THE REFORMATION OF HARRY BRISCOE

• Right out of the gate, I enjoy the imagery of Heyes and Curry as cattle drovers. Is there anything more deliciously masculine in the old west than men on horseback, weaving through throngs of traveling cattle, skillfully in control of their steeds—the sight of near barren land, dust billowing, and strong men pushing through it; the sounds of thundering hooves and complaining heifers; whistles and hee-yahs from the men? For me it is a sight to behold, and one seen far too briefly before the story of The Reformation of Harry Briscoe begins.

• “Mr. Smif, Mr. Smif...” Old Dub Taylor, again acting without his teeth, bless him—cracks me up with the way he says Heyes’ alias. I wonder if it is his natural way of speaking. He certainly is the quintessential trail cook and seems to live his role.
• The way the boys ride up and circle the nuns with the broken down wagon would feel threatening in this day and age. But we know our boys and we know they are only sizing up the situation, to see how they can best help. I imagine the nuns don’t feel threatened by the mere fact they believe they are in the safe hands of god.
• How odd that Jim the cook would be astride one of the nuns’ horses tied to the wagon…why would they leave that horse tethered with a rider on it? Is Jim the cook some kind of kindergartener who needs his hand held to cross the street? Why not just have him ride alongside the wagon and the nuns who are now driving it? Things like that perplex me, when I can find no logical reason.
• Oh, my. The first glimpse of one of the boys in chaps is a very pleasant one. The Kid, from behind, as he gets off his horse and goes about securing it, is quite an enticing image. He has a round butt, very well suited to chaps, I’d say. Now don’t feel threatened, Bennies…I won’t encroach on your territory. I can accept you lusting after my boy occasionally if you can accept me lusting after yours…



• From the words “By any chance, are you gentlemen Catholics?” to the very last utterance out of Heyes’ mouth as he chides the Kid that he might have divulged the prices on their heads if he had kept talking, this scene is perfect. Kid’s innocent look as he responds to the question about being catholic with “no, Kansans” is on the nose and the depth to which Heyes looks into his eyes for explanation for such a dumb answer is a typically exquisite Peter moment. As the outlaws hem and haw and try to avoid the invitation to join the sisters in prayer, I chuckle out loud, because I can feel their uneasiness so clearly, remembering my childhood and the religious pressure, loving though it was, my devout grandma put on my siblings and me. Jane Wyman does a wonderful portrayal of Sister Julia and when she says, “Do you go to church?” I feel as squirmy as Heyes and really just want to get the heck out of the scene…a scene so perfectly acted by everyone involved it is remarkable. I get the feeling this scene was written by someone who experienced this kind of encounter in his childhood, too, because the men’s responses to the nun’s queries are distinctly childlike in manner. They are both absolutely adorable when reduced to scolded and repentant little boys.

• When Heyes is trail dirty, he tends to sport a near uni-brow, and at first it really turns me off and I want to reach out and dust the gathered dirt off the tiny hairs between his eyebrows. But as the episode goes on I stop noticing and find Mr. Heyes as gorgeous as always.

• It is fun to see the boys react to the stagecoach full of wanton women as they escort the nuns into town. They smile broadly and quickly flip in their saddles to get another look as the stagecoach passes by.
• Clay is such a handsome horse. I have noticed that from the first episode he was in, when he was Wheat’s horse in the Pilot, he has always been very alert and involved. While other horses might just put their heads down and remain docile, Clay is always looking around and seems ready to jump into action. Something else fascinates me. Clay’s blaze, when flipped, is very similar to the ornamentation on Heyes’ hat band. This couldn’t be any sillier if I tried, but I think Clay and Peter were made for each other! *embarrassed giggle*

• What a delicious sight of Heyes in his chaps. I am beginning to wonder if a woman designed chaps for her own secret gratification…they certainly do draw attention to the best of the best…front and back. It is pretty difficult to not notice certain areas when they are so pleasantly highlighted. *sigh* §§ *another sigh*
• This is also my absolute favorite look for Heyes, from head to toe...wearing his hat, low, his hair long and free flowing; the dark blue shirt--usually dusty--with his white long johns peeking out at the neck and arms; his delicious forearms exposed, to my vast delight; his weathered gloves worn like second skin; chaps—framing the most wondrous territory; his gun belt worn low on his right hip and his buff colored jeans, mostly hidden but with the most enticing bits showing. I think the only thing that could possibly make this look more perfect for me is if one of his hands were bare and he had a glove tucked securely in his gun belt. I have been placed squarely in heaven, and I intend to stay there awhile. §§

• Ok, here we go again with Barry Shear’s questionable directing skill. I am sure I will have strong and vocal opposition to this comment, but I cannot stand the ridiculous moment at the bar when the boys react and lift their beer mugs in unison to keep them from being smashed into by a sliding mug headed down the slick bar. The moment does nothing except punch us in the nose with reality that this is a TV show, completely tearing us from the enjoyment of being lost in the story. And once is not enough for this director. He steps into the absurd again when he has Heyes slide an unconscious drunk down the bar so he can stand where the drunk was snoozing. This show isn’t a slapstick comedy—it is a sophisticated story made humorous by circumstances our boys find themselves in, not by Keystone Cops antics and uninventive farce. Barry Shear gets my vote for worst director on the series, not only for this episode, but for his odd camera experiments in The Day They Hanged Kid Curry and his awful faux pas in the otherwise superior The Bounty Hunter. The odd thing about Shear, though, is that other than a few dubious scenes, the remainder of each of his episodes is very well directed.



• What a brilliant verbal picture the store keeper gives of the as yet unidentified other man asking about the nun. It surprises me that Heyes doesn’t recognize the description right off the bat, because it is so precisely evocative of Harry Briscoe. (Should the following picture, in keeping with the overall style of the blog, focus on the storekeeper? Yes. Wouldn't we all prefer to focus on Peter? Uh, yeah.)



• YIKES!! What is up with the hiding nun’s natural hair?? It looks like chopped up hay on her head. Keep the horses away, they might start nibbling. I see no reason for a fake nun to have chopped off all her hair. Surely wearing the habit isn’t going to be a permanent thing. Most women are quite vain about their hair; I can’t imagine cutting it all off for a temporary costume. Unless, of course, this is the actress’ actual hair. Wow. That’s a scary thought.
• You know how I love to watch Heyes walk. You know how I especially love to watch Heyes walk away. But nothing has prepared me for how much I love watching Heyes walk away in chaps. Why, I do believe I am getting the vapors…thank goodness I have taken to carrying a folding paper fan since rediscovering Peter. *giggle* ®



• And there’s sweet Shoshone, checking out who that is her dad is walking across the street. God, there is such joy to me in the fact that she spent time free roaming the back lots while Peter worked. What a cool life for a dog. Can you imagine all the new sights and smells she had to investigate each time she was there? And yet she never seemed to be too far out of Peter’s sight. What a special thing, their connection and what a special treasure for us that she was on camera a few times. ♥

  
• Sliding drunk. Slipping show quality. Substandard director.
• Oh, dear. I believe I see a naked woman in the painting above Heyes’ head as Harry joins the boys at a table for a drink!! Are those floppy breasts or some kind of bizarre bodice ala Silence of the Lambs? Pretty risqué for a show where no one has so much as uttered the word damn.



• I absolutely adore the whole scene after Harry has checked out their camp and rides off, leaving our boys to chide Jim the camp cook about his food and coffee. I love it because it is all unscripted. It isn’t even very good adlibbing, as adlibbing goes, but it is so sweet and natural and so wonderful to watch. One thing this director did that I do appreciate is apparently give the actors some free rein and allow us a glimpse of the men playing our favorite outlaws. ®
  
• It’s a wonder our boys ever get anything done at all, because they always have to be together. When Heyes checks the wagon at Jim’s suggestion, up rides the Kid to see what Heyes is doing! It doesn’t take two men to investigate, but there they are as always, symbolically joined at the hip. It is a very sweet characteristic, this need to be close to each other and part of whatever might come up, but it must surely slow down progress on any project they may be working on…anyone who hires them is certainly not getting a buy one get one free deal. More like a pay for two but only get one deal!
• I’m not certain why, but the way the Kid says, “Aw, no.” when Heyes discovers Molly in their wagon just tickles the hell out of me. I laugh when I hear it and it isn’t even funny. Maybe I am growing fond of Ben’s style.



• I can’t stand how this actress, Jane Merrow, speaks…and no, I am not talking about her accent, which I find quite pleasant. It is the way she holds her bottom lip out and exposes all her teeth as she speaks …it’s very exaggerated and monumentally distracting. She looks like an aggressive animal to me and she is one of those people I enjoy much more with my eyes closed. *chuckle*
  
• It is an emotional exchange as Molly talks about the bigotry against the Irish; Heyes, in particular, seems in tune to her pain and his discontent is evident as he agrees with the Kid that they have no choice but to turn in the fugitive. When he says “Mine came from England” the sadness in his eyes and his tentative, subdued grin, demonstrating his attempt to win her over…imploring her to understand the dilemma they are in, is heartbreaking. As he throws the tether to the Kid who always assumes the binding duties, he shows us his intense frustration in a very human way…another of Peter’s wonderfully understated moments just chock full of meaning and depth.



• Seems kind of strange to me that during the night, when she isn’t being watched, Molly’s hands are untied…and then I see in the next frame that they are bound. Just another endearing Alias Smith and Jones inconsistency.
• J.D. Cannon doesn’t spend enough time pretending to tie up Heyes, and Peter seems to me to be expecting him to still be working behind him and not already on Ben’s hands. Peter truly seems to live his part and we would be hard pressed to find him not taking as long to do something as it would take in real life. There was another time, in How to Rob a Bank in One Hard Lesson, where Ben moved his hands free before it would naturally take place after Heyes unties the Kid in the cabin—and the look on Peter’s face expresses that he wanted to continue a bit longer.
• Do I really need a reason?



• It is usually the Kid who is the instant defender of women, but this time Heyes is appalled at the treatment Molly is given by Harry’s sidekick and voices his disapproval. I think Heyes feels more kindred toward Molly than the Kid does—it goes against his nature to turn in another outlaw—and his masculine hackles rise up as the young woman is being manhandled. It never fails to please me to see a man come to a woman’s defense, be it Heyes or the Kid or any man. I don’t feel women are weak, or always in need of assistance, but seeing a man truly affronted by witnessing some abuse is a reflection of character I find immensely appealing.



• Is that shock I see on the boys’ faces as the bad guy Sam forcefully removes Molly’s head covering and exposes the thicket of straw masquerading as hair? No it isn’t. But it should be. *wink*



• My god. If Molly can’t get herself out of the binding around her wrists, so loosely secured a herd of longhorn cattle could fit through it, she must be a true imbecile.
  
• I love the flirty huh-uh, grin and shake of the head as Heyes runs to gather his boots and Molly tries to get him to untie her. It is very much like his playful interaction with his new wife Doris as he carries her over the threshold in Generation. It is sweet, and I have a feeling it is more Peter than Heyes.





• And there it is… indisputably my favorite single line in the ENTIRE SERIES …”It’s Smith, Sweetheart”. It absolutely knocks me out—the look on Peter’s face; the sound of his voice; his own words, not scripted. Nothing could be better. Except of course, him running by in sock feet, in chaps, his hat worn low, as he says it. Delicious. Just so magnificently delicious.





• How amusing Harry’s wail of “Cut me loooooose…I got terrible claustrophobeee!!” is! I love that they use the affliction claustrophobia to describe his anxiety. Most people would probably think claustrophobia only means a fear of small places, but I can tell you from experience that what he is feeling in this circumstance is indeed true claustrophobia. Poor guy.



• Oh. Now, there is a moment to watch a few times…Heyes coming out from the shelter of the bush he is hiding behind to check out the downed bad guy. What an incredible image. Have mercy. That is one fine looking man. *sigh* ® ® §



• I marvel at Kid’s dispassionate reaction to the man’s death. He simply grabs up the saddlebag and rifles through it for the cash. Always the realist, he is the first to check on their state of affairs in any crisis. A very interesting, and slightly disturbing, character trait.
• One of my all time favorite comedy moments in the series is the game of black jack the boys are playing to pass the time in camp. Kid’s “Hit me…again….again…again, yeah, c’mon hit me” is illogical enough, but when Heyes says “17—dealer stands” and Kid replies, “16, you win!” I absolutely crack up. Heyes’ reaction with the laugh and recognition of the absurdity of having only 16 after so many hits, and counting Kid’s cards just to make sure, is just so perfect when I am done laughing I shake my head in awe. ®

• Is Ben absorbing Peter’s characteristics? It amuses me greatly to see this moment—both actors in a very distinct Peter pose!

• Harry looks so ridiculous with his jacket caught up in his two holsters. In his attempt to appear macho, he seems to have done just the opposite and instead appears a bit buffoonish.



• Heyes’ mangled and dirty hat is starting to become a comedy routine of its own! But what I wouldn’t give to have it, or even touch it.



• The Kid—or Ben—seems to almost lose control of the wagon as they pull up at the convent after giving Sister Julia a ride home, and ever the nurturer, Heyes—or Peter—reaches an arm across the nun—or actress—to protect her. Very sweet.



• By simply watching the show, I am completely puzzled by the ending of this episode. I just can’t understand why Molly is at the convent, or why Sister Julia would lie about it when she met the boys on the street before they brought her home. Do nuns lie? If she was lying, why expose the truth when they arrive? And why question their surprise? I need the script to help me in this case, as it adds the line “I told you I talked to her a great deal” to her saying they shouldn’t be surprised, and describes Molly as tearful. Does that maybe change the ending? Is that telling us Sister Julia isn’t aware Molly is there until they arrive but she isn’t surprised to see her because she had hoped she had gotten through to the younger woman? WHY would the line that could define the entire final scene be cut?? Am I misinterpreting the whole thing?? *frustrated sigh* And why is that incompetent nun using a rake to try to deal with bramble vines? I just plumb give up!