In "Butch Cassidy," a Season Three episode of "Tales of Wells Fargo," Charles Bronson guest stars as famed outlaw Butch Cassidy (minus the Sundance Kid), who is newly released from prison and on his way to a welcome party via train, when an old outlaw buddy spots him and offers him a cut if he'll help with the robbery of the train. The outlaw, named Idaho, is portrayed by none other than James Coburn, two years before he and Bronson would team up for THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, five years before they would team up for THE GREAT ESCAPE and 17 years before they would team up for HARD TIMES. I had not bothered to look this episode up on IMDb before sitting down to watch it on the Encore Western Channel today, so I was surprised first by Bronson's casting as the outlaw made famous eleven years later by Paul Newman in BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID and then doubly surprised by Coburn's sudden appearance next to Bronson on the train. Who knew? In their encounter on the train, Cassidy turns down Idaho's offer and, later, at his welcome party in a town saloon, he is approached by Wells Fargo agent Jim Hardie (Dale Robertson), who thinks Cassidy, if he's truly reformed, would be the right man to hire to map a trail through outlaw territory for a new Wells Fargo stage route, despite having been sent to prison by Hardie a couple of years earlier. Cassidy holds no hard feelings, but still turns him down. He may also feel a tad guilty for lying to Hardie about whether he knew who robbed the train. When Hardie leaves the saloon after talking to Cassidy, Idaho and a henchman try to bushwhack him, compelling Cassidy to ride along with Hardie in case he needs help. Little do they know of another danger lurking on the trail.
This is one of several "Wells Fargo" episodes to focus on famous outlaws whose paths cross that of Agent Hardie. As such, it resembles the Republic Pictures TV series, "Stories of the Century" (1954-56 and also reviewed here), in which railroad detective Matt Clark (Jim Davis) encountered a famous outlaw every week. The outlaws were generally unrepentant bad guys in that series, while in "Wells Fargo" they were generally portrayed sympathetically. Interestingly, two of these "Wells Fargo" episodes also featured future cast members of THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN in the roles of the outlaws: Robert Vaughn played Billy the Kid and Steve McQueen played Texas outlaw Bill Longley, both in Season Two and both reviewed by me on this site. In 1961, a year after THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, another member of the seven, Brad Dexter, would appear in a Season Five "Wells Fargo" episode, entitled "Stage from Yuma." Robert Vaughn and James Coburn would both make return appearances in the series after the movie. Quite a few of the supporting actors in THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN also appeared on "Tales of Wells Fargo."
This is one of several "Wells Fargo" episodes to focus on famous outlaws whose paths cross that of Agent Hardie. As such, it resembles the Republic Pictures TV series, "Stories of the Century" (1954-56 and also reviewed here), in which railroad detective Matt Clark (Jim Davis) encountered a famous outlaw every week. The outlaws were generally unrepentant bad guys in that series, while in "Wells Fargo" they were generally portrayed sympathetically. Interestingly, two of these "Wells Fargo" episodes also featured future cast members of THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN in the roles of the outlaws: Robert Vaughn played Billy the Kid and Steve McQueen played Texas outlaw Bill Longley, both in Season Two and both reviewed by me on this site. In 1961, a year after THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, another member of the seven, Brad Dexter, would appear in a Season Five "Wells Fargo" episode, entitled "Stage from Yuma." Robert Vaughn and James Coburn would both make return appearances in the series after the movie. Quite a few of the supporting actors in THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN also appeared on "Tales of Wells Fargo."
