THE MAN WHO MURDERED HIMSELF

• A nice bit of comedy begins the episode as Heyes gingerly climbs into the wagon, loaded down with explosives, gently snaps the reins and whispers “giddy-up”. Classic Heyes, and classic deadpan Curry. ®



• After all of Kid’s bravado about there being nothing to worry about with the job, his natural instincts betray him as he grabs hold of the side of the seat when Heyes delicately urges the horses to begin the journey and the wagon lurches forward. It is a great cap to the scene and no matter how often I see it, I laugh. Perfect. ®



• It defies logic why the boys would leave one box of TNT sitting at an angle like that. They have carefully packed and tied down everything else in the wagon, and yet they leave one box of explosives at an odd angle, ready to topple over at any moment. Ok, it adds tension to the situation for the benefit of the show, I guess, but that doesn’t give an explanation to the viewers as to how these two intelligent, street smart men could suddenly become so brainless.
• I have to wonder about Ben’s (or maybe Roy Huggins’) motivation behind having Kid suddenly sound incredibly dim-witted while talking about earning more money with the job as guide. Lips moving as he tries to add two plus three… "Fi hunred dallers to split, instead of two.” And big childlike eyes and grin. What up, bro? This is the 10th episode. You have counted money, you have made change, you have played poker. You know how to count to five without being stupid about it.
• It is so imaginative how there is no segue between flipping the coin to see who continues the trip with the explosives and who gets to go back and take the job as guide. We just hear Heyes say, “Call it!” and next see Kid driving the wagon…with a very pleasing camera angle as a bonus. *giggle*

• A good line, and a quick comeback from Heyes when he and his potential employer meet. Alexander: “Mr. Smith, this might appear rude of me, but you seem rather young to be a guide.” One point for our quick witted boy, Heyes, as he replies, “There’s nothing rude about that. In fact, I was just thinking you are rather tall to be an Englishman.” I love the logic behind the example he used. We know Englishmen are no shorter or taller than anyone else, so it makes clear to us, and to Alexander as well, just how absurd Heyes found his reasoning that he is too young to be a guide.



• Actors must be very comfortable in their own skin, it seems to me. I often marvel at the fact that they can be in such close proximity to each other and not appear uncomfortable. In real life, people just don’t stand nearly nose to nose to talk, as Heyes and Mr. Alexander do as they discuss Heyes taking the job. They would fidget, and look away and seem shy and nervous if forced to be so deeply in each others’ personal space. Being claustrophobic, a scene like this both fascinates and disturbs me. I feel uncomfortable for the actors and usually it is best for me to look away and just listen to the scene, or the next thing I know I have to get out onto the deck for some air!
• If Peter is going to wear his hair slicked back, I like it better as it is now, while he is drawing the map of Devil’s Hole. It is parted more toward the center and less harshly brushed straight back, as we have often seen it before. His hair being loose is so much more flattering on him; it seems a pity to diminish his amazing looks with a hairstyle that is less than appealing. Of course, it is Pete Duel we are talking about. I find him attractive every single moment I see him, so even on bad hair days, in my opinion, he is far more beautiful than the average Joe. Am I right, ladies? *laugh*
• Why should we assume Heyes is a poor shot, simply because Kid is an exceptional one? Heyes hits the can—twice—to prove his skill and the myth is dispelled. Heyes can shoot just fine. He just doesn’t need to very often because he has Kid to protect him.



• Peter’s eyes seem particularly brown and luminous in the sheriff’s office. Like rich maple syrup; warm and fluid. It must be the lighting. I’ve always been a sucker for a dark haired, dark eyed man; I imagine my love for one Hannibal Heyes in my early adolescence had a bit to do with shaping my lifelong preference. *sigh* ® §

*sigh*

• I always have the same reaction when I see the doctor come into the sheriff’s office: I wonder if he is related to Milburn Stone, the guy who played the doctor on Gunsmoke. I finally researched it a bit, and he is not related. Maybe it is just the suit he is wearing that reminds me of old Doc Adams.
• It is perfect comic timing when Heyes circles the chair and sits back down, when instructed to do so by the sheriff. ®





• I sure am glad there are HIPAA laws in this country now, making it illegal for doctors to disclose any patient information. It seems Doc Wilson would have been more than happy to tell Heyes everything he knew about Mrs. Finney’s health. These days a doctor could lose his license simply for disclosing to an uninvolved party he has even examined her.
• Slim Pickens never does a role a disservice. While his voice is quite unique, it is not so overpowering as to make it distracting.
• The scenes of poor Kid fighting with the wagon are so well done. They are funny and yet tense, creating a bit of anxiety that the wagon may blow sky high, taking our Kid Curry with it.
• I have never seen someone look as uncomfortable or unsure riding a horse as Mr. Parker as Heyes leads his team into Devil’s Hole. He is all over the saddle, leaning oddly forward presumably to propel his horse forward. Just a guess, but I'd say this is the first time this actor has ridden a horse.
• For me, one of the best scenes in the episode is when Heyes meets up with Kyle and a few of the other Devil’s Hole gang. Kyle pretends to be mad at Heyes and when Heyes says he did it for Kyle’s own good, Kyle does this incredible laugh that starts with a tiny hee hee hee and culminates in a grotesque guffaw. Lobo slaps Kyle on the back and the dust just billows out of his jacket. The horse Kyle is on even moves in perfect comic harmony with the actors. It couldn’t have worked better. It is just such an unblemished scene, completed by Lobo saying the gang is happy to have Wheat back, because Big Jim’s ideas were too gran-di-oose. Perfect.



• Man, those are some butt ugly horses poor Kid has pulling that wagon. But he is nice to them, and tells them “thanks fellas” when they look down at him after he has been thrown from the wagon.
• Heyes is a friendly man. I don’t really understand why he is off by himself eating his dinner. It doesn’t seem to fit his character. Maybe he is being aloof to give himself an opportunity to observe the others.
• I do so appreciate the buff colored jeans episodes.
• Heyes certainly appears to enjoy watching Julia remove her boots and stockings. I imagine in the 1880s it wasn’t a common occurrence to see a woman’s naked legs. Heyes obviously gets a bit of a stirring from it, since it seems both he and Julia are very close to embracing when he helps her after she slips in the water.



• Poor Kid. Out there risking his life for $200, while Heyes has all the fun. When will Kid learn not to agree to a coin toss? He is focused on his job, though, and you have to give him points for having a work ethic.
• A very personal thank you to the camera man who did the filming of Heyes reclining on the log. *giggle followed by deep sigh* ® §



• I love when Julia gets up to leave the log, and Heyes darts under the huge tree branch and ends up in front of her. Very suave.



• Finally it is time for the kiss…and what a joy it is when it arrives. Heyes with his sweet, tiny first kisses, two by my count, and then that penetrating gaze into Julia’s eyes that makes me feel like I am witnessing something so intimate I really shouldn’t be looking, and finally a powerful kiss—have mercy—moving Julia backward. The only place to go from there is to a full recline. Do you think they actually….?? ®®!







• Every time I watch that scene (and I admit to many viewings) the song “This Kiss” by Faith Hill reverberates in my brain. ♪ It’s the way you love me... It’s a feeling like this...It’s centrifugal motion...It’s perpetual bliss...It’s that pivotal moment...It’s subliminal. ♪ This kiss, this kiss (It’s Criminal) This kiss, this kiss...♪
• I admit to never once having watched this episode without rewinding the kissing scene at least once. I suspect most of my readers could make the same confession. *wink*
• I don’t ever understand why, when one of our heroes has a love interest, there is only one passionate moment between them and they don’t kiss again until our love-‘em-n-leave-‘em boys, one or the other, sees the woman off at the train station. I don’t know about anyone else, but whenever I have experienced the excitement of a new relationship it seems like we were makin’ out every moment we were alone.
• I enjoy Heyes’ moments of boyish exuberance. His bursts of childlike laughter always amuse and delight me.



• On a somewhat morbid note, I have dressed dead people. Putting a boot on a dead person’s foot, either before or after rigor mortis has set in, is not an easy feat. It would not go as easily as it appears to for Mr. Alexander. Just a point to ponder.
• Wow. A pretty gruesome task as Heyes seems to be digging the bullet out of Parker’s flesh. Heyes couldn’t know what type of rifle the bullet came from without actually examining the bullet itself, I wouldn’t think. And considering where Parker appears to have been shot for the bullet to have mortally wounded him, I would say Heyes had to dig pretty deep.
• And now with all this morbidity going on around her, Julia decides it is the perfect time for a meal while there is a shrouded dead guy lying there and the others go through Mr. Parker’s belongings. That’s just a little over the top on the nonchalance scale, don’t you think, Julia?



• Ah ha! Now that I hear that Mr. Parker was shot in the back, I retract my theory that Heyes would have to dig deep for the bullet. If Parker were shot in the back and Heyes is looking for the bullet at the front of the body it would have to be very near the surface for Heyes to even have a clue where to dig. In order for Heyes to know it was a bullet from a Henry rifle the bullet could not have left the body. Unless, of course a huge side story, entirely hidden from the audience, was playing out while Julia ate…that the men were searching for and finding a spent bullet somewhere within, say 100 yards of the body. I don’t think so.
• The descriptions of Mr. Alexander and Mr. Parker would NOT have sounded very much like the same man. Their height, weight and coloring were NOT alike. They may have been around the same age, but other than that, the only thing that was the same about the two was that they were both male. If these two could be described the same, so could Heyes and Curry. Only our boys would actually be more alike because their height was roughly the same, whereas Mr. Parker appeared at least one and a half to two inches taller than Mr. Alexander.



• I adore the hug goodbye between Heyes and Julia almost as much as the kiss. It is a hug of genuine affection and warmth; I love seeing Heyes’ face and not Julia’s during it, showing he is as involved in it as she is, with his eyes closed and a sweet smile on his face. I think given the right circumstances, Heyes could be an extraordinarily affectionate man, and that is a very appealing idea.





• Kid finally pulls into town…safe after a horrible, long, dirty and dangerous trip. Heyes runs to him and greets him. Grabs him by the shoulder and tugs on his lapel and nearly hugs him, but not quite. It is a wonderful couple’s moment. I love these boys. They love each other.
• The honeymoon doesn’t even last a minute though as Heyes is forced to admit, with a shamed look and nod only, that he didn’t get paid. Poor Kid, angry at Heyes and on his last nerve, heads for the saloon, where we hear Heyes say, “All right, if it’ll make you feel any better, hit me.” I wonder if Heyes looked as good sliding down this saloon wall as he did sliding down Big Jim’s wall.
  

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