When Hardie captures the notorious Johnny Ringo, the outlaw requests that he be able to visit his sister, who is dying, for three days and to keep from the young woman Ringo's criminal backg... Read allWhen Hardie captures the notorious Johnny Ringo, the outlaw requests that he be able to visit his sister, who is dying, for three days and to keep from the young woman Ringo's criminal background but another man may mess things up.When Hardie captures the notorious Johnny Ringo, the outlaw requests that he be able to visit his sister, who is dying, for three days and to keep from the young woman Ringo's criminal background but another man may mess things up.
- Ruth Ringo
- (as Tharon Crigler)
- Bartender
- (as Frank Scannell)
- Saloon Girl
- (as Jane Kirby)
- Townsman
- (uncredited)
- Townsman
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- GoofsThe telegraph man and Jim Hardie both mispronounce the town of Prescott. They say it phonetically, a common mistake. It is actually pronounced press-cut.
- Quotes
[first lines]
Jim Hardie: [narrating] John Ringo, alias Johnny Ringo, age 35. Background: two years at Harvard studying law, the rest of his life breaking it - a gentleman, a scholar and a killer.
[a saloon girl puts her arm around Ringo while he is playing poker]
Saloon Girl: How are we doing, Johnny?
[Ringo rebuffs her advances]
Saloon Girl: Well, excuse me. I guess I heard the wrong kind of talk about Johnny Ringo liking the ladies.
Johnny Ringo: Oh, your information's all right. You just misinterpreted the word.
Saloon Girl: Yeah? What word?
Johnny Ringo: Ladies.
Wells Fargo wants Johnny Ringo, and they've sent telegraphs to every office in the state with Ringo's description. In addition, Jim Hardie has been assigned to bring him in. Hardie takes no chances when he captures Ringo, coming upon him stealthily during the night. Interestingly, Ringo offers no resistance. Instead he offers Hardie a deal. 3 days, and he'll go in peacefully. 3 days...to visit his dying sister, who doesn't know he's an outlaw. Hardie agrees. But the gunslinger Lou Dancher is arrogant, impatient, and he's determined to face Ringo, and of course he doesn't care if Ringo's dying sister knows or not.
Despite this episode's use of an historical name, the details are pure fiction. From Hardie's opening statement about Ringo attending Harvard to his closing epilogue, nothing that even approached the truth was shown in this episode, other than the man's name. Johnny Ringo did not attend Harvard as Hardie stated. It is apparent that some of these details were taken from Ringo's fictionalized memoir, "Confessions of Johnny Ringo", that portrayed the man as a bookish and introspective observer of his era. Ringo's life is well documented, and he was neither bookish nor introspective.
Nevertheless, the episode is one of the best of the series as I see it. Paul Richards was a commanding presence on the screen, and his Johnny Ringo is one of the most memorable characters of the series' run.
The cast is not well-known, but three stand out. First, Paul Richards' portrayal of Johnny Ringo is just great. Richards had a smooth, velvety voice well suited for villainous roles, and it's perfect for the character shown in this episode. Although he died at the young age of 50 he had a substantial list of credits. Britt Wood appears Artie, the town loudmouth. He appeared mostly in westerns, and was a member of the Hopalong Cassidy series with William Boyd, appearing in nine pictures from 1936-1941 as Hoppy's sidekick, Speedy McGinnis. Joseph Sargent appeared as the gunslinger, Lou Dancher. Although his career as an actor wasn't that noteworthy, he was successful as a director on both the small and large screen. Among his many credits was Star Trek: TOS - The Corbomite Maneuver. The remainder of the cast had hundreds of roles but are basically unknown today.
As I said, despite this episode's complete lack of historical accuracy, I still see it as a great episode. Paul Richards' portrayal of Johnny Ringo was one of the best of the series.
- ben-thayer
- Sep 18, 2023
Details
- Runtime30 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1