The episode begins with a man with an obvious education and a calm intensity playing poker. The man is Johnny Ringo. He wins, and when leaving the saloon he narrowly avoids killing a man over the game. Ringo has a reputation, and it's one to be feared. But there's always some young punk ready and willing to make his reputation by calling out a famous gunslinger. And there's always a loudmouth in a saloon, broadcasting the name of someone continually, someone who would rather be left alone. This time it's Johnny Ringo's name, and it's the kind of talk that typically results in a dead man. All are present in this story.
Wells Fargo wants Johnny Ringo, and they've sent telegraphs to every office in the state with Ringo's description. In addition, Jim Hardie has been assigned to bring him in. Hardie takes no chances when he captures Ringo, coming upon him stealthily during the night. Interestingly, Ringo offers no resistance. Instead he offers Hardie a deal. 3 days, and he'll go in peacefully. 3 days...to visit his dying sister, who doesn't know he's an outlaw. Hardie agrees. But the gunslinger Lou Dancher is arrogant, impatient, and he's determined to face Ringo, and of course he doesn't care if Ringo's dying sister knows or not.
Despite this episode's use of an historical name, the details are pure fiction. From Hardie's opening statement about Ringo attending Harvard to his closing epilogue, nothing that even approached the truth was shown in this episode, other than the man's name. Johnny Ringo did not attend Harvard as Hardie stated. It is apparent that some of these details were taken from Ringo's fictionalized memoir, "Confessions of Johnny Ringo", that portrayed the man as a bookish and introspective observer of his era. Ringo's life is well documented, and he was neither bookish nor introspective.
Nevertheless, the episode is one of the best of the series as I see it. Paul Richards was a commanding presence on the screen, and his Johnny Ringo is one of the most memorable characters of the series' run.
The cast is not well-known, but three stand out. First, Paul Richards' portrayal of Johnny Ringo is just great. Richards had a smooth, velvety voice well suited for villainous roles, and it's perfect for the character shown in this episode. Although he died at the young age of 50 he had a substantial list of credits. Britt Wood appears Artie, the town loudmouth. He appeared mostly in westerns, and was a member of the Hopalong Cassidy series with William Boyd, appearing in nine pictures from 1936-1941 as Hoppy's sidekick, Speedy McGinnis. Joseph Sargent appeared as the gunslinger, Lou Dancher. Although his career as an actor wasn't that noteworthy, he was successful as a director on both the small and large screen. Among his many credits was Star Trek: TOS - The Corbomite Maneuver. The remainder of the cast had hundreds of roles but are basically unknown today.
As I said, despite this episode's complete lack of historical accuracy, I still see it as a great episode. Paul Richards' portrayal of Johnny Ringo was one of the best of the series.
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