announcer on The Woody Woodbury Show, and Cliff Hamilton on Domestic Life and was the voice of Tarzan on Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle, Flash Gordon on Flash Gordon, and General Ross on The Incredible Hulk) plays U.S. cavalry Lt. Reed. Bartlett Robinson (Frank Caldwell on Mona McCluskey) plays his commanding officer Capt. Ranson. Kelly Thordsen (Colorado Charlie on Yancy Derringer) plays outlaw henchman Hemmett. 

Season 4, Episode 27, "Triple Indemnity": Alan Hewitt (starred in That Touch of Mink, Days of Wine and Roses, The Misadventures of Merlin Jones, and The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes and played Det. Bill Brennan on My Favorite Martian) plays Parkerville kingpin George Parker. Ed Nelson (Michael Rossi on Peyton Place and Ward Fuller on The Silent Force) plays his younger brother William. Peter Breck (shown on the left, played Clay Culhane on Black Saddle and Nick Barkley on The Big Valley) plays Bart's old friend Doc Holliday. Laurie Mitchell (starred in Calypso Joe, Queen of Outer Space, and Missile to the Moon) plays Holliday's sweetheart Ellen. Mickey Simpson (Boley on Captain David Grief) plays elixir peddler Cabella.

Season 4, Episode 28, "The Forbidden City": Robert Foulk (Ed Davis on Father Knows Best, Sheriff Miller on Lassie, Joe Kingston on Wichita Town, Mr. Wheeler on Green Acres, and Phillip Toomey on The Rifleman) plays Sunburst Sheriff Sam Shadley. Gertrude Flynn (appeared in War and Peace, Rome Adventure, and Funny Girl and played Anna Sawyer on Days of Our Lives) plays spinster Nettie Moss. Craig Duncan (Sgt. Stanfield/Banfield on Mackenzie's Raiders) plays poker player Val Joyce. Bill Erwin (Joe Walters on My Three Sons and Glenn Diamond on Struck by Lightning) plays a hotel clerk. 

Season 4, Episode 29, "Substitute Gun": Robert Rockwell (shown on the right, played Phillip Boynton on Our Miss Brooks, Sam Logan on The Man From Blackhawk, Tom Bishop on Diff'rent Strokes, and Wally Overmier on Growing Pains) plays saloon owner Tom Blauvelt. Coleen Gray (starred in Kiss of Death, Nightmare Alley, The Killing, The Vampire, The Leech Woman, and The Phantom Planet and played Dean Ann Boyd Jones on Bright Promise and Muriel Clifford on McCloud) plays his wife Greta. Joan Marshall (Sailor Duval on Bold Venture) plays her sister Connie Malone. Carlos Romero (see "Dutchman's Gold" above) plays rival saloon owner Clete Spain. Walter Sande (appeared in To Have and Have Not, A Place in the Sun, and Bad Day at Black Rock and played Capt. Horatio Bullwinkle on The Adventures of Tugboat Annie and Papa Holstrum on The Farmer's Daughter) plays Spearhead Sheriff Coleman. Jackie Searl (began as a child actor, appearing in Tom Sawyer (1930), Huckleberry Finn (1931), Alice in Wonderland (1933), Great Expectations(1934), and Little Lord Fauntleroy) plays assassin Wilbur "Smiley" Drake. Norman Leavitt (Ralph on Trackdown) plays undertaker Ezra Gouch. 

Season 4, Episode 30, "Benefit of the Doubt": George Wallace (see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays Amber Flats Sheriff Joe Holley. Randy Stuart (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays dance hall girl Mavis Todd. Elizabeth MacRae (shown on the left, played Lou-Ann Poovie on Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. and Jozie on Search for Tomorrow) plays her sister Emily. Mort Mills (Marshal Frank Tallman on Man Without a Gun, Sgt. Ben Landro on Perry Mason, and Sheriff Fred Madden on The Big Valley) plays sheriff-wannabe McGaven. John Alderson (Sgt. Bullock on Boots and Saddles and Wyatt Earp on Doctor Who) plays mail office manager Zindler. Slim Pickens (see "A State of Siege" above) plays stagecoach driver Roscoe. Trevor Bardette (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays waystation manager Bert Coleman. Steve Raines (see the biography section for the 1960 post on Rawhide) plays posse member Sims. 

Season 4, Episode 31, "The Devil's Necklace, Part 1": John Dehner (Duke Williams on The Roaring '20's, Commodore Cecil Wyntoon on The Baileys of Balboa, Morgan Starr on The Virginian, Cyril Bennett on The Doris Day Show, Dr. Charles Cleveland Claver on The New Temperatures Rising Show, Barrett Fears on Big Hawaii, Marshal Edge Troy on Young Maverick, Lt. Joseph Broggi on Enos, Hadden Marshall on Bare Essence, and Billy Joe Erskine on The Colbys) plays scheming peddler Luther Cannonbaugh. Steve Brodie (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays ambitious U.S. Army Capt. Paul Score. Kasey Rogers (shown on the right, played Julie Anderson on Peyton Place and Louise Tate on Bewitched) plays his wife Angel. John Hoyt (starred in My Favorite Brunette, The Lady Gambles, and Blackboard Jungle and played Grandpa Stanley Kanisky on Gimme a Break!) plays visiting commander Gen. Bassington. Rayford Barnes (see "Last Stop: Oblivion" above) plays Cpl. Sean Cassidy. Mark Tapscott (see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Tall Man) plays an unnamed private. Rita Lynn (Ella Russo on The Detectives and Miss Kelly on Mr. Smith Goes to Washington) plays Fort Distress' commanding officer's wife Edith Reidinger. Michael Forest (starred in Ski Troop Attack, Atlas, and The Glory Guys and was the voice of Capt. Dorai on Street Fighter II: V and Olympus on Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue) plays Apache ex-con Bob Tallhorse. 

Season 4, Episode 32, "The Devil's Necklace, Part 2": John Dehner (see "The Devil's Necklace, Part 1" above) returns as scheming peddler Luther Cannonbaugh. Steve Brodie (shown on the left, see "The Devil's Necklace, Part 1" above) returns as ambitious U.S. Army Capt. Paul Score. John Hoyt (see "The Devil's Necklace, Part 1" above) returns as visiting commander Gen. Bassington. Chad Everett (starred in Get Yourself a College Girl, Made in Paris, The Singing Nun, and Airplane II and played Deputy Del Stark on The Dakotas, Dr. Joe Gannon on Medical Center, Paul Hagen on Hagen, Wyatt Earp III on The Rousters, Jack McKenna on McKenna, Jack Manhattan on Manhattan, AZ, and Vic on Chemistry) plays Bassington's second-in-command Lt. Gregg. Rayford Barnes (see "Last Stop: Oblivion" above) returns as Cpl. Sean Cassidy. Mark Tapscott (see "The Devil's Necklace, Part 1" above) returns as an unnamed private. Michael Forest (see "The Devil's Necklace, Part 1" above) returns as Apache ex-con Bob Tallhorse. 

Season 5, Episode 1, "Dade City Dodge": Mike Road (see "Red Dog" above) plays con man Pearly Gates. Kathleen Crowley (shown on the right, played Terry Van Buren on Waterfront and Sophia Starr on Batman) plays his partner Marla. Ken Lynch (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Checkmate) plays Dade City Sheriff Clark. Gage Clarke (see "Maverick at Law" above) plays Dade City undertaker Luke Harper. Guy Wilkerson (played Panhandle Perkins in 22 westerns) plays Dade City blacksmith Judd Kerns. Lane Chandler (see "The Cactus Switch" above) plays a U.S. marshal.

Season 5, Episode 2, "The Art Lovers": Jack Cassidy (shown on the left, Tony Award-winning father of David and Shaun Cassidy and husband of Shirley Jones, played Oscar North on He & She) plays tycoon's nephew Roger Cushman. John Hoyt (see "The Devil's Necklace, Part 1" above) plays his uncle George Cushman. James Westerfield (appeared in The Shaggy Dog, The Absent-Minded Professor, and The Love God? and played John Murrel on The Travels of Jamie McPheeters) plays railroad tycoon Paul Sutton. Gertrude Flynn (see "The Forbidden City" above) plays his wife Rheba. Leon Belasco (Mr. Appopolous on My Sister Eileen) plays art dealer Cosmo Nardi. John Alderson (see "Benefit of the Doubt" above) plays unscrupulous ship Capt. Bly. 

Season 5, Episode 3, "The Golden Fleecing": Paula Raymond (starred in The Tall Target, Texas Carnival, and The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms) plays investment banker's daughter Adele Jaggers. Myron Healey (Doc Holliday on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays her father's engineer Frank Mercer. John Qualen (appeared in The Three Musketeers(1935), His Girl Friday, The Grapes of Wrath, Angels Over Broadway, Casablanca, Anatomy of a Murder, and A Patch of Blue) plays Quaker farmer Henry Albright. Olive Sturgess (shown on the right, played Carol Henning on The Bob Cummings Show) plays his daughter Phoebe. Charles Meredith (Dr. LeMoyne Snyder on The Court of Last Resort) plays their neighbor Seth Carter. Richard Loo (appeared in The Purple Heart, Back to Bataan, Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing, The Sand Pebbles, and The Man With the Golden Gun and played Master Sun on Kung Fu) plays San Francisco importer Lee Hong Chang. Herb Vigran (Judge Brooker on Gunsmoke) plays stockbroker Mr. Butler. 

Season 5, Episode 4, "Three Queens Full": Jim Backus (shown on the left, see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Mr. Magoo Show) plays wealthy patriarch Joe Wheelwright. Joseph Gallison (see "Red Dog" above) plays his son Small Paul. Frank Ferguson (Gus Broeberg on My Friend Flicka, Eli Carson on Peyton Place, and Dr. Barton Stuart on Petticoat Junction) plays lawman Sheriff Mattson. Harry Lauter (Ranger Clay Morgan on Tales of the Texas Rangers, Atlasande on Rocky Jones, Space Ranger, and Jim Herrick on Waterfront) plays saloon owner Matthew Braze. Willard Waterman (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Dennis the Menace) plays marriage broker Whittleseed. Kasey Rogers (see "The Devil's Necklage, Part 1" above) plays actress Emma Walter. Merry Anders (Joyce Erwin on The Stu Erwin Show, Val Marlowe on It's Always Jan, Mike McCall on How to Marry a Millionaire, and Policewoman Dorothy Miller on Dragnet 1967) plays former saloon girl Cissie Anderson.

Season 5, Episode 5, "A Technical Error": Peter Breck (see "Triple Indemnity" above) returns as Bart's friend Doc Holliday. Reginald Owen (appeared in A Christmas Carol (1938), Mrs. Miniver, Woman of the Year, National Velvet, and Mary Poppins) plays bank president Major Holbrook Sims. Jolene Brand (Anna Maria Verdugo on Zorro) plays bank employee Penelope Baxter. Alma Platt (Mrs. Henehan on These Are My Children) plays bank employee Miss Hennesey. Frank de Kova (shown on the right, played Chief Wild Eagle on F Troop and Louis Campagna on The Untouchables) plays notorious outlaw Blackjack Hardy. Frank London (Shad on Johnny Staccato and Charlie on Peyton Place) plays his younger brother Little Sonny. Paul Barselou (played various bartenders in 9 episodes of Bewitched) plays hotel clerk Ferguson. Gail Bonney (Goodwife Martin on Space Patrol and Madeline Schweitzer on December Bride) plays a townswoman robbed of her trading stamps.