THE GREAT SHELL GAME

• I don’t care what anyone says, I think Heyes looks dapper in his tailored brown corduroy jacket. But I wish they would retire those awful synthetic brown slacks.
  
• I nominate the understated and tasteful outfit Diana Muldaur is wearing in the first scenes as the best by a female guest star in the series, although a couple of the high end getups Diana Hyland wears in next week’s episode, Return to Devil’s Hole, place a close second.
• I am certain, even if I were the hottest chick at the county fair, I would never walk past a man as fine as Hannibal Heyes, who has tipped his hat and wished me a good morning, without so much as a glance. Even if the Grace character is supposed to be unapproachable, she does have blood running through her veins, does she not? She would at the very least just have to take a quick look and let out a nearly audible ‘mmmm’…
• However, our boy is all man as he turns with an approving grin and watches Grace stroll over to her buggy. Yes, he is watching her to make sure she gets in the buggy so he can follow her, but he is also watching her because he enjoys women, and he also seems to like looking at them.

• The long still shot of Heyes astride his horse as he watches Grace drive away is simply breathtaking. Peter has such ease on a horse; he fits it so well, almost as if they are one. §

• And as he turns the horse and begins to ride away I am stirred by the remarkable connection between Peter and the horse--almost as if there is no separation. He sits tall in the saddle; there is no jerkiness or bouncing…just a ride as smooth as Mulberry silk and a man who looks exquisitely graceful doing it. *appreciative sigh* ®



• Boy, this cold, detached woman can sure warm up quickly when she needs to use someone for something, can’t she?
• Grace gives Heyes a full body scan with her eyes when he says he will lift the buggy and she is to slip the wheel on. A look of admiration crosses her face---but I wonder if she is showing awe over the pure physical splendor of this man or his proposed demonstration of strength lifting the buggy….my bet is on both…



• Diana Muldaur is a striking woman. At first glance, she seems a bit cold and aloof, like her character, but she actually kind of sizzles. I think she is exactly right for this role. I also think she looks a little like Helen Hunt.
• There’s Monty Laird at the table behind Grace as she and Heyes get to know each other. I like spotting Monty and Peter’s good friend Hal Frizzell in scenes…they both blend in quite nicely in the backgrounds and it’s almost a game to me to spot them.
  
• Heyes looks very impressive in his three-piece suit and tamed hair. I love him in sophisticated mode. Let me rephrase that: I love him in any mode.



• Ooooohhhhhh, there’s a close-up of Peter’s hand and wrist as he knocks on the door of Soapy’s room. I know, for others it may not be a moment worthy of comment but for this girl, with my draw to men’s hands, I simply cannot help but pause and savor the sight. And it’s my blog and I’ll stare if I want to….*giggle* §
• A little Peter nuance that I love: Heyes takes Grace’s hand as they rise from the couch in Soapy’s room, and still holding her hand as they walk toward the door he passes it to his other hand, behind his back. It is such a familiar and boyfriend thing to do. It is very sweet, somehow. ®
• Gee, Grace, isn’t that an awful lot of cleavage for the 1880s?



• The look on Heyes’ face and the humming along to Soapy’s drunken singing as they help him to his room is just perfect.



• Eww…that bit of spittle on the lower lip of Soapy in the ‘bringing him home drunk’ scene is really creeping me out! And once, he spoke to Grace so forcefully that her hair moved from his breath. I hope there wasn’t spit involved in that too!
• There’s Hal Frizzell second in line at the betting windows… Ok, ok. I hear you. I will drop the game. Spoil sports…
• Grace’s rebuffs of Charles Morgan trying to get her to give him the time of day are priceless. “Ma’am, we still haven’t been properly introduced.” “No, we haven’t, have we?” And she just walks away! Excellent!
• Finally, Heyes’ first kiss of the series. Waited for and appreciated. I must say he did it well. A gentle, chaste first kiss, a throaty response to Grace's question, "Do you realize what we are doing?", a penetrating look into her eyes, and finally a deep and aggressive kiss. Very nice indeed. ®





• Heyes beginning to fall for Grace--making it difficult for him to continue with the deception--is very poignant. We haven’t seen our hero in this predicament before. Because even though it hasn’t been exposed to us yet, we know the outcome of the episode and we know the reason for the swindle. So we are actually seeing our first glimpse at a couple’s moment with our boys apart. And because we know the intense loyalty he has to the Kid--we know that no matter what, Kid will always come first—before women, or money or freedom or love.
• The woman in the black dress dancing while Soapy, Heyes and Grace share drinks has the strangest way of dancing I have ever seen. Her left arm just hangs there limp through the whole dance, like she doesn’t care enough to put her whole body into the experience. Quite strange and weirdly fascinating to me. I sure hope she puts more energy into other encounters with her mate. And oh my god, the couple dancing next to them is dancing to two separate beats. They are not in rhythm—with the music or with each other--at all. Who hired these fools? Monty could have put his dress from Wrong Train to Brimstone back on and danced with Hal and it would have been better than these two couples! Plus it would have given me another Monty/Hal sighting!



• This episode supplied me with one of my all time favorite pictures of Peter. A pensive Heyes in formal attire. Those eyes. Those lips. *deep sigh* I am struck yet again by this man’s natural beauty. § [It was one of the very first pictures I came across online after rediscovering Peter just 6 months ago, and it nearly dropped me to my knees...*yet another tear*]



♥

• I’m going to wager we could see Peter’s dimples at 50 feet.
• It’s a great segue from Heyes’ half of the episode to Kid’s half. Morgan, enamored with Grace, holds Heyes at gun point while Heyes tells the story of what happened to the Kid in Mexico…



• Having commented on Peter’s ease on a horse I feel it is only fair to comment on Ben’s riding style. Here comes Kid, riding into Hidalgo, his whole body limp and bouncing like a rag doll with every step of the horse! It makes me laugh! I guess we could say Ben is as one with his horse too…because his body accentuates every move the horse makes! It is just so endearing. Really, really sweet. But when we think about it, and analyze it—as is my habit--it actually totally fits with the personalities of the two characters. Heyes is a bit more refined, more mannerly and possessing a certain savoir faire. And his style of riding shows that. The Kid is more laid back, a bit more coarse, a little less socially correct and his riding style shows that also. These actors seemed to live their characters on screen. Good job, boys!



• I thought Kid’s horse was stolen. He doesn’t have a penny to his name. Where did he get the horse he is riding as he “runs down one last possibility”? Yes, I am pretty sure that is Kid riding in the dark…I can tell from the bouncing…! *giggle*
• Great job on the manners, Kid…you actually took your gloves off to eat your burrito. But hey, don’t talk with your mouth full, ok?



• It’s a great ploy to pretend you are husband and wife. Not only will you fool everyone on the stagecoach, you set the TV audience on alert that there may be some romance ahead.



• Now, I am just speculating here…but it is my guess that Kid took a lingering peek at Grace while she was bathing in the river.
• Don’t we just love our boys in the hero role, coming to the aid of the maiden in distress? The Kid is quite alluring as the protector as he shoots the rattle snake and holds Grace in his arms to comfort her. Very satisfying to watch.



• It is a really lovely and romantic scene when the Kid and Grace kiss. There is a soulful Spanish guitar serenade as Grace and the Kid have an intimate conversation. “I may never see you again, and I don’t want to care.” “And do you care?” asks Kid. “Yes.” Kid searches her eyes and then leans in for a kiss…a deep, meaningful kiss—not the least bit hesitant. It is quite romantic. The camera angle of the kiss is particularly good…we see both Ben’s bottom lip and his closed eyes. Very visually stimulating. ®
  
• The kissing styles of the two men are quite diverse. Mmm, mmm, mmm…variety is the spice of life…indeed.
• Are Ben’s eyes really that blue? I wonder if they had colored contacts in those days. I don’t think the general public did, but maybe Hollywood did.



• And on the subject of blue eyes, it occurs to me that if the Kid and Grace were to have children, their eyes would be absolutely magnificent. What a gorgeous genetic match-up that could be…
• Ben jumps on his horse during the escape from jail…without so much as touching a stirrup! We have seen him do it before and we will see him do it again and it cracks me up every time! Mounting horses seems to be an issue for Ben continuing through the whole original series. It’s cute.
• The Kid tells Grace, “Mr. Smith’s waiting for us over at the hotel…he tells me he fell as madly in love with you as I did.” To which Grace replies, “That makes three of us.” I immediately wonder, because it’s just where my mind goes…was there such a thing as a ménage à trois in the 1880s?
• I love the look of the last scene, where the Kid and Grace walk away holding hands. A very pleasing image, somewhat reminiscent of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance KId. ®