When beat cop Johnny Kendall (John Gavin) coldly and without provocation kills a wino following a liquor store robbery, he comes under scrutiny for his trigger-happy response. What surprised me is how partner, Sergeant Racin (Jimmy Joyce), filed a report detailing the incident the way it happened. You might think men in blue would stick together and cover for a partner's lack of discretion, but Johnny seemed a bit hot headed and prone to do it again. Or so Dr. Hornbeck (Fred Draper) believed when he suggested an honorable discharge from the force, allowing Johnny to save face instead of getting fired. Johnny didn't do himself any favors by being belligerent with the doctor, I think he got off easy.
With that, Johnny decides to head to the country in search of a new job, and his fiancée Sandy (Indus Arthur) insists on tagging along. Surprisingly, Johnny finds work as a deputy with the Wagon Lake police department, even as Sheriff Dade (Tom Drake) finds out about the fatal shooting when he checked references. Just as surprisingly, Johnny admits it before the sheriff mentioned it, so it felt like a fellow officer giving a guy a break for a mistake he made. Even so, Johnny's job would be rather mundane, patrolling empty vacation cabins during the off season, which didn't require a firearm. You could tell this irked Johnny, and wouldn't have consequences until he decided to use a personal weapon he brought with him when he moved.
Trouble flared up once more when former deputy Milt Woodman (Richard Jaeckel), fired for his own lack of discretion, began chatting up Sandy at a local diner where she found work as a waitress. The increasingly jealous Johnny saw this as a threat, and decided he would put an end to it forcefully if necessary. For the last program in Hitchcock's hour-long series, this one didn't offer up as surprising a twist as one might have expected. In fact, it was just a bit too obvious that Johnny would seek to fulfill his maniacal thirst for jealousy and revenge.
I had to wonder though, when this was over and Hitchcock appeared to offer his closing epilog, didn't anyone tell him that the series was over? Because in closing, he mentioned that there would be another story next week! I guess he must have found out at some point. Maybe it was intended as a twist ending.
With that, Johnny decides to head to the country in search of a new job, and his fiancée Sandy (Indus Arthur) insists on tagging along. Surprisingly, Johnny finds work as a deputy with the Wagon Lake police department, even as Sheriff Dade (Tom Drake) finds out about the fatal shooting when he checked references. Just as surprisingly, Johnny admits it before the sheriff mentioned it, so it felt like a fellow officer giving a guy a break for a mistake he made. Even so, Johnny's job would be rather mundane, patrolling empty vacation cabins during the off season, which didn't require a firearm. You could tell this irked Johnny, and wouldn't have consequences until he decided to use a personal weapon he brought with him when he moved.
Trouble flared up once more when former deputy Milt Woodman (Richard Jaeckel), fired for his own lack of discretion, began chatting up Sandy at a local diner where she found work as a waitress. The increasingly jealous Johnny saw this as a threat, and decided he would put an end to it forcefully if necessary. For the last program in Hitchcock's hour-long series, this one didn't offer up as surprising a twist as one might have expected. In fact, it was just a bit too obvious that Johnny would seek to fulfill his maniacal thirst for jealousy and revenge.
I had to wonder though, when this was over and Hitchcock appeared to offer his closing epilog, didn't anyone tell him that the series was over? Because in closing, he mentioned that there would be another story next week! I guess he must have found out at some point. Maybe it was intended as a twist ending.