Tell Chester

... and in fact it's even a bit noirish.

It starts out typical enough. Chester is smitten by a girl. Polly, working in her father's freight business. But Polly just considers Chester a good friend. Instead she has eyes for the more muscle bound Wade, who is a driver who works for her dad. Wade and Polly become engaged and then marry, and Chester leaves town for awhile to go hunting so he doesn't have to witness the wedding. But while out hunting he discovers a terrible secret that Wade has that would change everything between Wade and Polly if Polly found out.

Wade talks to Chester and convinces him to keep his secret, which he agrees to as long as Wade doesn't do anything to hurt Polly. But, back in town, Wade is uncomfortable every time he sees Chester. Like Poe's tale of the tell-tale heart, his own conscience has him imagining things. This leads Wade to make yet another very bad decision. To see how this all works out, watch and find out.

The girl in question, Polly, was played by Mitzi Hoag. Mitzi could punch above her weight, or punch down, depending on the role. In other words, she could play unattractive and mousy creatures, or dainty attractive ones as she does here. Probably the role where she made the most of that ability was in her role as Miss Essie in Here Come the Brides.

This is a finely wrought triangle story with due credit to writer and director as well as the three actors intimately involved: Dennis Weaver, Mitzi Hoag, Lonny Chapman. When Marshal Dillon's constant helper Chester (Dennis Weaver) can't have warm-hearted Mitzi Hoag for himself he does all he can to shelter her from the vicissitudes of romantic love with already married Lonny Chapman. who lets his neglected wife die out on in a prairie shack attended by an overburdened old Indian woman (well played for authenticity rather than glamor also). Bouquets to all three in the triangle, with Lonny Chapman's role being particularly subtly written, giving more than a hint of this weak man's desperation in grasping at something better (easier) for himself at the cost of all around him.

Associate Producer Frank Paris turned out a darn' good script for this show, giving Dennis Weaver a belated but appreciated chance to shine.

Solid plot, excellently directed. The final scene is subtly designed so that Chester is exonerated of any wrong-doing, while still allowing him to keep his word to the dying man. Of course, it's Polly who's still on Chester's mind, as is clear when he briefly refers to her in his final speech, but then corrects himself. It's also at this exact moment that Wilbur Hatch's very effective musical cue tells us what's on Chester's mind. Well done.

Wilbur Hatch was music director of "I Love Lucy" and as such composed many of the little ditties that served as transitions between scenes, etc. But he was capable of much more, and every dramatic score of his I've heard has been inventive and very sophisticated, including "Tell Chester".

I must say that the role of Tao, the old Indian (oops---native American) servant-woman was a very effective touch. I realize the "woke" crowd will yowl in pain at this hopelessly clueless (1963) casting-- a white actress playing an ethnic role-- but that's just too bad. Actress Sara Taft was very convincing, especially running around barefoot with the buckskin and white wig.

And WOW!--Wade REALLY got the short end of the bargain....paying $200 to a supposedly ruthless gunman who can't kill a man with two shots at a distance of about 8 feet. Nice try anyway.

All-in-all, ANOTHER STRONG SEASON 8 SHOW. LR