(pictured above - James Whitmore, Greer Garson and Doug McClure)
greer garson [Frances B. Finch]
e.g. marshall [Judge Elmo J. Carver]
and
james whitmore as marshal krug
full ending credits:
co-starring
paul fix as boyle
#
jay robinson as abel hewitt
#
ron soble as deputy wainwright
#
pamela mcmyler as ellie bishop
#
michael bow as clyde willis
kenneth tobey as sheriff acton
#
booth colman as mr. compton
ian wolfe as grover smith
#
and
arthur hunnicutt as j.d. drover
#
associate producer bill egan
#
music score lyn murray
theme ennio morricone
#
director of photography john m. stevens
#
art director george webb
set decorations perry murdock
unit manager joseph e. kenny
assistant director harker wade
#
film editor robert l. kimble
music supervision stanley wilson
sound roger h. heman, jr.
technicolor
main title design jack cole
titles and optical effects universal title
#
editorial supervision richard belding
costume supervisor vincent dee
makeup bud westmore
hair stylist larry germain
Series regular characters appearing in this episode: Trampas
Brief Synopsis:
Trampas is arrested on a trumped up charge of murdering the owner of the
"worthless" mine he had won in a poker game. The "ranch worker" reluctantly
accepts the court appointed attorney Frances B. Finch (Garson), who turns
out to be a woman, because there is no one else available to defend him.
Aware that Judge Carver (Marshall) and Marshal Krug (Whitmore) want to make
"short order" of the trial so they can leave for a vacation Ms. Finch uses
her feminine flattery to promise to expedite the matter of preparing the
case if Trampas could be released "to be observed in his natural
environment" in the joint custody of herself and "someone strong and
impartial" who would
act as her "guardian and protector." Taken in by her charm, Marshal Krug is
more than willing to be her escort and is indeed a great help in collecting
evidence, but most of the credit for a successful defense goes to Ms.
Finch's womanly intuition.
Comment:
Greer Garson was quite enjoyable in her role as the shrewd and competent
defense lawyer Frances B. Finch as was James Whitmore's portrayal of Marshal
Krug. But I found this episode quite a step downward from the values
exhibited in THE VIRGINIAN. Although many men in the American West near the
end of the 19th Century no doubt held to the belief that a woman's place was
in the home, this issue had often been addressed in a little more mature fashion
during seasons one through eight when the female influence of Betsy,
Jennifer, and Elizabeth and Holly Grainger were present at Shiloh (compare
with 3.11 "All Nice and Legal"). In this story Trampas accepts a lady lawyer
to act in his defense only
because there was no one else available and tells her right away he is
against women having the right
to vote. It's possible he could have held this conviction when the Graingers
owned Shiloh, but out of his respect and love for Liz and Holly I don't think he
would have voiced that opinion in front of them. Though Judge Carver was
flattered by her charming ways he also thought Ms. Finch to be a "weasel."
And Marshal Krug told Trampas he knew Frances, being of the female gender,
had put the cowboy up to hurrying along their search for the truth because
no man would interrupt another man's afternoon of fishing (she did indeed encourage
Trampas to do so by mentioning his life was at stake). However, my main
criticism of Leslie Steven's script is that Trampas was made out to be
unintelligent, which viewers who had followed this character through the
series would know to be definitely not the case. Even though the cowboy was
by no means perfect and had
always enjoyed gambling he seemed, for the most part, to take a more
responsible attitude toward
life in the later episodes of THE VIRGINIAN. In this THE MEN FROM SHILOH
offering (as in 9.04 "With Love, Bullets and Valentines") we again find
Trampas far from home for who-knows-what reason appearing to be more
interested in wasting time playing poker (and getting himself in a fix
because of it) than going back to work. And whether Ms. Finch was playing
up to the Judge and Marshal
by the following conversation to get her way or she really believed her
statement to be fact might be hard
to discern, but Carver and Krug certainly thought it to be true, and
Trampas did little to prove otherwise:
Judge Carver: "Have you examined your client?"
Ms. Finch: "...He's not much help. I wouldn't say he's a clod, but he's a
simple country fellow, quite uneducated."
Judge Carver: "One can't expect much of itinerant ranch labor."
Maybe Trampas has been away from the positive influence of Shiloh too long. (bj)