Jim Hardie is summoned to death row, where a man he sent to prison for killing a Wells Fargo agent during a robbery has a date with a noose within the hour. The condemned man is Jake Kramer, and he bears no ill will towards Hardie. Instead he has an urgent request, and in return he's prepared to offer Hardie a clue to the location of the gold he stole in the robbery. Kramer tells Hardie he has a son in an orphanage, a surly lad that looks up to him as a hero. Kramer is worried the boy will follow in his footsteps, and he's desperate to prevent it. He asks Hardie's help to see to it that the boy avoids his fate, and although he refuses to tell Hardie where he hid the gold he tells Hardie that his son, if turned around, may be able to do it instead. Hardie agrees somewhat reluctantly, but he soon realizes the boy's future is more important than the stolen gold. The head of the orphanage, John Wynfield (Alan Reynolds), tells Hardie that young Jimmy Kramer is tough and mean, and is a constant troublemaker. But he also states that he likes the boy, and sees something good in him despite his history at the orphanage. Hardie soon finds that he agrees. But Jake Kramer's murderous partner wants his share of the gold, and he's more than willing to kill for it.
First, I'll say up front that Christmas episodes have never been high on my list of favorite episodes of any series, with the exception of M*A*S*H - Death Takes a Holiday (S9,E5) and Star Trek:TOS - Friday's Child (S2,E11). And don't look at me funny for saying that, as Robert Justman stated Friday's Child was indeed their Christmas episode of 1967 in the now-classic "Inside Star Trek, The Real Story".
As I mentioned, I'm not fond of Christmas eps, but not here. I include this episode enthusiastically with the two aforementioned shows. For me, it's actually one of the better episodes of the series and one of my personal favorites. Not that the plot is particularly epic, it isn't. Nor is it the action, there's little to none to speak of. But there's a lot to this entry, starting with the script from Samuel A. Peeples, brought to the screen by director Ed Bellamy, both veterans of the series. The story is a good one, and part of that is the fact that it avoids multiple, weak plot lines that wrap conveniently, just in time for the star to join in the holiday festivities, as with so many Christmas episodes. In fact, although asked to join in, Hardie opts out of that completely with his trademarked wave, as he turns and throws his hand up and down quickly with no look back, with what I like to call the "Hardie wave". Regular viewers of the series saw it frequently.
For me, it's the cast that sells this one competently and completely. Although it only includes one well-known face, it doesn't matter. All cast members were cast perfectly as I see it. And it's also the fact that the holiday season is secondary in the story, with only a couple of mentions during the episode. The episode titles weren't broadcast in the early seasons, and although we know it now it was mentioned just once briefly in one scene. The Jim Hardie cool factor is on display as well, as he initially jumps to conclusions about Jimmy Kramer, but realizes later with regret how wrong he was.
We find that the family Hardie has in mind to help Jimmy Kramer back onto the right path, the Bensons, was chosen for good reasons. For starters, they're good people...a solid, loving family. The Bensons have large hearts and a welcome home to offer Jimmy, who's never had either. We also find that their daughter Jenny was adopted, and the Bensons are open to having a son join them. Plus, we find that Hank Benson and Hardie have a past. Hank very nearly wound up in the same place Jake Kramer found himself, and it's revealed that he came close to killing Hardie some years back. Hank isn't proud of his past, but he and Hardie discuss it openly with no shame, and they've become good friends. And Hardie also is well aware that Hank's past will help him have a better understanding of Jimmy's predicament, and that he can relate to the boy's situation and help him find the straight and narrow.
As I mentioned, the cast isn't particularly well-known, but I rank it among the best of the entire series.
Brad Morrow appears as Jimmy Kramer, and although he'd been a former Mousketeer and a Disney actor he plays the surly Jimmy Kramer to a tee. Morrow has one helluva scowl, and he is thoroughly convincing in the role. He's mad at the world, and he's not happy when he finds that Hardie delivered his father to prison and the noose. Morrow had a modest acting career as a young man on the small screen as well as the stage, and he eventually became a successful businessman in his later years.
Cowboy legend Bob Steele appears as Jake Kramer. Steele had been a huge star during the Golden Age of Westerns with a very long list of credits beginning in silents and continuing throughout the pre-code era, where he worked his way up to top billing status. As the talkie era began his star was on the rise in the westerns genre, and during the 30s he became extremely popular. He eventually became a hero to millions of kids as one of Republic Studios top draws, appearing in scores of westerns over 3 decades. During the 40s he appeared in a number of pictures as Billy the Kid, while simultaneously appearing as Tuscon Smith, one of the Three Mesquiteers. He also appeared in a few bigger named pictures as well, such as Of Mice and Men and The Big Sleep. He was also a long-time friend of John Wayne, and appeared in 6 of his pictures.
John Frederick appeared as the dastardly, scarfaced Tenny Jackson and is another of my favorite heavies with actors such as Bob Wilke and Leo Gordon. Frederick could really play nasty characters well, and he was cast frequently in villainous roles, which was a good bit different than his actual personality. Check that huge smile he's wearing in the picture of him receiving his star on the walk of fame and it's hard to disagree.
Rusty Lane and Kay Stewart appear as Hank and Martha Benson, and both had solid careers, although neither were particularly well-known. But they rose to the occasion here, each with admirable performances as Jimmy Kramer's prospective adoptive parents. When Martha plants a kiss on Jimmy's cheek at their first meeting his reaction was most humorous.
And lastly, Bernadette Withers appears as Jenny Benson, providing a good bit of emotion in her attempts to make Jimmy Kramer feel welcome as a part of family she was also adopted into. She had a modest career, but she did appear in 52 episodes of Bachelor Father with John Forsythe, in a regular role as Ginger.
I can't say this one is for everyone, but for me it's one of my favorites. Check it out for yourself and see what I mean.
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