Illegal Immigration, human smuggling, and exploitation sound like headlines current to 2020. Yet this Sky King episode from Season 1 in 1952, delves into a situation that is still relevant today. The episode, which also has the accidental death of a character, is a serious and mature story, and that fact that "Sky King" was a staple of 1950's children's Saturday morning TV surprises our modern outlook. "Sky King's" superb writing continues, as this story's intelligent, logical movement with dialog and action, informs the younger children, yet easily engages adult interest just as well. It is a pleasure to watch a story so well and competently written and produced, that a wide age range of audience can easily follow it.
Veteran character actor Chubby Johnson makes his first appearance as Sky King's ranch foreman Jim Bell. Chubby Johnson was one of the few character actors whose unique persona actually had directors asking for them by name. This unique class of character actor included Dub Taylor, Strother Martin, Gabby Hayes, Andy Devine, Chill Wills, Jack Elam and Slim Pickens. There weren't many others in this unique class, and that class has sadly passed into movie history. Chubby appeared in many TV westerns (Bonanza, Wild, Wild, West, etc) in so many multiple appearances, that his face and persona are well known, even if his name is not. Chubby was active from 1946 to 1972.