The Exiles

This episode of The Virginian finds James Drury on the trail of a man who stole some crucial evidence at a killing. To wit, a rifle with which a bushwhacker tried to gun down Judge Garth. Lee J. Cobb fired back and hit the bad guy in the back. Someone came along and stole the rifle the bad guy was using. So the judge is on trial for back shooting.

The whole thing seemed kind of far fetched. As forensic science hadn't been invented it seems like any old rifle could have been used and served as evidence. It was Ed Nelson who ran off with the weapon and James Drury tracked him to Montana.

In North Bend Montana Drury makes common cause with Tammy Grimes, an entertainer who has come to sing at Frank Cady's saloon. Someone from her past is gaslighting her and making threats through the sheriff's deputy.

Some nice gaslight era songs are here which Tammy Grimes sings. Grimes and Drury kind of help each other with their problems.

Tammy's singing is the main reason to watch this episode.

Judge Garth kills a bushwhacker in self-defense, but a drifter with a lame horse comes upon the scene and takes the villain's rifle. That makes it look like a murder, since it appeared the man was unarmed. In an effort to clear his boss, the Virginian engages in some detective work that puts him on a train to a town in Montana, joined by a dancehall singer who hopes to get a job at a saloon there. She reports to a skeptical sheriff that a man with a badge warned her to leave town on the next train. All the while, the Virginian continues to play Sherlock to unravel the goofy mystery. The plot is convoluted, unnecesarily complex, and not very believable. A saving grace is the appearance by Tony Award-winner Tammy Grimes, who performs a couple of numbers and shines as the ditzy-yet-competent singer.