Disappointing reunion of James Garner with his "Support Your Local Sheriff/Gunfighter" co-star Jack Elam who plays Marcus Baxter, who may or may not be a Pinkerton detective (at least he claims to be).
Nichols and Baxter are both on the trail of a man who may be the famous Jesse James and hope to collect the $133,000 reward (it was never rescinded even though James had been pronounced dead).
You'd expect some seriously good scenes between Elam and Garner who were so good together in both the "Support Your" movies, but there just aren't. I think for one thing the script made Elam's character a little too intelligent as a con artist and his character lacks the heart that made his previous appearances with Garner so enjoyable.
Rance Howard (Ron Howard's dad) has more lines than usual as a deputy in a town (where they are arresting any stranger because someone has threatened to punch Teddy Roosevelt in the face when he comes through town--a plot line that goes nowhere) and does a nice job with them. Charles McGraw ("The Narrow Margin") makes his second appearance on the "Nichol" series, this time as Luke, who is suspected of being Jesse James. Fran Ryan also has a nice turn as a trouble making old woman who clues Nichols in to the idea that James is alive.
I had high hopes for this episode. It fell far short of the anticipation.
Nichols and Baxter are both on the trail of a man who may be the famous Jesse James and hope to collect the $133,000 reward (it was never rescinded even though James had been pronounced dead).
You'd expect some seriously good scenes between Elam and Garner who were so good together in both the "Support Your" movies, but there just aren't. I think for one thing the script made Elam's character a little too intelligent as a con artist and his character lacks the heart that made his previous appearances with Garner so enjoyable.
Rance Howard (Ron Howard's dad) has more lines than usual as a deputy in a town (where they are arresting any stranger because someone has threatened to punch Teddy Roosevelt in the face when he comes through town--a plot line that goes nowhere) and does a nice job with them. Charles McGraw ("The Narrow Margin") makes his second appearance on the "Nichol" series, this time as Luke, who is suspected of being Jesse James. Fran Ryan also has a nice turn as a trouble making old woman who clues Nichols in to the idea that James is alive.
I had high hopes for this episode. It fell far short of the anticipation.