We see a bank robber, wounded in the leg, driving in the usual remote areas in farm country, switching to a second vehicle, but not going far before choosing to hide from roadblocks in a barn. Now we never saw the holdup, didn't know how he was shot-we could guess-just saw him driving away as Mr. Gilmore told us about the holdup.
The farmer whose barn he hid in is wandering around and notices some blood on a box and suspects someone might be inside, but never sees anything. He goes back to the house and tells his wife he thinks a tramp is in the barn. She tells about a bank robber on the lamb and they figure they know where he is. But the farmer, John Alvin, thinks he would only get the $10,000 reward the missus told him about if he physically captures the man and calls the cops.
I have never heard a bulletin where they didn't make it clear that the reward would go to whoever provides information leading to the arrest and conviction of a fugitive. They do not, in over 100 years, ask you to bring the person in to the police "dead or alive." So Alvin decides to get two buddies and split the reward, figuring outnumbering the guy they can be safe in taking him.
While he and his friends are figuring out how to do it, Dan and his guy are in the neighborhood, tracking down cars with blood on the inside. They talk to Alvin and his wife, and even the friends, who have guns, telling Dan they are there for protection in case the robber shows up. Dan tells them to put their guns away (a real anti-gun policeman, Dan is) and they say sure.
When Dan leaves the farm, they make their move-all three walking slowly toward the barn, across the open area. As we see the barn, there are no windows, just a couple of big doors that are closed. The robber is hiding away from the outside wall, behind some crates, but somehow can not only see the men, but is able to shoot through a crack in the door and wound one of the men.
While Alvin and wife nurse him in the house, Dan returns and Alvin still doesn't want to say anything, but his wife goes against him and tells Dan. So Dan does what the farmers did-walks slowly toward the barn across the yard, but somehow he isn't even shot at. When he gets to the barn, the robber tells him he is in need of a doctor, and that he is lying on the floor and cannot reach his gun across the room. We know he is lying, but not on the floor-he is on a ledge above, waiting to get Dan.
But when Dan enters the man shoots at him. Dan finds cover, then walks directly beneath him, then walks out facing away and could easily be shot. Usually he figures out where shots come from with ease, but here he wasn't even looking up. Remember the man shot one man, tried to shoot Dan, and has a bad leg. For reasons that defy logic, instead of plugging him when Dan is facing away, is in plain site from about 5 feet away, the robber decides to leap on Dan to overpower him. Of course, Dan quickly holds his arms, then gives him one good punch and he is done. The other officer, now inside, is left to handcuff and take away the prisoner as Dan goes into the house to make a phone call. He tells Mrs. Alvin that she will get the reward.
I would think at least ONE of these farmers would know that whoever gives police the info gets the reward. One of them should have seen at least one movie or police show, or heard from the radio days, how police are never entitled to reward money. But no, they don't.
I understand how a bullet can go through a wooden wall and strike something just behind it-like a person. I've watched Combat. But if I'm firing from 20 feet away from the wooden wall and my bullet goes through the wood and across a yard another 40 feet or so, it would seem unlikely to not run out of gas, so to speak, before striking someone. Its course would also be changed and likely wind up nowhere near the target.
How the robber could even see the men coming toward him was a bit of a mystery-there appeared only tiny cracks between door and wall. But after shooting the other guy, and shooting at Dan, I really cannot figure out why he didn't just shoot our hero when Dan walked out from under that ledge. Jumping down to overpower him when he was just shooting at him 30 seconds ago makes no sense. Without any gunshots, he might have wanted to quietly subdue the cop to keep his presence unknown. But with one man wounded minutes earlier, and shots fired at this cop-that could not have been a consideration by the robber. This is why that scene was ludicrously unrealistic.
Given his later actions, I cannot even believe the robber behaved logically. He drove away from a police roadblock, but with his wounded leg causing him much trouble walking, he leaves his bloody vehicle where it can be found and is just going to hide in this NOT-abandoned barn-for how long? His leg needs attention and he is only going to get worse. The cops will surely find both of his cars and be searching. Now he's not hiding in an abandoned mine they might not know about. A barn on the nearest farm to where he left his car is surely the first place they'd look. I'm surprised with all the blood Dan saw in the car, there wasn't a trail of blood leading to the barn.
When the robber saw the lone cop car blocking the road, his logical, best-chance move would be to blow past the roadblock. Choice two-pull up to it and surprise the officer with your gun. Hiding in a nearby barn-too obviously a poor choice for this robber in this situation.
All these points make this one of the weakest episodes in terms of clear-headed thinking all around, including on Dan's part as he just walked up to a barn knowing another man had just been shot from inside. While they had him trapped, he could easily have waited for some backup units. Having someone go at the barn from another side-at least to slip up on the front (only?) door unseen makes far more sense here.
Got to give this a lowly 2-just nothing rang true.
The farmer whose barn he hid in is wandering around and notices some blood on a box and suspects someone might be inside, but never sees anything. He goes back to the house and tells his wife he thinks a tramp is in the barn. She tells about a bank robber on the lamb and they figure they know where he is. But the farmer, John Alvin, thinks he would only get the $10,000 reward the missus told him about if he physically captures the man and calls the cops.
I have never heard a bulletin where they didn't make it clear that the reward would go to whoever provides information leading to the arrest and conviction of a fugitive. They do not, in over 100 years, ask you to bring the person in to the police "dead or alive." So Alvin decides to get two buddies and split the reward, figuring outnumbering the guy they can be safe in taking him.
While he and his friends are figuring out how to do it, Dan and his guy are in the neighborhood, tracking down cars with blood on the inside. They talk to Alvin and his wife, and even the friends, who have guns, telling Dan they are there for protection in case the robber shows up. Dan tells them to put their guns away (a real anti-gun policeman, Dan is) and they say sure.
When Dan leaves the farm, they make their move-all three walking slowly toward the barn, across the open area. As we see the barn, there are no windows, just a couple of big doors that are closed. The robber is hiding away from the outside wall, behind some crates, but somehow can not only see the men, but is able to shoot through a crack in the door and wound one of the men.
While Alvin and wife nurse him in the house, Dan returns and Alvin still doesn't want to say anything, but his wife goes against him and tells Dan. So Dan does what the farmers did-walks slowly toward the barn across the yard, but somehow he isn't even shot at. When he gets to the barn, the robber tells him he is in need of a doctor, and that he is lying on the floor and cannot reach his gun across the room. We know he is lying, but not on the floor-he is on a ledge above, waiting to get Dan.
But when Dan enters the man shoots at him. Dan finds cover, then walks directly beneath him, then walks out facing away and could easily be shot. Usually he figures out where shots come from with ease, but here he wasn't even looking up. Remember the man shot one man, tried to shoot Dan, and has a bad leg. For reasons that defy logic, instead of plugging him when Dan is facing away, is in plain site from about 5 feet away, the robber decides to leap on Dan to overpower him. Of course, Dan quickly holds his arms, then gives him one good punch and he is done. The other officer, now inside, is left to handcuff and take away the prisoner as Dan goes into the house to make a phone call. He tells Mrs. Alvin that she will get the reward.
I would think at least ONE of these farmers would know that whoever gives police the info gets the reward. One of them should have seen at least one movie or police show, or heard from the radio days, how police are never entitled to reward money. But no, they don't.
I understand how a bullet can go through a wooden wall and strike something just behind it-like a person. I've watched Combat. But if I'm firing from 20 feet away from the wooden wall and my bullet goes through the wood and across a yard another 40 feet or so, it would seem unlikely to not run out of gas, so to speak, before striking someone. Its course would also be changed and likely wind up nowhere near the target.
How the robber could even see the men coming toward him was a bit of a mystery-there appeared only tiny cracks between door and wall. But after shooting the other guy, and shooting at Dan, I really cannot figure out why he didn't just shoot our hero when Dan walked out from under that ledge. Jumping down to overpower him when he was just shooting at him 30 seconds ago makes no sense. Without any gunshots, he might have wanted to quietly subdue the cop to keep his presence unknown. But with one man wounded minutes earlier, and shots fired at this cop-that could not have been a consideration by the robber. This is why that scene was ludicrously unrealistic.
Given his later actions, I cannot even believe the robber behaved logically. He drove away from a police roadblock, but with his wounded leg causing him much trouble walking, he leaves his bloody vehicle where it can be found and is just going to hide in this NOT-abandoned barn-for how long? His leg needs attention and he is only going to get worse. The cops will surely find both of his cars and be searching. Now he's not hiding in an abandoned mine they might not know about. A barn on the nearest farm to where he left his car is surely the first place they'd look. I'm surprised with all the blood Dan saw in the car, there wasn't a trail of blood leading to the barn.
When the robber saw the lone cop car blocking the road, his logical, best-chance move would be to blow past the roadblock. Choice two-pull up to it and surprise the officer with your gun. Hiding in a nearby barn-too obviously a poor choice for this robber in this situation.
All these points make this one of the weakest episodes in terms of clear-headed thinking all around, including on Dan's part as he just walked up to a barn knowing another man had just been shot from inside. While they had him trapped, he could easily have waited for some backup units. Having someone go at the barn from another side-at least to slip up on the front (only?) door unseen makes far more sense here.
Got to give this a lowly 2-just nothing rang true.