User Reviews

When one of Wells Fargo's loyal ship captains is accused of stealing $20,000 worth of jade, it's up to Jim Hardie to prove the innocence of his old friend.

I'll be up front, this episode just isn't one of the better outings from the series. It's another plot where the evidence is completely circumstantial, and the accused is a long-time, loyal Wells Fargo employee who is on his last delivery for the company before retiring. We do have precedence for the suspicion, as we saw Denver Pyle's character go bad when he had been a long-time employee in S1, Ep8 - Renegade Raiders. But where that story was one of the better episodes of the series, this was a different situation completely, and to me the writing is somewhat sloppy.

First, Capt. Turnbull and Wells Fargo guard Jack Morrow depart with the jade in a small valise, and they're walking with it slung over Turnbull's shoulder through the Barbary Coast, one of the most dangerous sections of San Francisco. One would think they'd be extremely wary, suspicious, and most importantly, exceedingly careful. But Capt. Turnbull wants to have a beer. Again, one would suppose they'd be aware acutely that Barbary Coast saloons are notorious for drugging customers after which they would be robbed, shanghaied, or murdered, but they don't seem to be concerned about it whatsoever. And of course, they're easily distracted and tranquilized, and the jade is stolen and Morrow is knifed, and again of course Capt. Turnbull is accused of the theft and murder.

Hardie stands up for his old friend, but things look grim. Morrow had been knifed, and the blade was about 2 inches wide. Turnbull's pocketknife was found with blood on it, but it had a shorter, thinner, curved blade. Any coroner with an ounce of sense could determine the knife used to kill Morrow was not Turnbull's.

Wouldn't Turnbull and Morrow have known enough about the practice of drugging customers to be on the lookout for it? Especially since they're carrying the jade? One would think. Hardie was certainly aware of it, he mentioned multiple times how bartenders in the Barbary Coast were known for slipping customers a Mickey Finn. And wouldn't Wells Fargo be aware of it as well? If Turnbull was the killer, why was he on the ground next to Morrow, drugged?

The crooks had been tipped off about the jade, and Turnbull and Morrow were followed, with no inkling they were targeted for a theft. And they - at random - chose the very saloon the crooks owned to have a beer. Quite convenient at that.

Hardie plans to go undercover and recover the jade. So he dresses up as a sailor, goes into the saloon and buys champagne while flashing a huge wad of bills. He then shows a saloon girl a bag of diamonds he is supposedly delivering, and she happens to be the girlfriend of the head crook. Again, very convenient. So wouldn't the crooks realize he's laying it on extremely thick and obvious, and be suspicious that he's not what he seems? One would think. But they don't. Instead they invite him into the organization to deliver the stolen jade to a buyer. Until their informant recognizes him. The same informant who was told "don't worry, you'll get what's coming to you", an absolute guarantee he's gonna be murdered. These guys never seem to understand, "what's coming to you" is a grave on boot hill.

The final confrontation is kinda lackluster, the henchman throws his knife carelessly at Hardie, who ducks and pulls his gun casually and plugs the guy without breathing hard. Of course the henchman is standing in the open with no cover at all after throwing his knife, with no gun. Again, convenient.

The cast was competent, but basically unknown. Jean Willes played Christine, the reluctant saloon girl. She had appeared in a few pictures that were popular such as Invasion of the Body Snatchers, but was basically cast in B pictures and later TV. Russell Thorsen reprises his role in his fourth appearance as the Well Fargo Manager. But that's about it, I don't really recognize any of the remaining cast, who all appeared on many of the popular series of the era.

In closing I found this episode had an awful lot of "convenient" coincidences, so I wouldn't rate it as one of the better episodes. But as I've mentioned, ToWF is very much a series that epitomized the concept of EWIBIG...Even When It's Bad, It's Good.