Day of Reckoning

An Unnecessary 'Psychological" Thriller which was a type of show trying to gain traction in the 1960's. Cowardice redeemed, but up to then, explanations and long faces displayed the fear and 'unmanlyness.'

And that is another theme: be a man. I concur, agree and encourage being a man. We certainly never saw much on display in our day, though it is there. David told Solomon as much: Be a man.

Anyway, the whole thing is improbable, but since it is Maverick and I am an irrational fan, I always think people should see it. The closeups of the defeated men are a credit to the camera and lighting crew. The extras of both the 'filthy cowhands' and 'respectable townsfolk' are well cast, as usual.

This episode of Maverick finds James Garner in one of those Kansas cow towns where the herds from Texas come up to meet the railroads in the 1870. It's a plot situation for a gazillion westerns on the big and small screen.

Anyway the cowhands play a lousy game of poker which is where Garner cleans up. But here Marshal Will Thorson whacks one of them with a gun butt before he can do Maverick any harm. Only he whacks too hard the cowboy dies.

Which leads to the gunslinger who is on the trail drive as a ramrod gunning down Thorson. After that the situation deteriorates until the inevitable showdown. Veteran character actor Mort Mills is a man eager to show off his skill a gunhand. He's a mean sadistic sort, no kind of hero.

James Garner is grimly cynical about the whole affair. In the end he does the heroic thing. You'll have to watch the episode to se what happens.

This town sure could have used John Wayne for a marshal.

When Bret is accused of cheating and called a "tinhorn," he responds that he believes in peace and quiet. When the marshal is murdered, a cowardly printer circulates an article with intentions of going to the governor in Topeka. Trail hands threaten to destroy the town unless the printer is handed over. Bret wants to get out before hell breaks loose but is unable to. The scared printer regrets his actions, while Bret refers to himself a "fence-straddler." Bret chastises the printer. The expression "tree the town" is tossed around. Jeanne Willes as Lil tells us what cowboys are really like, that they are nothing like they are portrayed in the east. Even in this serious episode, Bret's biting humor shines through.

Earlier this week I wrote a negative review of another Maverick episode, "Rage of Vengeance". Yet I consider the series to be one of the best from my youth, the late 1950s, early 60s. I think I can explain these early subpar episodes. They came in the first season, before the Maverick character, and the series in general had found its footing, so to speak. Early on, Maverick was a traditional brave cowboy, good with a six-shooter. Who would stand up to villains, sometimes a mob of villains. When the series, and the character finally found its place in season #2, Maverick had become adverse to physical danger. In lieu of gunplay, there were grins, wisecracks and clever schemes. Few of those series attributes are there in "Day of Reckoning". So, I am suggesting that when you watch this episode and think that this is a typical Maverick outing, stop, stop and imagine Maverick is Josh Randle from Wanted Dead or Alive, or Lucas McCain from The Rifleman. Then watch season #3's episode "Greenbacks, Unlimited" and enjoy the REAL Maverick.

Maverick is uncharacteristically such a wuss!! Hated this episode!