CTVA - The Virginian 1.14 "The Man From The Sea" 26-Dec-1962 NBC

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1.14 [--]
"The Man From The Sea"

(no on-screen title)
Original NBC Broadcast - 26 December 1962

Revue Studios Production
Produced by (not Executive) Charles Marquis Warren
Written by Morton Fine and David Friedkin
Directed by Herschel Daugherty

Starring:
(shown on the ride-in)
Lee J. Cobb as Judge Henry Garth
Doug McClure as Trampas
Gary Clarke as Steve Hill
and
James Drury as The Virginian

Guest Stars:
Carol Lynley [ Judith Morrow]
Tom Tryon  [Kevin Doyle]
Shirley Knight [Susan Morrow]

End Credits (complete)
Co-Starring
Pippa Scott as Molly (last appearance in the series)
#
With
Larry Blake as The Fight Manager
Jan Arvan as The Mayor
Russ Whiteman as The Sheriff
John McKee as The Man (there were several other "Men" who were not credited)
Curt Barrett as The Conductor
Dyke Johnson as The Cowhand (there was another "Cowhand" who was not credited)
Dick Wilson as The Bartender
#
Virginian Theme Percy Faith
#
Director of Photography - Lionel Lindon, A.S.C.
#
Art Director - George Patrick
Film Editor - Lee Huntington, A.C.E.
Editorial Dept. Head - David J. O'Connell
Musical Supervision - Stanley Wilson
Set Decorators - John McCarthy and James M. Walters
Color Consultant - Alex Quiroga
Color Processing by Consolidated Film Industries
#
Assistant Director - Ben Bishop
Sound - David H. Moriarty
Costume Supervisor - Vincent Dee
Makeup - Leo Lotito, Jr.
Hair Stylist - Florence Bush
The title "The Virginian" by permission of EMKA, LTD.

Regulars in this episode:
Judge Garth, Molly, Trampas, Steve, Virginian

Brief Synopsis:
A sailor retired from the sea comes to Medicine Bow to buy a
farm and find a wife. He's intent on marrying Judith Morrow until she asks
him to kill her twin sister so she can be free to live her own life.

More Detailed Synopsis:
Kevin Doyle is a "man come home from the sea."  Kevin is intent on buying a farm and finding a wife so he can settle down and raise boys to send back to the sea.  He first attempts to court Molly who admits she likes listening to his talk of ports in distant lands but is not the woman for him.  He then sets his sites on beautiful Judith Morrow.   Judge Garth had invited Judith and her twin sister Susan to come to Medicine Bow after the death of their father.  Judith, who says she will be a burden to the Judge because she doesn't know what she wants to do with her life, seems interested only in reading books about foreign lands while Susan has come to make herself a productive member of the community by setting up a pottery shop.  During this discussion in the Judge's study, Judith sees a gun and shoots it at her sister.  Susan is not hurt, and the Judge and Susan both try to assure Judith that this mishap was but an unfortunate accident.  Judith is entranced by Kevin's stories of his ocean adventures, but they make her restless with a desire to see exotic places.  When the sailor buys a farm and comes to take her for a wife Judith will have nothing of marriage because she doesn't want to be tied to one spot.  Kevin promises to give up his farm and make her happy by taking her wherever she wants to go, but Judith feels it would be impossible because she is one with Susan and can't have a life of her own.  She then begs Kevin to kill her sister so that she can be free.   Kevin, unable to carry out her wishes, goes on a drunken spree of destruction and is put in jail where he tells Judge Garth of Judith's plans.  When the Judge confronts Judith with this she admits she indeed wants Susan dead so she can have her own identity.  Judith then tries to push Susan out a second story window but falls to her own death instead.  Later, at Judith's grave, Susan tells Kevin that her twin behaved the way she did because Susan had gotten all the affection and attention from their father leaving none for Judith whose beauty reminded him of their adulterous mother.  Watching from their horses, Trampas is concerned about what will happen to Susan, but the Virginian assures him that Kevin will take care of her now.

Story within the story:
Trampas wants to sleep on the train while bringing Susan and Judith to Medicine Bow from Casper. When he asks Kevin to stop his constant singing, the seaman pulls a knife on him.  Trampas can't forget this incident and keeps confronting Kevin with the fact that he is "riled," and the only way to settle it is with a fight.  Instead, during Medicine Bow's Silver Anniversary celebration, the sailor challenges Trampas to go to gloves with a professional boxer. Trampas is knocked down in one blow, and Kevin then takes the ring to floor the fighter. Kevin feels this should be enough to show Trampas that he could easily take him if it came to fists, but the cowhand is still not satisfied.  In the saloon, after Kevin has beaten Trampas and Steve (who were town favorites to win) in the jubilee's foot race, Trampas tells Kevin he is still upset about the knife incident and proving his expertise with the boxer was not the same thing as going to task personally. Kevin then gives Trampas a chance at first blow.  After the cowboy misses his swing, Kevin gets in a punch which sends Trampas down to the end of the bar. Trampas now feels the argument is settled and gains a measure of respect for the sailor.

Note on Molly and The Virginian:
Molly brings the girls to the ranch to stay with the Judge, who is acting as their guardian, and wonders why the Virginian hasn't gone out the range. The foreman says he is planning to but might decide to stay and look after the girls.  Molly comments that they didn't need that kind of looking after, and the Virginain replies, "You never seemed to mind."

Character name note: When Molly introduces Susan and Judith to the
Virginian, she says, "You can call him 'the Virginian,' everybody else does."

If you're one to try to remember which episode had a particular scene, here's a "Where was that scene?" from this story:
  Molly is bringing Judith and Susan to Shiloh when Trampas and Steve ride up.  Trampas wants to impress the girls with his roping skills and goes after a steer (Doug McClure does a fine job of catching the steer, but it appears he almost fell over the horse's head in the process). Not to be outdone, Steve ropes a steer and wrestles it to the ground.   Judith wisely tells the boys she would have a hard time deciding which was the better rider.  Molly is ready to go on the ranch, but Trampas suggests the girls stay and take a ride to get the "feel of the place."  Judith and Susan hop on the cowboys' horses and give an impressive show of horsemanship themselves by jumping over a fallen tree.

Last appearance note:
This was Pippa Scott's last appearance as Molly Wood (possibly due to a different development of the series with the change in Executive Producers from Charles Marquis Warren to Roy Huggins).  Yet it was not until 2.11 "The Fatal Journey" (in which Ms. Scott did not appear) that her absence was resolved, having her accidentally killed by outlaws who shot up the newspaper office after being offended by an article she had written about them.  (bj) 

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