THE BOUNTY HUNTER**

• It is a cute scene right out of the gate in this episode, as our boys ride along talking about their finances. Kid chides Heyes for their predicament, expressing he thinks Heyes has failed, even with his nimble mind and silver tongue…and Heyes says, “I am getting the distinct feeling you are beginning to lose confidence in me”, to which Kid replies, “Oh, I wouldn’t go so far as to say that…” Heyes is relieved, obviously, and grins… “You wouldn’t?” only to hear from Kid, “No, but I sure would defend your right to say it.” It tickles me how the Kid holds Heyes entirely responsible for their well-being in every way except the muscle.

• Heyes’ distaste at being made to lie down on his belly is perfect. There are just some things that don’t leave a man with dignity and I would say in his mind this is one of them.
• Mmmm! I do love the look on Heyes’ face as he acquiesces and lowers his body to the ground. Yummy.
  
• Seems to me Joe took a real risk by having the Kid get off his horse to the left—and between his and Heyes’ horses. It is very likely there would have been a rifle in the rifle holster on the right side of Heyes’ horse.
• There is only the slightest acknowledgement of surprise when our boys first see the man capturing them ride up on horseback. I think it is very fitting of the times that they would be slightly taken aback to see a black man as a bounty hunter, but the reaction is portrayed perfectly by both actors…showing just a moment of “oh, he’s black” but not an ounce of racism connected. Very nicely done. Any slight variance in expression by either Peter or Ben and it may have been a story with a very different feel…

• I don’t know why, but when Heyes says, “Say, what’s this all about? Huh?” and “You’re making a terrible mistake, now…” I giggle. There is something in his voice in those moments that just tickles me so...
• A great moment as Heyes lets his head drop hard to the ground as Joe tells them not only who he is but who they really are! I can feel his frustration!
  
• Lou Gossett is an incredible actor. I have been a fan for many years and I just now realize this is most likely the first place I ever saw him. I think he does a brilliant job in this episode and he takes second place on my Top Guest Star list only to Bradford Dillman’s amazing portrayal of Spencer in the yet to come episode, The McCreedy Bust: Going, Going, Gone.



• Ok, am I just a lustful old woman—as a friend recently pointed out and I don’t quibble with—or does Peter even look sexy from the back with his hands up…? I adore the way he holds his fingers…an upward version of his distinctive hands on his hips pose, and I savor seeing a bit of his forearms. This man is as good as it gets in my judgment. A beautiful example of everything I obsess about.
  
• Heyes having to give Kid a bear hug so he can have his hands tied by Joe is a very popular scene to most fans according to fan sites. But even though I am able to watch it now, it is a scene that has always bothered me. I am a very spatial person, and I am also very claustrophobic, so the combination of these two men being forced to be so deeply in each others’ spaces and being bound while doing it, is a moment I find hard to enjoy. For normal people, I guess it is probably just a pleasant, amusing scene. For me, I find it difficult to breathe.



• I am astounded by the many times the boys have called each other Heyes or Kid in front of others. I can usually get past it by thinking, "well they are quite a way from the others..." but not in this case! There stands Joe Sims, as close to the back of Kid's head as Heyes is to the front of his face as Kid says, in full voice--not even an attempt at a whisper--"Heyes, quit breathin', will ya?" Did he think sound waves only travel in one direction? Please.
• Before I say what I must say next, please be advised that death threats to this site, to my personal email addressess or any of my other sites are stictly prohibited. Cowboy up now, and take it like a man as I say I think Peter looks horrible in the first moments of the bear hug scene. It may be makeup, or an attempt to make him look dirty, or it may be Peter, but he has a uni-brow that is so unattractive on him I have to consciously overcome my feelings about how he looks to enjoy what is one of the best episodes of the series.



• I wonder why Clay is giving Peter such a hard time in this episode. He keeps pulling his head back, and is very often moving sideways rather than forward. I wonder if it is the rough terrain they are moving over. Clay usually seems to be a very well behaved horse, so I think it must have something to do with the environment.
• I am surprised to hear Heyes say "damn" for the first and only time in the series. A friend brought it to my attention, as I had apparently missed noticing it the first time around. Being known to pepper my own speech with a fair amount of four-letter words, I find it natural and realistic to hear it said by Heyes.
• A great unscripted Peter moment when Clay stops short as the men are talking about Joe making a damn fool out of himself, and Peter has to spur him forward and demand, “C’mon”.
• It is poignant as Joe describes to our boys what made him become a bounty hunter. His delivery of the words is so matter of fact, portraying a total surrender to the hand he has been dealt and no self-pity, that it is quite touching.
• I gotta say, it is a good thing our boys wear stampede strings on their hats. They have their hats knocked off their heads so often they would go broke replacing them.
• And so the racism begins. A lynch mob is going to teach Joe a lesson—and make sure he never shoots a horse again—by killing him. I always wonder in scenes such as this if it is painful for the actors involved. I know it is play acting, but is it hurtful for Lou Gossett to hear the racist words coming from the mouth of the white actor? Does it hurt the other actor to have to say those words directly to a black man?





• Kid gets a whim of kindness and convinces Heyes they need to try to save Joe from the lynching. The boys lay on their backs to load their guns, and I find this quite appealing. And as they return to their positions on their stomachs, I take note of how nice their butts look in chaps and my mind wanders to the warmth of the rocks beneath them, against their bellies…I admit to another “damn, baby!” moment. ®®§




• I consciously force myself to stop daydreaming about them lying on the warm rocks, and pay attention to their task at hand. Their plan works and the lynch mob retreats, leaving Joe to escape. It was the right, and only, thing to do, boys. You made me proud.
• Oh, my. Lou Gossett really shouldn’t wear stretch pants. Let me just suffice it to say, that is one pretty substantial endowment for the arts…*giggle*
  
• Kid is feeling all giddy about doing a good deed right up until the sound of Joe’s voice breaks the spell. How rotten to do something so good and right and be rewarded by being recaptured. But Joe is a man with a purpose; that much is obvious.



• What a great moment as Heyes, already experienced in what is taking place, begins to lie down on his own…only to hear Joe say, “Wait till I tell you…” and just as he stands back up, Joe says, “All right, get down.” There is no confusing who Joe feels the boss is with these boys. He won’t relinquish even the tiniest smidgen of control. It is a funny moment, but it also gives us a very clear picture of the character of Joe Sims.



• I laugh when Heyes, lying on his belly in the dirt once again, yells to Joe, “I don’t think you fully understand the situation. We, the two of us, have just saved your life.” To which Joe replies, “Yessir.” And without missing a beat, “Now you Mr. Curry…” and proceeds to give Kid instructions on what to do so Heyes can, once again, tie him up. I suspect Joe is not someone who can be swayed by sentiment.



• Exasperated by Joe just wanting the rewards on their heads, Kid says, “In other words, it’s just the money!” “Naw, sir. Not in other words…” Joe counters, “them are the words.” What a great line. Some of the writing in this series is just top notch.
• What terrible filming in the scene as Heyes rips into Kid about saving Joe’s life. The scene itself is funny, but it looks like the boys are sitting still on a wagon or something rather than riding horses.
• There is an exquisitely bright moment in the badly filmed scene…and that is Joe listening and laughing as Heyes rips into the Kid. It is just perfect that he would find such entertainment in the squabble between the two notorious outlaws. And it is fun when Heyes won’t let up and Kid finally shouts, “All right!!” A really well written scene.



• There’s the “preacher” from Never Trust an Honest Man. Robert Donner always does a part justice.

• Yikes! Another scene—this time with Joe speaking—where the filming doesn’t work and it looks like a smooth riding wagon instead of horse riding. What is wrong with this director? His ridiculous filming experiments have been problematic in past episodes, and lord knows I have been vocal about my objections, but this is just downright ruinous to the scene. It kind of saddens me because otherwise, this is such an exceptionally well written and acted episode…and I will even say very well directed except for these few unfortunate—and wildly distracting—missteps.
• He is out to do our boys in, and yet I feel sorry for Joe as Robert Donner and his crew send him packing without a horse, gun or the outlaws he so badly wants to turn in. Somehow, this character is being portrayed so brilliantly that I find myself almost rooting for him to win out over our favorite outlaws. But not quite, of course!
• For a minute there, I thought we were going to be subjected to yet another long, weird, cackling laugh—this time from the man in the tree. But we were thankfully spared…with just a short, but nonetheless irritating, rendition.
• Heyes spinning tales, without taking a breath, about who they “really” are is priceless. Each time he tells it, it becomes more detailed, down to church suits and baking and who Kid is set to marry. I think I would let him go, just to shut him up! And Kid is just riding along, stone faced as ever, but probably still confident his partner will talk them free...
• It is just delicious that Heyes shows such awe at Joe’s skills. He is a man deeply respectful of cunning and street smarts, like his own. We have really never seen anyone Heyes has gone up against and been handily beaten by before. To me it is lovely to see Heyes challenged in such a way. He doesn’t run across many who are his equal and it is an irony and a superb bit of writing that his equal is a black man. Well done!
• "Joe, you're marvelous." What an odd thing for one man to say to another, and yet it works so well here it feels absolutely natural.



• No matter what, we can count on Kid not losing his appetite. Most people, except the Brits of course, *wink* would be put off their food just a bit by the trauma they are enduring. I have a suspicion the Kid would hungrily wolf down his last meal before going to the gallows. He must have the intestinal fortitude of steel.
• Joe is a very smart man. He has outwitted our boys at every turn. When Nate asks Joe if he knows the difference between his left and his right hand, it hits home with me that it is an unfortunate reality in the history of this country that a man with that kind of intelligence can be so disregarded and abused by our society. And simply because of his color, assumed to be ignorant by the most ignorant among us. Shameful.
• I love Joe’s reaction when Kid maneuvers his hands out of his tether and shoots the gun out of Nate’s hand …. “My god, you didn’t go and do it again…” laments Joe. The look on Lou Gossett’s face, the hands on the hips…just perfect.
• Poor Kid, rubs his wrists bloody to get free of his restraints, only to be outwitted once again by the bounty hunter.
  
• It is interesting to me that Peter’s voice has completely changed as Heyes becomes resigned to the fact that Joe is just going to keep outsmarting them. He still tries to talk his way out, but it is with a voice full of exhaustion and defeat. Absolutely perfect acting on Peter’s part.
• What a sweet moment: “Heyes? The Mayor’s daughter?” “I figured you deserved the best.” And the Kid is still sure his partner will take care of things…”You’ll think of something…” That care between them? Better than chocolate.
  
• Now you know I don't want to get crude. And you know I never ever see things with a sexual slant. *giggle* But I just have to wonder what kind of physical release the Kid is having at the moment his shackles are removed...What do you think, Bennies?
  
• It never fails to amuse me that the Kid gets upset when Heyes says something negative about him…even though he knows Heyes is only trying to talk their way out of trouble. “Kid Curry is supposed to be one of the fastest guns in the West, right? Ha—you took his gun away from him twice.” And Kid reacts with a hurt look and an angry retort. I think the Kid is much more emotionally sensitive than he lets on.
• Joe is shot down in cold blood and it affects me the same way this kind of scene always affects me in any show…I feel personally ashamed. It is a horrible commentary on the times then and on our times now. Hate crimes are still prevalent in today’s society, crimes as heinous and unjust as shooting Joe in the back. What have we learned since 1880, or since 1971 or in 2009? I could stand up on my soap box right now and speak the words of the righteous, but I will spare you.

• Another of director Barry Shear’s intrusive camera ploys as Joe dies. Instead of letting Joe fade away, he jars us with a sudden, blurry freeze frame. Man, what a waste of a good moment.
  
• I am proud that our boys, at personal risk to their freedom, make the decision to go to the law about what has happened to Joe. They both have a core of goodness that carries us through the times when they exhibit less than redeeming qualities.
  
• And now that I am schooled on the meaning of the term “clay back”—a dark line of hair from tail to saddle--I can clearly see it displayed on Clay as he carries our hero Heyes off to the next episode.
  
• This was a well done episode. A story that was both painful and funny…old west and modern. It had social value. It is one the actors involved should have felt pride over. Peter, were you able to feel any pride over it?

DREADFUL SORRY, CLEMENTINE

• Be forewarned, I think the title of this episode is much too long. I think it should have just been entitled “Dreadful”. Ok, that’s unfair. It isn’t a dreadful episode; it is just flat. As in flat-line. Nothing horrible. Nothing great. Just flat.
• The reaction of all the men hanging around the swinging doors of the saloon as Sally Field boldly marches in is priceless. I am sure seeing a “virtuous” woman encroach on that inner sanctum of debauchery and decadence put their minds in quite a spin! And right off the bat, the action tells us we are about to meet up with a pretty ballsy woman.
• Peter has such lovely posture. When he uprightly takes the three steps up to the porch of the hotel he looks magnificent. Men with good posture present a certain image to the world, I think; that of confidence and strength.

• Oooooh, I like Heyes’ new outfit. The tan shirt is flattering with his coloring and the dark brown pants seem to fit him quite well, more snuggly than his usual buff jeans. Of course, we all know I would find him gorgeous in a burlap sack but some clothes seem to bring out the best in his looks, and this set of clothes is just pleasing on him from head to toe.
• I don’t like the moment when Heyes pretends to turn the dial and open the safe as the desk clerk actually does it. It seems out of place to me, and just plain silly. Heyes would never publicly put on such a display, possibly drawing attention to his avocation as a safe cracker. And then, lo and behold, what should appear on the screen just seconds later but the directing credit: Barry Shear. I should have known.

• Boy, the Kid sure got a good deal on sharing the hotel bill! Heyes emptied his pocket with $5 while the Kid only contributed one dollar. I sure hope he intends to pay for lunch or something! *wink*

• Wow. That is some kind of enormous hair and hat combo on Sally Field’s little head. And it is even goofier looking from the camera angle used as Clementine speaks to the hotel desk clerk. We see her pudgy little cheek and ear from behind and the huge masses of hair and hat that threaten to overstress her tiny body.

• After hoisting Clem into the air and passing her off to the Kid for a kiss and then back to Heyes for “his share” (geez), Heyes seems out of breath. Or is it Peter, the heavy smoker, who seems to gasp a bit for air? Peter’s acting is so fully invested in the role he is playing at the moment, I am never certain in instances such as this whether it is the real man or the character we are watching.




• In a wonderfully authentic moment, Heyes’ hat gets turned around and he puts it on his head backward. I am sure all of us just eat it up as Peter adjusts the hat and returns it to his head in the correct orientation. It is something that amuses me because Peter never seems flustered by such things—he just corrects them and continues on with the scene. There is no sense of him being a prima donna about mishaps. Another amazing example of Peter’s lack of ego when something goes a tiny bit wrong is in The Young Country when he obviously gets one of Joan Hackett’s hairs in his mouth after kissing her. You can hear it in his voice and you see him try to discreetly get the hair out of his mouth, which he finally does successfully, but he NEVER STOPS ACTING. He simply deals with the problem in his own way and continues right on. I suspect that is an uncommon trait among those in his craft, leading me to deduce that Peter was an exceptionally giving actor and that his work was all about doing his best for whatever he was working on and not about Pete Duel. This quality explains how he could be in such turmoil in his personal life and yet still put out performances that garner awe and respect; why he could be so unhappy about the series he was working on and yet bless his audience with no sign of such discontent in his final product. My, that speaks so highly to me of the true character of the man; the generosity of his spirit. Peter was, in my opinion, someone acutely worthy of the adulation he has held onto for nearly forty years. *sigh*



• In the one scene in the episode I find brilliant and flawless, Heyes sneaks down from his hotel room in the middle of the night to try to break into the safe and confiscate the identifying photograph. What transpires as the drunken hotel patron enters the scene is beyond hilarious—it is absolutely hysterical to me! I always have to rewind the scene because I am so engulfed in laughter I miss most of it and have to watch again. (Oh, yes, of course I always have an excuse for rewinding. But I promise I will tell the truth when the reason is that I simply must look one more time at Hannibal Heyes.) The scene begins very seriously, with somber music and Heyes very quietly taking his place behind the desk to begin the task of opening the safe and it is just exceptional story development that we are so ambushed by the path the scene is about to take. In stumbles the drunk, played to absolute perfection by Buddy Lester, and so ensues one of the best comedic scenes I have seen in this series, or any other for that matter. And Peter plays the perfect straight man to the drunk’s over-the-top behavior. Everything works flawlessly. I love how Heyes catches the items pushed from the counter, contorting wildly to keep from dropping them and making yet more noise, and then grabs the key and accidentally hits it to the metal ashtray he is holding, and a good strong clang resonates. I laugh when Heyes holds his hand in a crimped position for an extra moment or two after handing the drunk the key, thus prolonging the comedic flow. I absolutely adore the “forward ho!” stance as the poor drunkard musters up the coordination to head for the stairs and then leans against the wall, propelling himself upward and onward. In a perfect reaction, Heyes grabs his head as the drunk almost makes it to the top of the stairs but loses his momentum and begins his uproarious journey backward. Slowing the scene down just a tiny bit, it is still very cute when Heyes takes a second look at the photo and rolls his eyes—as if he is not something wonderful to look at, c’mon!—before securing it in his pocket. And finally the moment is wonderful as Heyes closes the safe and heads up the stairs full of success, only to meet the drunk loudly coming back down. Heyes finagling his way around the drunk is just perfect. This sequence is simply astounding from beginning to end. Absolutely exceptional. ®®

• Sally Field just has such a captivating way about her. I was not a really huge fan until a few years into the future when she gave such a stunning performance in Sybil, but even in her early days I liked her, I really liked her…
• The grin on Heyes face as he pulls the photograph from his pocket and shows it to Clem in the stagecoach is adorable. And the Kid doing the honors of lighting the match and setting the photo ablaze (*giggle*), while sporting a “Cheshire cat” grin is just right. Our boys like this woman, obviously, and have found a way to thwart her plans—or so they think—without hurting her. They are a bit full of themselves over it and are demonstrating a speck of arrogance at their ingenuity…right up until the moment she puts them in their places by letting them know she has another picture. I don’t like the idea of a friend resorting to blackmail to gain a favor, but I can picture our boys doing just such a thing themselves, even to someone they liked, if necessary. I think they can appreciate and even respect the reasoning behind their friend resorting to such coercion.





• I am not sure if the instant when Heyes quickly pulls his hand away from the flame is a Heyes or a Peter moment. I can see it both ways, really. Either Peter accidentally let the flame get too close, or as the consummate actor he is he let it singe him purposefully to get an authentic reaction. Each possibility shows us a true Peter moment—of Peter the man, or of Peter the actor.
  
• I love Peter smoothing his hair back, almost like he is about to gather it in a ponytail. It’s almost long enough. Gestures like that just carry me back to the 70s and I happily equate Peter with my hippie days.
  
• Wow. Did Don Ameche just step on one of Peter’s lines during the train station greeting? Of course if there is a flaw I am destined to assume it was brought about by the visiting actor and not our Peter—who looks extraordinarily hot from the side in those brown pants, by the way. *wink*

• Heyes walking with Mr. Fletcher from the ferry boat reminds me of how the storekeeper described Harry Briscoe in Reformation…citified clothes, and he walked like he just won a raffle.



• That seems like a pretty steamy kiss between the Kid and Clementine while Heyes is out of the room. I think Ben is quite a good screen kisser. I’m glad the decision makers had the sexier of the kisses be between Ben and Sally and not she and Peter…it might have been a bit uncomfortable to see him deep kissing Gidget. I wonder if that had any bearing on who was chosen.



• I get the feeling from the look that passes between Heyes and the Kid that this is a bit of a game between them—seeing who “gets” Clem first. That faint smile from the Kid is positively screaming “I won!”
  
• My, Heyes’ suit trousers are certainly formfitting, if you get my drift... *somebody hand me my fan*

• Ewww…not so thrilled with the Kid’s southern gentleman attire. The tie is way too short and the girly-man ruffled blouse looks dingy. However, it appears as though he has been painted into his dress pants, and that certainly saves the day.



• Why, Miss Scarlett…oh, wait, did he say Charlotte? What’s with that antebellum hairdo on Clementine? Talk about clinging to outdated style...

• I do declare, I think Miss Charlotte has developed the vapors over these most gorgeous of men. I know that’s why I get out my paper fan, at least…

• I love how Heyes—incognito as the land dealer—completely discounts Fletcher each time he tries to interject his opinion while Heyes is wheeling and dealing. He shuts Fletcher down quite handily, over his shoulder, without even looking at the man. Tasty.



• As Heyes and Fletcher walk down the hallway I am struck by the realization that those have to be the shortest suit slacks I have ever seen. They look like they were made for a man about 3” shorter. Did the wardrobe crew not understand inseams? If not for the boots, our boy would look patently ridiculous walking around in such high-water pants when no flood is present.



• Am I just a sourpuss with no sense of humor? (Don’t answer that!) I just don’t find putting a half full decanter of liquid into a suitcase funny, unless it is in some slapstick comedy. It is another of those moments for me where I am happily flowing along with the story, lost in the fictional account of scams and grifters and SLAP!!! I have something so silly thrown in my face I lose the continuity of the story and become acutely aware this has now become just a silly TV show. Nothing is said in the script about the decanter at all, so I am forced to assume this is yet another unfortunate Shear-ism.



• Please, Clem!! Put that half hair behind your ears, or pull it up on top of your head in a cute bow, or chop it off for all I care….just do anything but this bizarre two-part hairdo that completely overwhelms and diminishes your lovely face.



• God, that is just downright creepy. Suddenly, right in the middle of the scene of Fletcher telling Heyes he has found more available acres, Peter’s image is flipped and his face looks distorted and foreign. It is beyond distracting to see his part change to the wrong side and the shape of his face warp. Flipped images are a pet peeve of mine, especially since rediscovering Alias Smith and Jones and in particular, Peter. He has such a distinct look and such diabolically differing sides of his face, when his image is flipped it looks like someone else entirely. And I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to look at someone else.



• There’s cute old Keenan Wynn. He always takes over a scene and makes it his own—by sheer force! I love how he yells almost every line, and every step seems like he is in charge mode.

• Boy, he sure looks better with a jacket covering his dirty henley and the obvious hairy man boobs, though. *giggle*
• I never thought I would actually hear, in any episode of any TV show, the stereotypical line “you young whippersnapper…”—but there it is, expertly uttered by Keenan Wynn in an intonation only he could muster.
• What an awesome touch Sally Field adds to the line “Why, whatever do you mean?” as Fletcher says he thinks there is more to her than meets the eye. Almost unnoticed, she gingerly tugs at the lowest part of her décolletage, insinuating she is “protecting” her cleavage. A really flawless moment of acting instinct on her part.

  

• Our boys are feeling pretty satisfied with themselves as they joke about Fletcher being two days late getting to Diamond Jim’s office. Somehow, whenever they feel confident and start figuratively patting each other on the back over their amazing skill, I feel uneasy and take a deep breath—waiting for the other shoe to drop. Ever heard the old adage “don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched” boys? You might want to take heed.

• I wonder if the guy mopping the floor in the hallway outside the empty office is cleaning up the whisky trail left by Diamond Jim and the decanter in his suitcase. Lucky the janitor was there before Fletcher or he might have been able to trail Diamond Jim straight to Belmont. [:Dor

• I enjoy the scene when the boys barge right in to Clem’s hotel room in Denver. They are so full of swagger, so sure of their truth, that they are fully secure in themselves being right as she warns them about who is about to visit. When the Federal Marshal and Deputy State Attorney General actually do appear, their reactions are right on the money. It amuses me how Heyes glances several times at the badge of the towering Federal Marshall but always after first looking up at his face. And both he and the Kid look downright peaked as they each stealthily peek at the cashier’s check for $50,000. It is fun to see our boys shown up a bit by someone smart enough to do it, but not done in such a way as to make them look stupid.





• My second favorite piece of the episode after the Heyes and the drunken hotel patron fiasco—and boy, it’s been a long way getting here—is the sequence when our favorite outlaws see Clem off on the train. Right from the start the scene is lively and cute, as the ticket makes the rounds from Heyes’ hand to Clem, on to the Kid, who takes it from Clem and gives it back to Heyes. Clementine pulling everything out of the ugly bag and digging for the blue envelope is really cute, and I burst out laughing when I just noticed, for the very first time that as the boys deposit Clem onto the train her hat falls forward and covers her eyes—looking almost like a roosters crown while her huge conglomeration of hair at the back of her head finishes off the image as the roosters plume…how funny!! Capping off the whole scene, there stand our boys, again full of themselves and their believed prowess at the handling of Clem, shocked as they open the envelope to find their wanted posters and not their photograph.

• It is very interesting that this tiny woman with the strange two-part hairdo has outwitted them at every turn. She would certainly be a formidable opponent. I’d say it’s a damn good thing that she was basically on their side, even though she ripped them off; and I think they are very aware of that fact as they stand there looking incredulous as the train disappears down the tracks.