This episode marks one of the last appearances by, and final television episode role for Craig Stevens, who has been acting in films and on television since 1939. John Alvin, who has been acting in films and on television since 1943, and Pat Corley, who has been appearing regularly since 1974, have also since passed.
The "Widowed Parent" theme runs frequently throughout the course of the "MSW" series, this often involving a poverty-stricken widowed mother of a teenage boy, who must quickly grow to take on the responsibility of "the Man of the House," or the crusty widowed father of a young adult daughter, who doesn't approve of her eligible suitor for fear that she would elope with him, or the usually wealthy widowed parent whose children and grandchildren stand at odds over the will and mostly end up as murder suspect in the process, once Jessica comes to town to stumble across the body next to the fireplace poker.
This time around, we see a combination of the widowed mother, Cassie Latham Burns (Mariclare Costello), with the responsible young adult son, Matthew Burns (Brian Lane Green), and the widowed father, Mr. Bonner (Stuart Whitman), with the loving daughter, Linda Bonner (Cindy Fisher), and her rebellious brother, Ed Bonner (Jeff Osterhage), who also doesn't approve of Linda's planning a future with Matthew, who aspires to become a Country music entertainer, should Linda manage to accompany him to Nashville one day.
Cassie Latham Burns operates an inn with Matthew at her side, in Hoopville, Alabama, near Kelso's Bar, operated by the gruff Frank Kelso (Pat Corley), who employs Linda to serve tables, and offers Matthew a chance to perform with his band.
Rowdy brother Ed Bonner and his gang of friends, Andy Crane (Larry Wilcox), Billy Willetts (Jackie Earle Haley), Demsey (Bill McKinney) and Peter Fargo (John Dennis Johnston), know how to cause a ruckus to interrupt what little peace can be found around Kelso's Bar, they ordering customers from tables, threatening Matthew's stage show, and standing up to Frank Kelso at every turn.
With his office in the heart of downtown Hoopville, Sheriff Claudell Cox (Dorian Harewood) serves as the county law enforcement officer, an African-American not accepted by townsfolk as having authority over the populace, even with blond Sheriff Claudell Cox (Dorian Harewood) Deputy Morgan (W.K. Stratton) at his side. They do not readily lean toward heeding the law regardless of the race of their capable Sheriff.
It is into this climate of "Powder Keg on the Verge of Exploding" tension that Professor Ames Caulfield (Craig Stevens) travels with fellow author Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) through Alabama, to stop over for the evening in Hoopville.
But when they request rooms at the desk of the inn, owner Cassie Latham Burns appears from the back room, when she and Professor Ames Caulfield recognize each other, she a student of his before she left school to start her family. When Ames and Jessica meet Matthew in the lobby, Matthew is on his way to sing at Kelso's. Jessica slips to her room to read, but hears Ames' returning into his room at a very late hour, around 2:30 AM.
The next day, when Matthew is arrested for murder, Cassie pleads with Ames and Jessica to defend his innocence, but Hoopville is only beginning to spark with controversy and belligerence, as Jessica fears the worst for Matthew, Linda, Ames, Sheriff Cox, Doctor Frazier (John Alvin) and anyone standing in the way of a potential lynch mob as the "Powder Keg" environment expands toward an explosive climax of after a double homicide.
The cast is rounded out by Debra Dusay as Desk Clerk, and customers at Kelso's Bar: Muriel Minot as Woman, Hartley Silver as Man, Dave Adams as Barfly, and Helen Kelly in an uncredited role.
The "Widowed Parent" theme runs frequently throughout the course of the "MSW" series, this often involving a poverty-stricken widowed mother of a teenage boy, who must quickly grow to take on the responsibility of "the Man of the House," or the crusty widowed father of a young adult daughter, who doesn't approve of her eligible suitor for fear that she would elope with him, or the usually wealthy widowed parent whose children and grandchildren stand at odds over the will and mostly end up as murder suspect in the process, once Jessica comes to town to stumble across the body next to the fireplace poker.
This time around, we see a combination of the widowed mother, Cassie Latham Burns (Mariclare Costello), with the responsible young adult son, Matthew Burns (Brian Lane Green), and the widowed father, Mr. Bonner (Stuart Whitman), with the loving daughter, Linda Bonner (Cindy Fisher), and her rebellious brother, Ed Bonner (Jeff Osterhage), who also doesn't approve of Linda's planning a future with Matthew, who aspires to become a Country music entertainer, should Linda manage to accompany him to Nashville one day.
Cassie Latham Burns operates an inn with Matthew at her side, in Hoopville, Alabama, near Kelso's Bar, operated by the gruff Frank Kelso (Pat Corley), who employs Linda to serve tables, and offers Matthew a chance to perform with his band.
Rowdy brother Ed Bonner and his gang of friends, Andy Crane (Larry Wilcox), Billy Willetts (Jackie Earle Haley), Demsey (Bill McKinney) and Peter Fargo (John Dennis Johnston), know how to cause a ruckus to interrupt what little peace can be found around Kelso's Bar, they ordering customers from tables, threatening Matthew's stage show, and standing up to Frank Kelso at every turn.
With his office in the heart of downtown Hoopville, Sheriff Claudell Cox (Dorian Harewood) serves as the county law enforcement officer, an African-American not accepted by townsfolk as having authority over the populace, even with blond Sheriff Claudell Cox (Dorian Harewood) Deputy Morgan (W.K. Stratton) at his side. They do not readily lean toward heeding the law regardless of the race of their capable Sheriff.
It is into this climate of "Powder Keg on the Verge of Exploding" tension that Professor Ames Caulfield (Craig Stevens) travels with fellow author Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) through Alabama, to stop over for the evening in Hoopville.
But when they request rooms at the desk of the inn, owner Cassie Latham Burns appears from the back room, when she and Professor Ames Caulfield recognize each other, she a student of his before she left school to start her family. When Ames and Jessica meet Matthew in the lobby, Matthew is on his way to sing at Kelso's. Jessica slips to her room to read, but hears Ames' returning into his room at a very late hour, around 2:30 AM.
The next day, when Matthew is arrested for murder, Cassie pleads with Ames and Jessica to defend his innocence, but Hoopville is only beginning to spark with controversy and belligerence, as Jessica fears the worst for Matthew, Linda, Ames, Sheriff Cox, Doctor Frazier (John Alvin) and anyone standing in the way of a potential lynch mob as the "Powder Keg" environment expands toward an explosive climax of after a double homicide.
The cast is rounded out by Debra Dusay as Desk Clerk, and customers at Kelso's Bar: Muriel Minot as Woman, Hartley Silver as Man, Dave Adams as Barfly, and Helen Kelly in an uncredited role.