The main plot has been etched by other reviewers, so I won't bore you with that. However, I completely disagree with the reviewer who said Billy Joe seemed timid--on the contrary, he was sadistic, bemused, menacing and full of himself as a teenaged clone of Billy the Kid (authentically played by a very young Nicolas Surovy). If anyone was timid, it was poor Heath, who thankfully only had a few lines, which he stuttered through in barely audible gasps. Stanwyck was wooden, as usual, maybe even more so, and wasn't particularly festive, it being Christmas and all. Peter Breck (Nick) who was a real life quick-draw guy has no chance at gun play in this episode, as he and all the other Barkley's, including the sexy little Miss Maybelle, go off "visiting", leaving Jarrod and Silas sitting ducks for the advancing Billy Joe. OK, maybe it was because the story centered on lovely and luscious Lynn Loring and her sexual tension with Richard Long; their story is plausible enough, but Long seems more like a jesuit priest in his abject stiff-arming of ANY amorous to-do with Maybelle. The chances are there, he just gives that situation a WIDE berth. Commendable, but not very entertaining. He was smart in the end though, because when Billy has his pistol up Jarrod's nose, he makes it abundantly clear what the outcome would be if Maybelle suddenly decided to become a Barkley. Silas, the gay black butler must be commended for his patience in this episode- -not only did he make great scrambled eggs, he kept his cool even as he knew what was happening before any of the other thick-headed dudes did, and he played along with a straight face. If only there were more scenes with Billy and Maybelle, and less with his mouthy cohorts!
Review of Judgement in Heaven
